The Tropical Fruit Forum

Anyone have durian seeds available now? 

Has anyone tried any that are any good?
My friend just sent me some durian snacks and Lychee "pop rocks".  Neither had real fruit in them, but the durian had powdered durian flavor and it had the scent  of durian.  It also gave me the usual durian scented returns (burps) afterwards.
The Lycheee pop rocks were fun as expected, but i couldn't say they had any lychee flavor to them.

Any suggestions for what to do with the jackfruit flavoring?

Not only is it a great tasting fruit, the flowers are pretty too!

Some friends gifted me with some of my favorite fruits from their trees- rambutan, mango and sapodillas. Yummy!

Hey all- I am not sure if anyone has posted this yet, but we just got ours and tried it out.  Works great- it took less than 2 minutes do open.
Called a Coconut Husker  (www.coconuthusker.com)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152051164663961&set=vb.69243778960&type=2&theater

Went picking today- a couple namwah bananas, grapefruit, starfruit, peanut butter fruit, Criollo lime, sugar apple, rollinia, "bakupari" garcinia species and jackfruit (seedling of a Dorado Gold).

My seedling Kwai Muk has started flowering.  Some are little round balls, some look a bit more elongated.
Is there a way to know which are male and female? Do they look different?

Cashew from seed.  It has flowered for the last 3 years but this is the first time for fruit.


Black Gold jackfruit...also from seed.  First year fruit has developed (lots of male flowers previous years).


One question on the jackfruit....since it is from seed, the tree is tall.  I topped it 2 years ago but it shot up  20 feet in a few months.  Now that fruit is developing, can I top it or should I wait until the fruit is ripe?


Gotta love Spring!  Other things happening:
pineapples are getting ripe.  I have 4 raised beds and have about 40 fruits coming along. 
Pitangatuba  and Grumichamas are coming along in fruit.
The Soncoya is just breaking dormancy and the flowers will start opening very soon- time to get ready to pollinate.
Vanilla orchid is in flower, but flowers are too high up to pollinate this year.  Still drying last year's beans.
The grapefruit is all in flower....the yard smells wonderful!

Finally, one of my soncoya fruits has ripened.  I noticed I could see the orange inside at the stem part, like it was loosening from the tree.   I didn't want it to drop onto the ground later, so I picked it.  It is still hardish, but it gives a little more than it did last week.
I read I need to let it ripen a few days after picking....is this true?

I will post inside fruit pictures when I cut it open.  I am very excited to taste this one, it will be my first.  And it was a long time coming!

I have some new trees to put in and want some opinions.
Is there any advantage in grouping similar types or even families close to each other?

I have a new mangosteen and another garcinia- is it better to put them close to the other mangosteens and garcinias that I am growing for possible increase in pollination?
What about the mangos- better closer to other mangos?

I assume yes, but then a friend suggested to make separate groupings in case something infests one group, some may be safe elsewhere.

Earlier this year, as part of a trade,  I received from Florida some new trees.  USPS Priority mail took 8 days to get here, but due to the excellent packing (no easy feat since these were good sized trees!), they all did fine.
A Bradenton Loquat- already in flower!




And because I refuse to accept mangos don't like living in a rain forest, I got 5 beauties:
Coconut cream on left, Lemon Zest on right

Carrie on left, Pickering on right

 The Lancetilla was a little touch and go, but now it is happy.

I love raspberries and assumed I wouldn't be able to grow them here.   But found this guy a at the San Sebastian market (a little north/east from Maricao) selling all sorts of "northern" fruits that he said fruit here.  I have no idea of the variety, but this is its second fruiting this year.  Next time I am out that way, I will pick up a few other things from him!

Hoping for some fruit this year.  Quite a few bloom buds.  The tree seems to make the buds in the fall and then they sit all winter. Like all the annonas,  they are just now shedding their leaves, and then the buds will open. I guess this is normal, since it happened 2 years in a row.  It is just a long wait to see those flowers!
Flowers look like soursop flowers, except they are pink.