Holland papaya has been sold for years now. Had them years ago and they are excellent but I think they are also popular because they are a pretty fruit with flawless skin and not so prone to bruising like softer varieties. Under my growing conditions, I've found Red Lady to be just as sweet and with richer flavor.

Hello all,

If you could lend me your expertise and scrutinizing eyes for a bit. A friend introduced me to an exceptional A. Reticulata tree a couple of years ago which is growing wild. From what I've seen in the past, the tree gives fruit typically shaped like a classic A. Reticulata. I visited the tree again and picked a med. sized fruit with a bit of color on it in hopes of ripening it on the counter and tasting this gem once again.

It dawned on me later that the fruit I picked does not have the typical A. Reticulata skin surface. This one looks like a Sugar Apple Hybrid of some sorts. It has lots of bumps typical of Sugar Apples, with none of the relatively smooth or semi-cratered surface of the average A. Reticulata. All bumpy-town on this one.

What do you think? Naturally occuring hybrid, genetic throwback, or Metaxenia at work??

Thanks, Sven.

Wow, I almost didn't believe that they were coming in unfrozen because of reports that they are bland if picked early or because of restrictions/obstacles. In order to make the trip, they would most probably be picked early. I wonder if they're rated as "ok" or better. At any rate, how very cool for you CA folks 

I use fresh seaweed around my shrubs and trees as well. One of the most dramatic results was from a calamondin tree severely diseased and suffering heavily from whiteflies and aphids. It was stunted for several years and gave only a handful of fruit for the entire year. After seaweed applications, it made a full recovery in the months following and then flowered and fruited shortly after. Now the tree is normal. It fruits abundantly year-round, has dark green foliage and is healthy as can be with virtually no aphids, citrus black swallowtail caterpillars, or whiteflies.

I see I'm not alone when dealing with hardpan rock in the yard. I have scant red clay topsoil varying from 1" to < 2' deep with solid limestone below. It took an entire summer armed with a hammer and stone chisel to level out all the jagged rock outcroppings just to get the rocks low enough to run a lawnmower across the yard-- without grinding the mower to a halt and bending the blade. Used a weedwacker for years before the rock leveling. I definitely feel your pain...

I think that is an excellent idea. I feel that you are utilizing your space wisely, especially if you have a small yard. The dragonfruit might have weak production in the shade and have lots of lanky growth but it's worth a try. I've done the very same thing except my vanilla and dragonfruit are growing up a ironwood pine instead of oak. Although they are both very young plants, they seem to love it.

Running with that idea, I have a couple of cucumber and yam vines growing on my mango trees. I don't mind that it looks a little strange and unruly to have the trees supporting those vines. I guess I don't mind much at all because I have orchids and bromeliads on them as well. I do trim back the vines so they don't totally smother the trees, though.

Wishing you luck and hope your experiment goes well!!

I went back to an old review I wrote of the MC a few years ago on GW. At the time I wrote the review, I was living in Thailand and had access to MC's at the neighborhood Tesco supermarket. They offered NDM, Kiew Savoy, Phim Sen Mun (sp?) and Maha's on and off throughout the year as available.

According to what I wrote at the time, I had several ripe and prime MC's in front of me. All were powerfully scented with a floral and fruity essence that filled my ENTIRE apartment.

Not all were sweetly scented. Two of the fruit out of the bunch had sap oozing out of the stem end, which had a funky and off odor. It remember not liking the smell at all. Nothing like sewer garbage or the like... just funky and not agreeable and all coming from the dripping sap.

From what I experienced, the off odor of the sap did not affect the luscious flesh inside. They were all delicious and I much rather prefer them over NDM, which I found a bit boring. For the record, the Maha Chanok mangoes flew off the shelf before all other mangoes bar none-- Nam Doc Mai included, both green and ripe stages. Primarily Thai patrons in that particular supermarket from what I observed.

In my neighborhood, I saw a handful of MC trees BUT NDM as a yard tree was most popular by far. At the time, I lived in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan.

When I lived in Bangkok, International Market in Paragon had both imported and local mangoes, Maha Chanok included. Sweetly scented gorgeous fruit in piles chest high but at a price. Never detected that weird smell with those...

