The Tropical Fruit Forum

I'm thinking of growing Meyer lemon, Kaffir and Calamnsi in front of my house to block out South sun that shine into the window and head up my office. The area is about 8' x 8'. Can I grow these trees 3' away from my window?

This is the mess I need to clear up and replace with the citrus tree as Fig did not work out in my area and the peafowls are enjoying the figs too much.

So, I have two Longan trees that's too close to each other, the left one is Biew Kiew and the right one is Kohala:


They are about 1.5ft apart:


So let me explain how this happen:
Early 2017 I planted the Kohala (right) and it was the only Longan tree I grew. Then when Hurricane Irma came, I dug it out and move into my garage. After the hurricane, I put it back into the ground. I didn't know Longan doesn't like to be moved so it never recover well, and at some point it only had 3 leaves on the tree, and the trunk were dry and brittle. I thought it's not going to make it.

Fast forward to early 2018, the Kohala still didn't recover. I was at the nursery and saw the Biew Kiew. I think Biew Kiew taste better? Anyway, I bought the Biew Kiew, put it into the ground next to the Kohala thinking that the Kohala will die in the summer so didn't bother to dig it out. As of right now, they both grew really well and the Kohala bounce back become more flush than the Biew Kiew.

My question is, if I leave them the way it is, would it be okay? For how long before the trunk of each tree will hit each other? If I really really really have to scarify one tree, which one do I keep? I don't have any more space in my yard for the extra longan tree.

Hi everyone,

I have a 2 years old Mauritius and 1.5 year old Sweet Heart lychee that I sort of semi-neglected as I was focusing on learning to top/prune mango the past couple months. I recently just found out that it's recommended to prune lychee after fruit (i.e late June to mid July, in Florida). My lychee trees are too young to bear fruit so I have been letting them to do their own thing, well, that kind of back fire a bit. From what I read, lychee trees should have bush and spread out canopy, and maintain at no more than 15ft when it gets mature. So those are my new goal: to create as bushy shape canopy

Here are my problems (please ignore the lawn around the base of the tree, I normally clear the lawn at the base of the tree but I'm behind my lawn maintenance, and I will put more compost/mulch around the base these few days):
Grafted sweetheart current shape (leaning to one side so I try to tie and make it stay erect), 3 ft tall


I will clear the lawn at the base up to the drip line and put mulch/compost:


Sweetheart lychee learning, will the tie correct it in the future?


The sweetheart just finish pushing out new flush and almost turn dark green, is it too late for me to prune 4" off the new flush to create a more bushy tree for next year?


My biggest problem is the Mauritius, it's about 5 ft. No new flush, but I'm not happy with the shape/structure of the tree:


I will clear the lawn to the drip line and put mulch/compost:


The branch is all over the place dangling and spreading, I tried to tie them together to make them more vertical:


I don't now how the trunk get to this shape, it probably was leaning all over the place and I tried to tie it back straight so over time i just curl:


Top view of the Mauritius, and my biggest concern:


So if you were me what would you do?
1.) Too late to prune Sweetheart to make it bushy for next year? If it's okay to prune, just snip 2-4" off tip of each end?
2.) How should I prune the Mauritius to create a more vertically supported trunk?
3.) Should I pug the Mauritius? Where would be the cutting point (I never pug a tree before).

Any help would be appreciated!

I read conflicting information. One site say between July to Sept, another site list Jan - March. I picked one off my tree last Sunday and it has become rubbery now instead of soft. The avocado I picked was 6oz. Is there any sign to look for to gauge if the avocado is ready to pick?

I have a 2 year old Wurtz Avocado that fruit for the first time this year. As of right now, only 10 fruits are hanging on the tree. I collected some that fell on the ground and they look perfectly healthy:



A couple weeks ago there were 50-80 pea size avocado. I don't have experience growing avocado so can anyone comment on what could go wrong?

I also notice there is a lot of new branch/foliage grow while the fruits are growing. Could this be nutrient competition between foliage and fruiting? What would be the common practice, like cut off new foliage grow until fruit mature? Or this won't be a problem until the tree is established and older?

Thanks!

Hi,

I have a 1.5 year old Wurtz Avocado that I bought from Excalibur and planted in ground since late 2016. I'm surprise it start to flower right now, and it's about 4-5 ft tall, I'm in Lake Worth area:




I wanted to ensure good pollination, so I look into and learn the Avocado flowers. I stopped by Excalibur last weekend, spoke with Richard and Mike, I was told their Wurtz is Type AB. They just tell me it's sell pollination and couldn't say much. I have been google and can't find any type AB Avocado reference.

Anyone know what to expect with this information? Like there will be male and female flower open at the same time in the morning or afternoon for pollination? This is the standard chart for Avacado:



Also, to increase pollination, I saw in youtube that people spray honey water on avocado flowers to attract bees/ant, one guy even put rosemary sprigs around the tree to attract bee. Can anyone confirm if any of these will work? I tried to use brush to hand pollinate but it's impossible as the flowers are so tiny, I knock a few flowers off the stem while brushing.

Thanks!

Moses