The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: coyote on December 02, 2019, 10:47:17 AM
-
Hi All I'm creating this thread to document my success and failures growing tropical and sub-tropicals in Wisconsin. I realize this topic might only have limited interest for those who live in tropical areas, but I hope that it can be a resource for those who decide to try and grow these plants outside of their comfort zones and serve as a source of encouragement. I have up to this point grown all my plants in pots and moved them outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter where I use supplemental lighting in the form of Compact Fluorescents and LEDs. I'm starting this thread now because now 5 years in I am starting to have success fruiting some of these plants.
-
Nice, what have you got? I am having good success with citrus and a mango in my greenhouse with only sunlight, no added lighting. I got a bunch of true tropicals this summer, so far so good.
-
Sign me up! I have had some awesome successes, as well as some spectacular failures...
Carolyn - Idaho, zone 6
-
hi guys glad to hear there's at least some interest...and I'll post a quick running list a little later after I run around town a bit...I've put together a post on my first fruit here in a sec...
-
Lemon Guava (P. cattleyanum var. littorale)
I started some Lemon Guava from seed a little less than 3 years ago back in January of 2017 and the seedling that I kept has produced 7 fruits for me in a two gallon pot. It's in need of an up-potting which I will try and do in the spring at which time I will probably prune it back to promote branching and keep it at a manageable height.
(https://i.postimg.cc/JHxcdVF9/20191128-081255.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/JHxcdVF9)
I've enjoyed the fruit which tasted to me (in my very limited experience) like a mild slightly sweet lemon flavored pear with a hint of that typical guava flavor.
-
I have a red cattley guava that is has just started its first fruits, and a yellow that needs another year or two but is growing quickly. I have never tried cattley guava, looking forward to it.
Daintree, what were your spectacular failures?
-
what I'm currently growing:
*Note I've put seedling next to plants trees not because they are still seedlings, but to note that they were grown from seed
Phoenix dactylifera Date Palm Seedling
Adansonia digitata Baobab Seedling
Punica granatum Pomegranate Seedling
Citrus × sinensis Moro Blood Orange Seedling
Carissa macrocarpa Natal Plum Seedlings
Ficus carica Common Fig (Ischia)
Ficus carica Common Fig (Olympian)
Hylocereus guatemalensis Dragon Fruit (American Beauty)
Hylocereus Hybrid Dragon Fruit (Edgar's Baby)
Psidium cattleyanum Strawberry Guava Seedling
Psidium cattleyanum var. littorale Lemon Guava Seedling
Eriobotrya japonica Loquat Seedlings
Coffea canephora (robusta) Coffee Robusta
Cereus repandus Peruvian Apple Cactus
Ugni myricoides Black Chilean Guava Seedling
Ananas comosus 73-50 Pineapple
Plinia cauliflora x aureana Red Hybrid Jaboticaba
Mangifera indica Pickering Seedling Mango
Mangifera indica Angie Seedling Mango
Eugenia brasiliensis Grumichama Seedlings
Psidium guajava Common Guava (Waiakea Guava Seedlings)
Citus junos Yuzu Seedlings
-
Failures:
-Anonna Fruit: I've tried my hand at growing a number of anonna fruit from seed from cherimoyas to sugar apples to atemoyas along with a few others. I have struggled to get them past the seedling stage when they get stuck in the helmet head stage (sprouted but with the hard seed coating still attached) and seem unable to force the seed coating off. Not sure if this is an issue with old seed or my growing conditions, but I've had this issue time and time again. The second issue and the nail in the coffin for me is that besides summer the few plants I've managed to get past this stage (a cherimoya and an atemoya) have really struggled. They've put on a little growth during the summer and then died that winter or next spring, I feel like I haven't been able to give them the conditions they want. I'm open to any suggestions.
-Starfuit seedlings: They seemed to either get sun burnt or to not be getting enough light and eventually died
-Banana passionfruit: While it grew very well on my porch in the summer it always suffered in the winter where it seemed like it was either getting too cold or not enough light and was constantly plagued by spider mites who ignored pretty much every other plant except my plumeria...decided to give it a chance in the garden where the rabbits promptly ate it to a stub
-The numerous things I've failed to sprout from seed (bananas, star apples, star fruit relatives, a number of passiflora)
Partial Failures:
-High sun low moisture plants: While I've technically kept my dragon fruit plants and baobab alive they've struggled outdoors where they are getting too much rain and indoors where they are not getting enough light
-
brian: Nice to hear you're having success with citrus...even with supplemental light they really seem to suffer for me in the winter
daintree: I'm also interested in some of these spectacular failures...I agree from the general sentiment that you learn more from failure than you do from success
-
My dragon fruit cactus is in my greenhouse where it is extremely high humidity and has been doing fine.
