Allow me to simply apologize for the barrage of pictures
A big Thank You to Leo for generously hosting us in his amazingly compact backyard, thank you Simon (simon_grow) for putting this meeting together and making everything possible, it truly was an enjoyable day. The casts included Leo Manuel himself, Simon, two other forum members we met for the first time known as Gary (mangofang) &
Joe (JF), Eunice Messner chauffeured by Joe, Jim Neitzel & Frank (can't seem to recall but I think Jim mentioned Abbott)... and myself.
Simon will provide more details on the Q&A by members here at a later time.
Leo's marked Todo Santos wedge graft - multi-grafted tree
Todo Santos mangoes - we were told it's a Mexican cultivar
Moringa - not having much success in front yard
Longan - forgot to ask which cultivar
Passiflora coccinea?
Big jaboticaba tree right in his front porch - doesn't get nearly as much sun (in between properties)
Kensington Pride seedling tree & fruits
Leo's mislabeled "Carrie" seedling tree, I suspect it to be VP seedling - Jim also confirms my VP suspicion
Thomson T-1 mango - according to Leo, Paul Thomson preferred this mango many times over his other commercialized cultivar, Thomson mango.
"Florida sourced" Maha Chanok, multi-grafted onto the same rootstock as the T-1. That's his dilemma for not cutting the tree back to let Maha Chanok thrive
seedling mango tree
A massive seedling mango that Leo doesn't remember from which cultivar
another seedling selection that's multi-grafted onto the same tree as above
Multi-grafted seedling selections with Simon looking on
Nam Doc Mai bush
dwarf Keitt mango - this tree was allowed to fruit at a young age, doesn't seem to bounce back at all, it's now putting out even more humongous fruits ... poor tree
Jim, mangofang & Eunice admiring the multi-grafted Peggy mango tree ... Jim calls this Peggy tree "the always reliable"
grafted onto the same rootstock as Peggy, forgot which variety this is (U.P.)? This exposed to the element fruit doesn't seem to fare well
Brewster Lychee - only remaining handful of fruits are on the neighbor's side of the yard
One of the many seedling trees, though this one has not been grafted on yet. Bottom right hand corner in white grafting tape is a newly grafted Lemon Zest.
Kensington Pride mangoes, the actual KP mango -not KP seedling like his other trees
Leo in the midst of his backyard jungle
seedling tree's new growth - the colors are absolutely amazing in person
McDill white sapote, fruits in the cluster of 4 in the second picture are bigger than a large navel orange ... unreal
seedling rose apple from one of his other known cultivar, new growth on SoCAL sky backdrop
big macadamia seedling tree, planted just outside of his property line
Pink Panther dragon fruit - He told us but I forgot the actual crosses
Yellow Dragon - even though it hasn't fully filled out, still pretty big fruits for a yellow dragon
Leo's signature hybrid DRAGON TOMATO
San Ignacio (red) - this fruit is massive, the thumb scale doesn't do it justice
huge cherimoya tree's new growth after "severe" pruning - humongous leaves
mangofang, JF & Leo ... you can't really tell but I managed to get in under the low canopy of this Peggy mango to snap this picture - annoying paparazzi skills
Jim discussing plant matters with Eunice
small view of Leo's backyard jungle, left of the cherimoya tree is his Annona hybrid (Atemoya x Cherimoya)
fruits from seedling tree "seedling 3" & fruit of another seedling selection
Eunice's box of mangoes - Edwards, Thomsons & Carnivals
Kent mango knocked off the tree by accident, rock hard & still very green (outside the box)
Leo's favorite fruits
Leo's sampler basket - clockwise from top right: Peggy, Rose Giant, Rose Giant, seedling 11, Early Gold, Rose Giant (center)
Eunice & Frank in conversation with Jim(not in picture), JF staring at mangofang. Behind Frank is a multi-grafted Surinam tree
mangofang showing JF & Simon how big a hoop his long arms make, Simon's not impressed
Jim conversing with Eunice & Frank, with JF replacing mangofang in hoop making
Leo finally resting his legs after multiple tours. Simon, Frank & I arrived earlier...
Jim discussing poly mango seed with JF, mangofang & Simon
Pioneers of SoCAL tropicals - from left to right: Leo, Eunice, Frank & Jim
Group picture, seated: Leo, Eunice, Jim. Back row: Me, Frank, Gary (mangofang) & Joe (JF)
Group picture, seated: Leo, Eunice, Jim. Back row: Simon, Me, Frank & Gary (mangofang). Who's the better photographer? Simon or JF?
Leo giving our group a tour of his back yard
Jim showing Eunice & myself a seedling loquat, 1 of 4 seeds Maurice Kong sent to Leo & Jim.
lone fruit from seedling selection grafted onto turpentine rootstock. Leo uses turpentine as opposed to manila rootstocks, I forgot what his explanation to JF was.
top worked tree with Kensington Pride seedling. Notice the graft right above the rope tie? Branched out from the scion and fruited immediately. Fuyu persimmon in background
Fuyu persimmon
Jim showing Eunice a multi-grafted apricot tree
Leo's dragon fruit collection, there are WAY MORE pots than my camera can pan out at that distance. Can't take pictures from too far because they'd be covered by other trees
Gary questioning legitimacy of this PEGGY mango dropping on its own without my helping
Peggy mango with its unique and characteristic protuberance
Leo's generous gift