Why don't more people grow rare and exotic fruits?

[BonsaiBeast]

Ive lost track of the number of people telling me they grow "apples and oranges" on their Southern California properties. Many of these people are sitting on acres and acres of land. They are self-proclaimed gardeners and describe their interest in planting out an orchard on their property. Yet when it comes time to choose the plants, they opt for the most common, ubiquitous fruits trees, like apples and oranges. Like many people have bragged to me about their lemon tree :/

So my question is, what is the reason for this lack of diversity? Do people simply not know these other fruits exist? Are they perceived as too much work? Is it an ethnic barrier?

I'd be very curious to hear forum members' thoughts and personal experiences with these pseudo-gardeners   (just poking fun a bit)

[brian]

I advise anybody who doesn't seem highly motivated against growing fruit.  Bugs attack everything.  Deer girdle trees.  Birds and squirrels steal all the fruit.  Pollination requirements.  Pruning.  Tree height.  Fallen fruit mess. 

[BonsaiBeast]

I advise anybody who doesn't seem highly motivated against growing fruit.  Bugs attack everything.  Deer girdle trees.  Birds and squirrels steal all the fruit.  Pollination requirements.  Pruning.  Tree height.  Fallen fruit mess.

I'd agree with that. But I don't understand how people who are willing to put in the energy and commitment to growing their own fruit would settle for the stuff they can buy at the store.

[poofystuff]

Maybe that is what they like? I could grow lots of tropical fruit that is commonly talked about on this board, but I have tried many of them and did not care for a lot of them. I like most types of apples, so if I could I would much rather grow them even though I can get them at the store. No point in growing items that I don't care to eat.

Other thoughts are that they are ignorant to them existing. Up until last year, I had no idea what a jackfruit, lychee, soursop, etc. were.

[BonsaiBeast]

Maybe that is what they like? I could grow lots of tropical fruit that is commonly talked about on this board, but I have tried many of them and did not care for a lot of them. I like most types of apples, so if I could I would much rather grow them even though I can get them at the store. No point in growing items that I don't care to eat.

Other thoughts are that they are ignorant to them existing. Up until last year, I had no idea what a jackfruit, lychee, soursop, etc. were.

What are some examples of exotic fruits you did and did not like?

[brian]

Java plums are awful.  Jujubes are inferior to apples.  Breadfruit is gross.  Soursop is meh.  Star apple is mediocre.  Sapodilla is too sweet.

I love sapotes but my wife didn't like them, same with surinam cherries.  I love jackfruit but my brother says it smells awful. 

I tried a ton of different types of bananas in India and still like Cavendish the best.

[BonsaiBeast]

Java plums are awful.  Jujubes are inferior to apples.  Breadfruit is gross.  Soursop is meh.  Star apple is mediocre.  Sapodilla is too sweet.

I love sapotes but my wife didn't like them, same with surinam cherries.  I love jackfruit but my brother says it smells awful. 

I tried a ton of different types of bananas in India and still like Cavendish the best.

How do you feel about lychees and longans?

[Das Bhut]

people prefer what they grew up with, so it's boring fruit or nothing at all

[Cythompson159@yahoo.com]

I just got into this a few years ago, I have 20 trees now and it is a lot of work. Many needing different fertalizer sand pruning and watering or not watering at different time it’s tough. I asked my self why I didn’t start earlier. I know I could not of done it right when I had young kids and was younger. It would to to hard to focus on that when having the younger lifestyle with family, friends and sports being what is more important to. E when younger. Wish my trees were more mature but glad I waited!!

[SeaWalnut]

Apples are most common but i have one thats red fleshed,a pink fleshed pear,paw paws,Ugni,Feijoa,Gevuina,Guamuchile,Cheimoya ,etc.

[Ulfr]

Most of the common (here) fruits are popular for a reason. There are some tropical fruit that I prefer like atemoya, jacks, lychee and mango while others like banana I think of as an everyday common fruit. In saying that there are a lot that struggle to compete with a good peach or apple for me.

I grow a lot of tropicals for interest, variety and the challenge but if I was growing for calories/output I would be have a lot more of the staples. If i couldn't head down the local shop and buy apples, mandarins peaches etc whenever I wanted my orchard would look very different.

[gnappi]

Here's my two cents...

I grew up in the northeast U.S where the most exotic fruit was cherries and oranges.

I moved to So. Flo in 1976 and by the early 80's "discovered" mango, banana, and sugar apple.

Not knowing when to pick them, the sugar apple had ripened fruits that became infested with ants. The banana died for not having enough water (remember there was no internet for advice back then) and while the mango (an odd small one called "peach mango) grew to huge proportions and while I liked the mango my ex became a PITA about dropped fruit and vermin (2 and 4 legged) taking it.

Fast forward to 2009 (post divorce) I planted my yard with many fruits and am now enjoying them. Thanks to Gardenweb.com and most of the members who moved here, I had sufficient information to have some moderate success.

So I'll say I "get" why peeps don't grow tropical fruit and I'll say ignorance of varied selections are the main reason. And BTW, many who have never tried the more rare tropicals have little exposure to them in a retail environment and the few they sampled like Brian above...

"Java plums are awful.  Jujubes are inferior to apples.  Breadfruit is gross.  Soursop is meh.  Star apple is mediocre.  Sapodilla is too sweet.
I love sapotes but my wife didn't like them, same with surinam cherries.  I love jackfruit but my brother says it smells awful.  I tried a ton of different types of bananas in India and still like Cavendish the best"

I see why some don't "get" it :-0

I doubt a tree / plant ripened starfruit, Jabo, pineapple, lychee, canistel, sugar apple, guava, persimmon and more picked from a private collection would get a meh response from many.