I have started two batches of cherimoya seedlings, simply using seeds from a grocery store fruit. Of the first batch I started a year or so ago only one seedling is still alive but it is growing slowly but steadily. I just started another batch of seeds and they don't seem to have any issues with seed coat, I have a ton of seedlings now. I also have a grafted El Bumpo planted in-ground in my greenhouse that is growing very well.
For citrus, my trees were constantly being set back by cottony cushion scale, plus I would occasionally forget to water containers or find that they soil had gone to muck and they drowned. So I have some container citrus that are six years old but only a little bigger than they were when I bought them because of repeated setbacks. However, as soon as I eradicated the scale (using systemic insecticide) they started doing great, and the ones I planted in-ground in my greenhouse have TRIPLED in size in one year. I set up drip irrigation on a timer so I don't have to water manually.
All of my container trees are outdoors during the warm months, and in heated greenhouse in winter. I've just started experimenting with growing small seedlings in my basement under grow lights. So far they grow about the same as the ones in in the greenhouse.
What I've learned so far is:
- aggressively fight scale
- automatic watering is great
- free-draining soil is incredibly important, peat is bad
- rootmaker pots really work as advertised, but they must be thoroughly saturated when watering to avoid permanent dry areas
How is the Peruvian Apple Cactus fruit? I had never heard of it, looks like dragon fruit without the flair
-
hmm maybe it is an issue with my seeds being too old as all the seeds I've tried to grow have come second hand and may have sat around for a while...the next time I can get a hold of good anonna fruit I'll have to try again
yea I've had to learn which plants need better draining soil the hard way
as for Peruvian Apple Cactus fruit I haven't had it yet but I've heard good things...I would guess mine is about 3 years away from fruiting
-
I wish my name was Brain.
Interesting thread.
kj
-
Sorry this is so long. I started looking at my plant list and said "Holy cr@p!"
Here is what I have now, and more or less, they are all doing great. And these are the “adult” trees unless indicated, 2-8 years old, in 15-25 gallon pots. Some struggle a bit in the winter with the shorter days. I do have supplemental lighting, but it probably isn’t enough for some of them.
I don’t move them in and out, since I had a horrible time with pests getting into the greenhouse, the 20 gallon pots are so flippin’ heavy, the squirrels ravaged everything, and when they go out, there is not much shade for them, and at almost 3,000 ft and not a cloud all summer, many just curled up and died.
Of all the trees, the ones that seem to flourish the best are the annonas, eugenias, and solanums. My greenhouse is about a third to half shade.
Aleurites moluccanus Kukui / Candlenut
Ananas nanas Pineapple, dwarf
Annona musicata Soursop
Annona reticulata Custard Apple
Artocarpus heterophyllus Jackfruit (seedling. About 5th try. CANNOT keep these things alive!)
Bixa orellana Annatto
Caparis spinosa var. inermis Caper
Casimiroa edulis Sapote, white
Chrysophyllum cainito Caimito
Cinnamomun zeylanicum Cinnamon
Citrus 8 different varieties
Clausena excavata Pink wampee (seedlings, doing well)
Cnidoscolus aconitifolius Chaya, spineless
Coffea arabica Coffee
Cola acuminata Monkey cola
Curcuma longa Turmeric
Cymbopogon citratus Lemon grass
Dacryodes Edulis Bush Butter / Plum / Safou
Eugenia brasiliensis Grumichama
Eugenia neonitida Pitangatuba
Eugenia uniflora Pitanga
Ficus carica Fig, Celeste
Glycosmis pentaphylla Gin berry
Gynura procumbens Longevity spinach
Hylocereus undata Dragonfruit, red
Mangifera indica Mango, small yellow
Microcitrus australasica Finger lime and red lime
Morinda citrifolia Noni
Moringa oleifera Drumstick tree
Musa acuminata 3 dessert banana varieties
Opuntia ficus-indica Tuna
Pachira aquatica Malabar chestnut
Pentadesma butyracea Butter tree
Persea americana Avocado, Fantastic (dying)
Plinia cauliflora Jaboticaba
Plinia edulis Cambuca
Plukenetia conophora Nigerian walnut
Pouteria campechiana Eggfruit
Prostanthera rotundifolia Australian mint bush
Psidium guajava Guava, Mexican red
Psidium striatulum Guava, narrow leaf
Rollina deliciosa Biriba
Saccharum officinarum Sugar cane
Sclerocarya birrea Marula
Solanum betaceum Tamarillo
Solanum quitoense Lulo
Solanum sessiliflorum Cocona
Spondias dulcis Cas mango (planted from seed in March 2019, blooming like crazy!)
