Everything seems to be growing at a rate of knots, and I still have what you might call an irrational fear of trees suddenly shedding large branches without a lot of warning. They can all carry tons of water. It matters not where you are on this planet, they are all capable of behaving in the same way and doing terrible damage to property and life.
For many years the trees in Main Street have had this alarming tendency but they are not alone, and it seems that when they fall in Georgetown they have always managed to take down telephone and power lines. Since planting my blue gum tree (Eucalyptus) many years ago after clearing it with Guyana Power and Light, it is now the tallest tree in New Providence.
When I first planted it, it was growing in a four-inch pot. It is now well over sixty feet high.
There is another tree, I suppose about a hundred feet away. It is a Samaan tree, and has been pruned mercilessly for the past twenty years. Its twin of about the same dimensions passed away a couple of years ago. The survivor is host to a magnificent Golden Shower orchid and a little family of small creatures looking a lot like racoons, or at least a member of that family. I am afraid that these latter trees are examples of what not to plant in a modestly-sized garden. The motto is not to overstretch your garden space too much. They will become giant trees as some stage, but in their early life they are really great. Inevitably they outgrow their space and prevent you having many more plants of merit in your garden. However, if you have a garden of considerable size, Samaan trees are well worth having. They have a lovely show of flowers in March and April, and it is a lovely shade tree. It is only bare of leaves for a short time in the year, and the new flush of bright green leaves is a marvellous sight. In the evenings and during the night the leaflets of Samaan trees close together as if in prayer.
Saaman trees can and do reach enormous proportions. Probably the largest specimens I have even seen have been in the grounds of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. It is native to Central America, and belongs to the great family the Leguminosae. Harking back to my Blue Gum, this is a tree that grows very tall and sends down tap roots. It does not take over but grows vertically and send down roots vertically as well.
When last in England I tried my hand at rooting leaf-stalk cuttings of African Violets. It is surprisingly easy to carry out this operation, and the method can be used here at home in Guyana just as easily, providing you do it all in the shade. I used a mixture of fine compost and sand and a moderately shallow pot with good drainage. In Guyana if you have grown your African Violets in the shade they will have produced healthy looking leaves on long stalks. You will use these leaves for propagation.
Each leaf you use will be inserted into the compost/sand mixture to the point where it is just resting on the mixture. Several leaves can be inserted in one pot. After this they are watered in to settle the compost round the base of the leaf cutting, and kept in a warm place. It is quite possible to root leaf cutting in jars of water. Place a piece of cling film over the jar and then insert the cutting or cuttings through the cling film and into the water. In all cases you must avoid putting the cuttings in the direct sun and keep a strict eye on their progress. The most dangerous time for cuttings rooted in water is when the roots are emerging. I think I favour putting them into compost (very gently) when they have not formed many roots so they are not damaged when you are doing it. There is too much risk of damage when planting rooted cuttings from water when they have formed a mass of roots.
I always prefer to use compost for potting rather than Promix, as there is always a risk of over watering. Take great care and may your God go with you.
