What is your fastest growing TROPICAL fruit tree?

[Jon]

Hi Everyone,
What would u say is your fastest and most vigorous growing tree, IN A POT.
Considering their will be an appropriate schedule for repotting.
Also, is that same tree chosen as "fastest " , also grow the fastest as a seedling?

Thank you all in advance,
Jon

[fyliu]

Do you mean fastest growing or fastest fruiting? Anyway, I'd say banana if you consider it a "tree". Maybe Morus alba. No idea about growing these from seed.

White sapote grows really fast from seed. It'll get to 30ft tall in a couple years but you won't get fruit for something like 8 years, actual height is shorter since you need to keep it small in a pot.

Sorry, I crossed out the non-tropicals. Are you growing them in NY? Tropicals are more likely to die and will definitely grow slower there. You might want to find things that will ripen before winter time to grow. Pineapples are compact and you can store them inside for the winter, even fruit them in artificial lighting.

[shinzo]

Papaya

[FrankDrebinOfFruits]

Hands down ice cream bean. Never watered, never fed, its easily 5x the size of any other tree that is fed or watered.

They need to gene splice nitrogen fixing into crops, then we can really solve world hunger 

Whoops.. you said in a pot.....nm... stuff doesn't stay in pots very long.

[Jon]

Thanks everyone for all your replies.
Ice cream bean sounds interesting!
I grow everything in a pot, and it is under lights 16 hours a day, 77 -89 , 40-60% hum
I have just started growing under T5 lights since September.
I have yet to add the red spectrum, because everything is still very young, 1-3 months.
Jackfruit is way faster than anything else I have
Haden mango, sweet Tamarind, and Jackfruit( unknown variety)
I did mean fastest growth , not fastest to fruit.
I love to grow , and watch plants grow, so, the faster, the better.
I happen to be a "plant person" , need 6 hours of sun a day, or I feel ill.
I also love all tropical fruit, so its a no brainer why I go crazy for fruit trees from the tropics.
It would be awesome if something fruited to maturity, but I cant see why it would taste any good, plus it would be impossible for me to keep Rami from touching the fruit, he is trained not to steal it or eat it, unless I give it to him. He has very dirty hands.

Jon

[sildanani]

I've barely had my ice cream bean for a year and it's already over 6 ft. Poha berry and passion fruit are t trees, but they also grow and fruit fast.

[Grapebush]

For me, Inga feuillei, is the fastest one I have.
It has grown more than 2m in a 3l pot, now is in the ground, and more than 3m and branching nicely. It is +- 18 months.
Second fastest, is Mammea americana. About 1,5m in about a year.
Both from seed.

[JeffDM]

Without question, Papayas are the top producers in my front yard, back yard and on my patio.  If not for the wind storms back in February we'd have more fruit than we could eat by ourselves.  As it is, even the trees that had their tops broken off in the high winds have recovered and are producing fruit.

[ajeshcool47]

santol...

[Finca La Isla]

Rollinia, biriba is very fast.

[TnTrobbie]

I vote papaya as well.

[Tropheus76]

African Sausage tree. I planted it in spring at 1 foot, its 6ft now and 3 inches wide at the base.<ooops he said in a pot> Umm Jackleberry tree.

[Jon]

Thanks everyone
Wow, I love this forum, and you all Rock big time!!!
I mean, not many fruit or tropical plant lovers by me, where we live.

3 papaya
3 ice cream bean
Rollinia
Santol
Sausage tree

Thank U
Jon

[Jon]

Rollinia, biriba is very fast.

Cotton fruit, I remember the stories of that wild fruit.
Andrah Pradesh, where my friend was from, said it grew all over, just not commercially grown.
Jon

[gnappi]

Papaya by a big margin, then pineapple, banana, carambola, sugar apple and grafted mango.

On the slow side, mamey, Jabo, green sapote, lychee.

[Finca La Isla]

I thought this was fastest growing, not quickest to come into production.  If it's quickest to produce than I don't suggest my very fast growing rollinia but miracle fruit and peanut butter fruit as being actual trees that can produce within one year.  grafted cacao can set fruit in 14 months here.
Peter

[BrianL]

Dwarf Ambrella/Spondias grow and fruit fast in pots, but quality isn't super high.

