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Messages - giorgosgr.

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: is this frost damage?
« on: February 23, 2021, 03:35:25 PM »
Could be wind but yes, probably cold

Should i cut the brunch bellow that point or just let it be?

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / is this frost damage?
« on: February 23, 2021, 08:01:46 AM »
My Mcdill white sapote has some bark splitting on the tip of the branches. I was wondering if this could be a result of cold temps or something else. The tree has not even droped a leaf due to cold weather. Min temps were around 24°F









3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2020/2021 update
« on: January 20, 2021, 09:31:27 PM »
Hello, do u have bigger cherimoya trees, if u do ,how are they doing in your climate ?? Wish luck to u and your plants !!

I have some seedlings that i keps indoors because i was scared. In 2 months i will plant them in the ground. I will also get one El bumpo and one dr. White cherimoya tree. I believe they are doing great in my climate. The seedlings that were left unprotected outside showed no signs of damage, not even leaf drop. and i dont think we will get that cold anytime soon

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2020/2021 update
« on: January 20, 2021, 02:19:55 PM »














White sapote, pomelos, mandarins only new leaves were burned. Although a 2inch tall seedling had no damage at all.
Also some cherimoyas that were only 2inches tall had no damage

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2020/2021 update
« on: January 20, 2021, 02:15:34 PM »










Lucuma, sugarcane, surinam cherry, fuerte avocado almost no damage at all (any damage they have is from other reasons)

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2020/2021 update
« on: January 20, 2021, 02:11:58 PM »






First 2 pics are some Passiflora var flavicarpa from seed that look completely fried... They were protected by oak trees above, but that didnt save them. On the other hand P. edulis showed no damage at all! I have several plants and here is one 2 years old exposed.

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / 2020/2021 update
« on: January 20, 2021, 02:07:50 PM »
This is my first winter growing "subtropical" fruit trees and plants thanks to all the advice from the forum here. All plants were planted last spring/summer.
This winter was really unsual. Temps were higher than usual and many plants were pushing new growth and then we had 3 days with temps from 24°F to 35°F max with clear sky during the night
So here are the results:
Day 5 after the first frost

Dwarf orinoco

Rajapuri

Dwarf brazilian

Namwah


8
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Arbutus / strawberry tree
« on: December 20, 2020, 02:56:26 AM »
Is anyone growing this, is it worth the trouble ? I'm considering of baying a plant and would like to hear any reviews regarding taste of fruit, easiness of growing  , hardiness etc .. thanks for any feedback !!

I have several plants of arbutus unendo and i think they are really good.
First of all they can be very pretty. At the same time they have yellow (unripe fruits), ripe fruits (red) and many many white or pink flowers.
Secondly, i enjoy a lot the fruits, both the texture and the taste. The texture is indeed a little grainy and more pudding like rather than juicy. The taste is really good and when overripe the fruits starts fermenting on the tree.
Finally, it is almost impossible to grow from seeds. Each year hundreds of fruits fall on the ground and i havent seen any seedlings.

9
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Arbutus / strawberry tree
« on: December 20, 2020, 02:51:29 AM »
It depends. Makes a very appreciated brandy. It gets sweeter with the cold. I saw it growing where it snows, wikipedia says it is hardy to zone 7. It does ferment very quickly and bruises easily. I like it but i don't really eat it often. The leaves are medicinal. It attracts butterflies and looks and feels good. Easy to grow.
Portuguese info https://flora-on.pt/#/1arbutus

We have many trees growing in the wild. But i have never seen any above 1000m from sealevel where temps can go under -10°C. I think it is a little more hardy than an olive tree.

10
I am interested in aquiring some Jelly palms and i would like to know if they are resistant to the red palm weevil. Also what other edible palms have some resistance to this insect?

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Brogdon avocado frost damage temperature?
« on: December 07, 2020, 02:20:44 AM »
I live in Attica 350m above sealevel. The hass seedling avocadoes i have show no damage at our winters here.
Also may i ask where did you manage to find brogdon avocado?!

