The Tropical Fruit Forum

At my SoCal location my fast growers are:

Coconut Cream
Seacrest
Guava
Peach Cobbler
Lemon Zest (once established)
Cotton Candy
Orange Essence
0-15 (Tree is young but it has grown well so far)

Val-Carrie is not vigorous but more of a moderate grower but appears highly productive as I have many small fruits developing this year. 

Johnny

Finally, after (7) years my grafted Sweet Tart has a large crop.

Best to get some seeds from Florida and grow them as seedings in a greenhouse for accelerated growth.

Johnny


(Sweet Tart 6-19-2023 in SoCal)

So far this year my favorite tasting mulberry is the Sangue e Latte. To me it has the most unique and complex flavor of all that I have tried. I would eat these first out of the five varieties I currently have growing.

The white mulberry (Australian Green) have the highest sugar and many with a sweet tooth will prefer these.

The Reds (Oscar & Red Himalayan) have a more balanced berry flavor with more complexity but not nearly as much acid as traditional blackberries. 

Between the Red and White mulberry's it's a matter of preference between flavor and sweetness.

Just my take

Johnny

Successfully growing is fairly simple. Good Soil (sandy loam) and good constant watering. This is easy but it's even easier Not to do it.

Johnny

My Loquat tree has about 10-12 different varieties grafted onto it.

Thus far my early favorite is Chinese seedling #1. This is a premium variety sold in Shanghai china. My wife brought back some seeds and I planted them in containers. I then Grafted them onto my in-ground loquat tree several years ago. The Chinese seedling #1 was a white flesh variety with a wonderful sweetness and nice complexity in the flavor with some acidity to balance out the flavor. This is the first year the graft has fruited and they are excellent indeed and the first fruit to ripen. The best I have tasted so far. Looking forward to tasting Chinese seedlings #2 to #4 which are later ripening.

Johnny



Multi-Grafted Loquat Tree (4-28-2023)

Hey everybody,

If anyone is interested I have one Sweet Tart Mango Seedling Tree I started Growing in 2021 for Sale. It has been in my greenhouse and just recently completed a new flush. It appears to be a vigorous growing tree in a #5 pot. It is ready to go into the ground or a larger container. This is a top-tier variety but unfortunately, I am out of space and I already have another ST in the ground.

Enclosed are a few photos. If interested just message me with your contact #. Pick up only in OC.

The price is $110.

Thanks

Johnny

Yes, I agree with Spaugh insofar as Sweet Tart is a great-tasting mano.

I have two tweet tart trees growing at two different locations, both grafted on Manila. The 1st in Alhambra (Very inland and hot) grows and produces well with quality fruit. The 2nd grafted tree on Manila rootstock in the SoCal Coastal Zone in my location in 92647 grows moderately vigorously but has issues with pollination, Powdery mildew in spring and into early summer. The cooler coastal temperatures have a negative effect on the sweet start of Flowering and fruit formation. My tree has overall been disappointing in terms of fruit production for the last several years.

Location, Location is the key. Sweet Tart prefers warmer inland locations. Just my experience and two cents.

Johnny

I purchased my house over 30 years ago and knew from day one my native soil was heavy adobe clay. I feel anybody with average intelligence can determine the soil type fairly quickly by digging a hole.

The question is what are you going to do about it? Subtropical fruit trees prefer sandy-loam soil to maximize root growth in SoCal. Most newbie growers do nothing to amend their soil when planting a new tree if it is heavy or clay. If you are lucky and have good soil and good drainage consider yourself ahead of the game in growing sub-tropicals. All you need to do is plant and water. Downey, Pico Rivera, and Alhambra are all examples of areas with great natural soil.

Mango trees are difficult to grow as it is but when you add clay soil to the equation the task just became more challenging.

In my case, I remove one cubic yard of clay soil when planting each tree and replace it with purchased sandy-loam soil. Hole preparation is key if you have heavy soil. At the minimum amend the clay soil with 30% pumice to provide better drainage and root growth when planting a new tree if the native soil does not have good drainage. Most are not willing to do this as human nature dictates growing trees with the least amount of effort. Little effort equates to little results. 

Johnny

Hey Sam.

