The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: FlyingFoxFruits on September 27, 2012, 12:25:52 AM
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What category do you fall into?
How much do you push the limits? or why do you know your limitations, and stay within those boundaries?
Feel free to post up a storm of why you choose to a) take no chances, b) take chances, or c) take a plant from anywhere on Earth and try to grow it at your house!!! ;D
thanks!!
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I need a new category that states:
'You are daft! You dont listen to anything anyone says and has to try things for yourself, just so you can say 'I told you so'!'
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I like to Push It To The Limit (scarface) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9D-QD_HIfjA#). Ask my wilting leafed lychee trees! I need to get a greenhouse yo.
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When I plant, I assume roughly half of them will thrive, a quarter of them will live but not up to their potential, and a quarter will not be worth keeping alive.
I'm not going to treat my farm like a chemistry lab, using chemicals to treat every leaf and root malady. However, I try my best to plant each fruit in an environment close to it's ideal natural habitat.
Next month, I will transplant 4 rambutan that are less wind tolerant than I thought. I'm also working to put Hass avocado on disease resistant rootstock. That's about as far as I go to keep things alive out of their natural environment.
John
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When I plant, I assume roughly half of them will thrive, a quarter of them will live but not up to their potential, and a quarter will not be worth keeping alive.
I'm not going to treat my farm like a chemistry lab, using chemicals to treat every leaf and root malady. However, I try my best to plant each fruit in an environment close to it's ideal natural habitat.
Next month, I will transplant 4 rambutan that are less wind tolerant than I thought. I'm also working to put Hass avocado on disease resistant rootstock. That's about as far as I go to keep things alive out of their natural environment.
John
Rambutan is notorious for being very wind sensitive, especially when plants are small.
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I mostly stay within boundaries of what is easy to grow in zone i live in. I'm too lazy to be fussing over plants or fighting with the elements. My one exception has been experimenting with low chill temperate fruits. Most of them failed, and i gave up on all except a few.
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I do both a) and c).
If I encounter interesting exotic fruit, or just fruit I like I eat it and will often keep seeds.
If the seeds are of general interest and I have excess I offer some and keep some.
Regardless what it is I plant it (I have rambutan and Bacurrea (rambai) going right now, I doub't they will do well this winter).
Otherwise I don't agressively go after ultratropicals or humidity loving plants (I have trouble with Annona, Theobroma, Nephelium, at my location due to low humidity in the house during the winter, many Garcinia/Rheedia seem to grow ok (aside from mangosteen))
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Hi Adam,
I think I am in the worse category - a C-person. I am trying to grow fruits that's against all odds to ever succeed. But at least I can say afterwards that I have tried and it was fun for a while. I may or may not be successful with some of my unwisely choosen species for my climate. I think I select plants to grow more because they are rare (and hopefully good) fruits than just for the sake of pushing the limits.
Tomas
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nicely put Tomas.
I can relate to your ideology.
I'm too adventureous and hungry to eat what normally grows in my area!!
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Limits? I don't understand. :o
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Thankfully I don't see any "I should probably be committed to an asylum" option, so I got to vote for (C).
For my in-ground plants, I'd generally fit in the first category; aside from providing them with irrigation, I've long ago stopped taking heroic measures to keep them alive. if they aren't happy and grow on their own, I tear them out. It's still surprising how many plants I've tried that aren't supposed to be happy in my area that have been growing happily for 10+ years. If you don't push the limits, you don't learn much...
Kevin
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Hi Adam,
I'm a C pusher for shaw ;D ;D ;D I'm trying stuff that has never been introduced or trialled over here(Madeira) :o With some species, I am stretching it to the extreme and the rest are well adapted to my slice of paradise in the Pearl of the Atlantic ;D Only time will tell if these badboys will thrive or get stunted and die...If they survive the first winter, which hopefully they will...I will be most happy and drink a few mojitos in heaven ;D I guess being a positive minded fellow, i will pass along some positive vibes into them trees and incentivate them to grow large and proud...to one day, get the privilege to taste some fruit's, from seeds that had a very long journey, over mighty Oceans and Lands to get to me :) Another thing to add...I'm as stubborn as a mule and i will go through a wall to keep my babies safe and chirpy :)
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As you can see from my other post/pictures...I'm definitely a C Also!!
But...the older I get the less work I want to do...so I need to move or take my consequences :'(
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I was a solid C person for many years, until my commitment into one of the local horticultural half way houses for wayward plant addicts. Now, firmly in recovery and definitely no worse than a B person, I haven't planted an ultratropical seed or plant since.......well, shhhh, don't tell my sponsor, it was in August.
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I'm a C person in fact my wife keeps threatening me with a intervention! :-X But as years rack up on this body I finding it's easier to stop planting so much in the ground but plants in containers that's were I need the intervention! ::)
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I'd say I'm a solid B ..
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i'm in the minority apparently. If it's a pain to grow, then it goes.
