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Messages - willowwater

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Cutting or Air layering on Sapodilla advice
« on: December 28, 2017, 06:18:35 PM »
Quote from: achetadomestica on December 18, 2017, 01:26:23 PM
Quote from: Aina Exotics on December 18, 2017, 01:10:27 PM
i was talking to lynn at frankies nursery and she said they do their chico by airlayers starting in spring thru summer. If they do air layers there then id imagine it can be as successful as grafting or atleast quicker. protect em from the sun with foil for sure. Seedlings do grow quite slow so id imagine it would be worth it to find a airlayer process that works.  good luck
Good to know spring is time to airlayer. I just wondered after you remove the layer
of skin around the branch wouldn't there be a lot of milky crap. Do you wash off with
a hose before you wrap in sphagnum? It has to be messy?

I concur, spring time is best for Sapodilla air-layering, in fact air-layering in general. They can take up to six months, and at times longer, before being able to be removed from the parent tree. You can check month after month with little or no root growth noticeable, and then BAM!, the roots begin to emerge. There is some latex bleeding during the air layering process that gets on your hands and tools, however it's not so much that it needed washing off with a hose. Make sure plastic is wrapped tight, particularly at the top, to prevent rain from getting in. Too much moisture in the plastic wrap and the air-layer will wither and rot. Best success has been with upright pieces around 1" in diameter, although I have seen larger diameters work. You will likely have to climb to the top of the tree for the best air-layer candidates. Be careful and good luck.     

2
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Looking for Diamond River Longan Tree.
« on: July 01, 2017, 10:58:35 AM »
They have it! Thanks a bunch for the tip.

3
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Looking for Diamond River Longan Tree.
« on: June 27, 2017, 11:57:43 PM »
Will be in South Florida Area July 4-11. Looking to buy a Diamond River Longan Tree.

Please PM me
Thanks everyone.

4
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Want to buy cuttings
« on: June 27, 2017, 11:48:16 PM »
Will be in South Florida Area July 4-11. Want to buy the following:

Dragon Fruit Cuttings
(Have Natural Mystic and Haley's Comet)

Fig Cuttings
(Have Brown Turkey,Nero, Celeste)

Pomegranate cuttings
(Have Wonderful and Vietnamese)


Please PM me.
Thanks everyone.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Will someone please make a case to save a Lancentilla tree
« on: May 27, 2017, 09:59:01 PM »
Jeff, you are spot on with your observation of Keitt's long inter-nodes. Keitt has an upright skinny temperament. Mine is grafted onto two root-stocks and yet still quite manageable. By comparison the Lacetilla also tends towards long inter-nodes but however suffers from leaf flush insomnia. Even after taking out major wood, this puppy will not calm down. The tree got a reprieve today as the rain would not cooperate.

Et tu Richard Campbell

Et tu Pine Island Nursery

Quote from: Cookie Monster on May 26, 2017, 01:17:36 PM
Keitt isn't really that vigorous. It just tends toward longer internodes. My 2 keitt are actually the more manageable trees in my mango collection (which consists of over 30 trees). Growth is slow and controlled vs a more vigorous cultivar such as lemon zest, which will Explode with growth after a prune. However, keitt is prone to infection (scab and powdery mildew).

Quote from: willowwater on May 25, 2017, 10:35:59 PM
Taking the chainsaw to mine this weekend. I too believed the hype. Lousy bearer, vigorous leggy grower, and a total waste of premium yard space. Condo mango my big toe. As an experiment a few years ago, and before knowing any better, I top-worked a seedling tree in my neighbor's yard with Tommy Atkins, Lancetilla and Keitt on separate but equally spaced branches. The Lancetilla outgrew the Tommy Atkins by leaps and bounds and periodically had to be chopped back to control growth. The Keitt branch was left in the dust.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Will someone please make a case to save a Lancentilla tree
« on: May 25, 2017, 10:35:59 PM »
Taking the chainsaw to mine this weekend. I too believed the hype. Lousy bearer, vigorous leggy grower, and a total waste of premium yard space. Condo mango my big toe. As an experiment a few years ago, and before knowing any better, I top-worked a seedling tree in my neighbor's yard with Tommy Atkins, Lancetilla and Keitt on separate but equally spaced branches. The Lancetilla outgrew the Tommy Atkins by leaps and bounds and periodically had to be chopped back to control growth. The Keitt branch was left in the dust.

