It depends. Makes a very appreciated brandy. It gets sweeter with the cold. I saw it growing where it snows, wikipedia says it is hardy to zone 7. It does ferment very quickly and bruises easily. I like it but i don't really eat it often. The leaves are medicinal. It attracts butterflies and looks and feels good. Easy to grow.
Portuguese info https://flora-on.pt/#/1arbutus

Always interesting to have a discussion on a favorite fruit, car, politician, etc.  Seems like one needs to gather a bunch of scionwood varieties, graft them on a single tree, in a given environment, water accordingly, and sample the fruit.  I was fortunate to participate in the collection of Bob Chambers' scionwood extravaganza and have sampled many of the varieties mentioned.  Most are grafted on existing trees (they graft as easily as apples, very forgiving).  In my opinion most are too sweet (like cherimoyas).  I prefer one that has ripened on the tree, has fallen, and is warmed by the sun.  It reminds me of custard.  Cut into large pieces and dried in my dehydrator, they are an excellent dried fruit which I use when backpacking.  One of my trees is over 40 years old (Pike/Vernon/Nettie) and is a true giant.  Grafted on a yellow sapote (Casimiroa tetrameria) it is a managable size about the size of a peach tree. I would not plant one near the house/septic tank/walkway.  At least they are quite drought resistant.

Vernon is a very rich tasting fruit, nies can be excellent if leaf on tree till close to ripe, santa cruz, and more bland side suebelle which if true variety should have some fuzz on bottom side of leaf. Many nurseries sell suebelle but not true variety which was mixed up long ago so look for woolly underside on leaf for true suebelle. Lemon gold is supposed to be good one and cuccio is also good. It all depends on what you can find in area best of luck.

Yes and minimum chill to induce flowering is a pretty good guide and yeah 4c or 5c sounds about right.

Quote from: Tropheus76 on April 16, 2020, 02:57:44 PM

Have always heard the opposite and in my experience longans are far more sensitive than lychees. I am in 9B and longans are borderline trees. Mine stayed alive but barely grew while my lychees do really well.

Hmm.. I see conflicting evidence all over the web.
And in my personal experience,
I started about 200 longan seedlings and 100 or so lychee seedlings last summer, and scattered them all throughout different microclimates on the property (slightly different elevations, full sun and full shade, some more exposed to wind and frost than others).. none grew over a foot in height when winter came about. We got about 12 brief frosts this past winter (lowest temp 27 F) and not a single longan that I observed suffered any frost damage. However about half the seedling lychees had significant damage to their leaves (However I think much of this damage occured in the first cold event when it dropped from 85 F to 40 F in 6 hours. Not much further damage seemed to occur when actual frosts started to hit, because the plants were acclimated by then..)
So, I don't know yet. Maybe longans are more frost tolerant but more sensitive lower temps (which is a separate factor than frost)..? I'll likely find out in the years to come..

Also what are some Chinese longan varieties? Does Kohala have Chinese heritage?

Quote from: giorgosgr. on October 19, 2020, 11:54:36 AM

Quote from: bsbullie on October 19, 2020, 09:29:43 AM

Black sapote
Wax jambu
Jabos
Dragon fruit (for their taste, not superfood status)
Miracle fruit
Many types of guavas

couldn't agree more with Dragon fruit and Jabos. Though both are really impressive. Jabos are good but grapes (some varieties) are better. And grapes give a lot of fruit and are mostly care free. Dragon in my opinion is really promising from its looks but dissapoints... Even the yellow one...

I can agree with grapes being better tasting. Especially the ones that cost $25 for one bunch But who doesn't love fruits that grow off the tree trunk

Carve the two wound surfaces, then quickly bind them back together.  You can leave a couple of millimeters opening at the very bottom of the wrapping to drain excess moisture.

Sometimes it is things you just don't think of. I know the first water out of my hose is scalding hot sometimes when the hose has been left out.