Finding Kepel Fruit in South Florida?

[davidgarcia899]

I am in the Redlands and am looking for a Kepel Fruit. I have been trying to find one ever since I saw the tree at the Lancetilla Botanical Garden. I know there are one or two place online that sell the seeds and i saw one guy on ebay selling a seedling for 45 dollars, but I am skeptical. Does anyone know of anywhere in South Florida where they sell them. Or do any of you have one?
 

[bsbullie]

I am in the Redlands and am looking for a Kepel Fruit. I have been trying to find one ever since I saw the tree at the Lancetilla Botanical Garden. I know there are one or two place online that sell the seeds and i saw one guy on ebay selling a seedling for 45 dollars, but I am skeptical. Does anyone know of anywhere in South Florida where they sell them. Or do any of you have one?

The fruit or tree?

[davidgarcia899]

The tree, I read that several have been grown in South Florida.

[bsbullie]

The tree, I read that several have been grown in South Florida.

Excalibur, located in Lake Worth, has some.

[fruitlovers]

Will the kepel fruit in Florida? Has it ever been fruited there?

[Hollywood]

Didn't Whitman tell Gollner he had in the Fruithunters book?

[bsbullie]

Will the kepel fruit in Florida? Has it ever been fruited there?

Had one customer come in (to actually but Kepel trees) and said they did fruit it...however I can not verify and do not know where he lives so take it for the grain of salt it may be...

[fruitlovers]

Didn't Whitman tell Gollner he had in the Fruithunters book?

No, Whitman tells Gollner how he tested the fruit to see if it made his urine change smell, and it didn't work, p. 62. But Whitman did fruit kepel. It's in his book 5 Decades. His tree died soon after fruiting of phytophora disease.

[Mike T]

My impression is that they are a tough tree not so prone to photophthora and resonably cold hardy judging by ones I have seen at kuranda.They laugh at 40f and sprout vigorously during mins in the 40's.I bet they'd go fine in many parts of florida but may go through a rough patch when it gets below freezing.There is a bit of genetic diversity in kepels and perhaps whitmans' one was just a bit less hardy than most.

[fruitlovers]

My impression is that they are a tough tree not so prone to photophthora and resonably cold hardy judging by ones I have seen at kuranda.They laugh at 40f and sprout vigorously during mins in the 40's.I bet they'd go fine in many parts of florida but may go through a rough patch when it gets below freezing.There is a bit of genetic diversity in kepels and perhaps whitmans' one was just a bit less hardy than most.

Mike, I think you're a bit overly optimistic about what can be grown in Florida! I judge that based on your previous comments that durians could be widely fruited in Florida. Something that has never been achieved, not even in the multi million dollar Whitman glasshouse at Fairchild gardens.
The couple of kepels i have growing here have been extremely slow growing and delicate. I'm pretty sure that anything below 50F for extended period and they would be in the next world!

[Mike T]

Maybe Oscar but I was below 50f last night and Kuranda was about 40f min.I have looked at Miamis' temps and extreme mins and would still be optimistic.The ones in my yard  were not slow.I might be a bit warmer than Hilo overall but perhaps cooler in summer. Perhaps I need to get a bunch of the park ones and send them to you and florida folk just to see if these ones perform any better.
Mangosteen would struggle in Florida but those small leafed ones like in northern thailand and commercially at mission would be worth a shot.
Durians vary alot in cold tolerance and as I have said before forget montong,chanee,gaan yeow,D24,D101 and a thousand others.Durio macrantha, red prawn and the 2 laplaes have hardiness form on their resumes' and I would be confident in predicting the survival and even fruiting of at least one of these in Florida.If I get some macranthas and red prawns next season we could put it to the test.I have only 1 tiny sprouting long laplae.

[bsbullie]

Oscar - haven't you realized by now that everything is different Down Under...where Kensigton Pride is the tops and a worldwide favorite 

...sorry Mike T, just had to say it 

[Mike T]

Thanks b.s. for your positive words.You may be surprized that there are real differences in what is preferred and available.Alot of this this has to do with proximity to other places and I will always express opinions about what I prefer and what is popular here.It is obvious that there are big differences in what people like and seek in mangoes,lychees,longans,abius,black sapotes,atemoyas,jackfruit,chempadek in your neck of the woods from mine.I am actually keener on fruits and varieties from other places.
You had better get used to it because come the fruit season I'll be posting pics.

