Clusia rosea, also known as "Balsam Apple" or "Autograph Tree," is a robust tropical plant from the family Clusiaceae. It originally comes from the Caribbean and parts of Central and South America. In its native habitat, it grows as a shrub or small tree and is a popular houseplant due to its thick, leathery leaves and high adaptability. The name "Autograph Tree" comes from the fact that one can write on its firm leaves with a sharp object—the engraved marks often remain visible for a long time.
Features:
Clusia rosea has thick, glossy, evergreen leaves that are round to oval-shaped and display a strong, rich green color. The plant grows slowly but develops a sturdy trunk over time and branches out bushily. Flowers are rare indoors, but in their natural environment, they appear as whitish-pink, waxy stars.
Care Instructions:
Light: bright location, preferably with some direct morning or evening sunlight; partial shade is also possible.
Water: water moderately; only water again when the top layer of soil is slightly dry; avoid waterlogging at all costs.
Humidity: normal room humidity is sufficient; higher humidity is well tolerated but not absolutely necessary.
Fertilizer: during the growing season (spring–summer), lightly fertilize every 2–4 weeks with a regular houseplant fertilizer.
Temperature: ideal at 18–28 °C, not below 15 °C.
Note:
Clusia rosea is very tolerant of pruning—a cutback promotes a compact, bushy growth. The plant should not remain too wet for extended periods, as sensitive roots may otherwise rot.
The product images shown are for illustration purposes only. There may be variations in color, shape, and equipment.
Our greenhouses are equipped with modern energy screens and double glazing to efficiently save on heating costs. Additionally, we collect rainwater over the entire roof area of 9,000 square meters and use only this water to irrigate all our crops. We collect the rainwater in underground tanks with a total volume of 600,000 liters.
Since 2007, we have been heating our entire operation with a fully automated 850 kW wood chip heating system and a 100,000-liter buffer storage tank. Environmentally friendly and CO2-neutral. Only to support during very cold winter days and nights is a conventional oil heating system available.
Since 2014, the heating has been supported by a solar thermal system with an annual yield of about 20 megawatt-hours.
In 2020, we installed a photovoltaic system with 30 kW peak and have been producing more green electricity per year than our entire operation requires.
Since 2021, we use exclusively pots for our self-produced plants that are not only 100% recyclable but are also entirely made from recycled pots. To this end, we collect all used pots that arise in our operation and have them picked up in big bags by our pot supplier Göttinger. There, the pots are cleaned and processed in a water-free recycling facility into new pots that come back to us.