[Cassio]

Well, my dwarf grumixama grows fast in a pot. I bought her injune of 2014, with 1m tall. Fruited for the first time in september of 2015, just 05 fruits.
Today, she is still in the same pot (40cm high, 30cm in the "mouth"), but has 2,10 m tall and fruiting.... over 50 fruits.

[floridays]

Muntingia Calabura or "Jamaican Cherry" or "Strawberry tree" is a pretty fast grower even in a pot...

[bsbullie]

I thought this was fastest growing, not quickest to come into production.  If it's quickest to produce than I don't suggest my very fast growing rollinia but miracle fruit and peanut butter fruit as being actual trees that can produce within one year.  grafted cacao can set fruit in 14 months here.
Peter

Miracle fruit fruiting 1 year from seed?

[Finca La Isla]

Yeah, at about 10" high in a wet, sunny location.  I think Oscar at one time mentioned miracle fruit producing quickly as well.

[Aaron]

Muntingia Calabura or "Jamaican Cherry" or "Strawberry tree" is a pretty fast grower even in a pot...

This and mulberries

[fourseasonsflorida]

Since the OP was asking what is fastest growing tropical in a pot:

• Starfruit/carambola - this is hands-down my fastest grower and best producer in a pot.  I have Dwarf Hawaiian in a 25 gallon pot and I get 100 fruit or more each year.  It is likely very root bound because it's 7 ft and I've cut it back many times.  I keep a large plastic saucer underneath it from Lowes.  The "saucer" is about 6 inches deep and actually meant as a water feature in a garden.  Costs about $10 and works great for 25g pots, very sturdy.
• Jamaican Cherry - I have one in a 25 g that is 6 feet or so and only a couple years old from tiny plant.  It would be much bigger if it were in the ground.  Very productive if it gets enough water.  Also keep a large saucer under it.
• Papaya - generally fast growing, but in my experience does not do particularly well in pots.  The most effective method of planting is straight in the ground from seed.  They get a large taproot going straight down and many lateral roots in every direction.  Pots really stunt growth.
• Banana - fast growing with enough nutrients and water, but they suffer the same issue as papaya - they do not like to be in pots.  I'm renting my house, so I have most of my plants in pots.  One of the few things I have in the ground are my bananas because they grow 1000% better in the ground!  They will take much longer to fruit and not produce as many pups in a pot.

[Jon]

I thought this was fastest growing, not quickest to come into production.  If it's quickest to produce than I don't suggest my very fast growing rollinia but miracle fruit and peanut butter fruit as being actual trees that can produce within one year.  grafted cacao can set fruit in 14 months here.
Peter

Thanks Peter,
Is Rollinia the highest in protein of all tropical fruits?
Also, as someone who has seen and experienced the fragrance of the various tropical Anona's, which would you say is the most fragrant,  and how does it compare to the cherimoya( which I assume u can't grow )?
Thanks
Jon

[Jon]

Since the OP was asking what is fastest growing tropical in a pot:

• Starfruit/carambola - this is hands-down my fastest grower and best producer in a pot.  I have Dwarf Hawaiian in a 25 gallon pot and I get 100 fruit or more each year.  It is likely very root bound because it's 7 ft and I've cut it back many times.  I keep a large plastic saucer underneath it from Lowes.  The "saucer" is about 6 inches deep and actually meant as a water feature in a garden.  Costs about $10 and works great for 25g pots, very sturdy.
• Jamaican Cherry - I have one in a 25 g that is 6 feet or so and only a couple years old from tiny plant.  It would be much bigger if it were in the ground.  Very productive if it gets enough water.  Also keep a large saucer under it.
• Papaya - generally fast growing, but in my experience does not do particularly well in pots.  The most effective method of planting is straight in the ground from seed.  They get a large taproot going straight down and many lateral roots in every direction.  Pots really stunt growth.
• Banana - fast growing with enough nutrients and water, but they suffer the same issue as papaya - they do not like to be in pots.  I'm renting my house, so I have most of my plants in pots.  One of the few things I have in the ground are my bananas because they grow 1000% better in the ground!  They will take much longer to fruit and not produce as many pups in a pot.

Thank You Nate,excellent information, especially about ice cream and jamaican cherry.
Jon