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Messages - stuartdaly88

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26
Looks like mine.  Supposedly mine is V. infausta.
Brian infausta has lighter green leaves and the are velvety making them matte while Madagascarensis are darker and shinier:) flowers are very similar but do look different a bit

Infausta leaves


My Madagascarensis is bald now cauz it's mid winter unfortunately

27
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help: wax apple won’t flower
« on: July 06, 2018, 06:14:07 PM »
You may have a seedling or you may be trimming off the new growth where the buds form on wax jambus.
Do buds form on current year growth or last year's growth?

I pinch of new growth on mine because it's every leggy, maybe that is inhibiting flowering :'(
Also a seedling. Do seedlings only usually flower when huge?

28
Looks like my Vangueria madagascarensis :)

Iv had mine flower two years now and no fruit, compared to similar size Vangueria infausta who fruits no problem. I wonder if it is self pollinating or not?

29
My in ground marulas were taller than that in one year, but not as thick of a trunk.  They love the heat and sun.  The dryness doesn't bother them.
I have always bonzaid this one a bit lots of pruning and tipping :)

30
This one is about 5 years old from seed


Middle of winter and it's very dormant now but last night we were like -1C and no damage. I find them to be fairly hardy way more so than bananas which my top leaves got fried.

No flowers yet but I bet if this had been in ground and not getting root bound while growing it would be much much bigger:)

31
So, how is one supposed to separate multi seedlings from a single seed?

Yes, I have gotten all the seeds inside the stone to germinate. Don't break the shell open and try to plant the seeds, just carefully pry out the "lid" over each "eye". I scraped the shell with the blade of my pocket knife until I could locate the eye, then pried the lid off each one.  Once you get the lid off, you will notice that there is a papery membrane over each seed. You don't want to break that membrane.  A pocket knife blade works really well. Poke the tip into the crack between the lid and the shell, but not too far.  Just a tiny bit. Then pry.  Think of it as opening a REALLY full paint can, and trying to carefully pry the lid off without spilling or touching any paint. I ruined the first seed, but once you get the hang of it, it is easy.

Carolyn


Just let them grow and separate when they are a bit bigger. They have a large almost tuberous tap root and I found them pretty easy to separate once the stems go slightly woody.

32
lots of variation in fruit size, shape color and flavor...some definitely taste better than others.  Not what I'd consider a sweet fruit, I compare them to passion fruit, which can be acid to acid-sweet.  Also it's important to realize, timing is everything with this fruit.  The first fruits of the season don't taste as good as mid season, to late season fruits (at least here in FL), and if you get them too early, they are no good, and if you get them too late, they are even worse...so you have to get them at the perfect time, for best flavor...you can even eat several fruits off the same tree and notice slight variations in flavor.  I think they are best for juicing, smoothies, or ice-creams, it appeals to more people that way.

Thanks for the info Adam:)

I still have some plants I grew from seed you gave me a few years ago. Hoping for flowers soon!
Gave a couple to friends around the country. Wonder if these are the only specimens in South Africa?

You must the the father of many of these plants around the whole world by now 8)

33
Any new news on the tastiest of cactus?

I just got seeds of:

Stenocereus martinezii
Stenocereus pruinosus
Stenocereus thurberi
I have some nice stenocereus queretaroensis already (thanks to Nullzero ;D )

Myrtillocactus geometrizans
Carnegiea gigantea
Polaskia chichipe

Heard the polaskia may be pretty good:)
Also wondering if hybrids of the different Stenocereus would fruit? Surely there must be amazing fruits stenocereus hybrids out there already? But I couldn't find any info.

One last thing I'm wondering is about micro grafting cactus. I've seen on cactus groups pics of people grafting tiny month old seedlings and cutting the pain of slow seedling growth time down big time. Any One tried this? Any hints and tips?
I'm keen but also don't want to waste and kill new baby cactus out of impatience!
 

34
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Edible cactus plants
« on: June 26, 2018, 02:58:12 PM »
Cactus are in the Cactus Family (Cactaceae). Be aware that cactus is part of
the common name of some species in the Spurge Family (Euphorbiaceae).

A cactus fruit is a berry, which is defined botanically as a fleshy fruit with
a thin skin derived from a single ovary. Grapes, tomatoes and blueberries are
also true berries.

Berry is misapplied in some common plant names, such as strawberry. The fleshy
part of a strawberry fruit is the receptacle, and the "seeds" on the surface
are the actual fruits termed achenes. Raspberry, mulberry and blackberry are
aggregate fruits derived from numerous ovaries.

I doubt all 1,000 to 2,000 species of cactus have edible fruits or fruits that
would be worth eating. Some cactus species, such as peyote (Lophophora
williamsii) and San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi), are notorious for
their hallucinogenic properties. Fruit of such hallucinogenic cactus would be
inedible.