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Potting mix
« on: September 25, 2016, 12:23:38 PM »
Quote from: Cookie Monster on September 23, 2016, 05:16:14 PM
Osmocote Plus / Pro is king. You can even incorporate it right into the mix. And unlike a chelate, it will feed your plants continuously for many months. A 50 pound bag (under $100 here) was enough for a few cubic yards of mix when I was using it and a rounding error compared to the cost of the mix -- basically enough mix to pot many hundreds of plants.

Where do you get the 50 lb bags of O+?

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: oh snap. fairchild's mango festival was today. who went?
« on: July 10, 2016, 08:23:15 PM »
My wife and I have been attending the Mango Festival for the past six years or so as part of our bi-annual fruit tour. We do a backyard orchards, farms, roadside stands, fruit tasting/collecting run from the Red lands up to the Georgia mountains and back. We were both a little disappointed with Fairchild this year. I would never buy a tree based on many of the samples offered in the tasting room. It is my humble opinion that a few varieties were poorly represented, perhaps even disrespected by the "representative samples" that were in some cases overly ripe/rotten. Hope no one got sick. The festival had other issues I wont get into. In confidence one Fairchild personality did lament that the festival had lost some of its soul.

Among others visited on the tour, we did get a chance to stop by Truly Tropical, Tropical Acres, Pine Island Nursery, and Benders Grove where I also bought a ton of plants. Interestingly enough I bought Bender's last Edwards Mango, it was a season's best. Go Bender! Go Bender!  ;D ;D

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Dammmnnnn you, summer storm!!!
« on: June 17, 2016, 08:15:38 PM »
Came home to find beloved Edwards and Keitts strewn around the ground. I know they are much too green to ripen. I need to go lay down for a bit. Whyyyyyyyyyyyy!

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: papaya fruitflies
« on: May 26, 2016, 04:53:40 PM »
I had abandoned growing papaya for a while because of the flies and fruit drop they were causing. However with trial and error, the only thing that seems to work reliably enough for me is double bagging the fruit with loose organza bags. A determined fly may get through one layer but its chances for success are diminished with a second bag, particularly if the bags are loose and not tight around the fruit. Also noticed that a light misting of neem oil on the bags further increases my chances of getting clean fruit. Not particularly sure what about the neem oil that is dissuading the flies, but it seems to work. However, at minimum the double bagging is a big help while still allowing some light and air to reach the fruit. 

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Leaves fell off lychee tree after spraying copper and sulfur
« on: April 21, 2016, 09:25:50 PM »
bsbullie - Good eyes. I totally missed that bit. Just from the pic I thought it was maybe 45 gallon. One would definitely need to call some lychee loving friends. Thanks.


Quote from: bsbullie on April 20, 2016, 09:57:18 PM
Willow - gently lift the tree out of the pot?  Put a saucer under the pot ( which would not be recommended for a lychee )?  The tree is in  100 gal pot...

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Leaves fell off lychee tree after spraying copper and sulfur
« on: April 20, 2016, 05:16:14 PM »
Just my two cents: If the plant is already stressed because of unseen potted issues (irrigation, root condition, etc), some over-spay might just be the straw...

Sit the plant on a bucket. Water the plant with a measured amount of water. How quickly does it run out and collect in the bucket? Soils can be damp on top but drain too freely, with not enough moisture retention or stability for plant.