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Cold tolerance of cherimoyas
« on: October 26, 2020, 03:18:06 PM »
Hello, I plan on moving out to a place where it’s zone 8, but I still want to bring my trees with me. How cold can cherimoya trees tolerate? I want to grow cherimoyas

Thanks

Zone 8? 8a or 8b?
Anyway without protection i dont think its possible to grow cherimoyas in zone 8b and bellow.
They should be ok with brief periods of 26°F (i dont believe anything colder would be ok)

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best White Sapote Variety? (California)
« on: October 25, 2020, 02:04:04 PM »
Always interesting to have a discussion on a favorite fruit, car, politician, etc.  Seems like one needs to gather a bunch of scionwood varieties, graft them on a single tree, in a given environment, water accordingly, and sample the fruit.  I was fortunate to participate in the collection of Bob Chambers' scionwood extravaganza and have sampled many of the varieties mentioned.  Most are grafted on existing trees (they graft as easily as apples, very forgiving).  In my opinion most are too sweet (like cherimoyas).  I prefer one that has ripened on the tree, has fallen, and is warmed by the sun.  It reminds me of custard.  Cut into large pieces and dried in my dehydrator, they are an excellent dried fruit which I use when backpacking.  One of my trees is over 40 years old (Pike/Vernon/Nettie) and is a true giant.  Grafted on a yellow sapote (Casimiroa tetrameria) it is a managable size about the size of a peach tree. I would not plant one near the house/septic tank/walkway.  At least they are quite drought resistant.

How does the dryed fruit compare to the fresh? Any new flavours develop?
Thanks

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best White Sapote Variety? (California)
« on: October 25, 2020, 12:27:40 AM »
Hard to explain taste but size varies from small 2" diameter up too 3" diameter color yellow to yellow with some lime green when ripe. Taste is sweet but not as complex of a flavor as Vernon. Also taste depends on ripeness when over ripe can go into semi-rich caramel flavor.

Thank you very much!
So Vernon has the richest caramel like flavour in your opinion ?

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best White Sapote Variety? (California)
« on: October 24, 2020, 04:02:57 PM »
Vernon is a very rich tasting fruit, nies can be excellent if leaf on tree till close to ripe, santa cruz, and more bland side suebelle which if true variety should have some fuzz on bottom side of leaf. Many nurseries sell suebelle but not true variety which was mixed up long ago so look for woolly underside on leaf for true suebelle. Lemon gold is supposed to be good one and cuccio is also good. It all depends on what you can find in area best of luck.

Could you describe santa cruz fruit? Size, colour and taste?

16
In 15-30 days i will take out 1 acre of olive trees (that produce nothing), add irrigation and prepare the soil for next spring. Already done soil analysis.
It is a nice slope with southern exposure and protection from the north.
I will add 80 citrus trees (all different varieties), several white sapote, cherimoya and pawpaw seedlings that i will graft in 2022 and longan, lychee and guava plants.
It will be the first "organised" planting of fruits trees other than grape vines and olive trees so i am really looking forward to it  ;D

That sounds like an awesome project. If we were under normal circumstances and I didn't think I would just be in your way. I would volunteer to come and help you. I like the sound of lychee guava and grapes. If you could find a protected area within your citrus to plant one mango tree that would be spectacular.


I could try one mango, but maybe a cost free seedling and if it survives i could graft it. I have a 2.5 acre land in Paros (Greek island in the Aegean sea) zone 11a and i have already planted some seedling mangoes last december that didnt even notice the winter. So mangoes, sapodilla, canistel are going to be planted there.

17
In 15-30 days i will take out 1 acre of olive trees (that produce nothing), add irrigation and prepare the soil for next spring. Already done soil analysis.
It is a nice slope with southern exposure and protection from the north.
I will add 80 citrus trees (all different varieties), several white sapote, cherimoya and pawpaw seedlings that i will graft in 2022 and longan, lychee and guava plants.
It will be the first "organised" planting of fruits trees other than grape vines and olive trees so i am really looking forward to it  ;D

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best White Sapote Variety? (California)
« on: October 21, 2020, 04:44:44 AM »
So I've been looking at all the white sapote posts, but it seems like there's no clear white sapote winner.
Has anyone tried enough varieties to say one they like best? I don't like the bitterness that some varieties have.

This is a very interesting subject, i have the same problem with finding out what is the best in California like climate.
But what would you consider best,
Best pulp/seed ratio, texture, fruit size?
Or purely best taste, with some distinct flavours?

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: COLD HARDY LYCHEES & LONGANS
« on: October 20, 2020, 09:34:49 AM »
Yes and minimum chill to induce flowering is a pretty good guide and yeah 4c or 5c sounds about right.

Thank you very much for the info!