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I voted A but leaning more towards B, my wife definitely hates my guts for making house plants out of my trees ;D
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I'm a type "A". I only grow what I've eaten, loved, and have space for. All of which is tropical in nature. I'd love to have a jackfruit, malay apple, and hog plum tree in my yard. But they require too much space that a mango tree or two could have occupied otherwise ;D . Mangoes are King, so thats what I'm sticking with. I could be evolviing into a border-line B since as of late I have no qualms buying mango cultivars that interest me that I have no space for and don't mind keeping them in their nursery pots they came in.
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I am Type A. You can't really practice sustainable agriculture unless you are growing zone appropriate plants. And by "sustainable" I am referring not only to organic methods, but to labor as a resource as well. It is not sustainable from a time management perspective, IMHO, to constantly fuss over plants that have such low probability of success. But I am also busy with my own law practice, a family and a half acre garden, so I am a poor candidate for high maintenance plants!
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Type B for sure. I do my best to find the toughest varieties that I hope will someday survive on their own and taste good. Occasionally I throw in a wild card... That is the fun of it:)
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. . . Next month, I will transplant 4 rambutan that are less wind tolerant than I thought. . . .
Rambutan is notorious for being very wind sensitive, especially when plants are small.
Now you tell me! I found out the hard way. Oscar, you really need to take a vacation in Fiji :)
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I used to be a type D personality and have been transitioning to a variant of type A over time.My past efforts have been focussed on trying to grow sub tropicals and temperates in a tropical climate.Figs,low chill stonefruit,feijoas and many others have defeated me.The heat,rain and humidity of my summer and autumn seems to be the killer.I do have atemoyas,guatemalan avos and sub tropical citrus near there limits.
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. . . Next month, I will transplant 4 rambutan that are less wind tolerant than I thought. . . .
Rambutan is notorious for being very wind sensitive, especially when plants are small.
Now you tell me! I found out the hard way. Oscar, you really need to take a vacation in Fiji :)
Don't tempt me! Maybe in 2013. I'm missing Fiji! :-\
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Great thread you started Adam! I'm really enjoying it. More fun than going to an AA meeting. ;)
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I rate myself as a B with dreams of being a C. I have tented and light bulbed my jackfruit tree when mid 30s are forecasted. I am dreaming about four or five years from now raising and covering a 45' x 45' area 3 feet, filled with slightly acidic soil, that I can keep in the 40s in winter. Give MikeT's durian theories a test, chempedak, mangosteen, pulsans, etc.
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Haha!
thanks Oscar.
I've really been enjoying it to!
Its my form of conducting market research...LOL
Great thread you started Adam! I'm really enjoying it. More fun than going to an AA meeting. ;)
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Steven, I somehow kept thinking Madiera was in the Pacific near Fiji.
I'm a B. I'll try things but don't go as far as keeping things in a green house. I don't try what I think are more common like stone fruits and mangoes. Mangoes seem messy and stone fruits have moths and borers and all sorts of infestations that needs spraying which I don't like to do.
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I rated myself as a B. I occasionally will get something like Cupassu and try to grow it out in SoCal. It usually ends up in dead plant, so now I take smaller risks. I am aiming for rarer tasty fruits and decent yields in containers, that can be grown outside with minimal extra protection.
Things like Opuntia sp., prickly pears I view as rare (in the stores), tasty and productive. I like trying experimental things, like Marula in containers as well. Also got a good collection of sub tropical fruits like guavas, mangoes, bananas, etc. I don't worry about these unless the temps start lowering past the high 30s.
I like growing tasty things adapted to the climate as well like; olives, pomegranates, figs, etc. I find these pretty much indestructible.
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Steven, I somehow kept thinking Madiera was in the Pacific near Fiji.
I'm a B. I'll try things but don't go as far as keeping things in a green house. I don't try what I think are more common like stone fruits and mangoes. Mangoes seem messy and stone fruits have moths and borers and all sorts of infestations that needs spraying which I don't like to do.
Hi Fang,
:o ;D ;D ;D ;D I wish...I'm more Mediterranean, than Pacific ;D
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Steven, I somehow kept thinking Madiera was in the Pacific near Fiji.
I'm a B. I'll try things but don't go as far as keeping things in a green house. I don't try what I think are more common like stone fruits and mangoes. Mangoes seem messy and stone fruits have moths and borers and all sorts of infestations that needs spraying which I don't like to do.
Hi Fang,
:o ;D ;D ;D ;D I wish...I'm more Mediterranean, than Pacific ;D
Steven,
At least you don't have the bugs of the tropics :). Mediterranean with no freeze is one of the best growing climates, as long as there is irrigated water access. We just can't grow Durian, Breadfruit, Coconuts, and the ultra tropicals.
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Steven,
At least you don't have the bugs of the tropics :). Mediterranean with no freeze is one of the best growing climates, as long as there is irrigated water access. We just can't grow Durian, Breadfruit, Coconuts, and the ultra tropicals.