Strychnos pungens Monkey orange
Synsepalum dulcificum Ledidi
Syzygium jambos Rose apple
Talinum triangulare Waterleaf
Tamarindis indica Tamarind
Theobroma cacao Chocolate, criollo
Theobroma cacao Chocolate, forastero
Theobroma cacao Chocolate, trinitario
Vanilla planifolia Orchid, vanilla
Vernonia amydalina Bitterleaf
There are several trees that did ok for a while (1-2 years), then just faded away, or failed to thrive. I don’t really know what happened, so can’t provide any guidance. Most of them I have tried and failed more than once. I try three times, and if I still can’t get one to thrive, I throw in the towel. Usually I would try from seed, and also an older purchased plant. Some of them are supposed to be ridiculously easy to grow, and yet I still have not had success. Makes me think it is a lighting problem, since that is the one thing I can’t increase easily.
Allspice
Carob
Lychee
Jackfruit
Macadamia
Papaya
Mango
Mangosteen
Tea
Carob
Avocado (the one listed above is probably on its way out…)
Some plants I got rid of because they were rampant, or had aggressive vertical growth habits and threatened to escape out of the top of the greenhouse.
Ice cream bean
Cherimoya
Njangsa
That's about all for now! Traveling to the tropics in January, so who knows what I'll drag home this time!
Cheers!
Carolyn
-
Wow Carolyn...Holy crap indeed! Your list is very impressive and with plenty of things I didn't expect to see. I especially wasn't expecting all those tropical nut trees and I had to look up Njangsa. White Sapote, Cambuca and some species of Theobroma are on my list of things to try soon. You can also add Papaya and the more uncommon members of the Solanaceae family to the list of things of failed to grow despite trying.
oh and nice catch kevin :) I've edited my mistake
-
Butter Tree and Monkey Orange are new to me too, any reason you have a more African species than the average grower?
-
Ah yes, rare African trees, my accidental specialty...
My wonderful daughter-in-law is from Cameroon!
She tells me stories about the trees she grew up with, and I started hunting them down.
Now, I do a lot of business with Forest House Cameroon.
The grandkids go bonkers when they get to eat fresh fruit, and their mommy says "I ate that as a child in Africa".
The disadvantage is that she can't help me at all with cultivation tips - where she is from, they basically harvest fruit as bush food, or just throw some seeds down and let nature take its course.
I have had a devil of a time sorting out pollination on a lot of these! Trial and error and error and error...
By the way, if anyone wants some 2-3 ft tall cacao seedlings in the spring, I will be selling some of mine, cheap! All three varieties.
Of course, you'll need to pollinate with a jeweler's loupe and tweezers, but its worth it!
Will also have some Spondias dulcis seedlings. Just can't ship in the cold weather.
Cheers from frozen Idaho,
Carolyn
-
You'll have to post some pictures of your greenhouse.
Cherimoya got too big? Are they known for this? I know ice cream bean is supposed to get huge, and I don't recognize the third one.
I tried fresh cocoa nibs twice and didn't much like them, despite liking really dark chocolate. I think they really benefit from processing into chocolate.
-
Yeah, the Cherimoya (from seeds I brought back from Peru, which may have been the problem...) just shot straight up, and every time I pruned it, the suckers went straight up really fast. i tried weighting the branches, like I did successfully with the soursop and custard apple (which are blooming right now...), but it just would NOT stay down at a logical height.
Same with the ice cream bean. Very upright in growth. The Njangsa I really hated to let go, but in nature it is a HUGE tree. Sometimes you can train them down, and sometimes a giant tree is just going to be a giant tree.
I have been really happy with the "trainability" of a lot of them. I have some ebony trees going right now (they are not on the list since they don't make fruit...) and am going to grow them to ceiling height then cut them down so my hubby can carve walking sticks out of them!
And yes, I will post up some pics of my greenhouse! Just put new bark on the floor, so it looks all neat and tidy for a change.
Carolyn
-
Yeah, the Cherimoya (from seeds I brought back from Peru, which may have been the problem...) just shot straight up, and every time I pruned it, the suckers went straight up really fast. i tried weighting the branches, like I did successfully with the soursop and custard apple (which are blooming right now...), but it just would NOT stay down at a logical height.
Same with the ice cream bean. Very upright in growth. The Njangsa I really hated to let go, but in nature it is a HUGE tree. Sometimes you can train them down, and sometimes a giant tree is just going to be a giant tree.
I have been really happy with the "trainability" of a lot of them. I have some ebony trees going right now (they are not on the list since they don't make fruit...) and am going to grow them to ceiling height then cut them down so my hubby can carve walking sticks out of them!
And yes, I will post up some pics of my greenhouse! Just put new bark on the floor, so it looks all neat and tidy for a change.
Carolyn
What type of ebony trees you have?
I grow african black wood ,Dalbergia Melanoxyllon wich its not an ebony( a persimmon) but it is the real deal that egyptians called ebenum and the pharaoh sceptrum was made of.
If you are into precious wood then there is one that also makes fruits ,the pink ivory tree from Rhamnaceae.
