I am getting fed up with the San Diego APHIS inspection station for my seed imports.  Every once and a while they give me a break, but the usual situation is that  seed shipments arrive at the inspection station where they sit around for two to three months.  When they finally get around to inspecting them they are either germinated or moldy, where in either case they destroy the seeds and then send me a nice stack of letters informing me of that fact.  The last straw was recently when I received a call from an inspector who complained to me that the shipper did not put a forwarding label in the box with the seeds, and that they need to do this. When I asked if he was able to label the box for me, the response was there there was nothing to forward as all the seeds had germinated and there were no phytosanitary certificates included with the shipment.  He was just calling me so that it did not happen next time!

My question to the group is does anyone know of an APHIS station that processes seeds in a timely manner so that my imports can actually get to me rather than sit, germinating, in some government inspector's office?

I am not complaining about the program or the inspectors, many I have spoken with even agree that calling seeds that germinate in transit "plants" is ridiculous, but they have rules they are told to follow. I am just looking for an office that is not as busy and/or understaffed as the San Diego branch.

Thanks,
Richard

I had a shipment of seeds sent to me from Brazil recently, and almost all had germinated in transit, or more likely during the three weeks they were sitting at APHIS.  Anyway, imagine my surprise when they arrived in my mailbox! Previously, germinated seeds had been removed from the shipment and destroyed, so I am wondering if I just got lucky or if they are starting to relax their rules a little bit.

What are your experiences with APHIS inspection and seeds that have germinated in transit?

Cheers,
Richard

I purchased a group of cuttings a few years ago, while trying to add to my Hylocereus collection.  When they arrived, just about all the plants were misidentified, except the ones that were lableled Hylocereus sp., and in really poor condition, so I did not hold out much hope for them.  As they grew, the first of these plants fruited, and were fair to poor quality white undatus. Some of the now unknown species also fruited and none of them were much to speak of, mainly bitter flavorless fruits.  This particular plant, which was sold as Hylocereus trigonus and is clearly not that although it is not an H. undatus either, flowered for the first time this year, and I made sure it was pollinated even though I figured it was going to be another bust.  Was I ever surprised!  This is by far the best tasting white fleshed dragonfruit I have ever tried, better even than Asunta.  It is quite flavorful, unlike most of the bland whites I have tasted, with flavors of lemon and pear, and a wonderful balance of sweetness and acidity. The only criticism I could make is that it could be a bit more crunchy, but I attribute that to the fact that it was a bit over ripe when I picked it.

I will definitely need to work on propagating this one so that it can be more widely distributed and enjoyed by those who enjoy dragonfruit.

Cheers,
Richard

Is anyone else growing Myrciaria delicatula?  I have one that is about four years old and five feet tall, from seeds I received from Helton.  Other than Helton's website and  the e-jardim site I cannot find much information on this particular plant.  It grows much faster than my other Myrciaria/Plinias and is the most trouble free of all of them. 

Has anyone tasted the fruit or have any knowledge of this plant?



A photo of my plant

Thanks,
Richard

Thanks to all that replied to my offer, personally I did not think there would be too much interest in these, but was I wrong. 

I should have enough to send at least 6 - 10 seeds to everyone who requested them and there is another crop on the way.  If you sent me a PM and I have not responded by Monday morning  please send me another one as I might have overlooked yours. 

Good luck with the seeds,
Richard

My little bush is loaded with fruit and if anyone is interested in the seeds let me know.  They are free and Ill even pay for the shipping!

It is an attractive plant, and fruits readily and heavily at a young age. The fruit are ok, slightly sweet and a bit tannic with not a lot of flesh surrounding the seed. They are best when they are drop ripe like surinam cherries.  Definitely not a top tier or even a second (or third) tier fruit, but for someone with a lot of space and/or interested in oddities it is a neat plant to have.

I find myself picking off the ripe ones every time a walk past the bush, so they are definitely growing on me.

Cheers,
Richard

Just thought I'd ask. I took a 24 inch cutting off one of my bronxensis (sp?) plants. Would any one like to have it before it goes in the compost bin.

Cheers,
Richard

Does anyone have any available?

Thanks,
Richard

Is anybody growing xoconostle, also known as Opuntia joconostle or Opuntia matudae?  Null?

Thanks,
Richard

I know this is a real shot in the dark, but does anyone have any lychee seeds right now?  The variety is not important, I need them to make lychee seed powder for some experiments I want to try.  If someone might have some immature fruit on a tree the seeds of those would be even better.

Anyone?

Thanks,
Richard

I have been eating a lot of cactus apples over the last few weeks, but yesterday I  just picked the first fruit off my Cereus jamacaru, with for more to come in the next few weeks.

The best thing about this one is the coloration,  it looks like a mini mango!  Taste wise, it is much like most of the C.preuvianus I have tried, and it looks like the fruit might end up being larger than the preuvianus plants I have.  With the heat and the drought, this is definitely a keeper.

Next up, Stenocereus pruinosis in a few weeks.

Cheers,
Richard

I've got some seeds from my Mauka plant (an andean tuber crop) if anyone is interested.  Free for the asking.

Richard

The title pretty much says it all.  I have a bunch of Campomanesia  plants, and I was wondering if they are suitable for container culture or would they be best planted in the ground.  Any suggestions?


Some of my subject plants

Campomanesia phaea

Campomanesia rhomba

Campomanesia sessifolia

Campomanesia xanthocarpa

Campomanesia  schlechtendaliana


Thanks,
Richard

I have a bunch of seedlings of this tree and was wondering if anyone has any experience with it.