The Tropical Fruit Forum

Hi all.

I have a fruit related group chat on Telegram. Now up to 20 members.

If anyone's keen to join. Send me a PM.

Cheers

Hi Fruiters

Does anyone have much knowledge of where the limits lies in terms of latitude and humidity for successfully  growing ultra tropicals  outdoors such as Mangosteen, Rambutan, Pulasan, Bread fruit etc ?

For example Darwin, Australia should not be a problem in terms of Latitude at 12.4 degrees south but the harsh dry season means ultra tropicals get baked. Durian plantations there have not been very successful.
Somewhere like Ubatuba, Brazil mostly seems warm all year and has a lush tropical jungle backdrop but at 23.4 degrees south it might be a bit too far away from the equator?
Rio De Janerio is just a little further north of Ubatuba but the annual rainfall is only 1066.8mm. The coastal breezes there moderate the climate which may help but the annual rainfall is quite low compared to many environments where tropical fruits thrive. Any reports of Mangosteen growing successfully there?

Any ideas on how far you can push the distance from the equator and the humidity factor without having to resort to grow tents etc to grow ultra tropical fruit trees?

Cheers!

Hello.

Are there any members here that live in Paraguay?

Cheers!

Hi Fruiters.

Is anyone in Australia growing the genuine Ecuador giant Yellow Dragonfruit in Australia?

A genuine one grown from imported cuttings or a seedling grown one that is proven to have the giant sized fruits. Often when grown from seed they revert back to having small size fruits similar to the regular spiny yellow DF

So far I've seen The small spiny yellow Dragonfruits in Aus which taste great but are small and the large size thornless yellow dragons which taste bland.

If anyone has any leads it would be appreciated

Cheers!

Hi Fruiters

Have any of you successfully grown Ilama from seed into a mature tree?

I've had two failed experiences with Ilama  so far.

1. I got seeds. Germinated them quickly and easily after soaking in GA3. All was going well up until they were on their 2nd or 3rd set of leaves.  The plants were between 5 and 15 cm when they suddenly got sick. A couple of them had some fungal looking growth around the base of the stem. All their leaves darkened and over the next few weeks they died. At this point the weather was still warm. So I put it down to a fungal condition.

2. I purchased a baby plant. It was about 10 cm tall and had it's first set of leaves. Starting to sprout it's second. It was healthy upon arrival but after a few weeks the same thing happened and it died. I did not see any fungal growth on this plant . This time the weather was cooler at the start of winter but it wasn't yet deep into winter.

I live in a climate similar to Southern Florida or Florianopolis Brazil.  Subtropical with no frosts but it's still cold enough in winter that growing things like Durian or Mangosteen is out of the question.

My next strategy for Ilama is to use Cactus potting mix. So it will be nice and sandy and free draining. And to also purchase some Anti fungal liquid to apply to the potting mix.

Do any of you guys have any hints or tips on how to successfully raise this seemingly fickle yet wonderful fruit from seed into a beast of a tree that will feed my neighborhood Possums, Fruit bats and other assorted critters?

Cheers!

Hello Fruiters

It seems there are lots of named varieties of Canistel floating around and that grafting is a common practice.

I recently ate some high quality fruits from a named cultivar. What do you think the odds are of the seeds growing true to type from seed?

I'm pondering whether to grow them or buy a grafted tree.

Hi guys

Most of us here are familiar with the more famous Garcinias such as G. Mangostana, Lucs Garcinia, G. Humilis, G Dulcis, Russels' Sweet etc.

What are some of the lesser known high quality Garcinias that are sweet enough to eat out of hand without needing Miracle Berries? 

Any Garcinia Gurus out there?