The Tropical Fruit Forum

I love Macadamia Nuts as well. So much better than the store nuts by a factor of 2 to 3 at least. Enclosed is a photo of my (10) year old Beaumont Macadamia nut tree with ripening fruit. The tree is orentimantal as well.

I also love mangoes but they are much more of a challance to grow. Not for the faint of heart.

Avocado and citrus are California stapes that every grower in this area should have. 

Johnny


Beaumont Macadamia Nut Tree (8-10-2023)

Hey Kaz,

I have a Butterscotch Spaodilla in the greenhouse that is 42" tall. I recently moved it into a larger #7 Pot. Will keep this one in the greenhouse for at least one more year to maxamize growth.

The tallest Sapodilla Tree I have in the Ground is my Multi grafted Tikal-Alano-Venezuela that is about 8' tall. I also have a Molix in the ground that is about 6' tall. There growth habbits are quite different. These were planted in the ground in 2020. (See two Photos)

Johnny



Tikal-Alano Sapodilla Tree (8-10-2023)



Molix Sapodilla (8-10-2023)

For the benefit of our California growers I thought I would post a few phots of some mango trees showing various rootstock. The goal is to select robust rootstock to increase tree vigor. A healthy root system is a healthy tree. Our mango loving frends in Florida have no such problems but here in SoCal it is a issue because of our cool winter and spring tempatures.

The first (3) photos is a Selected Ataulfo seeding I started two years ago and is green house grown. I just took it out of the container to Up-Pot to a larger #15. As you can see from the root system is is very well developed. This tree is excellent rootstock for grafting.

The next photo is my grafted Orange Essence mango tree grafted to a strong ataulfo that I just moved to a larger #25 pot in Spring. Even after harvesting (6) OE scions from this tree in mid July it still is putting out a good flush now. This tree grows well at my location with no disease issues.

Next is my young Dot mango Tree. I just planted this in the ground in 2022 from a #7 pot and it just flushed. I did have some dieback in spring from this tree but I just cut out the die back limbs and it seems to be recovering well now.

Next up is my five year old Lemon Zest Mango Tree on Ataulfo rootstock. It is currenty starting a new growth flush. The rootstock is fine but the issue I have with this variety is the constant attack of Powerdy Mildew (PM) with this variety. For this reason I am in the process fo topworking this tree. Orange Sherbet thus far has no disease issues and is a attractive mango tree so it is a much better choice as is OE with even faster growth.

The last example is my 0-15 mango tree on manila rootstock. I grafted this in 2020 to a very small tree at the time and planted it in the ground in 2021. This seems to have grown well and just finished it's first flush. The rootstock is strong and long term I am optomistic. There are no disease issues at all.

Having strong mango rootstock and good draining soil gives you a fighting chance in the early years of growth.

Johnny



Two year old Ataulfo Seedling Tree for Grafting (8-12-2023)


Ataulfo Lower Rootstock (8-12-23)


Ataulfo Lower Rootstock Exposed (8-12-23)


Orange Essence with new flush (8-12-23)


Young Dot mango tree with New Flush (8-10-2023)


0-15 mango tree on Manila rootstock (8-12-2023)


Lemon Zest on Ataulfo (8-10-23)

I like Down to Earth organic fertilizers but any good quality one should do fine.

My Sweet Tart tree is not quite flushing yet but will hopefully do so later this month. The Tree will likely only get one good flush this year. Wish we had Miami weather for a few months as that would help with our growth of subtropicals. It's cloudy and moderately cool this morning in Huntington Beach.

Johnny

Looks good Johnny, but the new leaves are showing micro lockout. You could add some sulfur to help lower the pH into a range the tree prefers.

ST does have thin skin and can crack closer to ripe, but splitting early is usually calcium or boron related.

Sulfur application is likely a good idea from time to time to keep the ph in check. I do it more frequently with my Macadamia trees which are much more sensitive to a ph of 7.5 or higher.

I started to apply Azomite to all of my trees now so there should not be any major issues with micronutrients hopefully.

The Sweet Tart leaves you referred to are from last year's (2022) summer flush. When the new flush starts soon those old leaves are likely to start dropping off. The problem for SoCal and my location is the cool spring and mild summer temperatures we have. Thus far this summer has been mild with an average low of 65 and a daytime high of 80. This moderate Mediterranean climate is not ideal for growing mangoes. My sweet tart mango tree will get only 1-2 flushes per year at most which is why my mango trees are so small relative to their age. Oh Well.

Johnny

I agree with you on the Lemon Zest Mango Tree. Even with regular spraying the tree gets powdery mildew and deformed leaves. In the process of top working most of this tree but will leave a few branches of LZ to see what happens in future years. Wish I would have originally grafted a Maha Chanok to this rootstock.

My Coconut cream grows very well with no disease issues but after seven years and no fruit is also being topworked.

All avocado trees grow great at my location here in SoCal.

Johnny

My Peach Cobbler mango graft from 2020 is holding fruit this year. Hopefully, they will mature in September. Flowering is no problem with this variety at my location.

As seen in the attached photo, the Peach Cobbler mango graft is on the Right side of the tree, has grown aggressively, and now makes up for 50% of the tree on Kent rootstock.

