Hi all, I know there is a post about growing Luc's Garcinia around the world but I thought it would be a good idea to start a post about growing it in Southern California. I figure it is common enough now that we can gather information specific to our location. Information like growth, cold tolerance, heat tolerance, disease problems, fruiting characteristics etc. can vary from location to location. Hopefully gathering information in one place will be useful.
I'll start by telling you guys my experience so far. I obtained my one year old seedling in April of 2015. If I remember correctly it was about six inches tall. I grew it in a pot until spring of 2018 when I put it in the ground. At that time it was about two feet tall. That summer it had three growth flushes. It grew to three feet tall and started to branch out laterally. This summer it is always in a constant state of growth. It doesn't have growth flushes where the whole plant grows at once, anymore. It now is always growing somewhere on the plant but not all at once. It is currently over 4.5' tall and sill growing strong.
My house is in Long Beach and I live about two miles from the beach. Because of this I have mild summers and winters. I have the Limoncillo planted in dappled shade with about two inches of mulch. I fertilize it several times a summer. The only disease problem I have had so far is scale attacking the new growth.
I'm hoping it will fruit at about 6-8 feet tall? I really have no idea.
Here are some pictures.
Bill