Star Fruit (Carambola)

Q. About a year or so ago I took a couple of seeds from a star fruit - purchased in the produce section of the supermarket - and successfully germinated them. The result is an extremely handsome houseplant. It is presently in an 8" pot and in need of transplanting. I do not know what I'm growing i.e. bush tree etc. It is approximately 12" high and has a single main stem starting to get a bit top heavy and its palm-like fronds are plentiful but the trunk still very thin.

a. What kind of soil?
b. How big a pot?
c. Should it be pinched back?
d. What kind of fertilizer - it gets 1/2 strength 10-10-10 now at each watering.

Also I intend to keep the plant indoors throughout the year.

A. You will have to assess whether this plant will do fine indoors as it really belongs outside but in moderate climes. Here is some vast info for you:

Averrhoa carambola L. Oxalidaceae

Common Names: Carambola Starfruit

Origin: The carambola is believed to have originated in Sri Lanka and the Moluccas but it has been cultivated in southeast Asia and Malaysia for many centuries.

Adaptation: The carambola is classified as subtropical because mature trees can tolerate temperatures as low as 27° F for short periods of time with little damage. Like many other subtropicals however young plants are more susceptible to frost and can be killed at 32° F. Carambolas can be severely damaged by flooding or prevailing hot dry winds. The small trees make good container plants.

Growth Habit: The carambola is a slow-growing short-trunked evergreen tree with a much-branched bushy canopy that is broad and rounded. Mature trees seldom exceed 25-30 feet in height and 20-25 feet in spread. Trees are very unlikely to reach this size in California. In a spot to its liking carambolas make handsome ornamentals. Container grown plants are equally attractive and have the additional advantage of being movable.

Foliage: The spirally arranged alternate leaves are 6 - 10 inches long with 5 - 11 nearly opposite ovate-oblong leaflets that are 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches in length. They are soft medium-green and smooth on the upper surface faintly hairy and whitish on the underside. The leaflets are sensitive to light and more or less inclined to fold together at night or when the tree is shaken or abruptly shocked.

Flowers: The fragrant pink to lavender flowers are 3/8 inch in diameter perfect and borne in clusters in axils of leaves on young branches or on older branches without leaves. There are several flushes of bloom throughout the year.

Fruit: Carambola fruits are ovate to ellipsoid 2 1/2 to 5 inches (6 to 13 cm) in length with 5 (rarely 4 or 6) prominent longitudinal ribs. Slices cut in cross-section are star shaped. The skin is thin light to dark yellow and smooth with a waxy cuticle. The flesh is light yellow to yellow.