Johnny



Peach Cobbler graft with developing Fruit (7-15-2023)

Thanks for the very useful information Galatians522.

I have small Fruit Punch fruit developing on one of my Mango trees from a three-year-old graft. They are about the size of a walnut now but hopefully, with consistent summer heat, they will ripen by late September or early October. FP grows very well at my location. I would describe it as a Med-High vigorous growth here in SoCal.

Johnny

I am surprised my three-year-old lychee trees ( Mauritius and Brewster) appear to be holding some fruit. I planted both of these trees in the ground from #15 pots in the summer of 2020 and as you can see from the two photos there is some small fruit holding. I was told by much more experienced lychee growers here in SoCal that it takes seven years for a lychee tree to start to produce fruit.

Since I am relatively new to growing Lychee trees it is normal for three-year-old trees. Any feedback would be helpful.

Thanks

Johnny

(Mauritius Lychee Tree 7-9-2023)


(Brewster Lychee Tree 7-9-2023)

I am growing over 25 varieties of mangoes and evaluating which ones have high and medium vigor. It's a long-term learning process. Listed below are my estimated high vigor varieties. But keep in mind this may change with more time and experience growing. Note: all of my mango trees are on Manila or Ataulfo rootstock. No turpentine due to lack of vigor. The soil is sandy loam with 10% pumice. No heavy or clay soil as this reduces the growth rate and vigor.

I do everything I can to increase vigor and that starts with the soil type then moves up to the rootstock and finally the cultivar. All are very important to maximize mango tree growth in my opinion.

1.  Cotton Candy - Just moved to a larger #25 pot and thus far is growing very well. The root completely filled the smaller #15 pot after only one year.

2.  Fruit Punch - Every graft I have done has grown well. Even the 2022 graft onto my Lemon Zest mango tree is trying to hold fruit. Will remove the Fruit Punch fruit to focus on vegetative growth for the young graft.   

3.  Guava - My 2020 Guava graft is now over 1.5" thick and holding numerous fruit. Appears to be vigorous.

4.  Lemon Zest - After a few years in the ground this takes off vertically.

5.  Orange Essence - Appears to be a strong grower. (Orange Sherbet is of Medium Vigor but a more attractive tree.)

6.  Peach Cobber - Every PC graft I have done has grown well.  So far so good. I also have fruit set from a 2020 graft.

I need more time to ascertain with other cultivars have vigor. This list almost certainly change with more experience growing mango trees in California.

Johnny

Interesting your Coconut Cream mango tree died. I live near the coast too and my CC grows quite well. I constantly have to trim the tree to maintain form and control vigor. This issue I have will Coconut Cream is production or lack thereof. I have about 40% of the tree top worked to Seacrest which has grown well from a three-year graft and now has fruit on it. (See 1st photo)

Lemon zest has grown well for me. My five-year-old tree is now 9-10 feet tall. (See 2nd photo). Still no fruit yet but I am willing to give this variety more time but just in case I have already added Peach Cobbler and Cotton Candy grafts.

Johnny



(Coconut Cream-Seacrest Mango Tree 6-29-23)




 (Lemon Zest Mango Tree 6-29-23)

I will give you my experience based on reliability and Fruit quality here in California.

Note: Trees should be at least five years old with strong rootstock and sandy loam soil, not clay for best growth.

Angie:  This precocious mango produces very well at my location and tastes wonderful. I love this mango.

Val-Carrie:  I am impressed with the consistency and production of this mango in SoCal. (See my attached photo from late June, much young fruit)

Sweet Tart: Patience is a virtue with this variety. At seven years my tree is loaded in 2023 (See Photo)   

Mallika:  I liked the fruit from 2022 and again it is productive, This is grafted onto the same tree as the Val-Carrie. (see photo)

Fruit Punch:  My three-year-old graft has numerous fruit sets in 2023. I need more time for evaluation but so far it's looking good.

Guava: Also looking good with a nice fruit set.

Seacrest:  My three-year-old graft is holding a number of fruit. We will see on this one. Need more time.

Here are the duds at my location:

Coconut Cream:  My seven-year-old tree has no fruit. Who knows maybe at 10 years it might start producing. The tree does grow very well though.

Nam Doc Mai:  This tree blooms constantly but has mediocre fruit quality, avoid in my opinion.

Johnny



Val-Carrie and Mallika Mango Tree (6-29-23)




Sweet Tart Mango Tree in Early Summer

Just wanted to do a quick shout-out for Phelipe as the mangos I received today were excellent.

Box was mailed out on Monday and I got them today in California on Wednesday. Box weighed 18 pounds 8 oz with a total of 21 mangos. (See Photos)

The lower left is Super Julie. The upper left mangos are Maha Chanok. Pina Colada is middle top and Fruit Punch on the Middle lower. 0-15, Cotton Candy and Coconut Cream are on the right. A few others were added as well.

Really looking forward to trying these. Will save and plant these seeds as well. What a deal. You get killer fruit plus small trees as well.

Thanks again for the fast shipment and beautiful Mangos.

Johnny



Mango Box Received (6-28-2023)




Various Mangos (6-28-2023


Various Mangos Close Up (6-28-2023