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Messages - elsedgwick

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Myrica Rubra
« on: November 14, 2017, 01:21:07 PM »
Thanks; I had seen that post and been in touch with some of the folks involved in that order.  But speaking of the Clouforest forums, if anyone knows the moderators, I have been trying without success to get registered for years - I never received confirmation, and now when I try to register again it says my email is already connected to an account (which I can't access, since I never received confirmation).

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Myrica Rubra
« on: October 23, 2017, 08:20:25 AM »
I am considering importing Myrica rubra.  I know it has been attempted before with little success, and have spoken with the person who put that order together and one person who successfully grafted scion from some of those plants.  I would be interested in hearing from others who received plants how they treated the plants and whether they had any success at all.
Comments or suggestions from anyone with experience with Myrica rubra more generally - particularly anyone with experience grafting to M. cerifera - would also be appreciated.  Please message me in addition to posting, and I will provide my email.

Many thanks.

3
Temperate Fruit Discussion / Myrica Rubra Seed
« on: October 02, 2017, 08:36:10 PM »
I know many have tried growing Myrica ruba from seed before, mostly with unsatisfactory results, but I am curious about how others have approached these seeds.  I have ordered a number of seeds from various suppliers, and have already noticed clear differences in quality. 
The first two to arrive are the two US sellers I ordered from - SerendipitySeeds.com (also on ebay as JonValleyStudios, at $5.99 for 5 seeds) and ebay seller joynature ($5.59 for five seeds).  The Serendipity Seeds were reported by the seller to be this year's seeds, and from the looks of it, this is correct; the joynature seeds are small and the endocarps appeared shriveled by comparison - it almost looks as though they might have been oven-dried.  The attached picture shows Serendipity Seeds center left and joynature seeds center right, including one full seed of each type, flanked by the endocarps.  The endocarps were removed using a pair of vice grip pliers - setting the gap to just shorter than the length of the seed, closing, and then gradually adjusting smaller until the endocarp broke.  Be sure to hold the pliers in a container  when doing this, because the endocarps can shatter with surprising force, especially with fresh seed.  I used a large tupperware, inverted over my hand as I closed the pliers, and worked in the bathtub where the seeds and pieces of the shell were easy to spot and clean up.
Unfortunately, I nicked one of the seeds in the process - a plain old vice might allow you to use smaller incremental force in a more controlled manner, but I didn't have one readily available.  The seeds have been placed in moist sphagnum moss in sealed bags to sit on top of the refrigerator for a period of warm stratification. 



4
Cold Hardy Citrus / Re: Cold Hardry Grapefuit/Pommelos
« on: October 26, 2016, 12:22:46 AM »
Grapefruit are definitely possible in 8B - I know of several well established abandoned trees scattered around north Florida and south Georgia, including, I believe, Duncan, Marsh, Ruby Red, and perhaps an Oroblanco (pale yellow flesh, relatively few seeds, thick rind, large fruit, with the smallest the size of large commercial grapefruit and the largest almost the size of a standard pummelo, but based on its size -35 feet- it seems like it would have had to have been planted right when Oroblanco was first released in California).  I harvest fruit by the suitcase (literally, collecting them in a duffle bag) off these trees every year.

I also have trees I planted, both in a 9A-mircoclimate (in town) and in a solidly 8B area outside of town.

For white grapefruit, I would recommend Duncan (or what I am assuming is Duncan - very pale flesh, very seedy, excellent flavor - fairly intense, but lightly sweet and not at all bitter). For red grapefruit, I would recommend Flame or Rio Red - very good, sweet, dark red grapefruit, without the bitterness of Ruby Red, for instance.  I've only had a few fruit that were from a tree I could positively identify as Flame, but they seem to have a bit more acid tang than Rio does.

Pummelos are certainly less tolerant of cold, but there is the one tree I mentioned earlier that I really believe is probably Oroblanco that is 35-feet tall, never receives care, and seems to be almost bulletproof.   My in-town pummelos have never needed protection, and my out-of-town Hirado Buntan and Oroblanco trees  survived one of the worst winters in recent memory (though with significant damage) and came through last year's mild winter with only very mild leaf loss.  No fruit yet (two years in-ground - the Hirado set some fruit but aborted them quickly in a brief dry spell we had this spring), but I am hoping that if we get a mild winter this year, the Hirado will fruit.  Chandler is a good red pummelo - I probably prefer it to Hirado - but I have not had the chance to try a Valentine or Cocktail.  I've never had a pummelo I didn't like, though. 

 

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Cold Hardy Citrus / Re: Winter 2014 damage
« on: May 29, 2014, 07:15:33 AM »
Here in N. Florida/S. Georgia we had an absolute low of around 20, with two or three days where temperatures remained below freezing until around midday. 

Out in the country, we lost a Meyer lemon.  Although it was protected by frost cloth over a frame, it had suffered limb breakage prior to the freeze, which I believe can significantly decrease cold tolerance by stimulating the tree.  With similar protection, we had some trees defoliate (pummelos, a Lakeland limequat, a Duncan grapefruit, and, surprisingly, a Ponkan).  A neighbor lost an unprotected grapefruit on Swingle that had just been planted.  Unprotected satsumas did fine, and an unprotected Ponkan graft I had high-grafted just a few months prior came through unscathed.   

In town, the recorded temperatures were about the same, but it's hard to know exactly what temperatures were around my house, everything in ground survived.  There was some defoliation seen on a Shiranui/Dekopon (on Swingle) and a Rhode Red Valencia (Trifoliate).  A Flame Grapefruit and Ponkan (both Swingle) came through pretty well.  In an unheated and partially open house (three walls and roof), lemons (Sanbokan, Lisbon, Harvey, Meyer, Ponderosa), limes (Kaffir, Persian, Lakeland Limequat), and various other plants (several mandarins, a pummelo, etc...) did fine - one of the lemons lost some new growth it was pushing out prematurely, but that is about it.  Almost all have set fruit.  Again, it's hard to know exactly how cold it got, but a mango and some pineapples in the same house died.  Another mango (~2" trunk diameter) died back almost to the graft, but has since come back. 


All trees are 1-3 years old except one 20 year old grapefruit that was unprotected and defoliated but has since come back and several older satsumas, which were also unprotected and did fine. 

6
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Hirado Butan hardiness
« on: April 17, 2014, 10:53:56 PM »
I have two young Hirado buntan (Florida pink) trees.  One, on Trifoliate, came through ~26-28 F with no signs of stress.  Another, on Swingle, underwent ~75% defoliation after temperatures reached ~21 F, although it was protected by a single layer of medium-weight frost cloth over a structure made of electrical conduit, so I don't know how cold it reached inside the tent.  It has since leafed out quite nicely, but I haven't noticed any blooms.

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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Rootstock Sucker Madness
« on: April 17, 2014, 10:47:15 PM »
The number and vigor of the suckers will also dwindle as the canopy develops and shades the base of the trunk, particularly if you do not prune lower branches of the scion. 

8
Wood chips are fine in the short term, but in the long term, once the wood chips have broken down more fully the resulting soil will hold too much water and encourage root rot.  If you are planning to re-pot with some frequency and remove most of the old soil before adding new chips you might be able to avoid this, but removal of the soil would result in more stress to the plant.  Mixing in some inorganic materials (perlite, sand, ground granite) or organics that are highly resistant to decomposition (charcoal, coconut hulls) would result in a soil that retains its structure longer.   

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