Durian tree smell

[jcaldeira]

Durian trees apparently like a lot of water and have shallow roots, so I'm considering growing one next to a grey water soak pit near my house.  This pit receives the water from the kitchen, bathroom shower and sinks, and clothes washer (all water except toilets), which leeches into the soil.  My concern is whether a durian tree is suited at all as a dooryard tree due to potential odors from rotting fruit.  What do you think?

My single successful durian germination:

[fruitlovers]

Congrats on the sprouting durian seed. I definitely wouldn't plant them close to my house. But not just for the smell reason, but also for the reason that durians, especially seedlings will get huge. You don't want them toppling into your house, or dropping brittle limbs onto your house, or even big spiked fruits onto people walking under the trees. BTW i don't think they have shallow roots. They do develop very long tap roots, otherwise they couldn't support their height.

[Mike T]

7m from the house might be a good idea.





Sometimes small, young trees can flower. This grafted 5 year old neglected Penang 88 is a little over 2m and has its first flower buds.

[bangkok]

Are the roots of the durian destructive? I planted my grafted mongthong next to a concrete fence and on top of the main drain pipe, now i 'm started to get worried if i should grow it there or not.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

that's pretty cool Mike!  Keep us posted on their development.  Nice looking tree too.

[bangkok]

Yes Mike has great tree's, this is the perfect size for a mini durian tree. Did you prune this one Mike?

[fruitlovers]

Are the roots of the durian destructive? I planted my grafted mongthong next to a concrete fence and on top of the main drain pipe, now i 'm started to get worried if i should grow it there or not.

On top of a drain pipe? That doesn't sound good. I would move it.

[Mike T]

Big trees of any type should not be planted near pipes or concrete.I agree with Oscar.The small tree I pictured has not been pruned but I am thinking of hacking it to under 5 feet (1.5m) and trying to maintain it at that size.

[Finca La Isla]

Also, durians are supposed to be vulnerable to root rot problems.  Planting in the vicinity of a grey water runoff won't give the drainage I think they need.
Peter

[bangkok]

What i read is that durians can suffer from a funghi in the soil and die from that. That happens mainly in Thailand (also to Pomelo-tree's). Professional farmers don't use any organic material/soil but use chemical fertilizers to stop that.

I also read that we can add some chemicals to the soil to stop that funghi from growing.

Yes planting on top of a drain pipe sounds silly but all houses here have that, the houses are all sold with tree's and plants in the gardens and they don't care at all for destructive roots. They also plant big tree's in small holes with all concrete or marble floors around them. After 3-4 years you can see the cracks in the concrete floor or fences growing. Gardeners here are not that smart though, or maybe i should say their managers are not that smart.

I think i will move the duriantree. ( i had to move almost all my tree's that i planted so i can also do this one

[DurianLover]

Get this. It should help against dreaded Phytophthora and other root problems. I'm sure you can afford $15
http://www.naturalindustries.com/retail/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160990003247?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

[fruitlovers]

What i read is that durians can suffer from a funghi in the soil and die from that. That happens mainly in Thailand (also to Pomelo-tree's). Professional farmers don't use any organic material/soil but use chemical fertilizers to stop that.

I also read that we can add some chemicals to the soil to stop that funghi from growing.

Yes planting on top of a drain pipe sounds silly but all houses here have that, the houses are all sold with tree's and plants in the gardens and they don't care at all for destructive roots. They also plant big tree's in small holes with all concrete or marble floors around them. After 3-4 years you can see the cracks in the concrete floor or fences growing. Gardeners here are not that smart though, or maybe i should say their managers are not that smart.

I think i will move the duriantree. ( i had to move almost all my tree's that i planted so i can also do this one

It's a fungus called phytophora. It's quite prevalent world wide, not just Thailand. It's very common here also. Fruit trees most commonly affected are durian and avocado. Fertilizers aren't going to stop it, you need to use a fungicide as root application or foliar. Some micro organisms also supposedly help.

[msk0072]

I thought Phytophthora is so bad you can't stop.
By the way phytophthora is a greek word that means plant decaying (phyto = plant, phthorį=decaying, detriment)

[bangkok]

Oscar i didn't mean to say that chemical fertilizers will stop the fungus but they use that instead of organic fertilizers so the fungus has no breeding ground.

[Mike T]

Heavy mulching helps combat phytophthera but you need a systemic anti rootrot tonic like phosphonate that targets curing trees of the symptoms. It acts almost like a systemic fungicide and in big durian and avos is delivered by trunk injection. There are many phytophthera species and taxonomy is up the creek but different species cause root rot in Solanums, citrus and other groups.

[jcaldeira]

Heavy mulching helps combat phytophthera . . . .

How does mulching help combat phytophthera?

[jcaldeira]

From the replies here it seems I need to be at least as concerned with proper drainage as root access to water.  It's tough to find a well-draining spot with a shallow water table, partially-shaded and out of the wind!

[Mike T]

The antagonistic micro organisms including friendly decomposer fungi flourish in leaf and wood mulch.

[fruitlovers]

From the replies here it seems I need to be at least as concerned with proper drainage as root access to water.  It's tough to find a well-draining spot with a shallow water table, partially-shaded and out of the wind!

Suggest planting on mounds of well draining soil. The partial shade can easily be provided with temporary bamboo and palm frond structure. They like full sun after 4 feet tall.

[Finca La Isla]

Mulching helps  against phytophera by supporting a well balanced soil flora.  It can be shown that well mulched soils have a lower level of nematodes.  Nematodes introduce pathogenic fungi into the roots of your plants.  Fusurium that attacks roots is also associated with high levels of nematodes and is a serious problem for us with avocadoes and black pepper.  it is basically the same situation with durian. 
If your soil is highly acidic you might add lime which can be important as far as this balancing of the living soil is concerned.
Peter

[bangkok]

Mulching helps  against phytophera by supporting a well balanced soil flora.  It can be shown that well mulched soils have a lower level of nematodes.  Nematodes introduce pathogenic fungi into the roots of your plants.  Fusurium that attacks roots is also associated with high levels of nematodes and is a serious problem for us with avocadoes and black pepper.  it is basically the same situation with durian. 
If your soil is highly acidic you might add lime which can be important as far as this balancing of the living soil is concerned.
Peter

That's great because i can't find a soil fungicide. I will plant many marygolds to repel the nematodes.

John i found giberrelic acid that can delay the fruitset of durians so maybe you don't have to see them durians rotting in your garden while you're not there.