Friday, July 6, 2018

Durian

Species: Durio zibethinus

I found a fresh durian at an Asian superstore.  I couldn't help it.  It was too sharp and pungent to really enjoy, but I swear if scientists ever breed one with out that sharp almost-metallic edge, it'll be a lot more popular.  Honestly, the texture would be thought of as much less disfavorable, too.  Of course, I'm saving the seeds.

So about the plant: the internationally-available cultivar of Durian is famous for being *incredibly tropical*.  Some internet people swear it stops growing below 70F.

Here's Purdue.U's horticulture department telling us even Sri Lanka has problems growing it.

Here's another website that clearly tells you it's difficult.

Alright let's do this:

Oh no!  One of those things!

Oh god why ... in my house!

What is wrong with me

Did you think i'd store it any other way?

Like everything else.  I was a bit nervous about this step

Carefully arranged.  Very little soil.  Perlite.  Fungicide.

After stashing the container outside (but out of the sun), it took literally
24 hours for nature's most horrific fruit seeds to pop break seed coat.

Next day.

Turns out durian seeds aren't actually overly whiny - room temperature water
didn't stop them from successfully coming alive and breaking their seed shell
Point of interest: durian seeds are relatively soft.  Be careful when scraping off the meat of the durian stuff - best not to risk scratching open the seed before the seed is ready.

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