The Tropical Fruit Forum

Adam,

Have you given any thought to jabutisnowangels?

James

I'm trying to choose a jackfruit that will do well for me here in Rancho Cucamonga.  I have a couple of seedlings that I'm growing, but I'd like to get a grafted tree that is more mature and will hopefully be well enough established by summer's end to overwinter in the ground here, with minimal protection.  Not sure if this is realistic, though.  Here are my winter averages:



I'm choosing between Mai-1, Mai-1, Black Gold, NS1, Golden Pillow, and Gold Nugget.  I've heard Black Gold might be cold hardier than some varieties, but I've also read that it is considered a late-season jak.  Would a short-season variety like Gold Nugget be more suitable for my shorter growing season?  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Behl,

Can you email me or post more info about your local compost source?  Thanks!

James

Oscar,

Do you ever sell cambuca seeds?  I don't see them in your online store.

James

Oscar,

You say that these have fruited in Southern California.  I'd love to hear more about this.  I love jackfruit, and I'd love to grow them, but whenever I try, my seedlings almost immediately go crispy on the leaf margins, and quickly decline.  Is my problem the low humidity here in inland so cal, or is it my water, which is probably high in dissolved salts?  Or is it both?  Should I be using an acid fertilizer and filtered water to get a jackfruit off to a good start?  Should I give it much shade for the first couple of years?  Any input is appreciated.

James

Hi everyone,

I've neglected to post on this thread up until now, but I'm a middle school history teacher in the Inland Empire of Southern California.  I have a lovely wife and three beautiful, energy-draining little girls.  They're my garden "helpers" and really enjoy picking wild strawberries and fresh carrots whenever they get the chance.  I've developed a real love of gardening over the past five years, or so, and specifically of growing fruit over the past year or so.  As a result, a lot of my trees are not yet mature enough to be bearing.

I'm trying to grow a variety of temperate and subtropical fruits, but I'm most excited about the thought of fruiting my own mangoes, dragonfruit, lychees, jaboticabas and cherimoyas.  I've also got a number of eugenias and bananas, and haven't yet totally given up on the dream of keeping a jakfruit seedling alive long enough to fruit.  I look forward to learning a great deal from the experience of the members on this forum, and I hope I will be able to contribute something, as well.

James

I have both, but no fruit yet.  I can tell you I've had a couple of fruits from my lemon guava which I enjoyed very much.

James

Stephen,

Pardon my ignorance, but what is SWC?  Also, is there a reason you're growing your Ken's Red in a container?  I put one in the ground last year and it's begun to grow (though it's only about 8" tall, at the moment), but I'm wondering how I should fertilize it to get it climbing my patio cover.  Also, I saw on another post that you like to foliar feed for micronutrients with some of your plants.  May I ask what product(s) you use?  I need to find something that will encourage growth in my miracle fruit and jabuticabas.  Thanks!

James

Adam,

I have a jabuticaba question, though not a pruning one, for you.  I've never actually tasted one, but have been hooked on the idea of growing them for awhile.  I bought one seedling from a guy locally (Inland Empire of southern California) which is about 8" tall and will probably be a decade before it fruits.  Then I read about a large-fruited variety being grown by a gentleman named Jack Swords on the central coast of California.  I wrote to him and he very generously let me visit his place, where he gave me a seedling he'd grown from his tree.  The fruit apparently grows to the size of a small plum, and is dark skinned. 

First of all, do you have any idea whether this is most likely just a variant of M. cauliflora, or perhaps another species?  Second, the seedling is about 18" tall, perhaps, in a 5 gallon container, and I had been planning to plant it in one of my garden's raised beds under shade cloth until it grows a bit more, but after reading about jabuticabas on the forums here, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just pot it up into a larger container and put it by the side of my house, where it will just get a couple of hours of direct sun.  Mr. Swords' tree is in full sun for a good part of the day, I think, but I'm much further inland in almost desert-like conditions during the summer.  Finally,  I'd love to be able to propagate the plant I received, but I'm wondering if there's any good way to do so, besides waiting years for it to fruit so that I can start some seedlings.  Am I right in recalling that jabuticabas don't air-layer well?  Thanks for any advice you can offer.

James

behlgarden,

Just a few thoughts from a decided non-expert:

I planted my lychee (a Hak Ip) in-ground on slightly raised soil in a spot where its canopy is in full sun but its roots are in shade much of the year.  I've heard a lot about the clay soil and high pH of our water not being to the lychee's liking (I'm in the Inland Empire), but mine is doing fairly well, so far.  That may be in part because I started off with a more mature tree.  I bought mine from Mimosa in a 15 gal pot, when it was about 6' tall.  It seems to be doing well, and kept most of its foliage in spite of some Santa Ana wind-related damage.  It is now blooming.

From what I've read, foliar feeding is probably a good idea.  In addition, I've heard of a few other techniques for overcoming our less-than-ideal soil and water.  For one thing, you may want to try replanting a bit higher, both to improve drainage, and to make fruiting more likely down the road.  As I understand it, lychees fruit better if planted with the top of their rootball just above soil level.  You might also try mulching around the tree to retain moisture, as lychees don't like to dry out.  I've tried mulching with some bark mulch, but I've also added some peat moss around my tree, to retain moisture, and to improve the pH a bit, over the long-term.  I've heard that adding gypsum can help break up clay soils a bit, and that it can, over time, displace some of the salts that tend to build up in our soil (and which lychees seem so sensitive to).  Finally, I've also read that using a weak vinegar solution when watering by hand can perk up a suffering lychee, presumably by improving its uptake of nutrients from otherwise alkaline soil.  I'm afraid I can't recommend a particular dilution, but I plan to experiment with this myself.  Good luck!

James

Rodney,

Are you growing sugar apples?  If so, how are they doing?  Are you planning on keeping them under cover during our winters?  I gathered that they were too tender for so cal, in general.

James