The Tropical Fruit Forum

‘Angie’ was named after Angela Whitman, William “Bill” Whitman’s widow! Now show some respect for her & Bill everyone. =P

It is an honor to invite you all to this event being put together by The Rare Fruit Council Int'l., (RFCI), Miami. Mr. Whitman was one of the founders of this organization in 1955, & was its first President. We will be convening at The Fruit & Spice park this SAT - June 8th from 2PM-5PM for a Fruit Club Meetup.



William “Bill” Whitman Day & Longan Celebration - Florida Fruit Club Meetup #BillWhitmanDay

JUNE 8th, SAT (2-5PM) at THE PRESTON B. BIRD & MARY HEINLEIN FRUIT & SPICE PARK, in Homestead’s bucolic Redland Agricultural Area.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1450662725070418/

Hosted by The Rare Fruit Council International, RFCI Miami in cooperation with the Fruit & Spice Park & the Tropical Fruit & Vegetable Society of Redland

Members of RFCI Chapters & Florida fruit clubs are welcome to celebrate Bill Whitman’s legacy, and what he contributed to the advancement of pomology through the ‘Kohala’ longan and many other plants. Whitman is one of the founders of The Rare Fruit Council International, Inc. (RFCI) Miami, which was founded on March 11, 1955 as the Rare Fruit Council.

Admission to the F&S park is to be paid at gate, more info at their website.

Perhaps you’ll bring something to share with fellow fruit enthusiasts … fruits, seeds, scions?

The RFCI looks forward to welcoming you to Homestead’s Redland.




Miami News - 1959

See thread...

Pouteria sp. fruits in clusters.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=23724.0

All info is here... Saves typing, not a secretary today.

Living so close to a swamp that occupies most of south Florida I was wondering what tropical fruits either (1) currently grow there or (2) could grow there? There are islands out there that could flood and gators and snakes to contend with. Not really sure which tropical fruits are out there or could be?

That swamp... is called The Everglades. Marjory Stoneman Douglas named it "The River of Grass"... Let's thank her for that right now and again tomorrow.

I have not ordered from them, but can attest to their professionalism when we’ve emailed. They are also studied individuals.

Do them all, instead of either or! Also, consider that it's a blessing being able to move them indoors if  needed. The articles I sent focus on South Florida.

Hi chewybrian, a word of advice that was given to me by someone regarding ceramic pots. They are often difficult to repot plants from, so usually it's best to keep them as decorative outers for traditional black nursery plastic pots. Friendly word of advice, and will hopefully prevent you from having to crack any of them to loosen roots etc.

A few ideas below.

Read about this blacony grower here amidst Miami's Brickell Avenue high-rises.

https://www.miamiherald.com/living/home-garden/article38939241.html
"Today he cultivates about 100 fruit trees and flowering plants tucked into plastic pots that are relatively lightweight."

"He’s particularly proud of his citrus orchard that includes grapefruit, Minneola tangelos, Meyer lemons, key limes, and Dancy and Murcott tangerines. He also has a pitaya or dragon fruit; he’s eagerly awaiting the harvest of its red and green spiked fruit. And then there are the banana plants that were split in half vertically by a recent storm. “That’s happened several times,” he says."

I also recommend this article by Georgia Tasker via the Miami Herald archives "Fruit Trees For A Real High" from 1980, that covers some ideas for balconies. Hope this info helps. She mentions carambola, guava, Barbados cherry, dragonfruit, papaya, kumquat, Key limes are a few ideas. Let us know what works best for you.



Regards, Mamey D.

Offering 1 Alphonso mango plant for trade... not sure what I want yet. Over 4 ft. tall.
Send me a message to see if we can trade. Looking for interesting / rare fruit seedlings and or air layers etc. Well known tropical fruits too, just want known cultivars unless rootstock.

Mainly want to see this go to someone that wants it.

Thank you

Yep in the book his son had a place for koala longans and it got flooded during Andrew. Right off silver palm drive in Princeton I believe.

The Dimocarpus longan ‘Kohala’ is the variety we all know very well, we thank William “Bill” Whitman for this introduction to Florida. To note, since you mentioned the flood after hurricane Andrew, the grove survived. Aside from 500 acres of longan being planted in Homestead, all airlayered from Bill Whitman’s 1 tree, his son’s grove was also sourced from airlayers from this specimen.

I invite anyone to celebrate the longan at the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead’s Redland, on JUNE 7th The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami will be celebrating BILL WHITMAN DAY, see official Miami-Dade County Proclamtion below! Bill planted a ‘Kohala’ longan to commemorate his efforts on creating a new agricultural industry in Florida. We owe a lot to him for his dedication and the inspiration he has provoked.

At one time his son, Chris Whitman, had a nursery in FL.

Correct it was his son Chris. It was located south of Miami heading towards the Redland / Homestead area.

Check out this cool flyer I stumbled upon. 

Hi All, going way back about 30 years ago, there was a Bill Whitman that had a nursery that shipped tropical fruit trees to Ca.  to include jaboticaba and only labeled as jaboticaba, does anyone have any idea what he was selling at the time??       Regards    Patrick

If it’s the same Jaboticaba that William “Bill” Whitman had labeled in his personal catalog in his book, it’s either a Plinia cauliflora or Myrciaria jaboticaba, both show Grafted, no further info found aside from a comment I read in one The Rare Fruit Council International (RFCI) Miami, Tropical Fruit News magazines from the 90s, in which he calls it a (Jumbo). Saw that this week...

It would be hard to determine the exact one they were selling and where they were propagating from. I also checked a few RFCI Yearbooks & Fruit Lists...everything in the 1970s / 1980s doesn’t list a cultivar. Hope this helps.

Do you have a 30 year old specimen purchased from Whitman? Mind sharing some photos?

There's excellent white guavas that are not the 'Thai White'. If they are all from Cuba, we aren't sure but they've been excellent when eaten out of hand.