Also there are somme nice fruit trees that are ebonys and the fruit its good and unknown outside of Africa.
-
Here are a few pics of my greenhouse. It is hard to get good shots because everything is just jammed in there, but I did my best!
If anybody is ever in the area, please stop by!!
(https://i.postimg.cc/21mRHYHy/Exterior.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/21mRHYHy)
The exterior. You can't see the length, but it is 40 ft long by 20 ft wide. My hubby built the deck this summer! It attaches to the bar (pizza oven is out of sight on the right...).
(https://i.postimg.cc/dDdxgXZy/Orangerie-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/dDdxgXZy)
From the porch, you enter the orangerie through the sliding glass door.
(https://i.postimg.cc/5Qck65Ty/Orangerie-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5Qck65Ty)
(https://i.postimg.cc/qt5FdHG8/Orangerie-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/qt5FdHG8)
(https://i.postimg.cc/hXMwpdzZ/Orangerie-seating-area-and-furnace.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/hXMwpdzZ)
This is where we have a glass of wine in the evenings!
(https://i.postimg.cc/jLbFTXyk/Tropical-1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/jLbFTXyk)
From the orangerie, you enter the tropical house. The main furnace is on the back wall.
(https://i.postimg.cc/LqXW78j9/Tropical-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/LqXW78j9)
(https://i.postimg.cc/hfLNQwSB/Tropical-3.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/hfLNQwSB)
(https://i.postimg.cc/68Bgr03G/Tropical-annonas.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/68Bgr03G)
I tried to get a shot of the custard apple and sour sop.
(https://i.postimg.cc/vgxNY2PC/Tropical-birds-and-pond.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/vgxNY2PC)
You can see my watering pond, and the "bird nesting tree" that my sister and I built out of concrete. Scout is perched outside the top nest bit, keeping an eye on "his girl".
(https://i.postimg.cc/30gfp4QB/Cat-and-quail.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/30gfp4QB)
Laila the cat has discovered that the greenhouse is full of "edibles"! She watches the quail for hours!
(https://i.postimg.cc/qzV9R0Hw/Hei-hei.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/qzV9R0Hw)
Hei-hei, the little brat! With his "help", I get half as much done in twice the time!
Cheers,
Carolyn
-
That looks really nice, thanks for sharing.
I have to ask about the parrotts, are they free roaming in the greenhouse or caged normally? I have always wanted to get a pair of small parrots and let them live free in my greenhouse, but I read they are highly destructive and chewers. I am worried they will both destroy all my fruit and chew through the greenhouse wall and escape. I was also thinking about getting a quail as they are less problematic
And what kind of bird is that? I don't recognize it with the pink color.
-
Both the pink and brown birds are Bourkes Grasskeets. Larger than budgies and smaller than cockteils, and distantly related to both.
They live free out there, along woth the Chinese painted quail. The Bourkes are gentle and fairly non-destructive, although they love seedlings. They are seed eaters, but do like sprouts.
My seed starting all happens in the orangerie, and they can't get in there because of the screen door.
They dont chee on the polycarbonate at all.
The quail have totally eliminated all the creepy crawlies out there! Watching one find a centipede and run around with it while the other chase him, ignoring the other centipedes, is just hilarious!
Carolyn
-
Thanks, I will have to look into that.
I have some toads and a treefrog that I assume take care of larger bugs, and a pitcher plant for small flies.
-
What type of ebony trees you have?
I grow african black wood ,Dalbergia Melanoxyllon wich its not an ebony( a persimmon) but it is the real deal that egyptians called ebenum and the pharaoh sceptrum was made of.
If you are into precious wood then there is one that also makes fruits ,the pink ivory tree from Rhamnaceae.
Also there are somme nice fruit trees that are ebonys and the fruit its good and unknown outside of Africa.
Thanks! I will look into the pink ivory tree - sounds interesting! Hopefully it can be trained to a smaller size...
The ebony that I have right now is Gabon ebony, Disopyros crassiflora.
Cheers,
Carolyn
-
I am not as far north as all of you (north Alabama, zone 7b, near the edge of 7a) but still in an area where nothing tropical or subtropical can live outside. I am definitely inspired to start building a greenhouse as soon as possible, my plants are either scattered around in front of windows or in a spare "plant room." I am pretty new to growing tropical and subtropical fruiting plants, just two and a half years of experience, but have built up a fairly big plant collection of 46 types of plants, mostly from seeds bought online or saved from fruit.
I have learned a few things which might be of interest, particularly because while I may have over 40 types of fruiting plants, I have unsuccessfully tried to grow or germinate another 15 types.
Citrus, usually, make excellent container plants. I grow all of my citrus from seeds on their own roots, which I am aware is quite unconventional, but I get many strong seedlings with few root problems. The exception to that is the Meyer Lemon. That variety, when grown on its own roots is very, very sensitive to moisture. It goes from drowning to wilted almost instantly, even though it is in the same soil as the rest of my citrus. I have twelve other types of citrus, but Meyer Lemons are the only ones that I have to constantly worry about overwatering even when potted in clay instead of plastic.
