The Tropical Fruit Forum

Awesome! Any shots of the full tree? I’m excited for my tree’s first flowering, if not this year it’ll definitely be ready by next.

I had a deep well on my property when I moved in. After a couple years I had issues with certain
trees including jabos and I had my water checked and it was very high in salts. I had an abandoned shallow well
and switched. That has helped allot.

What root-pruning pots are you using, and how big are the jaboticabas in them? Also, what sort of mix do you use for them in containers? How often do you feed the epsoma and at what rate? Sorry for all the questions, after buying my first early last year I’m slowly building up my collection of jabos and I’m still figuring out what makes them tick, especially in regards to container culture. I’ve done considerable research on them over the past couple years but it always helps to know what specific routine different people follow for their own plants.

Rain water is definitely a necessity for me...I thought I could get away with a couple waterings of my high ph (8.0) irrigation water but it burned the leaf tips on a beautiful red just 3 weeks later. It also seems I’ve overestimated how much sun a young potted jaboticaba can tolerate as my 3 year old plant has exhibited some leaf-yellowing (not iron related it seems) over the summer in 6+ hours of sun. It’s still in a 3 gallon pot though, so I think it’s also related to warm roots despite the fact I painted the pot white and tried to shade it. It grew from 1’ to 3’ in a year, which I suppose is pretty good growth despite it not always getting consistent water, a little too much sun, and only a few handfuls of compost throughout the entire time. Not quite sure if I should step up slowly to a 7 gallon, or to a 15 to give plenty of room for root growth?

I’m interested in the idea of keeping them in an air root pruning pot, since I don’t think I’ve heard much of anyone else trying such with jaboticabas, but am a little wary of the idea for myself since I’d figure they’d need much more watering and these are already fairly thirsty plants. (And I have limited amount of rainwater storage)

Speaking of root-pruning, I was originally planning on using MicroKote (copper based paint for pot interiors which prunes root-tips) for such a purpose since I’ve had some experience using it on annuals i.e. tomatoes and other veggies, and have had very good luck. I’d imagine a decently thick coating could last a good 4-5 years with a jaboticaba since their root systems aren’t particularly aggressive compared to a 8’ tall cherry tomato, and I’ve had a couple coated pots holding several of the latter for the past 2 years and the paint could probably still last another season. I’ll probably try it when I repot my biggest red.

No one mentioned soil ph yet, does soil ph matter for Jabo?  and could it be responsible for the observed symptoms?

It’s pretty darn established that jaboticabas like it acid, but some varieties are supposedly more sensitive than others. I’d say a ph of 6.5 would be the minimum, (5.5-6.0 would likely be safer) any higher and sulfur or chelated iron would be needed to help prevent signs of iron chlorosis. Watering a couple times with my irrigation water bumped up the ph to 7.0 for my largest jabo and I got some chlorosis as well as tip-burn, but an iron drench and subsequent waterings with rain water fixed it pretty quickly.

Also note that tip-burn in jaboticabas (at least in most common cases with significant symptoms) seems to be due to an excess of mineral salts (calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, etc.) and not exclusive to high ph, though high ph water or soil is often so because of an abundance of specific salts. I don’t see any major chlorosis in OP’s plant though, so while the ph might be fine, the burn is probably due to salty well water as achetadomestica suggested.

I’ve no knowledge of this cultivar, but 9b is a large zone, and microclimates within it will of course abound. Zones are a great starting point for ideas of what plants will easily succeed, but they can extend considerable distances and the temperature will be colder/milder the farther north/south someone is located within one. You could get away with mangos and sensitive avocados (and many other tropical plants) for several years in the southern end of 9b with only occasional need for serious protection. Hardy cultivars and plants might not need any. Here in the northern end of 9b, plants damaged at 28-30 degrees need foresight for planting location as well as protection during the medium to hard freezes that occur every 2-4 years.

Along with location in a zone, microclimates also play a massive role. I know of a couple 40 foot mangos just 10 miles from me that fruit considerably in most years. These trees are located just 15 feet from a large lake, receive full sun from southern exposure in winter, and are surrounded by a stand of 50-60 foot live oaks on their northern side. Basically, the perfect microclimate for this area, and these trees are basically living in 10a.

Perhaps a dwarf Cavendish by leaves. Do you have a small pup pictures?

