Sub-Tropical/Tropical Fruit Growers/Enthusiasts

[Johnny Rotten]

Just wanted to know what you guys are growing or what you really like and wish you had growing. I'm in the process of filling up over an acre with tropicals with plans for more at relatives houses. Most will be acquired through grafting/friends but some will be purchased.

I don't have much now;
Avocado- choquette, brogdon
Bannana-giant plantain
Carambola-Kari(kary)
Mango-Glenn, Nam Doc Mai
Lychee-Mauritius
Citrus-key lime
pineapple-Ma-2 "honey gold", MD-2, Hawaiian Sugarloaf, Spanish Red
muntingia calabura
Suriname Cherry
Barbados Cherry

Goint to be adding a lot of things; atemoya, sugar apple, mulberry, muscadine grapes, pitaya, jaboticaba, jakfruit, jujube, longan, loquat, mamey sapote, peaches, pomegranate, sapodilla, wax jambu, white sapote....more avacados, LOTS MORE MANGOS!!! lychees, bannanas etc.

Won't be getting citrus, figs, or persimmons. Already have access to a full grove of the best stuff for free.

I want to hear what you guys like. Try to be specific about cultivars if you can. Tree/fruit pics are always welcomed. Thanks

 

[zenoonez]

I wish, I love lychees and cherries but I am not sure they would grow where I live. I do have a white grapefruit tree in the back yard that produces the sweetest grapefruits I have ever tasted.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

zenoonez,
I love them too! I wish I could grow regular cherries too but they require too many chill hours. My Suriname's come out excellent with very little pine aftertaste. they just don't last long at all. they go through the ripening to rotting stage faster than anything. I grew a ton from seed and trashed the bad tasting ones. I now have a nice cherry hedge that the birds and I love.

You could always grow them in pots and bring them in for the winter under lights. Lots of people with lychee trees indoors and in greenhouses.

I've never had a sweet tasting white grapefruit. The white v. around here are much more sour than the pink/ruby reds. They are still good, though. I always make gallons of ruby red juice when the fruit comes in. i just freeze most of it for later.

 

[zenoonez]

zenoonez,
I love them too! I wish I could grow regular cherries too but they require too many chill hours. My Suriname's come out excellent with very little pine aftertaste. they just don't last long at all. they go through the ripening to rotting stage faster than anything. I grew a ton from seed and trashed the bad tasting ones. I now have a nice cherry hedge that the birds and I love.

You could always grow them in pots and bring them in for the winter under lights. Lots of people with lychee trees indoors and in greenhouses.

I've never had a sweet tasting white grapefruit. The white v. around here are much more sour than the pink/ruby reds. They are still good, though. I always make gallons of ruby red juice when the fruit comes in. i just freeze most of it for later.

Yea, the ones growing in my back yard are sweet enough to peel and eat like oranges. They have a little bitter taste if you get some of the rind but mmm they are so good. We didn't trim the tree back this year and the results are a ton of navel orange sized grapefruits. Just on the one tree we have probably 100-150. It really is beautiful to look at. Going to try to get some air layered cuts off in the spring.

 

[TryComb]

Man you must live in paradise if you are able to grow all those fruits. I think that would be awsome to have what you have good luck.
T

 

[Johnny Rotten]

Trycomb,
Thanks...it is paradise if you don't consider the MJ laws.

zenoonez,
Good luck with the air layering. Hopefully you'll get another one of the excellent grapefruits.

Check out this set-up:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1114542120895.html?10

The lengths people will go to to enjoy their favorite plant. It's almost as if we evolved with them for millions of years..or something.

If ya ain't in the tropics, bring the tropics to you....

 

[zenoonez]

Trycomb,
Thanks...it is paradise if you don't consider the MJ laws.

zenoonez,
Good luck with the air layering. Hopefully you'll get another one of the excellent grapefruits.

Check out this set-up:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1114542120895.html?10

The lengths people will go to to enjoy their favorite plant. It's almost as if we evolved with them for millions of years..or something.

