Ross Clement wrote in news:3e1ae94b@isls-
news.wmin.ac.uk:

Hi. I know nothing about gardening, but have become curious about the
possibility of having a small cocoa tree. Would it be possible to grow
one indoors in the UK? Given the size of the tree at Kew, I imagine it
would have to be a bonsai. If this is feasible, where would I get a tree
or seeds?

I have never tried it, but I understand that the seeds become non-viable
rather quickly, and are always very difficult to germinate.

Checking this vague recollection before posting, I found this site:
http://chocolate.tastyrecipes.info/c...ticle1006.html

and also:

http://www.alohatropicals.com/Fruiti...sandTrees.html - A US site that
sells the plants.

I don't know where you could get one in the UK, but if you are determined,
you might want to try rummaging through the sites listed in the DMOZ UK
Tropicals and Exotics category: http://makeashorterlink.com/?A29423103 and
perhaps phoning some of the nurseries listed to ask if they can suggest a
supplier.

Alternatively, you might want to try something a bit easier: chocolate
cosmos perhaps? It has a dark brown chocolate-scented flower that can be
grown in a pot on a windowsill, and is reasonably widely available on the
web and in garden centres.

Victoria Clare
--
Victoria Clare
gardening high up in South East Cornwall
http://www.clareassoc.co.uk/
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