Ideas for Fruit Trees in crappy Soil?

[DRFixembones]

There is an area in front of my office that is about 12 feet by 14 feet with small bushes that surround it and nothing in the center. Years ago i was going to make a deck with patio furniture. Now, I was thinking I could plant a couple low maintenance fruit trees. The soil is CRAPPY (very sandy, lots of odd stuff) and im not sure how deep it goes since the area outside of this is all pavement. Any ideas of trees to plant that will tolerate this average/below average soil which will produce fruit quickly and wont have huge roots? I was thinking Papaya and then drew a blank.....

[natsgarden123]

You could enrich the soil.

[murahilin]

How protected is the location and on what side of the building is it? If it's on the South side of the building, I would try to grow something a little extra tropical and ignore the possible huge root problem. Stick a breadfruit in the middle and see what happens. It handles crappy soil easily, it looks nice, and most likely the cold will keep the size controlled so the roots won't get too large.

[murahilin]

You could enrich the soil.

Most things grow perfectly fine in FL's sandy soil without any amending needed. Just regular fertilization is usually all that's necessary.

[DRFixembones]

It is directly in front of my office and faces directly east. It is almost like a permanent raised bed. There is no protection from people stealing, so i am aware that im taking chances, i just don't know what to plant. I think if i plant something odd, it will help my chances of not being stolen!

[FlyingFoxFruits]

very true...ive seen super healthy miracle fruit trees, in sandy soil of Ft Lauderdale.

fertilizer was acidic enough i suppose!

You could enrich the soil.

Most things grow perfectly fine in FL's sandy soil without any amending needed. Just regular fertilization is usually all that's necessary.

[Tropicdude]

How about a nice Dragon fruit on a support column,  just add some slow release fertilizer.  they are attractive, relatively easy to take care of.  you can even keep it in a big container.   

[DRFixembones]

I've had dragon fruit twice, and to me it was completely tasteless

[murahilin]

I've had dragon fruit twice, and to me it was completely tasteless

Yeah... Most seem flavorless to me as well. I've had a few good ones but they are usually from smaller fruit with thorns. I had this one pink one a few years ago that actually tasted like watermelon. I was given a cutting, it died. Then the original plant that I got the cutting from was lost...

Why not put in an abiu? Most people don't know what it is, it won't get too large, and you will get a good tasting fruit.

I was going to suggest a dwarf mango but I figured people would steal every single fruit.

A nice atemoya would probably do well in that spot. Maybe a few dwarf mulberry plants. Lots of berries so even if people steal a few you will still have tons and they are delicious.

[natsgarden123]

I've had dragon fruit twice, and to me it was completely tasteless

I agree- I have tried a few different varieties and they were all just ok.   Some really great tropical flowers would look great for the patients. You want something that would look good all year and not just seasonal. I saw a nice bed with some bananas, heliconias, ginger, bromeliads and some orchids - it was really pretty.

[Xeno]

I think if i plant something odd, it will help my chances of not being stolen!

Loquat.

[bsbullie]

Is this a home office or commercial office?

Abiu would be a good choice, makes an attractive tree even when not fruiting, also would consider a sapodilla, canistel, macadamia, longan, white sapote, wampee.

IF this is a commercial office, visible to patients coming and going, I would tend to stay away from anything deciduous such as annona, mulberry, etc. (I know some people are weird with respects to eye appeal).  Also, if its commercial, make sure there are no municipal restrictions and/or requirements that would limit/dictate your choices.

[fruitlovers]

Kings of the crappy soil: chico, cashew, ice cream bean. The ice cream bean gets veryt large, at least most species, so that rules that one out. Cashew may not fruit well in Florida, don't know. But chico would certainly thrive in bad soil. Not exactly a fast grower, more like glacial speed, but if you get a large tree it would fruit right away.
BTW, chico grows and fruits well in parts of India where the soil looks and feels like bricks. Ditto for the cashew.

[Tropicdude]

Barbados Cherry or some other tropical cherry.  I see the Acerola growing in all kinds of soil around here.  of course with anything that has a small seed, gotta be careful with kids.

Pitanga, Jaboticaba, Grumichama, Governors Plum, among just a few, that could be planted, and look nice.

[digigarden]

pouteria species don't mind sand too much,

citrus would probably love it.

cactus fruits,persimmon,pomegranate,mango,coconut,icaco,sea grape....
peaches...