Happy Chinese New Year 2010!!!!

I'm very happy this year as I got the ochna flower tree which is the New Year flower. This is a popular flower in Vietnam for New Year and they call it bong mai vang. Guess where I got this tree from. I got it when I went to Houston, TX to visit my brother-in-law on January 26. It was the day before we flew back to Philadelphia. I have to say I was so lucky...hehehehe. We got this tree from a Vietnamese nursery. They also sell them at the Asian supermarkets. There were some really big ones and one of them cost like $1000. It was a really old bonsai....so beautiful and tall. Too bad I could not afford to spend that much money on a tree. My tree cost $35 and it came with lots of flower buds. I got the shorter dwarf type since I could not fit the taller one in my suitcase. I wrapped it the morning before we leave with plastic film and removed the bottom half of the soil. I placed it in a carry on bag and carried all the way home. I lost some flower buds after unwrapping it but no broken branches. :) The tree is so beautiful when it blooming. I read that another name for this flower is called mickey mouse flower because it produce black seeds and it looks just like the mickey mouse. But the true Vietnamese Ochna does not produce black seeds. I observed the tree for a couple days after some of the flowers die and there was no black seed. I guess I got the real thing or maybe my tree is not old enough. However, I'll be more happy if I got the one with 7 or 9 petals which is more beautiful and have larger flowers. I'll keep on hunting until I get one of that. :) Happy New Year all. Wish this will be a prosperous year for everyone!