The Tropical Fruit Forum

9 seeds oout of 10 sprouted, thanks Jeff!! 

They said  it needs some cool temperatures to flower.
P.S.
Bellissimo il tuo blog, veramente congratulazioni!
Una piccola imprecisione, nel tuo articolo sul frutto più grande del mondo hai messo una foto del Jackfruit (albero) ma il frutto rappresentato nella foto successiva è un marang 
Ciao!!

Are they seedlings?

Carlos, I share the same question, i've a hass avocado but it's a SEEDLING of nearly 3 years old, when i planted i was absolutely ignorant about different varieties climate requirements. I got the seeds from an imported fruit.
Do you think it will ever flower/bear fruits in a tropical climate?
I'm just 10°N from the equator, we've a pronounced dry season february-may and  typical  temperature range is 24-32°C (75-90°F) all year round even in cooler months it  never ever gets lower than 20°C (68°F)  and just during the night and  for a few weeks.
The tree seems growing well but i don't want to keep as  an ornamental plant!

Since somebody has reintroduced this thread, I thought I would point out that waiting can eventually lead to something. After more than two years of waiting in-ground, my Maha Chanok has finally pushed its first ever flowers just this week! I don't know that it will hold even one fruit on its own this year, but I'm relieved it finally did something. It remains one of the slowest growing plants I have in my whole yard, almost never flushing leaves or anything. I was starting to wonder if it was plastic, because it always looks the same. So that was a labor of love that has gotten somewhere.

Also, after more than a year my dwarf Namwah finally gave its second ever round of fruit. The plant was nearly decimated in a flood we had recently (salt water - thanks sea level rise!), which happened literally the day after the flower finally showed!, so I thought it was a goner. But it seems that while the plant the hands are on lost all its leaves and cannot seem to make any more, the babies it has on the mat are making food for it and trying to keep the fruit going with the few leaves they themselves have left.

Additionally, my row of Moringas all suddenly made a ton of pods, which is great because they have been flowering for maybe a year and a half and only made one pod in a previous flush. I could not understand what was wrong. Moreover, those seeds have not yet sprouted, so I was worried. But now there are a horde of baby pods, and I am guessing this had only to do with a need to reach more maturity before it could really hold pods. Hopefully they stay growing on the trees, because I have yet to eat either a pod or a seed, only the leaves and flowers so far. I look forward to trying some new permutations of Moringa!

Have patience, people. And plant plenty of vegetables, like katuk, tropical tomatoes (fruiting profusely right now), and other short-term plants to tide you over.

Yes patience is the key and also integrating the deadly-slow-growing most desired fruits with other species which are faster and give quick or immediate satisfaction.
That's why I added to my avocado, camito, Indian coffee plum, biriba, mango, eugenia uniflora seedlings a bunch of passionfruit, papaya, sugar apple, pineapple, muntingia  and guavas  to make my waiting sweeter 

Thanks!!

Hello Raul!
You still hav eugenia candolleana seeds for sale?

I can't agree more with the posts regarding keeping this tree away from others if you plan to put it in the ground.  They grow extremely quickly and aggressively.  They do fruit well and in abundance, but I find I lose a lot to the squirrels and birds.  I have two planted in close proximity to one another and I'm definitely removing 1 after only two years in the ground, maybe both.  They're both already over 25 feet tall.  They were about 5 feet tall when planted.

I had to remove one because its invading roots were choking my little pomelo planted at more than 30 feet of distance.
It seems the send out many small rootlets then as soon as one finds good soil/water/nutrients it becomes enormous dividing into  thousands of tiny root that form a compact net which  sucks everything aroud

It's the name of that specific variety but i've no idea of its origin

As for my experience take a piece of ROOT and plant it shallow horizontally so that one side will be exposed to the light, it will grow in a new tree

Glyphosate is a toxic chemical which is extremely harmful to bees, proved carcinogenic to mammals and probable carcinogenic to humans.
If the WHO and the IARC managed to classify it this way inspite the tremendous pressure  it means it's really true.
Without entering a detailed scientific discussion just read this article to have an idea:

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/apr/21/glyphosate-probably-carinogenic-pesticide-why-cities-use-it


Time,  patience and "elbow-oil" are the best weapons to get rid of your weeds then mulch.

Lory, your trees look beautiful.  Are they grafted or seedlings?  If grafted, what varieties?

Thanks Johh.
Unfortunately they are all seedlings.
Here in my place it's virtually impossible to find a grafted avocado and my grafting skills are still....let's say....deficient 
Right now I'm trying to graft some seedling with the help of the videos that Carlos kindly shared on youtube and of the good  advices you can find in his great website myavocadotrees.com
As for my trees are concerned I just planted the seeds of some fruits that i selected for their quality.
I'm perfectly aware of all the problems/variables/pollination issues etc. etc that this means but at the time i planted the trees  i had no choice since no nurseries here and nobody that could help me with grafting.
We'll see what I will get,  hopefully soon!

I've 5 avocado trees in my garden, I attach you a couple of pics.












According to my experience I give you my one cent opinion.

1- Chose well your young trees before buying: don't pick the big ones of the bunch in small pots or you will end for sure with a root bonud tree. Small tree in a decent size pot is much better. don't worry for the size, once in the ground, if the conditions are right they will grow like a rocket.
This tree was put in the soil exactly one year ago. It was 2 feet high now it's 10 feet.








2- Among all the trees i have avocado are probably the most root-sensitive ones. when i transfer lemons i usually massage the rootball and often cut as much as 50% of roots to spread them. For avocad that's not allowed.  when you transfer them  into the soil, be careful not to damage the roots, try to touch or "disturb" them as less as possible, they are brittle and quite prickly  Prepare everything beforehand so that at the last moment you get the plant from  the pot (if necessary cut it) and the tree will go straight into the ground. Then water abundantly but don't make the soil damp and  muddy.

3- In my place avocado can still grow in awful limestone  soil with a 7.5 pH where other trees would struggle just to survive.
BUT at one condition: a PERFECT DRAINAGE. No wet feet, no stagnant water. Wet feet = phytophtora root rot = poor growth or death this is a MUST for avocado.

4- Keep a wide area around your trees clear of weeds. DOn't just cut them but eradicate them  completely.  Remember the point 2? Roots are touchy and they don't like competition with hungry and invading weeds. This is especially true for young trees and in dry season when water is scarce.
As for my experience 90% of avocado health is below the ground. Helthy roots will make a healthy tree.

5- Keep your young trees in partial shade if the temperatures are high until they grow a bit  and look strong. This is valid for my location just 10 °N from equator, sun is scorching for at least 6 hours a day.

6- Fertilize lightly but quite often and don't forget microelements

Last but not least:  DO NOT GIVE UP!!!