I can see why some say they smell wonderful and why some say they smell/stink... LOL 

The Maha Chanok mangoes I've had from the market were powerfully scented, with flawless lemon yellow skin and rarely with a beautiful pink/orange blush. The backyard trees I saw growing in full sun had fruit with rich sunset colors that were picture perfect. The flesh was dark yellow, fiber free and smooth as silk. The taste was super sweet, with a rich and deep flavor.

The trees I saw growing in people's yard were medium in height, had dark green and nice, round canopies. When the season rolled around, the trees held a heavy crop.

While taste preferences between people will always differ, the MC is undoubtedly a wonderful mango all around, competing with the best of the best. What's to miss out on?? 

Very impressive. Yes, they do have some monster mangoes in Thailand. Even if this farmer is unwilling to share budwood, grafted mega monster mango trees and fruit are already available in Chatuchak market and are very cheap and plentiful. They've been available for a while, too.

Here is a post I submitted in GW while I was still living in Thailand. You can see several monster varieties.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg121415341807.html?14

Quote from: Adacaosky on May 04, 2013, 10:58:47 PM

Ok, so Bangkok just confirmed that Thai juice poms are imported. So sad. Perhaps the Indian or Taiwan varieties will pull through and give us tropical fruit growers some hope.

If there's a will, there's a way I always say. 

Don't think the large white pomegranates (have slight pink blush) i had in Thailand were imported, and they were pretty good, and very large sized. I distributed seeds to a few folks in Florida, so guess we'll find out in a while if they are suitable there?
I think there is room for hope in Florida. Here in very rainy area it's pretty much useless. They flower but pollen does not set in rainy weather. In dry (Kona) side there are good pomegranates at lower elevations.

That explains a lot, Oscar. I had pom juice in several places around Bangkok and the poms being juiced were very large and whitish on the outside. I saw no indication that they were imported (foam mesh cups, produce sticker, outrageous price, tissue wrapper) but thought I could be wrong about where they came from.
I planted seeds of this variety as well but they have not flowered yet.

I ran into the really dark pom in Chatuchak and they were considerably smaller, dark, glossy red outside, and blood red inside.

Almost anything is possible in Thailand... Heck, I even visited a Thai vineyard in the  mountains of Hua Hin. All the vines were heavily laden with wine grapes and showed no indication that the climate was too hot.

Hi Berns,

Thanks for explaining the history of that particular tree. The original MC was discovered/hybridized in mango orchard in Thailand and is of Thai/Florida mango heritage. Scions or plant material were imported from Thailand into Florida and then propagated. From Fl, it has apparently found its way back towards Asia to the Philippines. It's fascinating how Florida varieties have found their way around the world and equally fascinating how Thai varieties have bounced back to Asia.

I believe the origins, lineage, and history of the MC has been discussed in previous threads.
By the productivity of that tree, the owner/propagator of the tree is certainly doing something right.  What a bountiful harvest to come. 

Hi Bern,

It's a bit difficult to say since many of the Thai mangoes have that general shape. However, the MC trees I have seen in person while living in Thailand did not fruit in clusters like the tree in your pic. The MC trees I saw carried, on average, a single fruit on each panicle, with many panicles around the tree having fruit-- equating to a heavy crop.

That being said, I'm sure there are some who are wishing for more improvements within the MC variety. As in the case of the Nam Doc Mai, there are many strains. With time, maybe the MC will fall along the same path, with improved strains being introduced.

In retrospect, most mangoes perform differently when grown in a different climate or location. For example, my grafted Carrie, Mallika, Nam Doc Mai, and Alphonso mango trees all refuse to flower at 4 years in ground and range from 6 - 10 ft. tall. Meanwhile, in FL conditions, a few people have experienced them fruiting within a single year in pots.

Perhaps the MC performs extraordinarily well in your location, holding multiple fruits on each panicle, as in your picture. Maybe a pic of a ripe fruit would be more helpful in id'ing the tree.

I, for one, can confirm the generosity and kindness of forum members. On several occasions I have had a certain FL forum member donate numerous rare fruit seeds to me for free! This person refused payment and I had absolutely none of the seeds they were searching for, so therefore unable to repay their kindness.... I will say that this person does have first dibs on any seeds/fruit of every single rare fruit tree that comes into bearing. 

A big thank you to generous forum members!

Chris