Use clay pots. Clay pots are heavy, can be a little expensive if bought new (I get mine from yard and estate sales), will break if abused, and cannot (to my knowledge) be purchased in very large sizes. But, they are excellent for preventing damage from overwatering and are worth it for that reason, in my opinion. I can see the difference in the citrus and Annonas I have in clay pots versus the ones in plastic pots. The ones in clay are much healthier.
You will have spider mites. Every winter I have an infestation of spider mites which washes over my plants like a tidal wave. I have to take everything outside on a warm day (or into the shower when it is too cold) and spray with neem oil at least once every winter. Carambolas are a particular pain to remove spider mites from.
Eugenias and Jaboticabas seem to like being indoor container plants. As I type this, my larger Grimal Jaboticaba and my Sundrops (Eugenia victoriana) are putting out flushes of new growth, inside, in December. They are not in my more humid plant room, either.
Conversely, no types of Sapindaceae seem to like being indoor container plants. Even when covered and provided with a more humid climate, it never seems to be enough. I have tried growing lychees, rambutans, and spanish limes, and while I have managed to keep some of them alive, that is all I seem to be able to do. They go outside in the summer and grow happily and healthy but come inside in the winter and struggle. I think the key to those plants is to have a very bright, very warm, and very humid greenhouse.
Those are a few things I have picked up over the past couple of years from growing tropical and subtropical fruit plants where I am not supposed to grow them.
-
Hi,
here is a playlist of tasting greenhouse grown exotic fruits from German botanic gardens. Not my own gardening achievment but many were quite tasty😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e28Kzx86CJs&list=PL2AyaQ9frDUvfkZLkUQg3-Tz62I5sFoVa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e28Kzx86CJs&list=PL2AyaQ9frDUvfkZLkUQg3-Tz62I5sFoVa)
-
Hello everyone, I am in Northern Virginia zone 7a. I have a greenhouse since 2009, it’s only 12ftx 15ft but I have 19 trees planting directly in the ground ranging from 3ft to 14 ft tall and fruiting. Doesn’t sounds right for this little space, right? But it works. I have great successes but also kill many trees (with love) along the way. I don’t have to use supplemental lightings, as I use solexx panels to cover the greenhouse which I can remove them and keep the greenhouse uncovered from April to November. I still have lots of fruits on my trees right now.
3 mango trees: Coconut Cream, Glenn, Maha Chinock. All fruited.
2 Guava trees: Vietnamese white and Ruby Red. Fruits still on the tree.
2 Loquat trees: Gold Nugget and Premier. Both flowering now.
2 Dragon fruit plants: White and a Red. Fruited.
2 Tangerine trees: Fruited.
Meyer lemon tree, Fruits on it now.
Kumquat with fruits on it now.
Star fruit tree, Fwang Tong with fruits on it now.
Grapefruit tree, Ruby Red. Fruited.
Lychee, Brewster. Fruited
Passionfruit plant not yet flowered.
Longan fruit tree not yet fruit.
Wampee tree not yet fruit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RzeB0iq8M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RzeB0iq8M)
(https://i.postimg.cc/9D3RqkXc/20190717-113412.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/9D3RqkXc)
-
Really nice setup, Jimmy. I am only a little farther north than you and growing many of the same trees in-ground in my greenhouse. I am curious what is actually possible to grow without supplemental lighting. If my jackfruit and mangosteen thrive I am thinking you can grow just about anything in a greenhouse. My mango already has one winter under its belt and is doing great.
-
I agree... nice set-up... well thought out.
Kevin
-
I am very impressed with everyone's set ups
jimmy_va- I've been considering doing something similar to your set up some time in the future....I often think we have the ideal weather in the eastern half of the northern US for growing tropical plants summer and it's nice to let mother nature handle all the heavy lifting during that period so the grower doesn't have to
Carolyn- I really love when growers have personal connections to plants they are growing...it's quite the gift to your extended family that you can offer this small piece of botanical life from your daughter in-laws birthplace and you get share those experiences with them (:
-
Jimmy_va - what is your altitude and cloud cover there? Do you have problems with leaf scorching when you uncover in the spring? I wish I could "set all my plants free" in the summer!
Carolyn
-
Hello everyone and thank you for sharing.
Coyote- agree, very impressed with everyone’s set ups. We all work very hard for this love, also must work with what we got and continue looking for and sharing ideas as we go. I am lucky my greenhouse is next to my house, so I don’t have to worry about heat. I ran two flexible air ducks from my furnace in the attic to directly to my greenhouse, heating solved! I used the gutter above the greenhouse to collect rain water/snow melt for watering the trees as needed during the winter. It’s an incredible feeling when I uncovered the greenhouse every Spring.