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: COLD HARDY LYCHEES & LONGANS
« on: October 20, 2020, 09:10:25 AM »
As a general rule look at the order of harvest and the later they are the more cold tolerant the variety.
Order of Harvest of Lychees Chinese Names. The lower on the list the more cold tolerant. Sum yee hong is yook ho pow, tai so is Mauritius,souey tung is groff,kwai mai pink is the same as Bosworth and should have been at the top of the list.

Sum Yee Hong
Souey Tung
Bah Lup
Fay Zee Siu
Tai So
Haak Yip
Kwa Lok
Chong Yun Hong
Tim Naan
Sai Kok Zee
Heong Lai
No Mai Chee (standard)
Seong Sue Wai
Ah Neong Hai
Soot Wai Zee
Wai Chee

So Wai chee is the most cold tolerant of the above? And the differences are minor, or Kwai mai pink (as you said top of the list) could be 4-5°F more sensitive than Wai Chee?

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: COLD HARDY LYCHEES & LONGANS
« on: October 20, 2020, 07:45:17 AM »
Have always heard the opposite and in my experience longans are far more sensitive than lychees. I am in 9B and longans are borderline trees. Mine stayed alive but barely grew while my lychees do really well.

Hmm.. I see conflicting evidence all over the web.
And in my personal experience,
I started about 200 longan seedlings and 100 or so lychee seedlings last summer, and scattered them all throughout different microclimates on the property (slightly different elevations, full sun and full shade, some more exposed to wind and frost than others).. none grew over a foot in height when winter came about. We got about 12 brief frosts this past winter (lowest temp 27 F) and not a single longan that I observed suffered any frost damage. However about half the seedling lychees had significant damage to their leaves (However I think much of this damage occured in the first cold event when it dropped from 85 F to 40 F in 6 hours. Not much further damage seemed to occur when actual frosts started to hit, because the plants were acclimated by then..)
So, I don't know yet. Maybe longans are more frost tolerant but more sensitive lower temps (which is a separate factor than frost)..? I'll likely find out in the years to come..

Also what are some Chinese longan varieties? Does Kohala have Chinese heritage?

Having just bought 2 longan trees, what were the first winter results (frost damage) on both longan and lychee seedlings regarding sun exposure and wind?

22
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Wild asparagus
« on: October 19, 2020, 04:38:15 PM »
here in Greece we have so so much wild asparagus! each day i collect around one kg since the beggining of March. It is the most common weed.
But it is not the variety in your photo. It has a way stronger taste, its thin and also the plant has spikes

What do you do with the spikes? Do they soften when cooked?

Wild asparagus has spikes only when the plant has began branching. The harvested asparagus in the photo have just srpouted so no spikes.

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Overrated Tropical Fruits
« on: October 19, 2020, 03:47:24 PM »
Black sapote
Wax jambu
Jabos
Dragon fruit (for their taste, not superfood status)
Miracle fruit
Many types of guavas

couldn't agree more with Dragon fruit and Jabos. Though both are really impressive. Jabos are good but grapes (some varieties) are better. And grapes give a lot of fruit and are mostly care free. Dragon in my opinion is really promising from its looks but dissapoints... Even the yellow one...
I can agree with grapes being better tasting. Especially the ones that cost $25 for one bunch ::) But who doesn't love fruits that grow off the tree trunk :)

Yes its something special! It is one reason to try jabos, same with dragon for the looks and for me guavas for the aroma. (so far i dont like the texture and lack of intence flavour on the ones i have tasted)
I believe there are many things more than purely the taste when planting something.

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Overrated Tropical Fruits
« on: October 19, 2020, 11:54:36 AM »
Black sapote
Wax jambu
Jabos
Dragon fruit (for their taste, not superfood status)
Miracle fruit
Many types of guavas

couldn't agree more with Dragon fruit and Jabos. Though both are really impressive. Jabos are good but grapes (some varieties) are better. And grapes give a lot of fruit and are mostly care free. Dragon in my opinion is really promising from its looks but dissapoints... Even the yellow one...

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: white sapote bark split in half
« on: October 15, 2020, 09:06:52 AM »
Carve the two wound surfaces, then quickly bind them back together.  You can leave a couple of millimeters opening at the very bottom of the wrapping to drain excess moisture.

Thanks! i will do that.
Should i be worried about the winter? (because of this injury to loose the variety?)

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