There are several species that do have fruits worth eating including prickly
pear (Opuntia spp.), Cereus spp., organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus spp.),
hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus spp.), barrel cactus (Ferocactus spp.) and
Barbados gooseberry (Pereskia aculeata).

Indian fig (Opuntia Ficus-Indica) is probably the most widely eaten cactus
fruit. http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2004-03/1079479405.Bt.r.html

Old thread but just thought I would add that hallucinogenic cactus fruit are 100% edible and without any of the notorious compounds :)

Peyote fruit is tiny so not worth growing specifically for fruit but it is tasty:)

Fruit is just under 1cm on a grafted loph


I can't wait for my cactus species with larger fruit to try:)

35
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Dovyalis hybrid (tropical apricot)
« on: June 07, 2018, 04:30:29 PM »


Caffra and good tasting
Do you know if caffra normally developd thorns while in seedling phase or only later?
I keep waiting for thorns to develop and mine are many months old with many leaves and branches?

Abit of topic but have you ever come across wild apricot? Ancylobotrys capensis it's closely related to Landolphias and I believe it's native to your neck of the woods?
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/ancylobcap.htm

I would kill to get my hands on some seeds!

Update on this, my plants are full of hectic thorns now!
These thorns are really big and these would make a good security hedge!







36
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Dovyalis hybrid (tropical apricot)
« on: June 07, 2018, 04:13:29 PM »
So many Dovyalis species! I'm only growing the indigenous ones since that's what I can get but can't wait to try them! Mine have not flowered yet but hopefully not too long :) I have:

Dovyalis caffra
Dovyalis zeyheri
Dovyalis longispina
Dovyalis rhamnoides

Wonder if any of them can cross pollinate?

37
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wax Jambu anyone?
« on: June 02, 2018, 06:00:00 PM »
**Rant alert!**

Sorry, but this is a subject near and dear to my heart because I spent months last year trying to get a fruit I used to eat when I lived in Thailand.  Over there, the English name was Rose Apple and the Thai name was Chompoooooooo.  Well, here in the US a rose apple isn't a rose apple, but maybe a chompoooooo is a Jambu?  (I think the last few comments illustrate this point where people are talking about rose apple on a thread about Wax Jambu.)
Anyway, I've included a picture of what I used to eat in Thailand below.  I took this same picture with me to Bender's Grove last year and showed it to him without naming it.  He said, "Oh that's a Malay Apple, I have one."  I replied, "You sure it isn't a wax Jambu?"  He said, "Oh, different people call it different things."  This is exactly the same thing I found online – it's just a jumbled mess.  It's not like this with mangoes.  People talk about mango varieties and they are different, but with syzygium, they all sort of get lumped together and it creates confusion.  For example, I might talk about my experience with the fruit pictured below, but somebody else may have had WJ that's smaller, green and doesn't taste the same.  I think this is one of the problems with WJ not getting a lot of love on this website.  Also, it seems that there are different varieties of each syzygium that aren't named or differentiated.  When I looked at TT website last year for WJ, there was one variety for sale, but the pictures looked liked maybe 5 different varieties – again, more confusion.   :(
What about the guy from South Africa that says he loved WJ in Thailand, and then says Rose Apple doesn't taste the same?  If WJ is called Rose Apple in Thailand, how does he know he has a WJ?  Am I wrong about the picture below?  Is it a WJ or a Rose Apple?  Does it just depend on what country you live in?  I wish sunny from Udon could look at the picture and give some feedback.
Anyway, the stuff I had in Thailand was crisp, light, refreshing and a pleasure to eat.  Especially when it was 100 F in Bangkok and all the cement everywhere makes it feel like you're living in a pizza oven.  My advice to the OP is get your plants/seeds from Thailand if possible.  Good luck!





Dude I just bought the fruit I didn't ask what they call it I'm English and don't speak Thai.
I have had rose apple in SA it is small pale yellow with thin flesh and hollow with a seed, it tastes like rose water not a bad novelty fruit but not something I would plant with limited space.
What I refer to as wj that I had in Thailand was large red and definitely Syzygium samarangense and also much better than rose apple IMO.

My only point was that what what gnappi was referring to sounds like what I know as rose apple(aand the name fits the taste) and not wj. What is an awesome fruit imo

38
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wax Jambu anyone?
« on: May 31, 2018, 07:24:06 AM »
I'm a bit surprised to see as many liking the WJ as I'm seeing here.

I've only tasted two different WJ but of all the many other fruits I've tasted, the WJ and cocoplum are two I don't get. Eating a WJ I taste what a rose smells like if that's clear and just a hint of sweetness. On the opposite side of the coin the cocoplum is sweeter but has no taste to me.

