Carambola in San Jose/Nor Cal

[californicus]

Hi,

I live in San Jose, USDA 9B. I tasted star fruits when I was young in India and I remember it to be somewhere between tart and sweet and not that special. Recently, my wife and I tried one from our neighbor's tree which he gave us and it was refreshingly sweet and juicy and we are hooked ever since. Although he mentioned that he has the tree for nearly 20 years, it hasn't been fruiting reliably every year. I would love to plant one in my yard after this winter is over. I searched this forum and found out that there are a few here from San Jose and have grown carambola trees. I have a few questions for you

1) What variety do you have? Would you recommend it?
2) What is your experience so far? Do you need winter protection every year in Nor Cal? How is the yield and taste of these fruits?
3) Where did you get your plant? I tried calling a few nurseries and none of them have this tree.

Any info on this is very helpful. Thanks!

[Itay Gazit]

Hi californicus,

1. Grafted for sure, don't have recommendation.
2. Protect it from wind, it won't heart to protect it from frost(shelter) as well, it should handle the cold. My tree didn't bear fruit yet.
3. Drive to SoCAL nurseries or buy online from Florida. For example: http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/plant-catalog-reference-2

[joehewitt]

I have the Hart variety from TopTropicals. It has survived 2 winters (lows of 28F) and just began to flower for the first time.  I'd recommend it.

[californicus]

Thanks Itay/Joe. I was reading up on different carambola varieties to see if any of them are more suitable for damp winters and warm summers of South Bay. I haven't seen much information on cold-tolerance of individual cultivars. I read in a few places that Kari is more tolerant to cold but not from reliable sources. Anyway, its best to plant a couple of them and test it for myself. Will keep you posted here.

[C24mccain]

Thanks Itay/Joe. I was reading up on different carambola varieties to see if any of them are more suitable for damp winters and warm summers of South Bay. I haven't seen much information on cold-tolerance of individual cultivars. I read in a few places that Kari is more tolerant to cold but not from reliable sources. Anyway, its best to plant a couple of them and test it for myself. Will keep you posted here.

I'm in Florida but I have a Kari starfruit that was hit pretty hard in last years freeze down to 25*. I did have a 250 watt heat lamp attached to tree but the tree was not covered so it only helped a small portion of the tree near the lamp. You can see in this video around the 2:50 mark ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJgvzYGTNkg&t ) how the tree was defoliated except the part that had the lamp heat. Fast forward to October this year and you can see in this video around the 3:35 mark ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO3n4EXNXdU&t ) how much the tree has rebounded this year and bearing fruit. Thus I am pretty happy with Kari. Here is a video of the night we hit 25* where I record the temperature which can be seen at the 35 second mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ6-mF9z73Y ...  How is this for documentation and source reliability? hehe

[joehewitt]

My Hart tree defoliates every year. Seems not to be a serious event.

[californicus]

C24mccain, thats some growth Thats also the sort of videos/pics I have seen from other carambola growers from Florida. I expect the tree to grow a bit slower here in NorCal. I did hear a lot of good recommendations for Kari - both for the taste and yield. Will try growing it this year. Thanks