Gently pull the tree out of the pot. Examine the root ball. How do the roots look? Are there any pest living in pot? Plant could be root bound or roots severely circling. I see what looks like circling surface roots. Is there a damp upper soil stata and dryer soil below? Gently water the plant out of the pot. Water takes the path of least resistance as it travels down. Note the water path down and around the roots.  Some parts of soil may be bypasses or unevenly watered. Is there "Perched Water" or an overly wet stata or area?

If soil is draining to fast put some new potting soil in the bottom of the pot before placing it back in the pot. Gently water. The new potting mix should slow drainage. As a temporary fix I have tied plastic bags around pots that were drying out too soon. You may also want to consider sub-irrigation by using an appropriate sized container. This way you can also approximately measure about how much water the plant in consuming each day.

How is fruit set? 

Share what you observe. Hopefully other members will comment.



Quote from: RichardN on April 20, 2016, 11:18:17 AM
Quote from: willowwater on April 19, 2016, 09:26:36 AM
I sprayed a test section of my in ground Mauritius Lychee (flowers and foliage) with copper a few weeks ago with the same mix I am using on Mangoes with no adverse reaction. On the other hand I have killed and replaced more potted lychees than I care to admit because of inattentive watering and fertilizer practices.   


Quote from: Cookie Monster on April 18, 2016, 10:38:14 AM
Interesting. I've never seen that reaction. My mauritius touches branches with a mango tree that gets sprayed every week, and it seems completely unaffected. And, normally a phytotoxic reaction will show in discoloration of the leaves.
fertilize about two months ago 1/8 cup

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Chilling hours
« on: April 19, 2016, 11:43:14 PM »
bsbullie - I invested in an assortment of organza bags with draw strings. I bag almost everything, sometimes even double bagging the more susceptible fruit. Guavas, Peaches, Papaya, etc, all get bagged and all come out clean for the most part. Just be sure to apply bags when fruit is hard green. Tie the draw strings onto the supporting limbs so that if/when the fruit falls it is gently caught by the bag and does not splatter on the ground. This is especially nice for sugar apples. As an added measure, spray the bag(s) with Neem oil. Insects seem less interested in the fruit in these bags. Don't know if the Neem masks the ripening smell, or is otherwise annoying the bugs. All I know is that the organza bag, Neem oil combo works for me. I love pissing off pests (birds, fruit-fly, beetles, etc) . 

Quote from: bsbullie on April 17, 2016, 04:35:17 PM
Quote from: Donkeys4hire on April 17, 2016, 04:27:55 PM
What kind of peach s do you grow?

Quote from: bsbullie on January 21, 2016, 05:01:24 PM
Extremist point of view.  Peaches fruit just fine here...so long as you dont mind the fruit flies and their offspring.

Any of the UF bred low chill peaches will do well here.  The biggest battle is some will have to fight off the dreaded fruit fly/worm issue.

14
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Issue on leaves
« on: April 19, 2016, 10:17:56 PM »
I have tried a systemic insecticide on all my in-ground citrus with disappointing results. Potted plants, better results. However the only thing that seems to work reasonably well for me is to spray the emerging new leaves with Seven or something similar (I think Neem works also) and continue to spray once a week or so until the leaves harden off. You can also test spray the young leaves of any three that seem particularly prone to bug bites. 

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Leaves fell off lychee tree after spraying copper and sulfur
« on: April 19, 2016, 09:26:36 AM »
I sprayed a test section of my in ground Mauritius Lychee (flowers and foliage) with copper a few weeks ago with the same mix I am using on Mangoes with no adverse reaction. On the other hand I have killed and replaced more potted lychees than I care to admit because of inattentive watering and fertilizer practices.   