To me there's many fruits (that are not susceptible to fruit fly like the WJ is) to grow in the space, but there must be something redeeming in the WJ that eludes my palate.
What you speak of sounds like rose apple to me thin flesh with rose flavour. I never have gotten a rose water flavour from wj.

39
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Suggestions on how to use comfrey
« on: May 25, 2018, 09:20:13 AM »
I use it as a green pot mulch works great:) just roughly rip up by hand and spread over soil:)
It breaks down very fast

40
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Wax Jambu anyone?
« on: May 25, 2018, 06:35:22 AM »
I loved this fruit in Thailand!!!
I can't wait for my tree to produce but it hasn't even flowered yet:(
I find them.quite hardy my bananas were frosted bad but wax jambu didn't even feel a thing last year:)

How big do they need to be to fruit?



41
I still have quite a few plants from seeds you sent me :)
They were slow to start but once they got to a certain size growth has been fast. They more than doubled size in less than a year.

One thing though is mine especially on the new spined growth blush very red compared to the wild pics. I hope they fruit earlier than 10 years!!!

2017

You can see them on the top and bottom left mostly


Currently pretty much a year later










42
Yeah they are hard to contain but weeding and harvesting are done in one so it's great ha ha


Try this site they really have a massive database and they are focused on temperate and colder climes more than tropical or subtropicals :)

43
I didn't know it could grow from seed!! I would love to see the flower.

Do you not get the ".Add image to post" link to the left and above the box that you write a post in?


44
Not a fruit but have you tried Jerusalem artichoke? It's a decent tuber imo and very pretty flowers like daisy sized sunflowers. Only problem is the are very tall over 6ft and spread like crazy. I would be interested to see how they do in a container like a 50L crate I'm sure they would work well.

How short is your warm season and how cold do you get?
Hmm annual fruits are not super common I can think mostly of solanum family stuff. Cape gooseberry is great but pretty tart for me.


45
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Aeroponic Propagation
« on: April 22, 2018, 08:46:11 AM »
Things I would like to try since they haunt worked with soil cuttings and I'm not sure they are able to:
Black sapote
Eugenia like cherry Rio grand, pitangatuba and Surinam
Wax jambu
Lucuma
Citrus
Tamarind
Annona
Garcinia
Jabuticaba
Marula
Elaeganus
Jackfruit
Starfruit
Catha edulis

46
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Aeroponic Propagation
« on: April 22, 2018, 08:25:05 AM »
I just got an aeroponic propagater. Does anyone have experience with these? Do you still use hormone and at what concentration? Do you apply to to the water or direct to the cutting?

Will this work on all woody cuttings or Will some plants just refuse to root from cuttings no matter what?

I have quite an array of PGRs. IBA, NAA, IBA-K, 6-BAP, Kineten, GA3 etc are just rooting hormones best to use or aux in, cytokinins and giberellins?
What about npk in the water?
Or something like seaweed extracts for natural hormones?

47
What about what the cannabis growers refer to as "going hemmy) or is going hermaphrodite more likely with an annual than with a tree? I had thought that certain female Garcinias were able to produce some male flowers. If I recall Im sure Adam from flying Fox fruit's G.livingstonei had some male flowers on a female plant. SO is it not possible that in dioceous Garcinia sex can be a bit of a spectrum?

48
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Chayote - Sechium edule
« on: March 15, 2018, 02:26:48 PM »
My wife got some of these from a colleague who said you plant the hairy ones but she put them in the fridge would this have killed the embryo?


49
Raul have you still got any of the large fruit seeds left?

50
I want to try root in but with an airstone. I have read accounts of even cut roses being rooted like this without any hormone(they hardly ever root in water) I think the air is what makes it so successful. I saw this trick initially from cannabis cultivators ha ha

My plan is to get a small fish tank with two airstones running in the bottom then make a lid that can hold the cuttings upright in the water.

How thick branches do you think? I also want to try with pitangatuba as I only have one plant and that is scary.

I built an aeroponics system (cut end hangs down into the air in a sealed container and warm water is misted onto the cut end for short periods of time at short intervals)... I had a high success rate with vegetative and woody cuttings from several landscape shrubs and perennials that I wanted lots of... Similar to this:



There are a bunch of commercially available "cloning machines" based on aeroponics, but I built mine using a Home Depot HDX storage box, plastic pots and foam cells from a hydroponics store, an aquarium pump and heater, 1/2" pvc pipe for the misting matrix, and misting heads from amazon.  The most expensive part was the short interval timer - I could set it to 30 second misting every 5 minutes (or so):



Might be time to resurrect it to see how it does with pitanga and others.
Awesome set up!
Please post your results if you do:)

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