The Tropical Fruit Forum

This Cogshall has been growing out of control for a while now...I still have some fruits that haven't ripened yet, but I thought I would get a head start on shaping it now. Its planted pretty close to the front of my house so I have to keep the size in check and decided to go ahead and start on the branches that didn't have any Mangoes on them...here's some before and after pictures.

There is a Pole that stands appx. 65" behind the tallest part of the tree on the left hand side...you can see it once I pugged part of that section...you can see about how much I took off...





Looking better but not there yet...will finish the other branches once I harvest the rest of the mangoes...2 weeks or so.

I was calling around to get some prices on a dwarf/semi dwarf papaya and found the prices pretty steep (at least I thought they were) HD had them for just $34.99 for just under 2 gallon size and my local nursery had for the same price. I had NO idea they were that much. I decided to see if Walmart carried papaya and found a one gallon of Red Lady for $7.50!!! Wow...couldn't believe the difference in price even though it was half the pot size. I could buy almost 5 containers for the price of one.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is the same variety? Are ALL Lady Red papaya dwarf/semi dwarf?? Thanks!

My inground Glenn Mango tree is producing a few fruits for the very first time this year, I've noticed that all of them are quite small. I have only 5 fruits on my Container Glenn and the fruits on that tree are slightly larger. I'm wondering how large do Glenns get?

Also does anyone have any ripe Glenns yet? I know they are suppose to be ready around June, so I don't know if these are suppose to get larger or are these pretty much the size that they'll be?  Please post some pictures of your Glenn Mango tree...would like to see if mine are behind or not and compare fruit size...Thanks!

Here's mine and you can see how small the fruits are...

I was out looking at my potted Glenn tonight and noticed I had 2 bloom pannicles on it...in May!! This is definitely a first for me! This tree has mangoes, new growths and now 2 pannicle blooms all at the same time...interesting to see what will come of these?
 

For those of you that grow Feijoa sellowiana/Pineapple Guava...How's yours doing? With a pretty mild winter I'm wondering if they will fruit this year especially this one tree of mine. Every year it blooms like crazy...only to fall off and not give me any fruits ( I think I got 3) last year  . Its in FULL bloom right now...although I really like the tree even without fruits, but it sure would be nice to get more fruits from it. I just can't seem to figure out why it has a problem producing and holding fruits? I'm at a total loss... I've done much better with my other feijoa  (more of a bush) which is planted about 10-12 ft away. That one gives me several a year.

Do you guys think they are planted too far away to cross pollinate each other?

Hi everyone, I know this subject has been asked before (by me) but I'm still very confused by the different info that's out there on just how much water    Mango trees should receive that are appx. 4-5 years old with tiny little fruits (pea size) or smaller and a few blooms that are still not fully pollinated.

I have sandy soil and the last time I had rain that was over an inch was Feb. 28th. I do have a sprinkler system that comes on twice a week (if I turn them off ) the grass would die, so although I know its not the best way to water my  mango trees, I really don't have much choice.

Should I hand irrigate these trees once every couple of weeks or are they getting enough from the sprinkler? Some people say not to water mango trees after they are over 3 or 4 years old but March thru June is our driest months of the year, I don't know how much (extra) if any I need to water these trees so the fruits develop properly?

You guys that have mango trees roughly this age...how often are you hand watering your mango trees now?

Thanks for your help and advise.

I'm hunting for a Pickering Mango...we'll be in the area of  Bradenton, Palmetto, Sarasota and Ft. Myers area tomorrow...does any one know of a nursery that sells Pickering Mango near or around these places?


Thanks for any help...I've been trying to replace mine...

Nancy

I planted this Mauritius lychee tree last Feb. it was the only variety I could find at the time and it was marked down so I decided to try growing Lychee one more time ( I lost 2 beautiful ones 2 years ago). One of the things that lycheesonline mentions is how important windbreak is for the newly planted and young tree, so I built this not so attractive but functional enclosure. With March around the corner which seems to be a pretty windy month for me. Its grown nicely in the 12 months I've had it. Now if I can just keep mean old Jack frost away...I'd be thrilled!

Here's a quote from lycheesonline about the importance of of a wind break if planted in an open area...

" No Wind:

Perhaps the single greatest enemy of developing lychee trees is wind. When a lychee puts out new growth these new leaves are very tender and delicate. Even a moderate amount of wind (> 15mph) will damage these new branches and leaves. Lychee trees that are well protected from the wind will grow extraordinarily well.

When a tree flushes with new growth it is utilizing stored energy, in the form of sugars, starches and electrolytes, from the tree. If this new growth is destroyed or damaged when the tree is relatively small there is little reserve left to regenerate further replacement growth. A small tree planted in a wind-exposed field may experience severe growth retardation by a factor of several years."
http://www.lycheesonline.com/Growing_Best_Practices.cfm

Taken right after planting Feb. 2011


I had to enlarge the area a little...it has outgrown its space. You can see its growing nicely. I also lightly "pugged" the top and did some tipping. It was getting too tall and lanky. I threw the cuttings on top for mulch. Which reminds me I also have to get more mulch to add to the top of the soil.


Enclosure complete...double layer Burlap and shade cloth on the back side...NOT the best looking but its functional,lol...



Lets a LOT of sunlight in but should shelter the newly formed leaves hopefully.
 

Its been so warm lately, I thought maybe the cold snaps were a thing of the past, apparently NOT!
Checked NWS (Weather underground usually slightly colder) and NWS is predicting a low of 36° for Sat night early Sun morning(wind gust as high as 20 mph) and low of 34° for Sun night early Mon. morning (around 8 mph) for me. Of course it can still change and get even colder. I won't be covering them on Sat. since they're predicting wind gusts up to 21 mph.  Waaaay too windy to cover the trees, all the covers will just blow off anyways.  I think I will cover my inground Glenn, its the closest to getting fruits since I've had this tree.


Just wanted to give a heads up for people out there that live in Central and North FL that have cold sensitive plants and trees. Most of you are lucky since you live South of me...shouldn't be an issue for you guys.


Will have to keep close tabs to see if any freeze warning will be issued tomorrow. Did I mention I HATE frosts/freezes!!  


Good luck to us all...


Nancy