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Messages - 2manytoyz

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: August 01, 2012, 09:41:19 PM »
Not sure if that's a Glad or a Hefty banana, based on the packaging!

My buddy Barry has no idea what type of banana it actually is.  His wife did send me an email with this description:  "These are really good nanners, especially when dehydrated, sweet with a little tang - you will never like regular bananas again. These get a little tinge of pink inside when ripe."

Maybe that'll narrow them down a bit.

Getting ready for a camping trip, so had to pick a spot and stuff the poor nana tree in the yard somewhere.  I plan on changing up the landscaping near the shed.  Gets good sun during the day.  The grass will be taken out of beside the shed where the lone nana tree is living, and the area mulched.  Maybe get a row of them growing, with space between them and the shed to keep things under control.


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Thanks Tim.  It's coming together slowly.

I planted the baby Zill mango between rain showers the other night.



I'll clean up the edges of the border when the weather cooporates, and I get some time.  Busy trying to save the older ones right now.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: August 01, 2012, 01:14:31 PM »
I shared the story with a coworker.  This is what I found at my workbench today:



Guess now I have a real banana tree!  Plant it tonight between the rain showers...

Thanks gang!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: August 01, 2012, 10:53:42 AM »
Yea, not sure their fate just yet.  Since these are on the back edge of the property, not a high priority.  I'll cut them back some for now to clean up the area.  I might take them out later.  They're hiding in the shadow of a very large ficus tree, and behind a couple of palms.  Out of sight for now.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: July 31, 2012, 10:10:51 PM »
Thanks for the offer. I'm still trying to ID everything on the property. "Somewhere" there were Cavendish bananas, but they may have died since 2008.  Then again, I might be looking right at them thinking they're some other tropical plant.  I'll keep cleaning up what's left and maybe ask for more help IDing what's here.   Wife says we have enough things already planted for now.  ???

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: July 31, 2012, 09:51:21 PM »
I just Googled "white bird of paradise plants".   :-\  Explains why there are no bananas!  Had no idea those would grow so tall.

Thanks for the quick ID.  I would have been very disappointed waiting for my nanas!   ;)

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: July 31, 2012, 09:45:10 PM »
I've had bird of paradise plants before, but those were 4' tall.  These are about 25' tall.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Neglected Cavendish Bananas
« on: July 31, 2012, 09:35:00 PM »
Spin off from my last post.  Bought a house late last year, previous owner neglected all the trees.  Got some good advice on the citrus trees, and that's in work.

Tonight I dug my way back towards the woods near the creek and found what I believe to be the Cavendish Bananas that are supposed to be on the property.  Going by the date written in the shed, these were planted in 2008.



No fruit at all.  Some signs of old flowers (lack of the proper term, I'm sure).  Looks like they need to be cleaned up, and FED.  Should these be thinned out some too?

Sorry for the newbie questions.

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At my first house on Merritt Island, I bought a 1962 home with a dozen grapefruit trees.  Ironic since I don't like grapefruit.  But I did sell plenty of fruit.  The trees were 35-40 years old before finally dying off. 

This week I purchased a Zill mango, and already planted it.  I have a Glenn mango and a variegated pink lemon tree that'll be planted in the next day or two.  I'm making sure I have enough foot print for all the fruit trees presently growing.  I hate pulling up an existing tree, unless it's dying.  I like the other citrus, just not a fan of grapefruit.  If a tree has to go, the marsh grapefruit is first on the list.

I have an Oak tree in the middle of my backyard that will be taken out.  The base is maybe 10" in diameter.  As it gets bigger, it'll threaten the pool enclosure.  I have 3 FULL sized Ficus trees near the creek on the middle of our lot providing plenty of shade in the back of the yard, so the Oak isn't needed.

First pic is near the creek, looking towards the house:



Second pic is closer to the landscaping island put in by the previous owner.  It's slowly falling apart, so it'll be removed, along with the tree.  That should free up plenty of space in the backyard for USEFUL trees.