Quote from: Cookie Monster on April 18, 2016, 10:38:14 AM
Interesting. I've never seen that reaction. My mauritius touches branches with a mango tree that gets sprayed every week, and it seems completely unaffected. And, normally a phytotoxic reaction will show in discoloration of the leaves.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is flowering/fruiting in your yard? Spring 2016
« on: April 12, 2016, 03:07:13 PM »
bsbullie - The Plumcot Hybrid Plum set fruit earlier in the year (it is advertised as self fertile), unfortunately I lost the BB- sized fruit to heavy wind and rain one night. To my surprise it is flowering again. I have it planted in the same hole with a Methley Plum which is also flowering now (no fruit set yet). Hopefully this pairing gives me even better fruit set going forward. Will the fruit make it to full-term? Will the heat and humidity prove too much? Well this is just the second Spring so I'm watching closely. Not expecting too much in the way of fruit this year. I am however focused on getting the trees to put on weight (skinny whips) and to develop scaffold branches. Keeping an eye out for fungal and other issues. So far I'm encouraged.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is flowering/fruiting in your yard? Spring 2016
« on: April 12, 2016, 08:43:34 AM »
bsbullie - I'm on Grand Bahama Island and have been experimenting (zone pushing) with stone fruit with very encouraging results. Even with the particularly warm, mild recent winter all of my stone fruit produced flowers (that's a start). This is in-spite of "requiring" up to 300 chill hours in the case of for the Plumcot Hybrid Plum. The inference I've drawn is that the trees don't require as much chill hours as we think or maybe as published. Perhaps nobody gave the trees the memo on the definition of a chill hour. Perhaps I can try trees that "require" more chill hours. Apples are a good candidate for this experiment. Now I'm still evaluating and there are some provisos, but that's for another time. I got my bare-root trees from Willis Orchard Co. Consider an experiment of your own. The shipping season is closed now, but otherwise it's pretty inexpensive to get in the game.   

Quote from: bsbullie on April 11, 2016, 08:13:06 AM
Willow - are all those stone fruits low cill?  Never seen a low chill plumcot or some of those nectarine varieties here.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Angel Red Pomegranate
« on: April 09, 2016, 09:31:13 PM »
Got one from Willis Orchard Co. early last year. "The Angel Red Pomegranate matures in early September, bears heavy crops, has soft seeds that can be chewed and eaten, and has a vivid red color." Quote from website. Happy to hear that it is performing well. Looking forward to fruit...maybe next year.

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is flowering/fruiting in your yard? Spring 2016
« on: April 09, 2016, 09:17:52 PM »
Fruiting/Blooming

Mangoes:
Carrie
Pickering
Keitt
Tommy Atkins
Kent
Florigon
Edwards
Uknown Grafted- maybe Haden
Lancetilla - Don't judge me man

Lychee:
Mauritius 
swetheart - no show

Longan
Kohala
Biew Kiew - No show

Peaches:
Florida Prince
Florida Grand

Nectarines:
Mayglo
Sun Red
Snow Queen

Plums:
Methley
Plumcot Hybrid

Avocados:
Oro Negro
Simmonds
Seedling

Citrus:
Myer and Eureka Lemons
Persian and Key Limes
White and Pink Grapefruit
Naval, Honey Bell, and Valencia Oranges
Chandler Pommelo

Purple Caimito

Guavas:
Ruby Supreme
Thai White

Carambolas:
Sri Kembangan
Fwang Tung

Sapodillas:
Prolific
Madame Lulu- Air layered from seedling tree
Dacuhna - Air Layered from seedling tree

Loquats
Seedling tree
Christmas

Sherbet berry
Moringa Oleifera
Barbados cherry
Surinam cherry

Mamey Sapote

Pitomba
Grumichama

Priestly Atemoya
Red and Green Sugar apples
Sour Sop
Red Custard apple

Apples:
Anna & Golden Dorsette

Pineapples - lot of unknown varieties

Mulberries:
Pakistani
Ever-bearing
White - Excalibur
Green-Excalibur

Red Wax Jambu
Tamarind
Sunshine Blue Blueberries

Pomegranates:
Wonderful
Vietnamese
Unknown - Air-layed from neighbor

Scarlet, Hog and Coco Plums
Sea-Grape
Lots of sugar cane for the juicing machine

Stuff just waking up or expected to flower soon

Muscadines and other grapes
Persimmon - Fuyu
Black Sapote
Figs
Canistel
Green sapote
Mamey Americana
Passion fruit vine

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What varieties of your longan trees are flowering/fruiting?
« on: April 08, 2016, 11:20:13 PM »
Eight foot Kohala has tons of blooms at the end of every branch and covered with busy bees each day. Only ever seen more bees on date palm flowers. Took a whiff of the flowers with by big nose while the bees weren't looking, very nice delicate floral bouquet. Can't wait. 