I don’t, but I’ve never seen a hint of red streaking on its leaves over the years. I recently trashed the dwarf cavendish I was growing in pots—their leaves would start looking bad after just a few nights under 50F and they definitely did not grow very fast even when pampered.

How’d the fruit from the first flower turn out?

Also mind sharing your fert schedule and what you use for potting mix?

I first noticed a small amount of bark splitting on my Kari carambola about 6 months ago. I trimmed the tree a bit and noticed that it’s progressed a fair amount since then. The afflicted trunk areas do not have a full, rounded circumference. It’s been in the ground almost 2 years, but I find it’s vigor has been lacking. I haven’t fertilized it much so that may have played a role. I let it hold around 20 fruit this year but almost all of these dropped before ripening sufficiently, and the taste of those that did was severely lacking. I haven’t been able to find much information on diseases that affect carambola trunks/bark. What’s my best course of action? Trash the tree? Cut off most the diseased growth? (which would mean stumping it’s just above the graft...but I do see some slight cracking reaching the graft line) Or simply leave the tree and see how things play out?

I originally suspected that the new, deformed growth displayed by a couple of my young avocado trees (Wurtz and a Winter Mexican) in my yard was due to a lack of calcium, but now I’m suspecting a boron deficiency. My soil is very sandy though I’ve been mulching and working towards a richer topsoil around these trees since they were planted almost 2 years ago. The trees still look predominantly healthy, but symptoms are becoming more obvious during this late year flush of growth. Both calcium and boron are apparently highly leachable so I’m fairly confident I’ve narrowed it down to either-or. I haven’t been able to fertilize for much of the rainy season so that likely plays a role.

Along with mulch and compost I normally use sunniland 6-4-6. I also have some calcium nitrate on hand which I’m fairly comfortable with using and have done so in the past. The sunniland analysis states a .02% of boron. Is getting back to a regular fertilizing schedule enough to knock away these leaf symptoms? Or would a quick fix of boron (if it is boron that’s needed) be faster? I figure I can pick up some regular 11% borax from the hardware store, but am curious on how to properly dose these small trees without inducing toxicity. All I have are gallon garden sprayers.

WURTZ:







WINTER MEXICAN:

It’s clear to me now calcium is lacking in my sandy soil despite the hard irrigation water; the avocados display short and wrinkled new growth during the rainy season. I’ve been using epsoma garden gypsum from the hardware store but it’s expensive at $11-$12 for a 6lb bag. Are there any other stores or maybe nurseries north of Orlando that supply 40-50lb bags at a good price? I’ve been to a few nurseries nearby already and all they seem to have is epsoma.

I’ve had similar issues with my kary this year; most the fruit looked pretty unclean and not waxy smooth. Many split, some got big but dropped before half way ripened, and others got further along but had a dark orange interior that tasted musky and only slightly sweet. I’m pretty sure calcium is an issue on my sandy soil but I’ve not found a good source of bulk gypsum close by.

Anyone in Florida have access to cuttings from quality Peruvian apple cactus? I’ve had fruit from one plant a couple years back that could rival any top tier dragon fruit. Haven’t tasted any like it since. A friend’s 13 foot plant has fairly bland fruit, which is a shame since it’s fruited twice this year and produced over 130 fruit! I’ve seen plenty of plants shrug off freezes here without an issue.

Looks good, how long has the tree been in the ground and where’s it from? Vigor? Any idea on cold hardiness?

I can fit only one more avocado in my yard and have been eyeing super hass and day. It would have to be kept on the small side.

Tough to get fruit without worms

Problem is they grow so easy here  they come up everywhere a seed hits dirt

With so many “wild” loquat around the fruit flies find yours also

The panicles might be a bit tougher to cover, but can they not be protected? Spotted 0 maggots in a large guava harvest last year when I bagged each fruit.

Don’t have any guavas this year, but noticed a distinct lack of papaya fruit fly since the freeze earlier this year.

The surinam roaches act as the initial decomposer in a lot of places - similiar to exotic millipedes more common in south Florida - breaking down fresh and rotting plant material for the next crew of worms, mites, springtails, and other critters to takeover as they convert mulch to soil. Their tendency to crawl upwards when exposed to vibrations is a neat quirk that anoles will learn to take advantage. Spend a lot of time outside and they’ll follow you around waiting for you to disturb the roaches. Chickens also love them and will learn to follow a lawn mower.