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A couple more pics from tonight.

Close-up pics of the navel orange.  Look like leaf miners to me.





Close-up of the grapefruit:





Off to Home Depot tomorrow.  Time to get these trees healthy!

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I'm still a newbie at this, but take at look at the trees that have mulch, versus those without.  Those with mulch look much greener, with new growth.  The ones with grass all look bad.  I'lll take a close up pic of some of the leaves later. 

The soil is likely the same throughout the yard.  They all receive the same amount of watering.

The ones with mulch already will have the mulch pulled back from the tree to let it breathe.  The ones that have grass will have the grass pulled up by hand (not that big of deal, avoids any chemical or burning from plastic issues), and I'll use the same red mulch use in other areas of our landscaping.  It's marked as being safe - no toxic dyes.

Went by Rockledge Gardens last night to buy more mango fruit (maybe out in a week), and to confirm our order of two mango trees.  While there, we bought a variegated pink lemon tree that my wife has always wanted.  The Glenn & Zill mango trees should arrive later today.  Saturday I'll make a trip to Home Depot to pick up more mulch, fertilizer, etc.

In the meantime, I did a dance in the yard when I spotted a mud snake (harmless):





Part of the fun of living on a tropical island!

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So I'm thinking I need to pull some grass and maybe put down some mulch...   ;)

Okay, on my list for Saturday morning, thanks again!

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Good info, thanks guys!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / New house - neglected citrus trees (pics)
« on: July 25, 2012, 08:52:01 PM »
Late last year we bought a house on N. Merritt Island, FL.  Nice place, and the previous owner planted a number of citrus trees.  Some apparently already died.  The remaining ones need to be pruned and fed.  I put fertilizer spikes around the base of each tree, but it's obviously not enough.

Here's what I'm working with.

Key Lime:


Lemon:


Marsh Grapefruit:


Mineola Tangelo:


Navel Orange:


Ruby Red Grapefruit:


Most are showing some signs of improvement.  The navel has some partial new growth.  The tangelo and marsh look terrible.

Anyone have a good game plan to start with?  We've had plenty of rain, and I plan on fertilzing the lawn and trees this weekend.  Been busy working on the house, now ready to tackle the lawn.  I'm thinking of plucking the fruit, trimming out any dead branches, and low branches...

Thanks for any feedback.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Introduce Yourself
« on: July 25, 2012, 09:53:09 AM »
Hi all,

We found out about this forum after attending a mango seminar by Joe (Mangoman2).  We moved to Merritt Island, FL, late last year.  The previous owner had planted a number of trees, according to the 2x4 header in the shed:





After searching the property, I've come to the conclusion that the mango and banana trees must have died.  The other trees are alive, but obviously have been neglected.  I'm working on feeding/pruning/spraying the remaining ones.

We also have ordered a Glenn and Zill mango trees. 

Neither of us care much for grapefruit trees, so these might end up being replaced, especially since they're in rough shape.

We have a 0.66 acre lot, but about half of it is conservation area, so nothing can be done with it.  The upside is NO neighbors behind us!  Very tropical here on the island.  Recently planted a pineapple as well.

Looking forward to learning and sharing.

Robert & Dawn

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I need some help on Mango tree’s that you can grow in pots. I have been for years giving seminars on growing mangos in the yard or grove, but now would like to teach about the varieties that can be grown in pots and indoors.


Joe,  the wife and I attended your seminar at Rockledge Gardens on Saturday... Excellent informantion, thank you!  I had only eaten store bought mangos in prior years.  Stringy, flavor rather bland.  Didn't understand why some people go nuts over this fruit.  I then bought some from S. Merritt Island.  Wow, what a difference.  We attended the seminar, and had planned on buying a couple of trees right then, but with such a good turn out, it was a feeding frenzy when it came to picking out trees.  I got with Steve at Rock Grdns and put in an order instead.

I've since shared this forum's address with friends/coworkers.  I'll make the copies of you pamphlets too.

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge!

Robert & Dawn

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