Has there been enough Mangosteen discussion

[bovine421]

I  actually learned quite a bit from not enough durian discussion. Has there been enough mangosteen discussion? Could Dorothy in Kansas feasibly grow mangosteen in a container and have it fruit in her Greenhouse. If so which variety or type would be best suited for her to grow.

[brian]

My mangosteen seedling has grown two inches in two years  I will report back in twenty years when it fruits

Seriously, though, I think I hurt it when I sprayed it with soap to kill the mealybugs chomping on it.  I just got a few more seedlings to try my luck.  I don't see any fundamental reason why it shouldn't be possible if they are growing bananas in Norway

As far as I know there is only one type of purple mangosteen

[Finca La Isla]

To fruit in a container you need to have a grafted mangosteen I figure.  I’ve seen it work here.  The trees are not very big while odd shaped with leaning tips.  Best to stake them.  Still, they fruit small at maybe 6-8’, perhaps 5-6 years old.
They are easy to graft, we’ve done several here although I don’t do them anymore.  I really don’t like the look of the trees but for a container....
Peter

[brian]

I had always read they are typically grown from seed and hard to graft.  I have no experience to back that up though.

[bovine421]

Are seashore mangosteen and lemon drop mangosteen true mangosteen? While looking for other tropical fruit trees I think I've seen those terms or names use

[brian]

No, my understanding is purple mangosteen is the only "real mangosteen" and the other garcinias can't compare.  I have only tried purple mangosteen, though (and it is fantastic, btw).  I'm growing seedlings of most the other garcinia types, including the two you mentioned, but I have no idea if they actually taste good.  Some are supposed to be pretty good (achachairu, lucs mexican garcinia, and cherapu/button mangosteen I hear are good).   They are all growing slowly but steadily for me.  Only the purple mangosteen is stunted. 

[fruitlovers]

Are seashore mangosteen and lemon drop mangosteen true mangosteen? While looking for other tropical fruit trees I think I've seen those terms or names use

The name mangosteen is often used for any fruit in the garcinia genus. But the true mangosteen is only Garcinia mangostana. Situation is similar to name mango being applied to anything that is in genus mangifera, but only true mango is Mangifera indica.

[Mike T]

Agree with Oscar on this and mangosteen discussions have been wide, deep and frequent on this forum. Past threads will no doubt answer most new questions.

[Gone tropo]

What I have found with mangosteen is that they are EXTREMELY sensitive to the harsh north qld sun, even the slightest exposure and the leaves scorch.  Once they are under shade cloth they are nice and happy.  They seem very easy to grow and are growing quite fast in my climate.

[bsbullie]

The sprawling nature of this thread is a good example why we dont need a separate ultra tropical category.

[bovine421]

Agree with Oscar on this and mangosteen discussions have been wide, deep and frequent on this forum. Past threads will no doubt answer most new questions.

Mike you're certainly right about that.  This forum is a live even. For the most part nobody wants to watch a sporting event from the past. Even though most subjects have been discussed to nauseam and Veteran forum members get weary from educating. There will always be new forum member who ask elementary questions and those of us who study at the Kent Gitter Wright Lieberry Who will distribute more bad information. Even though you've answered that question the umpteenth time you can't help yourself but to set the record straight. For that I give you many thanks.

[Finca La Isla]

Mangosteen grafts easily as do most garcinias.  I routinely graft female cherapu onto male.  I have successfully grafted garcinia prainiana onto g. lateriflora, and they had different colored sap, one while and the other yellow! 
Still, I’m a little unhappy with the growth patterns.  People say you need to use the actual tip on top of the scion tree.  How many can you get?  However, with a well developed mangosteen tree there will be large horizontal branches.  It’s possible to find a branchlet growing directly up from somewhere in the middle of the large horizontal branch.  That’s the desired scion material.
That’s how you can get a container grown mangosteen to produce. 
Peter

[brian]

Thanks Peter.  Is grafting these done mainly to improve time to fruit?  Rootstock advantages?  Propagating better varieties?

I've heard a lot of tropical fruit produces quickly enough from seed that grafting doesn't speed up the process much.  No idea about garcinias, though.

Ah, I just re-read your post... grafting female + male dioecious trees makes sense.  Hadn't thought of that

[Finca La Isla]

Grafting mangosteen is all about speeding up the harvest.  And they will produce fruit in a pot.  Maybe even in a 15 gallon pot but larger would be better.
Peter

[Mike T]

I have never seena grafted mangosteen fruit and have seen a few failures with adventitious roots.extreme weakness and delayed incompatibility. G.prainiana seems like a good rootstock and maybe it can work. They do marcot but it remains to be seen whether these will survive to fruition.

[Finca La Isla]

Too bad I don’t have a photo but I have seen a mangosteen fruit in a pot at Gary Zill’s nursery in CR.
I don’t recommend it but it certainly works.
If anything prainiana is slower as a seedling than mangosteen.
Peter

[cbss_daviefl]

I have a seedling in a 20 gal pot. How big are typical seedling trees when they start fruiting?  I have seen grafted trees in Puerto Rico. Any speed gained from grafting is paid 10 times in yield. Old grafted trees were runts next to the seedlings. They were super easy to pick from being short and bushy.