The Tropical Fruit Forum

Hi, I've had a bunchosia argentea (so said the tag when purchased) for several years now.  It was languishing in the ground outside so I dug it up and potted it in my greenhouse a year and a half ago.  Now it's flowering for the first time, but I'm not sure what to do.  Do I have to shake the blossoms or hand pollinate with a paintbrush to get fruit?  Are there seperate male and female blossoms?  Does anyone have experience growing this in a greenhouse that they can share with me?  I'd appreciate any advice.

That sounds good to me--much better then the eggs, flour and other crap in processed pumpkin pies. 

Locally grown steamed kabocha (orange and green) squash are a staple in my diet.  I've had no significant results from growing them myself, but they are one of my favorite foods. 

Personally, I don't use sweeteners so I need fruits that I can just eat as-is, so I'd much rather something was bland as opposed to acid.  I could eat more than a dozen ligularis at a sitting without getting ulcers, which is much appreciated. 

The lava flow that you live on is a lot older than where i live. This area was flowed on in 1955, yet our area is full of trees. So it's not just the age, it is the rainfall. In very dry areas lava flows remain lava flows for a very long time.

Yes, that is much more recent--and it makes sense that the dryer climate would make the regeneration much slower (especially since Ohias aren't very fast-growing anyway.) 


John, most people think of coastal areas of Hawaii as defining the region, but these are volcanic, mountainous islands--the further up you go, the cooler it becomes.  At 13,000+ feet at the top of Mauna Loa, there is snow much of the year.  Since I can't stand air conditioning, woodsmoke, or electric heating, a mild climate suits me just fine, and a twenty minute drive brings me to sea level and places where strictly tropical fruits are abundant. 

No, it's not really a weather problem--since fruit flies are a relatively recent and unfortunate introduction to the Hawaiian islands.  Having grown tamarillo, pepino, naranjila, poha, etc. and knowing their distant relation to tomatoes, I certainly haven't forgotten that they are essentially tropical myself.  But I'm very glad we don't have many fruit flies on my property and they've never stung my tomatoes or other crops. 

Thanks Jackfruitwhisperer, the melons are as good as they look--very sweet and aromatic. 

Jackfruit will grow, but will not fruit at above 2500 ft. Kona side. Here on this wet/cloudy side of island will not fruit above 2000. Same is true for breadfruit.

Oh, thanks for letting me know!  I'm glad now that I gave some of those seedlings to friends a few thousand feet below us; maybe they'll share their harvest with me someday. 

Xeno, one of my other nectarine trees that is older has already flowered and put out little fruits (which I picked off because it's the first year.)  Nectarines won't grow well at sea level, but here at 3,600 feet elevation they're very comfortable and happy.  I can also grow big heirloom tomatoes outdoors up here, which people in the lowlands can't do.   You can grow anything in Hawaii if you can find the right microclimate.  Some agricultural land is as high as 6,000 feet. 

Thanks Tim, the ohelo's taste sort of like wild blueberries, some are sweeter than others. 

one of my three chayote vines, with tomatoes in the background


yacon


Many different kinds of ohelo berries grow on our property






my strawberry pot full of berries


one of three jackfruit seedlings I just planted out. 

Row of 9 low-chill blueberry plants

 
Two year old tamarillo seedling


Last year's harvest


Two new tamarillo seedlings and one of ten young fig trees I planted this year, with recently planted grafted fujikawa avocado on the far right.


container garden of citrus and figs


Jiro persimmon (fuyu type)

I was going to say, canistel and mangoes make a good smoothie; preferably I would add several apple-bananas for creaminess, but never salt.  But mangos aren't really that rare or special to me, I don't go crazy over them. 

I find rose apples delightful. Some people are put off by the rose smell, which they don't associate normally with food. Main problem with rose apples is they are a magnet for fruit flies, just like guava. Also they were a horrible weed here. Anyway now the rose apple is just a distant memory. They were all wiped out by guava rust (Puccinia psidii) a few years ago. Should be called rose apple rust as the rose apples are much more susceptible to it than guavas, at least the version of the rust we have here.

I really like rose apples when they start to get some brown streaks on the skin; very sweet and refreshing rose flavor...  I've just recently bought some on Kona-side of the island, so I guess the rust must not be as bad over there?  And my friend knows of a wild tree relatively near the area where I live, so I'm hoping the seeds I just planted will have some chance of growing into healthy trees.  Would growing them in a greenhouse prevent this rust if it's windborne? 

From my experience, they taste terribly bitter, and are extremely weedy--if you let any fruit fall to the ground, you'll never see the end of them. 

Some times I do wish it was warmer up here, but the mild weather is great for growing vegetables and many subtropicals.