The Tropical Fruit Forum

I think it's a bit creepy eating a banana where a relative was scattered, but I'll probably want my ashes scattered in my yard too.

i recently purchased some mexican cream guavas at an ethnic produce market.  their label tells me they were "treated with irradiation."  i was thinking of starting a couple dozen seeds and wondered if the irradiation will affect the seed viability. 
it is my understanding that irradiation is an anti-fruit fly measure.  does anyone have any knowledge of the levels of radiation involved?  if the radiation level is high enough to kill fruit flies, is that high enough to kill plant germ material in the seeds?  will the radiation increase the chance of mutation (frankenguava?)?
more questions than answers!
i guess the first thing is to plant the seeds and see if they germinate.

Just so you know, Lowes here in s. Florida is selling Mexican cream guava plants some already flowering for $8.00. I bought several.

Patrick,

kaew lerm korn is a daytime soap in Asia, I think BK is pulling noses.

There is delayed graft compatibility with certain rootstock and scion combinations.

Yup, I see it every once in a while. My Pickering has a rootstock is twice the girth of the pickering scion, it looks weird. You would think that after all these years there would be more knowledge gained from things like this. But perhaps in the case of the pickering, this could be what influences its dwarf characteristics?

For you folks living in south Florida, these guys in Pompano beach are just off the interstate and near the turnpike and have 50 lb bags of sulphate of potash and more.

http://universalsupplycorp.com

My little pickering hasn't grown much (if any) since I bought it ~2-3 years ago. Last fall I looked it over closely and while the existing leaves were pristine, the leaf buds erupting from the stems were all dried and dead. Since then as prophylactic measures I've alternately sprayed copper and neem after rains and today there are finally many new healthy leaves and a couple of flower flushes.  My watering and fertilizer regimen has not changed.

What could have caused bloom die out?

I want to diversify my tropical fruit tree collection and interested in white sapote.  I already have mangoes, avocados, bananas, and  papayas. 
What cultivar do you recommend?   I only plan to plant one tree at this time.  Do they need another pollinator?   

I am very worried about potential systemic disease problems so my plan is to diversify.  Other possible plants to include are dragon fruit, loquat, and malberry.

Loquat and mulberry are trouble free. My mulberry produces a lot of fruit. I have two loquat, the Christmas flowered a lot in previous years but never set more than one or two fruits till this year and I think it's because I hand pollinated every night.

I've heard a lot about white sapote not liking wet feet, well my SES2 doesn't like wet, or dry feet because in the years it's been in the ground it has had a complete die back to bare stems a couple of times per year with me trying to find a balance of water and fertilizer. If I didn't have this much effort in it, I'd pull it and put a Jabo in its place.

I've read a bunch and seen a lot of video on grafting, but not specifically much about rootstock selection for mango grafting.

Q1. Is there as "superhero" preferred cultivar to use as global rootstock?
Q2. Do any cultivars used as rootstock have dwarfing influence?
Q3. Do scions from a polyembryonic tree do best with a rootstock from a polyembryonic parent?
Q4. Same question for monoembryonic
Q5. Can you mix poly/mono scion rootstock with impunity?
Q6. Does disease resistance / susceptibility of a rootstock impart any good / bad qualities to the scion?
Q6. Are there any preferred rootstock(s) for soil types and or weather conditions eg. sandy, clay, soil moisture, salt resistance etc.?

There's a wealth of knowledge dedicated to the graft union and above, but little to none (that I found) on the Q's above.

I've noticed that on some of mine too. I attributed it to water uptake after a rain.  Like you I'm not selling... jeez, I don't even get to eat many neighbors get them before I do.

Since I got her at Benders, she dropped a bunch of leaves, guessing from the cold. Still debating on where to plant her or keep her in pot, need to do a bunch more research and questions till I decide as my soil is very alkaline.  So either gotta figure out how to bring it down enough to keep her happy. Watering is not a problem as where I plan to plant her has a hose feet away.  I noticed today a BUNCH of new growth, and some peeling on the main barks (not sure if that means a good thing or bad thing) What is the expected final container size for a mature Red Jabo and how often does it need to be repotted once mature? At what point would you attack it with the shears to prune it? Wait for this growth to fully flush before nipping branches?

I went to Benders recently and bought a pair of smaller bushy blue and red jabos and they did not defoliate (they're in the ground) and I'm ~30 miles north of you. I'm thinking maybe it wasn't the cold but it wanting a re-pot. Have you pulled it from the pot to check the roots?

My tree gets it every year -- fairly badly actually. I just ignore and I still get prodigious crops.

Yup, +1.

My 3 trees all get it and it just flakes off and the trees produce heavily. If your tree is dying I doubt that's the cause

I'm in Osceola county and can't seem to find a source of compost besides mushroom compost.

Lowes has a "Cow manure / Compost" that I use. It's less than $2 per bag.