[BMc]

Kepel grows fine but slowly here in a collector's yard on the other side of town. There are a few others around that I have heard of, but have not seen. I dont know of any old ones fruiting here, but dont doubt they can/have.
Apparently, we are comparable to southern California here, so Florida should be able to grow them on the curbside without problem 

[fruitlovers]

Kepel grows fine but slowly here in a collector's yard on the other side of town. There are a few others around that I have heard of, but have not seen. I dont know of any old ones fruiting here, but dont doubt they can/have.
Apparently, we are comparable to southern California here, so Florida should be able to grow them on the curbside without problem 

You grow kepel, longkong, mangosteen, and breadfruit and are comparable to Southern California? Most of these can't even be fruited in Southern Florida, let alone Southern California! Your latitude in Melbourne is 38N degrees, further from equator than LA 34N and San Diego 33N, your temperatures are comparable, as we saw from comparison chart with La Habra, but obviously there is some other very BIG difference that's letting you grow those plants that does not exist in S. California. None of those fruits have been fruited in California even in an environment controlled greenhouse!

[BMc]

Kepel grows fine but slowly here in a collector's yard on the other side of town. There are a few others around that I have heard of, but have not seen. I dont know of any old ones fruiting here, but dont doubt they can/have.
Apparently, we are comparable to southern California here, so Florida should be able to grow them on the curbside without problem 

You grow kepel, longkong, mangosteen, and breadfruit and are comparable to Southern California? Most of these can't even be fruited in Southern Florida, let alone Southern California! Your latitude in Melbourne is 38N degrees, further from equator than LA 34N and San Diego 33N, your temperatures are comparable, as we saw from comparison chart with La Habra, but obviously there is some other very BIG difference that's letting you grow those plants that does not exist in S. California. None of those fruits have been fruited in California even in an environment controlled greenhouse!

Not Melbourne - 2500kms up the road in Brisbane - 27S. I know there is something that makes us different in climate than socal, which is why I use the word apparently. From those who have lived in SE QLD and SFLA we are reportedly comparrable, except we dont experience 'Arctic Blasts' or freezes, having a fairly stable climate (whereas the rest of the country gets heatwaves etc, we dont seem to be effected that much either way).

[fruitlovers]

Kepel grows fine but slowly here in a collector's yard on the other side of town. There are a few others around that I have heard of, but have not seen. I dont know of any old ones fruiting here, but dont doubt they can/have.
Apparently, we are comparable to southern California here, so Florida should be able to grow them on the curbside without problem 

You grow kepel, longkong, mangosteen, and breadfruit and are comparable to Southern California? Most of these can't even be fruited in Southern Florida, let alone Southern California! Your latitude in Melbourne is 38N degrees, further from equator than LA 34N and San Diego 33N, your temperatures are comparable, as we saw from comparison chart with La Habra, but obviously there is some other very BIG difference that's letting you grow those plants that does not exist in S. California. None of those fruits have been fruited in California even in an environment controlled greenhouse!

Not Melbourne - 2500kms up the road in Brisbane - 27S. I know there is something that makes us different in climate than socal, which is why I use the word apparently. From those who have lived in SE QLD and SFLA we are reportedly comparrable, except we dont experience 'Arctic Blasts' or freezes, having a fairly stable climate (whereas the rest of the country gets heatwaves etc, we dont seem to be effected that much either way).

Ok BMc, sorry, Brisbane. So 27S is comparable to La Habra at 34N? Makes sense climate would be more comparable to Miami at 25N. About those who lived in SE QLD and SFLA reporting they were comparable climates, to humans probably yes. But plants are a whole lot more sensitive than humans to very minor differences that people may not even detect. (Did any of your friends living in Florida fruit any of those plants?) Then there is also detail of soils being totally different. Also lack of arctic blasts in QLD is a huge difference. One arctic blast in southernmost Florida can ruin your whole orchard. I guess also Brisbane is not in hurricane alley, as is Southern Florida?

[luc]

20 degrees North , 300 above sea level , walled in ( 3 meters tall ) so protected from colder wind in winter nights .

Kepel does really well , once in the ground grows fast.

[davidgarcia899]

Well I bought one. Thanks to Rob at Excalibur! Hopefully it will do well. I planted it in a protected spot. Ill post a picture when I get  chance.

[fruitlovers]

20 degrees North , 300 above sea level , walled in ( 3 meters tall ) so protected from colder wind in winter nights .

Kepel does really well , once in the ground grows fast.

My kepels have grown very slowly all along. Hope they speed up now that one is 6 and the other 8 feet tall.

[Guanabanus]

I once had a seedling kepel from seed from Bill Whitman's tree, and grew it to about 5 feet tall, then lost it during a winter, though it didn't actually freeze here in my yard.

[davidgarcia899]

Im building a pvc green house to put around mine