In general, if I am going to wack a mango tree and start from scratch I will give the mango tree a buzz cut at 48".  The following year new shoots will come up and I would choose the strongest 3-4 shoots and graft on the desired varieties. If the grafts take I would remove all of the other shoots and let the energy of the tree direct growth toward the new grafts. 

Choose your scions carefully prior to grafting. Place your slower-growing varieties such as Angie, buttercream, Mallika, and Ice cream exct on the southern end of the tree as these are moderate-growing trees and smaller in size. Place the more aggressive growing varieties (larger in size) such as Seacrest, 0-15, Guava, Cac, Valencia Pride, and Lemon Zest exct toward the rear on the north end of the tree.  You don't want the fast-growing varieties to block and slower mango scions grafted previously. Remember the slower-growing mango varieties face the sun on the south side of the tree and the fast-growing mango selections grow on the North Side farthest away from the sun.

Good Luck.

Johnny

I forgot to mention this in my last post but one thing I have discovered is you have greater success grafting onto a strong thick vigorous branch vs weak lower limbs on an existing mango rootstock or seedling tree.

For example, you have a mango tree in the ground. It has (4-5) branches two of those branches are thick and growing upright. One of the branches is medium size and 1-2 branches are smaller in diameter and are weaker in general and usually lower on the tree. Experience has taught me to remove (Cut off) the lower or weaker branches. More of the energy of the tree is directed on the stronger main branches. Graft on to new sprouts from those stronger branches only.

In the past when I grafted new mango scions onto weaker growth the growth was slower relatively to the rest of the tree. I concluded that most of the energy of the root system was being diverted to the stronger (thicker) mango branches. When I started to specifically graft to the stronger branches I noticed more vigorous growth like the guava graft I did in July 2020 onto a thick branch of the manila seedling tree.

Conclusion:  Remove weak grown (especially on younger mango trees) and focus the energy of the tree on 2-3 of the strongest branches. Just my experience for long term success and strong branching.

Johnny

I wanted to show one other multi-grafted mango tree in my backyard. This is a manila seedling tree I planted in the ground in 2018. I waited two years and in 2020 I started grafting onto it. The tree is now about 10' tall and 6' wide with a good branching structure. I am excited about the rapid growth and fruit production of the Guava Mango I grafted in July 2020.

The first photo shows the "V" Guava cleft graft I did two years ago. That particular limb on the tree is now the strongest on the tree with a 1.5" diameter in just two years at a cooler coastal location. The canopy from this graft now almost takes up to 50% of the mango tree.

The 2nd photo shows more of a wide-angle view of the branching of this young tree. You can also see the blue tape on the R/H side from the Fruit Punch Graft I did this summer.

The 3rd photo shows the Guava Canopy on this tree. It only produced a few fruits but they were excellent and were fully mature by late September.

The 4th photo shows the front of the tree. You can See the Angie graft on the lower right. I also did this graft in 2020 and this year it produced (4) fruit all of which were excellent in the Indian flavor profile. On the far upper left, you can see Raw Honey that I grafted in 2021. This Limb is growing well and I am looking forward to trying the fruit.

The two Cotton Candy grafts I did this year failed so I will try again next year. The fruit Punch graft is growing strong on this tree.

Overall I am satisfied with this multi-grafted mango tree and expect production to pick up as it matures. Currently, I am growing about 25 different varieties of mango at my location and the only way I can try them all is to do multi-grafting on my in-ground trees. With more time I should be able to ascertain the consistency of production and fruit quality but thus far am happy with both Guava and Angie.

Johnny


Guava 2020 Graft to Manila Rootstock


Multi-Grafted Mango Tree Branching Structure



Guava Canopy on Manila Rootstock (10-10-2022)



Multi Grafted Mango Tree Head Shot

My Butterscotch appears to grow moderately but steadily in my greenhouse. I purchased mine from Florida in early spring as a small 18" 3 gallon and placed it in a larger #5 pot. It is now just under 36" tall.

Johnny




Butterscotch Sapodilla (9-17-2022)

Thus far I have had good growth on my two Lychee trees in 2022, Mauritius and Bruster. I planted my trees in the ground in 2020 so I do not expect any fruit until 2025. 

They are attractive specimens so I am glad they are in the ground with full sun.

Johnny


Brewster Lychee Tree (9-9-22)



Mauritius Lychee Tree