Carolyn- I don’t have any problem when uncovered the greenhouse as I do this early Spring, so the transition is very smooth. The only problem I have is that my mangoes flower in January- February. There are no pollinators, and this is also the worst time for mildew and fungus to attack. So, I usually cut off all flowers to push blooms later into March just before I uncover the greenhouse.
Sorry for the lengthy writing!
Brian- I would love to have a mangosteen tree but I heard it’s very difficult tree to grow.
Regarding jackfruit tree, I have a question for you and everyone. I planted a dwarf jackfruit tree (Var Small) inside my sunroom in-ground for 1 ½ year now, it’s doing great and thriving at 4 ft tall. The big question is, Do you think this tree will ever fruit? The sunroom is facing southeastern with lots of windows and 4 skylights, so I believed there should is enough sunlight. I searched and there are no information regarding indoor, permanent fruit trees.
(https://i.postimg.cc/RqLbY17H/jackfruit.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/RqLbY17H)
-
How about this guy's success? :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3VeMoTfZEwUA2G532LFR5XKvT1Q03cJ9m7mpsjbCY93fEOzcVe1J6oaqU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD_3_gsgsnk&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3VeMoTfZEwUA2G532LFR5XKvT1Q03cJ9m7mpsjbCY93fEOzcVe1J6oaqU)
-
Brian- I would love to have a mangosteen tree but I heard it’s very difficult tree to grow."
As far as I have read it is really difficult to grow outdoors but it seems there are a few fruiting in greenhouses in the continental US. I got one as an experiment to see what is possible. If it dies no big deal, if it thrives I will have to build a second greenhouse somewhere to keep it.
-
So winter is only half over but it is spring in my greenhouse. My mango is blooming, all citrus plants blooming, jackfruit has been growing continuously all winter, 30+ different tropical seedlings all growing steadily, including garcinias. Purple mangosteen not actively growing but looks very healthy. Cattley guavas growing like crazy. Durain seedlings finally coming all the way out of their seed coat. Cherry tomatoes and bell peppers have been producing fruit all winter.
At this point I'm becoming convinced that you can grow anything if you have a greenhouse :)
The only trees I have that look worse than before winter are:
- peanut butter fruit looking haggard after a decent crop of fruit, no new growth and yellowing leaves
- cherimoya dropping ~25% of its leaves and not growing more, but seems okay otherwise. I heard this might be normal?
- plumeria has gone dormant, like it does every year. Dropped nearly all leaves but has buds ready
-
Those of you with greenhouses are lucky! I have to deal with a small space for my plants, in a house without humidity (like 40%). Nevertheless, I still struggle on. Here is a list of what I’m growing. These plants can quickly move off the list, replaced with others.
Cara cara navel oranges (from seed)
Ugli fruit (from seed)
Dragon fruit yellow (from seed)
Dragon fruit red flesh (from seed)
Purple passion fruit (from seed)
Yellow passion fruit (from seed)
Spanish Lime (from seed)
Avocado (from seed, oldest current plant)
Tree tomato (hit ceiling, from seed)
Jaboticaba (from seed, very young and small)
Spanish tamarind (small and from seed)
Mamey sapote (from seed)
Coffee (from Home Depot for $4)
Rose apple (from seed)
Feijoa (from seed)
Bitter melon (round type from baker creek)
Jackfruit (from seed, may soon die)
Cacao forastero (pretty sure one plant, maybe that’s a Trinitario)
Cacao Trinitario Colorado (most of my cacao)
Cacao Trinitario from logees (my first cacao)
Cacao Trinitario medium red (Montoso, one plant)
Cacao round leaf jaca (one plant, almost died)
Cacao criollo (3 +/- one plants from montoso)
I’m sure I missed something
May soon have pomegranate, star fruit, and date, all from seed
Also allspice if I get lucky and they root (haha lucky)
Previous failures:
Lemon (under-watering)
Date (???)
Rambutan (too long in paper towels)
Star fruit (too long in paper towels)
White dragon fruit (too long in paper towels)
Mango (???)
Pineapple (forgot about it, left outside, froze)
Guava (???)
Papaya (damped off)
My poor Jarillas (damped off)
Naranjilla (died with 3 leaves)
Gac (could not germinate)
Papillo (could not germinate)
Tamarind (died with 3 leaves)
Meyer lemon (???)
Blood orange (???)
Soursop (could not germinate)
blackberry jam fruit (didn’t germinate)
Mexican apple (could not germinate)
Cinnamon (bad plant from eBay)
Vanilla (bad plant from eBay)
Star anise (couldn’t germinate)
Most of the cacao I ever grew
I’m sure many others too
Every year I have the following pests: aphids on dragon fruit and avocado, mites on citrus (this year they spread before I noticed them and drowned them in neem oil, the cure for everything except papaya damping off), and finally scale on citrus. I notice scale and aphids by the sign of an increased number of ants on my plants.
