The Tropical Fruit Forum

Howdy

I am also in 9B and am in the process of adding more avocado varieties.  I have Brogdon (Hass like flavor) which is probably one of the best for our area and Choquette.

I am preparing to add more trees and these are the ones that made my shortlist.

1. Day (Must Have)
2. Oro Negro (Must Have)

3. Lula
4..Wurtz
5. Nishikawa
6 Kampong
7. Super Haas
8. Ettinger


Also under consideration

Monroe
Stewart
Wilson
Bernecker
Walden
Tower2
Mexicola/Winter Mexican

Reed may be a good California variety, but here in Florida it's not popular or highly rated..  Pinkerton is also California variety not highly rated for Florida. Check the reviews on Pine Island nursery. Nishikawa & Stewart probably both worth trying but wouldn't be at the top of my list.

If space is limited I would plant:

1. Brogdon
2. Day
3. Oro Negro
4. Lula

and then whatever else you want. There are many good varieties we can't grow here in 9B due to our occasional hard freezes and high humidity.

Good Luck

Hey All

Would either Brogdon or Choquette make for good seedling Florida rootstock for grafting?  If not what is the #1 best cold hardy avocado rootstock for grafting in Florida 9B.  I have heard Lula is very good.  Thanks.

Just might buy this Juliette, depending on what members say here. Taste and productivity are what I look for. This tree grows more vigorously than Julie mango from what I hear.

Flavor was nothing special.  Fruit is small.  It would not make my list for a tree I would plant.  Flavor is slightly spicy like a Julie.  I gave it a 7 score last time I tried one.  Get a Carrie or Glenn if you don't already have one.   

I have now lost most of the 20 or so mature citrus trees I have planted over the years.  I am afraid to due to HRB I have planted my last citrus tree.  From everything I have read the experts are really no closer to finding a cure or solution than they were at the beginning.

Please give me one good reason to still plant citrus.  I am afraid HRB has won and no cure will be found in my lifetime.  I will continue to plant other fruit trees, but sadly I think I will never plant another citrus tree again.  Anyone want to try and convince me otherwise?

I only buy grafted trees, but have cheap neighbors. 

I wasn't paying close attention to the weather, but it did seem like a mild winter with a lack of very many chill hours.

After a lot of tasting & research these are the 7 trees I chose to plant (plus a mislabeled Valencia Pride I was sent by mistake).  With trees you also have to consider seasons, reliability & not just the flavor of the fruit.  You want to make sure you have a EARLY, MID & LATE SEASON varieties.  In fact if you were only going to have 3 trees I would make spreading the season my top priority for selection.  For myself Glenn, Carrie & Lancetilla would be my choices for spreading the season.

1. Carrie -  #1 Best selling Mango in South Florida for a good reason.  It's the epitome of a rich sweet indulgent decadent desert mango.  Best mid season choice.
2. Glenn - The best early.  Reliable & excellent refreshing cantaloupe like flavor when fully ripe.  It's my favorite "breakfast" mango.
3. Lemon Meringue/PPK - It's a must have.  Tart Lemon flavor when slightly under ripe.  Sweet Orange flavor when fully ripe.
4. Edward - Shy bearer, but still #1 for flavor with a lot of Florida old timers.  Creamy & extremely WELL BALANCED flavor.
5. Lancetilla - YES LANCETILLA!!!  Excellent flavor when allowed to fully ripen which takes longer due to their size.  The 5 stars rating for flavor on the Pine Island Web Site is spot on.  It's size isn't a factor.  Good late season choice.
6. Mallika - No Camel Dung or special ripening required IME.  Full flavored Mango - not for sissies.  Like a Carrie on steroids.  It will punch you in the face the first time you try it.  The flavor will quickly grow on you even if you aren't sure about it at first.  Keep trying it till you love it.
7. Keitt - Only because it's the latest, prolific & reliable.  Good flavor, but wouldn't win any contests for flavor alone.


THUMBS DOWN

1. Nam Dok Mai - One note mango - over rated.  Blandly sweet but no mango flavor.
2. Maha Chanok - Tastes like a carrot - over rated. It's pretty & photogenic but that's all.
3. Angie - Tastes like pureed over cooked carrots with a dash of old sneaker - just plain nasty.  It's a spitter.

Not that it means anything, but my Honeybell and my Persian Lime are the two healthiest citrus trees I have left.  Many of my other citrus trees have died or are dying.  I
My Honeybell is about 5-6 years old and my youngest citrus tree so maybe it just hasn't been infected yet.

Lancetilla has a flavor & texture profile similar to Kent, but SIGNIFICANTLY better and later.  It is also more disease resistant.  When PROPERLY RIPENED on the counter - it has a classic rich sweet clean pure Florida mango flavor without any offensive undertones or aftertastes.   A good Lancetilla trumps Keitt, Kent, Beverly & Valencia Pride though VP has a different flavor profile (VP is mild  - Lancetilla is rich).  Lancetilla is rated 4 out of 5 stars for flavor by Pine Island Nursery and highly recommended for good flavor by John Painter/Pantropic Groves (Shot) who grows them on his 15 acre mango farm in Bokellia.  Lancetilla due to it's size takes longer to ripen on the counter & many of the bad reviews stem from people eating it too soon which is easy to do as they need an extra couple of days after they are soft to the touch.  It admittedly does have very poor flavor if eaten before fully ready.   Lancetilla isn't just an oddball mango it is also a very enjoyable eating experience.  It needs to get more respect than it does.  Anyone looking a very late mango should try Lancetilla for themselves, just make sure you give them enough time on the counter to come up to full flavor.   I was so surprisingly impressed by the flavor "9" and overall indulgent face first eating experience that I planted a Lancetilla.  This is significant as out of all the 60 or so mangoes I have sampled there has been less than 10 that I devoted yard space to.  Anyone who says they don't like Lancetilla never had a good one.

Will milk be made available to us?

Quote from: johnb51 on August 09, 2018, 09:22:46 AM

Alex, you said that your customers find Carrie and Angie indistinguishable.  How about you?  Do think Angie is as sweet?  (I don't.)

Yes. Angie has compared very favorably to Carrie for me, though I don’t get to eat them as much as I like (they all get sold). Now something to consider is that weather conditions at time of harvest, horticultural practices and harvesting time can all have an impact on a cvs flavor and it may be that Angie is more sensitive to changes in the above.

I’ve found that Indians and Caribbean customers love the Angie and find it a more than acceptable alternative to the Carrie.

If we were to take 5 properly ripened Angie and carries, cut them up and put them on separate unlabeled plates, I feel most people wouldn’t be able to tell which was which.

Alex - I will take your word for it that the ones myself & Sulcata grove have tried may not have been Angie at it's best, but are you saying nobody else has ever said they tasted like cooked carrots?   Thanks.  : )

Questions:

1. Both Carla & Cotton Candy are supposed to trump Keitt for flavor, but will their season stretch into September+?

2. Do Carla & Cotton Candy trump Honey Kiss & Lancetilla for flavor?

3. Can anyone describe Carla & Cotton Candy's flavor profile or compare them to any other common varieties?  People say CC tastes like CC, which really doesn't tell you much other than to say it tastes sweet as sugar.

Thanks.