The Tropical Fruit Forum

We have a Stella as well but it has been somewhat inconsistent.  I suspect we will get more fruit with more chill.  It’s still in a 15 gal so I will try putting it in the walk-in this winter and see if it has a good bloom.  I haven’t gotten any of the Royals, but I know someone growing them and hope to graft them onto the Stella in the spring.  Thanks.

http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/2951e.pdf

Quote from: ricshaw on December 17, 2013, 12:16:14 AM

What about using pots?

What I meant was, another option for planting Dragon Fruit next to the canal is to grow them in pots.

I see, sorry.  A raised bed would work too if it is too wet.

Interesting idea.  We have a walk-in refrigerator and even though we get enough chill for many fruit I’ve considered using it for giving cherries enough chill hours to fruit.  Of course we have the walk-in for other reasons so there would be no added expense. 

Chill hours are calculated by the number of hours between 32 and 45 degrees F, so your chill house would have to get close to 45 although maybe pineapple guava wouldn’t need it quite that cold.

Hi Luc,

I haven't tried it myself but I did a little looking.  I didn’t look for anything specific to jaboticaba but just the effect of aspirin on plants.

This books talks about it as now being considered a plant hormone:
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=i0B1EhxhdBkC&oi=fnd&pg=PR17&dq=aspirin+plant+growth&ots=VWJZTW77oA&sig=0o-TIJwUGCJMZCDivWgNYwCUyaY#v=onepage&q=aspirin%20plant%20growth&f=false

This article says it increases cold resistance in corn seedlings but also retards growth:
http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20000710520.html;jsessionid=5DC332FA1DBF2DDE8F456B976BF44FA2

Many others say aspirin infers resistance to pests and disease.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=salicylic+plant+growth&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_vis=1

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1006386800974#page-1

It looks like aspirin may make plants better able to handle stresses and therefore allows the plant to grow faster.  I assume this faster growth may lead to a larger tree and faster fruiting in jaboticaba, but I might be jumping to conclusions.

Sven

Simon,

I saw a good amount of cherimoyas for the first time this week at the farmers market. 

Sven

Question:

I have a farm at 886ft on Maui, not too hot usually max summer around 83-5f and winters around 58-62f at coolest. Do you think fruit production will occur in this area that isnt real hot?

Carlo,

They should produce fine in 85 f summers.  They do fine here in California in many areas that don't even get that hot. 

Sven

Hi nch,

I’ve never heard of them needing replanting.  I know of several plants that have been quite old that still flowered and fruited well.  As long as they are well watered and fertilized they usually produce copious amounts of new growth and flowers

George Emerich in Fallbrook had a plant that was about 20 feet tall and maybe 25 feet across that flowered and fruited well every year.  He had 250 fruit on it one year just from the flowers he could reach from the ground. 

Sven

Here is a picture of George I found on the internet standing next to his plant

Hi Digpati,

I’m interested.  Does the Livistona jenkinsiana produce an edible fruit?  What is it like?  From this: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/63669/ it looks like it might be a little too cold here for this one (we get down to –3 C/27 F), what do you think?

I did a little looking into the others and I thought I would post some of what I found for anyone who might be interested

From http://www.boku.ac.at/diebodenkultur/volltexte/band-54/heft-1/paudel.pdf
Lapsi (Choerospondias axillaris) is a large, deciduous, edible native fruit tree of the family Anacardiaceae. Native to Nepal hills (850–1900 m asl), the tree has also been reported
from India, China, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam. Nepal is unique for processing and use of Lapsi fruits. Fruits are rich in vitamin C content (SHAH, 1978), and are consumed fresh, pickled and processed for preparing a variety of sweet and sour, tasty food products locally called as Mada and
candy. The candy products are usually prepared from the mesocarp of ripe fruits and are popular among women, children, trekkers and tourists in Nepal.

Here is some info on the Pomsi an avocado relative grown between 4000 and 8000 foot elevations:
http://books.google.com/books?id=OjLRDa3_BAkC&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=Machilus+edulis+fruit&source=bl&ots=fiAeulJHMN&sig=_vES0tur-mJjmqs9wQCeA7UuivE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aHukUsPyF-ioyAGNzoGwCg&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Machilus%20edulis%20fruit&f=false

Phoebe cooperiana is another avocado relative but I can’t find much about it.

I’ll send you an e-mail.  Thank you.

Regards,
Sven

Sven they are slow sometimes don't give up. I had a few of my Rain Forest Plum seeds almost take 90 days to sprout!

Ed

Thanks Ed,

I'm not giving up, I'm happily awaiting their arrival.  Actually I think the first one sprouted in the last couple days.  It has a tiny shoot developing.  I haven't had them on heat mats or in a greenhouse so I wasn't expecting super fast germination, especially since the weather turned cool a couple weeks after I planted them.

Sven

Shane,

How's the graft looking?  Did it recover?

Yes you still need a phyto even with a permit. I think you will have to go to the ag department or agent in whatever country you are in. I dont think you can bring anything in legally without a phyto.

This is for budwood or plants, not for seeds.

Most of the time it is easier just to send seeds back instead of carrying them through the airport.  If you are bringing plant material back without inspection just be careful, take from only healthy trees and don’t bring in plants that are grown extensively in your area such as citrus and avocado in Southern California, even seeds.  You could bring in a virus and wipe out an industry.  I used to have an import permit for any kind of plant material.  It really isn’t hard to obtain and do it legally if you plan ahead and take your time.