If ya ain't in the tropics, bring the tropics to you....

Thats crazy man. I would def do a greenhouse if I could. Where did you get the seeds for your cherries? I thought cherries were highly variable? I know apples from seeds are pretty crazy.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

They were pulled from a friends "dark Zill" Eugenia, an improved variety. I don't know about true pit cherries but these weren't too bad. I saw more variation in structure than in fruit quality. Some were very piney and were trashed. The bushier ones tended to have the better fruit and were kept. They taste good enough that I didn't chop them back and graft on the Dark Zill.

 

[highsteppa]

I met Gary Zill a while back , used to roll with the Broward County rare fruit freaks lol actually they gave me 3000 watts and a co2 generater that a miami police officer donated to them hehehe

Mangos! I like Nam doc mai,had one. I used to have 'Carrie' which was a seedling off 'Julie' the jamaican favorite but w/ better anthacnose resitance --basically improved Julie

Also had 'Early Lemony Saigon' that I propagated a mess of...first to fruit. Get it if you can, someone must have it but it was rare then. 'Keit' is a nice large late mango. One of, if not the best late mango

Lychees--I had stock of 'Hakip'. 'Brewster' is was the standby but Hakip is as better quality with golf ball sized fruits-- no joke. My neighbors from Guyana, their eyes almost popped out of there heads when they saw the fruit.

You grow any Mameys? they are cool, also love the jackfruit too 'Black Gold' is a nice selection with smaller fruit. they are great eating green and ripe.

I could never get down withthe after taste on the Surinam/barbadoes cherrides but man, I miss growing tropicall fruit.

I used to have a Key lime, just loved it man, cook up some yucca with lime, garlic and butterr with a side of calaloo

Damn ready for a trip to Fruit and Spice, but most likely I'll be sitting next to the fire reading Julia Morton. maybe someday again....great thread, taking me down memory lane. Peace

 

[rambone]

get an ackee tree, shit is delicious

 

[Cindy99]

Jackfruit. Dried is yummy snack but up here only comes in a tin.

 

[Johnny Rotten]

Highsteppa,
Awesome, bro! Your lucky to have had those experiences. South Florida is the Amsterdam of tropical fruit. Carrie is on the list for sure and i've never heard of lemon saigon. I'll have to ask around. I don't have any mameys or have even tried it. I've seen a few around town and will most likely get to try one soon so i'll make the decision to grow on the taste test. I know what you mean about the cherries...i really dig sweet/sour so they are perfect to me.

Rambone,
I have looked into akee. I'm reluctant to get it because it is poisonous if not fully ripe and I have little ones around a lot. I'd love to try some Jamaican dishes with it, though.

Cindy99,
Jakfruit is ridiculous! I'm definitely getting one after trying it.

The last few weeks have been CRAZY. It has been five years of cold condensed into two weeks. I did alright. My yard looked like it was haunted by lighted ghosts.

I did add a few more selections to the garden; dwarf Nam Wa and Pisang Cylon banana, red sugar apple, tropic beauty peach, wonderful pomegranate. I have a few bills set aside for trees and will be going crazy in April.

 

[highsteppa]

Cool man, you in S. Fla? I love going to mango taste testing at Fairchild. If you ever get the chance you should go to David Fairchilds home its called the "Kampong" I think, down the road from the botanical garden. They have weird hours but it is sick.

also:
In 1954, William Whitman of Miami introduced a superior variety of longan, the 'Kohala', from Hawaii. It began to bear in 1958. The fruit is large for the species, the seed is small, and the flesh is aromatic, sweet and spicy.

They call this the "little brother" or "slave" to the Lychee but I guess some people prefer the longan....I saw the original I think it's still there, funny thing as Bill was telling us how much $$ his son made selling air layers off this tree another old timer mumbled in my ear how his son really made his $$ selling the other stuff they used to grow in homestead hehe

I had a large one on my property but it got too much shade to bear well.

Great to have a thread to talk tropical fruit trees, I'd love to see some pics, hoope that weather didn't make too much havoc down there. Peace