My wishlist:
Durio species
Articarpus species
Inga species
Theobroma/Herrania species
baccaurea angulata
Wani
Jarilla
Papillo
Nutmeg
If anyone has these available for me to buy, please let me know!
My adventures are not over and I still have lots I can do. Build a greenhouse, for one. Maybe then my cacao won’t give me sleepless nights and barely survive with 2 times 0.5 leaves left.
Tomek
-
So many trees from seed, you must be very patient! I have a ton of seedlings but for those that take forever to fruit the seedlings are mostly experimental to see how the tree will do, and if it does well I'll get grafted types. I can't imagine what you will do once your trees start taking off, you are gonna need to build a greenhouse :)
-
Guavas are verry easy to grow and to fruit.
Best tasting guava its the small Ugni Molinae.
Also strawberry and lemon guavas grow like weeds for me.
I have 2 feijoa ( from seed) wich its called the pineapple guava thogh not a real guava just related to them.
And a week ago i got the real deal,tropical pink guava,big size with red leaves.
For easy to grow and fast to fruit small trees i recommend the guavas.
-
I have reached the point where I admit to myself that, although fruit would be nice, it will most likely never happen. That’s why I’m so patient! One time I bought a grafted star fruit, and it almost immediately flowered! By the end of the summer, it even had a single fruit! Of course, the fruit was knocked off very underripe when a storm knocked the plant over, and then the plant died, either to scale or mites, I’ll never know. As for my trees taking off, maybe they will in my future greenhouse, but for now they are content to stay small, manageable, and try to survive. At least my dragonfruit and passion fruits grow well! And my avocado has become quite nicely branched with many growing tips.
Tomek
-
My mango tree has some baby mangos now. This would be its first crop if they hold.
(https://i.imgur.com/i0sI1BO.jpg?2)
-
Drought hardy sapindaceae that fruits in a pot its the dune soap berry( Deinbollia Oblongifolia).
-
I got at least 1,500 citrus fruit off 3 trees over the last 10 months, all cocktail trees with many different varieties of oranges, lemons, limes, etc.
My recently grafted 9' X 9' Sharwil is just loaded with baby avocados with 1/2 the flowers yet to open. Reed is late doesn't even have buds yet. Ardith, Pinkerton, Lamb all setting fruit. Mangos are setting fruit, etc.
Only problem I'm having is a cherimoya cocktail tree i grafted with Behl stock. Flowers just fall off and I'll be damned if I can see any that carry any pollen.
Lots of pollinators come and go - bees, flies, moths, butterflies, red wasps.
Mark
(https://i.postimg.cc/N28JdMpb/Bee-5.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N28JdMpb)
(https://i.postimg.cc/XpsSWHkL/Bee-On-Mango-2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/XpsSWHkL)
(https://i.postimg.cc/N2TMShHd/Greenhouse-Feb16-Moro.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N2TMShHd)
(https://i.postimg.cc/67k9xkZT/Reed-March2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/67k9xkZT)
(https://i.postimg.cc/R6yvh2jT/Sharwil-Fruit-April1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/R6yvh2jT)
-
My mango tree has some baby mangos now. This would be its first crop if they hold.
(https://i.imgur.com/i0sI1BO.jpg?2)
Congrats Brian! Remember watching your progress on the house.
I need to blast mildew and fungus off mine and add an AquaFogger before summer. Greenhouses are work.
-
Congrats Brian! Remember watching your progress on the house.
I need to blast mildew and fungus off mine and add an AquaFogger before summer. Greenhouses are work.
I must say that although my greenhouse was a ton of work to set up, it requires almost zero maintenance now - everything is automated :) I just go out and pick fruit, and watch everything grow.
I do have a fogging system I set up last year. I was running city water through it and using a phosphate filter. It resulted in a good amount of scale/white crud on the plants closest to the fog nozzles, and they clearly weren't enjoying it. I am going to try it without the phosphate filter this year to see if the white scale is the phosphate filter residue or the water itself. I tested my city water and it is reasonably low TDS, though not nearly as clean as RO water
-
Drought hardy sapindaceae that fruits in a pot its the dune soap berry( Deinbollia Oblongifolia).
Looks interesting! Are you growing this? Couldn't find much about it.
-
Drought hardy sapindaceae that fruits in a pot its the dune soap berry( Deinbollia Oblongifolia).
Looks interesting! Are you growing this? Couldn't find much about it.
Ive tryed to grow it but the seeds were old or i didnt know how to germinate them.They might need cold stratification since these are quite cold hardy .
The beauty comes from the fact they fruit fast from seed .Look them up on tradewindseeds.
Also i didnt got my seeds from them but from rarepalms.
