http://www.nst.com.my/local/general/calamansi-symbol-of-longevity-1.28012
Calamansi symbol of longevity
By LING POH LEAN
lplean@nst.com.my
THE calamansi plant or the four seasons lime tree, which bears orange fruits, is similar to the fir or pine tree for Christmas.
Forest Wong Landskap owner Wong Shui, 73. showing the four seasons lime
plants at his nursery in Sungai Buloh. Pic by Nashairi Mohd Nawi
KUALA LUMPUR: The Christmas tree symbolises the gaiety of the festive season while the calamansi, or its Chinese equivalent kat zhai, symbolises longevity and prosperity, and is the perfect plant to be placed in homes and offices during the Chinese New Year.
The plant bears fruits throughout the year. In order to ensure it bears "golden-coloured" fruits during the Chinese New Year, growers will have to pluck off flowers between June and September.
Forest Wong Landscape owner Wong Shui, 73, said the fruits would take about four to five months to ripen, when they turn bright orange.
"We have to control the timing very well for the plants to bear 'gold nuggets'. We usually pluck off the flowers the latest by September every year, so that the plants would bear fruits and ripen in time for the new year," he said.
Each year, he said, the fruits of the unsold plants would be plucked off and sold to small traders.
The plants would then be well taken care of for the next year to be sold off at a better price.
Prices of the plants, Wong added depended on the age and size.
"Big organisations like hotels and casinos prefer big plants, while households would go for the smaller ones," Wong said, adding that a tall plant could cost more than RM1,000.
A one-year-old plant is sold for between RM35 and RM55 at nurseries around here.
The calamansi plant is usually potted and decorated with red ribbons during the Chinese New Year.
Owner of Leong Nursery, Iyu Chin Tiong, 58, said to ensure the plants were in good shape and stood tall, growers would tie bamboo sticks to the stems.
"When the plants bear fruits, the stem tends to curve down due to the weight of the fruits.
"As it is a new year, everything has to be standing tall to symbolise improvement ... we can't sell plants with the stem curving down to the ground.
"Growers will tie a bamboo, which is about one centimetre wide, together with the stems. By doing so, the plants will stand tall and be in good shape," he added.
Beside kat zhai, other popular lime trees are the kumquats (citrus japonica) and long tam kat (dragon lime) are also popular among the Chinese during the new year due to the good meaning of the plants' names.
