Tropical Fruit > Tropical Fruit Discussion

Advice for an Orlando Beginner

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Yook:
Just bought a house in SE Orlando 9b and hope to get into fruit tree tending but am stuck in analysis paralysis. I have scanned these forums and nursery websites for the past month but have had trouble finding trends in people's success.

I keep flip flopping between wanting to try tropicals like mangoes and being worried about losing them in a frost/ not wanting to sign up for the effort of protecting them.

My current plans are:
Definitely:
-2 types of pomegranate (looking like girkanets and al-sirin-nar will be good bets. Planting 2 because I really want one to work out)
-2 avocadoes: Here I am really stumped. Reports on what produces here and what tastes good contradict and vary widely. Don't know if I can trust nursery advertisements. MarkfromTexas has scared me off of texas cados like Joey and Fantastic. Contemplating brogdon, monroe, hall, day, winter mexican, lula, lila, etc. Hopefully 2 with a wide maturation period.
-An everbearing mulberry(hard to find info on cultivars)
Potentials:
Mango-Carrie or Pickering in a pot maybe
Muscadine
Loquat- never tried one, worried they may be too sweet
Carambola
Lychee
Peaches-UFl varieties: Have heard these can be tough to grow

Hoping to plant at least one tree which will provide fruit in a reasonably short time to get my spirits up. Looks like loquats may fit that bill.

Please critique at will. I will be eternally grateful. If you have ideas for good references to learn as well I would appreciate any advice.

Triphal:
If you know your USDA zone, average temp.lows and highs and humidity factors in each month it will help you what NOT TO PLANT in zone 9b! Also becoming a member of the Local Fruit Club will help you what you should plant and where to obtain your grafted trees from local nurseries. Good luck. Triphal

sunworshiper:
The tropical fruit club that meets at Leu Gardens is a nice place to meet local fruit enthusiasts. You can search for my posts in this forum, I'm in the Orlando area too.  The best thing I did when planning was look up size information on plants I was considering and plot out where they would fit on my property, being realistic about how many plants I had room for, especially large trees. And deciding how dedicated you are to caring for them is another important factor. Growing mango and lychee is perfectly possible here, but cold protection is required as we are "zone pushing" a bit. If you want a low commitment plant that gives you a taste for tropicals, try a banana. They look neat, grow fast, and are easy to dig up and move (or get rid of) if you change your mind. I'd be happy to give you offsets from my plants. If I was going to choose one tree, it would be a lychee. Very hard to get fresh ones here if you don't grow your own, and aside from needing cold protecting it is a low care plant. Other fruit like mango, avocado and peaches are easy to get without growing your own, so it is worth considering how much you enjoy growing fruit vs just eating fruit. Have fun choosing!

Vernmented:

--- Quote from: Triphal on November 01, 2018, 09:37:29 PM ---If you know your USDA zone, average temp.lows and highs and humidity factors in each month it will help you what NOT TO PLANT in zone 9b! Also becoming a member of the Local Fruit Club will help you what you should plant and where to obtain your grafted trees from local nurseries. Good luck. Triphal

--- End quote ---

This is great advice.

Welcome to the forum!

Pomegranates aren't a great crop for Florida in my opinion.

Peaches are absolutely delicious but there can be issues with fruit fly worm, gumosis and they should be kept up with pruning.

Pickering is more dwarf than Carrie. It is a great mango. It is probably better for pot culture. I hate growing stuff in pots personally.

The early avocados will be West Indian and have less cold tolerance. Brogdon is a nice fruit. Make sure to plant on the biggest mound you can make. Lots of mulch. No flooding.

Everbearing mulberry is super easy and will fruit fast but I consider it bird food. It is just ok.

Carambola is nice. One tree would be enough. They are easy to manage as multigrafts. Keep in a sheltered area. The less wind the better.

Muscadines are nice. You need a trellis and bird netting. They also take training and pruning.

Loquats are pretty easy. They don't like standing water/flooding.

Lychee may be cold sensitive. They are tougher to keep small.

White Sapote is cold tolerant and an excellent fruit. Make sure to plant it on a mound away from standing water. These trees get horribly rootbound in conventional pots. Buy a young tree and try to untangle it's roots the best you can.

Jaboticaba and Sapodilla are also great fruits with a little cold tolerance.

Zill Dark Surinam Cherry are also nice.

I really like to plant on fertile mounds with heavy mulch.

The very best tip I can give someone planting out trees for the first time is to really inspect the roots and open up rootbound plants. Buy smaller trees. Three gallons are great and get the ones that haven't been sitting in that pot too long.

I have ripped out and replaced tons of stuff. If something doesn't work out it isn't the end of the world. Experience is the best teacher. If this is something you are going to stick with I highly recommend learning how to graft at some point. You can then direct sow seeds and graft or grow your own in root pruning pots.

Good luck!

WGphil:
Brogdon wlll take the cold and they ripened at the same time they were selling Hass at Publix for a buck and quarter each

Jaboticabo will take some cold also and is great looking plant and fruit is great

Mango are less hardy but a must have

One star fruit is good advice but they will freeze back but grow so fast,..

The worst cold comes out of the nothwest so the opposite side of you home is more protected

Have fun

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