Star fruit tree general care?

[Crou]

First off I live in Michigan so my star fruit tree is an indoor plant. And the picture was taken at night so that's why the leaves are down.

I had 3 star fruit trees germinate but 2 have since died. The smallest and surviving star fruit tree was named Star. Star was extremely sensitive to light changes. It would only open its leaves on the screened side of the sliding doors during daylight. If I moved it to the sunnier side, the tree would lower all its leaves. A while ago it stopped growing new branches and the leaves on the lower branches developed yellow splotches. I cut off all the branches that had yellow leaves and since it was a cloudy day, I put it on the "sunny side"

[Jess]

Hi crue

Sorry I am absolutely no use to you at all having never seen or grown a star fruit. I just wanted to comment on what a beautiful little tree it was.
Did you buy the seed or save it from a star fruit you had eaten? Any special germination requirements? I would love to have a go at growing one.
My only thought on growing in general is that watering every two days is excessive but would also depend on the amount you watered. I would be inclined to water less frequently but a larger amount.
Hopefully having bumped up this post someone may notice it and be able to help you and ultimately me when you have answered my questions!

[Crou]

Thank you for the bump! My uncle brought the fruit from Texas. It had seeds so I put them in a plastic bag with damp paper towel in the full sun side of the slider doors. I think germination was about a month and 2 weeks; they first showed signs of roots in November. They develop slower then oranges or kiwi plants, but they grow an entire branch at a time.

Thank you for the advice, I'll cut back on the watering.

[damethod]

Star fruit are delicious and incredibly nutritious! They grow well here in South Florida with no need for maintenance.. so my guess is not enough humidity. Do you have a green house that you can keep the plant in? I built a small one myself about 3'x3'x4' and have had great results with some of my more fussy plants.

[Jess]

Thanks for the info. crou and damethod.
A whole branch at a time. I wonder why? Must be a good reason. I have never seen a plant do this.
Must go and buy me some starfruit tomorrow.

[Crou]

Damethod, thanks for the suggestion, you're probably right. I don't have a greenhouse so I'll have to find another way to get humidity up.

The star fruit is a curious tree indeed. The picture lacks detail, but the top curled light green branches are recently grown. They grow out of the top and then extend outward and uncurl. The length depends on the amount of leaves. Right now the tree is at 15 leaves. After a while it will grow another set and be at 17 leaves. If I don't rotate the tree every few days the branches will bend themselves to the light source.