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Liquid Copper Fungicide...
« on: April 08, 2016, 10:17:04 PM »
Any thoughts on the treatment of Lychee and Longan?

Quote from: Cookie Monster on April 07, 2016, 08:00:04 PM
Here's a good list of OMRI listed copper-based fungicides: http://www.newenglandvfc.org/2013_conference/powerpoints2013/Organic-copper-fungicides.pdf

Cueva and Camelot appear to be the most benign, followed by Nordox 75. All have caution labels (vs warning or danger), low re-entry (12 hours or less) and 0-day pre-harvest. The first two have 5% or less copper.

Camelot is specifically labeled for mango if anybody is looking for an OMRI copper product with a mango label: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/syllabi/325/schedule/Pest%20Management/Chemical%20Application%20&%20Safety/Camelot.pdf

Note that Camelot O is a different product (basically relabeled copper soap).

22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Liquid Copper Fungicide...
« on: April 07, 2016, 06:20:47 PM »
Thanks Jeff. Rain has stopped, gotta get crackin' with the copper.


Quote from: Cookie Monster on April 07, 2016, 11:43:40 AM
I believe the label for copper soap suggests reapplying after heavy rainfall.

Copper should not be applied with chelated micronutrients, as it would increase the risk of phytotoxicity.

The copper soap label indicates that it can be mixed with sulfur, but be somewhat careful spraying new growth (tender leaves) with sulfur, as it can burn.

I don't think I'd mix oil with copper or sulfur. Check the label.

I've been happy with the use of a spreader sticker to increase effectiveness of my copper soap regimen (thanks Mark in TX).

Quote from: willowwater on April 07, 2016, 09:16:06 AM
We are having our Mango challenges in the Bahama Islands this year also. A couple of questions:

I'm using Bonide Liquid Copper Fungicide (Octanoate). I applied it yesterday morning and it rained last night in fact it is still raining now. Mangoes are BB sized now. Can I reapply right after rain stops?

Lychees and Longan blossoms are just opening should I likewise be hitting them?

I also have Dyna-Gro Pure Neem Oil. Any thoughts on incorporating this in the fungicide management arsenal? 

Also, thanks to a recommendation by Jeff I got the Bonide Micornized Sulfur. Can this or other treatments be mixed and applied with micro-elements at the same time? Currently using Miller Microplex.

Thanks for the help.

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Liquid Copper Fungicide...
« on: April 07, 2016, 09:16:06 AM »
We are having our Mango challenges in the Bahama Islands this year also. A couple of questions:

I'm using Bonide Liquid Copper Fungicide (Octanoate). I applied it yesterday morning and it rained last night in fact it is still raining now. Mangoes are BB sized now. Can I reapply right after rain stops?

Lychees and Longan blossoms are just opening should I likewise be hitting them?

I also have Dyna-Gro Pure Neem Oil. Any thoughts on incorporating this in the fungicide management arsenal? 

Also, thanks to a recommendation by Jeff I got the Bonide Micornized Sulfur. Can this or other treatments be mixed and applied with micro-elements at the same time? Currently using Miller Microplex.

Thanks for the help.


24
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: wtb jujube scion
« on: April 02, 2016, 04:25:02 PM »
It's kinda late as you pointed out, but try England's Orchard & Nursery. I got about 10 varieties from them earlier in the year. Good luck.

http://www.nuttrees.net/

25
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Re: Mulberry Thread.
« on: March 17, 2016, 07:23:10 PM »
Anyone able to comment on the difference, if any, among the Pakistani, Himalayan and Peruvian Mulberry varieties?

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