One of the (admittedly few) benefits of zone-denial is not having to deal with the insects and fungal diseases of the plants' zone of origin. It seems there's always other insects willing to step in and munch on your plants though...
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I would say I'm an A-, since the lowlands are very close by, there is really no reason for me to go to extreme lengths to grow something that I can buy fifteen minutes down the hill. Then again, there is no guidebook written specifically for my microclimate, so I didn't realize bananas wouldn't work until a friend gave me a bundle of pups and I wasted a lot of time on them. I should note, however, that living in an arid climate with poor soil, there are no fruit trees I currently grow that will live without irrigation and fertilization, regardless of how adapted they are to my temperatures. So, I still have to take care of them.
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I would say I'm an A-, since the lowlands are very close by, there is really no reason for me to go to extreme lengths to grow something that I can buy fifteen minutes down the hill. Then again, there is no guidebook written specifically for my microclimate, so I didn't realize bananas wouldn't work until a friend gave me a bundle of pups and I wasted a lot of time on them. I should note, however, that living in an arid climate with poor soil, there are no fruit trees I currently grow that will live without irrigation and fertilization, regardless of how adapted they are to my temperatures. So, I still have to take care of them.
You can see bananas growing in Waimea, so they will deifinitely grow at your elevation, just a whole lot slower. Also you need to get cold hardy varieities of banana.
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I had better come clean and say I have been pushing the envelope lately.This is mostly related to mail at the australia post office.I will keep you guys posted.
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I had better come clean and say I have been pushing the envelope lately.This is mostly related to mail at the australia post office.I will keep you guys posted.
HAHAHA You're a very good envelope pusher. Keep up the good work! ;D
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I am definitely a zone pusher, I just wish I had more time to tend to my fruit trees. I barely have time to water my small garden.
I've recently been keeping my temperate Chilean plants inside for the hot Summer months, and soon I'll be bringing in my mangosteen and other ultratrops for the Winter.
This is my latest technique to avoid killing them!
Jaime
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very true!
also u can have fresh fruits when no one else has them, and in an area where no one else has them either!
I was king of Guanabana fruits this year, king of central FL that is! I had a local monopoly on the fruit!Steven,
At least you don't have the bugs of the tropics :). Mediterranean with no freeze is one of the best growing climates, as long as there is irrigated water access. We just can't grow Durian, Breadfruit, Coconuts, and the ultra tropicals.
One of the (admittedly few) benefits of zone-denial is not having to deal with the insects and fungal diseases of the plants' zone of origin. It seems there's always other insects willing to step in and munch on your plants though...
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also u can have fresh fruits when no one else has them, and in an area where no one else has them either!
I was king of Guanabana fruits this year, king of central FL that is! I had a local monopoly on the fruit!
First you get the fruits, then you get the power, then you get the weemen ;)
Although in my case the better quote is probably 'King Sh#t of Turd Island', as noone has any idea what these strange fruits Im growing are...
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right right Bmc,
most rare fruits would be of little interest to the majority of people.
but now this is slowly changing it seems!
the public seems to be interested in new food items and are becoming bored with the same old fruits!
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also u can have fresh fruits when no one else has them, and in an area where no one else has them either!
I was king of Guanabana fruits this year, king of central FL that is! I had a local monopoly on the fruit!
First you get the fruits, then you get the power, then you get the weemen ;)
Although in my case the better quote is probably 'King Sh#t of Turd Island', as noone has any idea what these strange fruits Im growing are...
Within the public at large you may be considered a weirdo, but here in this forum you're just a regular kinda guy! ;) Welcome home.!
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A risk taker.....I'm a slave to my trees...my wife tells me they are just mangos :-\
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Steven, I somehow kept thinking Madiera was in the Pacific near Fiji.
I'm a B. I'll try things but don't go as far as keeping things in a green house. I don't try what I think are more common like stone fruits and mangoes. Mangoes seem messy and stone fruits have moths and borers and all sorts of infestations that needs spraying which I don't like to do.
Hi Fang,
:o ;D ;D ;D ;D I wish...I'm more Mediterranean, than Pacific ;D
Steven,
At least you don't have the bugs of the tropics :). Mediterranean with no freeze is one of the best growing climates, as long as there is irrigated water access. We just can't grow Durian, Breadfruit, Coconuts, and the ultra tropicals.
Hi Nullzero,
Most definitely...it's a breeze to grow in the Mediteranean :) Though, i also agree with Kevin...There is always insects that will kindly take the offer and molest them trees and plants...Latest develope, Found a few brown weevil's munching on the coffee plant >:( Nothing serious, just a few nibbles...phew :) I deal with them on the spot ;)
What's really a pain in the ass, with no doubt...leaf miners!!! >:( They make growing citrus, a bit hard :'( They ain't native...introduced by neglect >:(
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Yeah the leaf miners... hate them as well.