-
Drought hardy sapindaceae that fruits in a pot its the dune soap berry( Deinbollia Oblongifolia).
Looks interesting! Are you growing this? Couldn't find much about it.
I made a mistake,its not on tradewinds but on Toptropicals where you can see they fruited them after just 3 years in a 4 gal pot.
https://toptropicals.com/catalog/uid/deinbollia_oblongifolia.htm?store=tt
-
I didn't have maintenance either until now. My house is super automated - iLink computer controlled vents with big 1 HP motors, 110K propane heater, fans, etc. My fogger will run on rain water.
I must say that although my greenhouse was a ton of work to set up, it requires almost zero maintenance now - everything is automated :) I just go out and pick fruit, and watch everything grow.
I do have a fogging system I set up last year. I was running city water through it and using a phosphate filter. It resulted in a good amount of scale/white crud on the plants closest to the fog nozzles, and they clearly weren't enjoying it. I am going to try it without the phosphate filter this year to see if the white scale is the phosphate filter residue or the water itself. I tested my city water and it is reasonably low TDS, though not nearly as clean as RO water
-
My mango tree still has a bunch of 1-2" baby mangoes holding on. Jackfruit has gotten HUGE, from 18" tall to 9ft tall since I got it.. last year? No flowers yet though. Cherimoya growing rapidly and flowered but no fruit set. Guavas and citrus all have lots of fruit. Miracle berry constantly fruiting. Peanut butter fruit blooming again now.
And my purple mangosteen and lucs mexican garcinia have resumed growing after doing nothing all winter. They've only put out a few new leaves since I got them last year but alive that's good enough for me.
(https://i.imgur.com/4qQubjX.jpg)
-
My mango tree still has a bunch of 1-2" baby mangoes holding on. Jackfruit has gotten HUGE, from 18" tall to 9ft tall since I got it.. last year? No flowers yet though. Cherimoya growing rapidly and flowered but no fruit set. Guavas and citrus all have lots of fruit. Miracle berry constantly fruiting. Peanut butter fruit blooming again now.
And my purple mangosteen and lucs mexican garcinia have resumed growing after doing nothing all winter. They've only put out a few new leaves since I got them last year but alive that's good enough for me.
(https://i.imgur.com/4qQubjX.jpg)
Congrats!
Got my rainwater tanks, plumbing, pump in. Next step is to hang my new Aquafog GT-500 fogger and tie it in. Old timer who installs high pressure misting systems in million $ homes said their maintenance is a PITA. My fogger will throw a cooling fog 30'. Will post video of it.
Like an idiot I dropped 17 fine Orange Sherbet fruit pruning off a branch to make a new terminal leader below a 3 branch area, 2 branches breaking off under their own weight. Oh well, friend is getting some nice scions. ;D
(https://i.postimg.cc/V0JCtmhf/Orange-Sherbet-Branch-June9.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/V0JCtmhf)
2,800 gals. total.
(https://i.postimg.cc/XGn80kFF/Tanks.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/XGn80kFF)
Leader Ecomatic 110 pump. Man is this thing sweet.
(https://i.postimg.cc/N2h1b84Z/Pump-Leader.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/N2h1b84Z)
-
Love your setup, Mark, and I am jealous of the size and headroom in your greenhouse. My backyard neighbor would shoot me if I had something that tall. Guess that's what happens when you live in town.
How are you capturing your rainwater? I have been thinking of putting gutters on the greenhouse, but I really don't have any room to put a tank in. I also have access to irrigation water all summer, but once again, no tank.
Cheers,
Carolyn
-
Love your setup, Mark, and I am jealous of the size and headroom in your greenhouse. My backyard neighbor would shoot me if I had something that tall. Guess that's what happens when you live in town.
How are you capturing your rainwater? I have been thinking of putting gutters on the greenhouse, but I really don't have any room to put a tank in. I also have access to irrigation water all summer, but once again, no tank.
Cheers,
Carolyn
Hi Carol, we hang the fogger today...I hope. This thing is heavy plus I don't take well to hanging on ladders 10' up. Custom welded brace has been screwed into a column just need to bolt this beast to it.
(https://i.postimg.cc/G9FRdxch/Fogger.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/G9FRdxch)
Will do a thread on my rig later. Am excited. I collect water from the greenhouse gutters into 2 tanks for a total of 2,800 gals.
I hate PVC plumbing although I've done miles of it on the farm for all kinds of purposes. For years I've tried to work around the tight tolerances, having to use els, unions, etc. Just got this very flexible PVC tubing in. All PVC fittings glue up to it. 100 PSI rating. Will use it to fix this leaking crap. Been looking for this easy peasy solution for years.
(https://i.postimg.cc/HJRWKWTJ/Plumbing-Leaks.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/HJRWKWTJ)
(https://i.postimg.cc/zHBFtk7S/PVC-pipe.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/zHBFtk7S)