Author Topic: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?  (Read 2245 times)

Bartacomus

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    • SE Texas, zone 9a, close to the coast. acidic clays, hot.. both dry and humid, rare freezes
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  I live on the Texas Gulf. A little inland. Historically a Pine Forest, Bayou jungle, Salt and Sedge lowlands. 
  My soil is a several layers of acidic (5.5pH in some extreme cases) alluvial clays. Gumbo in some places.

  Its truly a wild mixture of extreme Humidity one day, Dry the next. Wet the following day. But always hot.
  In general our winters can dip into the thirties, they mostly stay in 40's and 50's.. but following our random template, every decade or so we get hard freezes for a night.

  Ive been on the hunt for Rare.. Odd.. Seldom Seen.. Far Flung.. Tropical and Sub-Tropical and Temperate Seed.
 
  What are your Successes for this area.. (or those similar)

  I have potted and seedling Loquat, and Mango.. Tree-bean, and Mitragyna. Betel Palm, Miracleberry, Kumquat. 
  But im interested in finding viable Annonia, Moringa, Guave and Eugenia, Sapotes and Sapodillas, Jujubes, Blackberry Jam tree, Starfruit, Jackfruit, Durian fruit, Banana!, Tamarillo! Papaya
  Cassabanana, Caffees, Kiwis.. etc etc
  Whatever would grow well here.  What have you grown successfully and what were your methods?

Anolis

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2019, 08:19:42 PM »
I think zone 9a is a little too cold for most of the cool tropical plants.
I live on the edge of 8b/9a on the Florida gulf coast, and have had luck overwintering moringa via David the Good’s method (cut tree down before frost leaving 2’ stump, encircle with wire, leaving 2’-3’ space all around, then filling that space with mulch/straw/or leaves, piling on top as well. Covering entire thing with a tarp should help prevent the stump from rotting during wet winters.)

Some of the more cold sensitive trees I grow:

Satsumas
Meyer lemon (needs protection most years)
Pindo palms (butia capitata)
Surinam cherry. (Needs protection)
Strawberry guava (froze in its second year without protection, but I want to give it another go.)
Pineapple guavas
Raja puri banana fruits most years.
Ice cream/blue java banana (has never fruited for me)
Moringa  (major protection)

Others:
Malanga
True yams (Dioscorea alata)
Turmeric
Ginger
Sugar cane

Best performers:
Pears (southern bartlett, golden boy)
Asian persimmons
Mulberries
Loquats (fruit freezes often, but leaves are great for tea)
Satsumas
Goumi
Muscadines...a personal favorite.

Biggest fails:
Jujube (they really seem to hate high humidity)
Pomegranate (humidity)
Stone fruit (all except native p. Angustifolia develop canker and fail to thrive, or even fruit.)
Pawpaws (live but refuse to grow)
Tropicals (Barbados cherry, cassava, papaya need extensive protection.)



Pokeweed

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2019, 07:42:44 AM »
Anolis, I have plants in Houston 8b/9a and inland from Victoria, TX same zone. I grow pretty much the same things as you, but have had some different successes and failures. I have three varieties of jujube and they do really well for me. Pomegranates did well until a hurricane tore them up. They are coming back though. My humidity may be slightly less, but probably not more than 10% less. I have a bunch of muscadines planted, but they just survive. No production. Same with pawpaw. Just hang on. Nothing more. Try "Spanish black" grapes. They do really well for me. They like humidity. My biggest success yet has been with figs.
Bartacomus, Do you come to Houston? If so, we should swap some plants. Dan

Mark in Texas

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2019, 08:02:27 AM »
 
  I live on the Texas Gulf. A little inland. Historically a Pine Forest, Bayou jungle, Salt and Sedge lowlands. 
  My soil is a several layers of acidic (5.5pH in some extreme cases) alluvial clays. Gumbo in some places.

Where in the hell is this?    ;D Gumbo is usually super alkaline and the only acidic soils I know of kinda close to the coast are the sands of Fordtran north of Victoria.  I fought Corpus Victoria Black Clay (gumbo) series for decades.  Take it from a grower that's about tried it all, stick to what works, is practical and grown commercially at times - citrus, Mexicola or Stewart avocado outdoors and some of the stuff others have mentioned like Black Spanish, figs, Tropic Snow peach, jujube, loquat, pineapple guava, etc. or do tropical in a large greenhouse like I do. 

I grew a Don Gilloughy avocado in a raised bed in Calallen, Corpus.



Rare snow of Dec. 2004.  Tangelo:



Rio Red grapefruit, just awesome, large, sweet fruit on Sour Orange rootstock.



See my post on this page about what induces cold hardiness considering our Texas weather extremes. http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7511.225 

I graft/grow tropicals ONLY in a greenhouse. You should too.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2019, 08:04:54 AM by Mark in Texas »

Anolis

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2019, 02:48:59 PM »
Pokeweed, sorry for the late reply, (new to forum) but I’ll definitely give those Spanish black grapes a try, thank you! Our climates are very similar, but I’m in a bit of a low area “swamp edge” really, and that could be a factor...despite planting on giant mounds.

If you don’t mind me asking, what varieties of jujube and pomegranate are working well for you? I’ve only tried a couple varieties of each. Pomegranate variety wonderful has died multiple times, Afganski looks good until mid spring, but has severe fungal issues when the rains come and always drops fruit. (I don’t spray)

Jujube ga-866 has never fruited for me, and neither has the other “mystery” jujube, trees also lack vigor.

Pokeweed

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #5 on: November 16, 2019, 08:02:50 AM »
 The most success I've had with pomegranate is wonderful. I also have a Kandahar, which has never done as well and several seedlings from grocery store fruit, which don't produce much, but I planted them for a wind break.
I have to look up the varieties for the others.

Mark in Texas

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #6 on: November 16, 2019, 09:31:38 AM »
The most success I've had with pomegranate is wonderful. I also have a Kandahar, which has never done as well and several seedlings from grocery store fruit, which don't produce much, but I planted them for a wind break.
I have to look up the varieties for the others.

I grow poms too, always seem to be fighting gray mold in the heart.  About to give up on them.






forumfool

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #7 on: November 16, 2019, 09:38:37 AM »
There is a Pom variety called Austin which might be worth a try as it was successfully grown in Austin Texas hence its given name

Pokeweed

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2019, 08:19:02 AM »
Mark - your poms are much prettier than mine. I have stink bug spots (among other things) on mine, but in a good year that wonderful might make 100+ fruits. I need to propagate that one.

Pokeweed

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2019, 08:36:14 AM »
Anolis - I have Li, Sugar cane and Tigertooth jujubes. They all produce well. The tigertooth is on it's own rootstock and is a later season variety than the others. The main problem with it is the branches are brittle and tend to break in our too common high winds. The pom I thought was a wonderful is listed as an eversweet in my notes. D

Anolis

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Re: TEXAS ~ Coastal 9a ~ What are your Rare and Tropical Successes?
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2019, 06:05:27 PM »
Pokeweed, that’s excellent, thank you!
I’ve heard good things about sugar cane. I’ll have to see how some of these varieties preform for me, perhaps I wrote them off too soon.