On 29 Jan, 22:26, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
Where I was then, it was apples that were exotic :-)
Ipomoea alba, a.k.a. Calonyction bona-nox, a.k.a. Ipomoea bona-nox.
An excellent annual to grow in a conservatory or even south facing
room.

Can I risk it and say Morning Glory? ;o)

I was indeed in West Africa - I was born in Nigeria in 1947! *To be
strictly truthful, I was rather young and the time, and cannot swear
that my mother had a garden there - but that is the sort of thing she
would have grown if so. *We moved to Zambia (Northern Rhodesia) in
about 1950.

Ah! I had a lot of relatives in Senegal because my uncle worked in
import/export and 5 of my cousins were born and bred there. When they
came back they brought lots of strange habits, notably food, that and
a helper/maid who followed them, because all his kids were counting on
him making good money and my family couldn't refuse. A lovely man who
gave me my nickname and I have found memories of his mechoui! Anyway -
I'm growing the Gloriosa in memory of a friend from Zimbabwe, which
reminds me, there's no sign of life from the plant yet, though it
flowered beautifully last year (I got it at the RHS Harrogate), and it
produced a fat pod which opened and revealed jewel like seeds. When
the plant died, around October, I pruned it to the base. Now would you
have any advice? Should I just sit tight and watch?