 

[Johnny Redland]

Java plums are awful.  Jujubes are inferior to apples.  Breadfruit is gross.  Soursop is meh.  Star apple is mediocre.  Sapodilla is too sweet.

I love sapotes but my wife didn't like them, same with surinam cherries.  I love jackfruit but my brother says it smells awful. 

I tried a ton of different types of bananas in India and still like Cavendish the best.

I can understand your POV on everything except breadfruit. I’ve never heard of someone not liking breadfruit. Two me that’s like saying French fries taste gross. Very uncommon, but I get where you are coming from because me and my good friend have opposing tastes when it comes to most tropical fruit

[gnappi]

+1 on dislike for breadfruit, and while I no longer eat "fried" potatoes I did relish a huge basked of French fries.

[brian]

To be fair I only tried raw breadfruit.  I understand it is usually cooked.

A lot of taste is subjective, so you cant really fault people for their preferences.  Most people simply don’t get excited about fruit like we.  Lots of people drive boring cars, too.

[Oolie]

If you have the time, the local CRFG chapter has a booth at the county fair. We have volunteer opportunities available.

[sahai1]

for anybody who doesn't like breadfruit... I understand why, but 99.9% you haven't had it picked or cooked it properly.  Who tried to eat it raw?  ew.

breadfruit basics

- it is ripe for picking when you see dried sap all over the fruit, it is bleeding from the stem down

-basic recipe

quarter the breadfruit removing rind and core, steam for 1 hour.

cube the breadfruit and fry with butter and basic seasoning

Follow the picking rule, and this recipe, then come back and comment that you don't like breadfruit.

[FMfruitforest]

Born and raised in swfl and I just learned about all the rare tropical fruits within the last two years. I had never heard of or seen most of them.I think most people don’t know about them or have yet to try the fruit.

[WGphil]

Many people haven’t heard of Jaboticaba  or auchacharu

And haven’t tasted them either as all are familiar with oranges and apples

[johnb51]

Trees are Creation's (God's) great gift to this planet.  They make our life here possible (producing oxygen).  But they're taken for granted, and many see no value in preserving what's left of old-growth forests or fully functioning forest ecosytems.  As far as growing your own fruit, for most of us who frequent this message board it's a HOBBY!, and hobbies do require deep interest and passion to overcome the challenges.  When you're successful, you derive immense satisfaction.
Even with common store-bought fruit what you might grow yourself is many times better.  With tropicals you need an open mind and a little patience because they can be an acquired taste unless you grew up eating them.  (But not liking sapodilla or soursop?  That seems pretty crazy to me, like not liking chocolate.  Kind of rare.)

[Tropheus76]

As said people grow what they like to eat. If they like apples and live in an area that will grow them and have a little patience they will grow them. Around here people who can grow mango because lots of people love mango. I grow a bunch but I am not crazy in love with them and only can eat a few slices at a time and give the rest away. I love figs so I grow a bunch of figs and channel a lot of effort into growing them better.

More exotic stuff I might grow because I heard it was good and I finally got it to fruit and don't feel like ripping it up but am not heartbroken when it dies or go out of my way to save them. June Plums and tropical apricots are good examples. I love apples so I have a variety of them and push the limits of what I can get to fruit even trying crab apples. I have a few citrus trees just because. Too much work. I am getting more into flowering trees lately to try and help with the bee situation.

[Daintree]

My thought would be lack of exposure to exotic fruits, and an inexperienced palate. My greenhouse contained only the standard stuff that I had tasted in grocery stores until my wonderful daughter-in-law, who is from Cameroon, started talking about all the delicious fruits she remembered as a child. 

When we started traveling a lot internationally, I began seeking out some of the things I had heard about, and trying things I had NEVER seen or even heard about, and suddenly I was hooked. On the fruits, AND the hunt! 

Now, I don't know which is more enjoyable - tracking down and successfully cultivating something rare and tropical (I am in zone 6, so NOBODY grows this stuff around here...), or eating it, when I have succeeded in producing fruit.  There is no high like walking barefoot through the snow to the greenhouse, then casually popping a jabo in your mouth as you walk through the misty warmth of the arboretum.  <sigh>

Carolyn

[brian]

Another thing... grocery store fruit if wildly unpredictable.  If you grow the same variety yourself you know it is fresh.  I've thrown away so many bags of bad tasting apples and oranges from the store.

And breadfruit may be delicious fried, but so is every other starch      I like fruit I can eat right off the tree.  That's why I'm not growing avocados.

[Johnny Redland]

My thought would be lack of exposure to exotic fruits, and an inexperienced palate. My greenhouse contained only the standard stuff that I had tasted in grocery stores until my wonderful daughter-in-law, who is from Cameroon, started talking about all the delicious fruits she remembered as a child. 

When we started traveling a lot internationally, I began seeking out some of the things I had heard about, and trying things I had NEVER seen or even heard about, and suddenly I was hooked. On the fruits, AND the hunt! 

Now, I don't know which is more enjoyable - tracking down and successfully cultivating something rare and tropical (I am in zone 6, so NOBODY grows this stuff around here...), or eating it, when I have succeeded in producing fruit.  There is no high like walking barefoot through the snow to the greenhouse, then casually popping a jabo in your mouth as you walk through the misty warmth of the arboretum.  <sigh>

Carolyn

I like everything about this post

[kingoceanos]

For me personally it's more of a climate issue, I live in zone 8b so citrus is fairly easy except for the occasional hard  freeze. I want some more avocados but few are cold hardy and actually taste good, I have some but I am looking for more of the less well known Mexican avocados.