I found someone selling a nut tree they called the Florida Pistachio.  I got one and planted it in the ground last year.
This year I tried some of the nuts and they were really good. I tried planting a few and one grew and is still thriving. I wanted to learn more about
the tree and found out its common name is physics tree or Barbados nut tree. It turns out the tree is Jatropha curcas. I read the nut is used for
biofuel and toxic? The guy I got the tree from has been eating them for the past several years and when he got the original seeds they were from
someone who also ate the nuts. Does anyone have any info on this tree? As far as growing, it is deciduous and drought tolerant and very easy to grow.
I wanted to plant 6 after trying the nut it was so good. I don't want to poison my family yet, well sometimes my wife....
Did you ever find a source greenman62?
Mike

Last year I sent 2 emails to Wayne asking about the Dream atemoya for purchase and never got a response. Now
I finally understand why. Oh well I bought one from The Dom and have a wonderful plant and I didn't have to drive
almost 2 hours to Bradenton. I would love to get another one Dom whenever you have one available!
Mike 

This past week I ate silas wood sapodilla, red jaboticaba, cherry of the rio grande, indian jujube, and Jamaican cherry.
Whenever I have a ripe fruit in my hand that I grew it is my favorite. I couldn't pick one fruit that is my favorite,  I hope I never have to
stop planting new trees. Its just math, there's always a way to squeeze another plant in. Good luck only planting 2 more trees. You do have a
great assortment of trees. I would keep diversifying.

I have mine in indirect sunlight. The first year it didn't grow much but now it seems to be taking off.
I try to water it everyday and notice if I only water 3-4 days a week it stops growing. Does anyone know how cold it can handle?

Mike

Could you describe the fruit taste from your tree

Thanks
Mike

just out of curiousity why did you plant it in the pot? Why not remove the pot?

Mike

If we have a super cold night I plan to move my containers in a shed with a space heater. I don't have a covered garage but I also have a 10'x 20' green house. On cold nights I water heavy during the day leading up to the cold night. If you don't have any buildings to hide the trees in you can also put trees under a large oak tree if available. There are so many factors that can influence the actual damage cold nights can cause including wind. Around 10 years ago there was a night that was in the lower 20s. There was an unexpected strong wind and my plants weren't burnt and there wasn't any frost.  These available lists seem to have huge differences in reported temperatures. The longans can die at 30 F and the lychee is ok to 25F?
Another important factor is what stage of dormancy the tree is in. Two winters ago we had a very mild winter with no temps under under 40F. My Lychee and LSU Gold fig tree both had a new spring flush by mid February.  Two weeks later we had a 3 hours of 30F one night and both trees died,
The lychee had survived the year before 2 nights colder then 30F but the tree was still dormant for both nights. If your trees are in containers then you have allot more control then trees in the ground. I have 4 sugar apples in 15 gallon pots that are 7'-8' tall. Next spring I will put them on my south side of my house in my most protected spot in my yard. This winter it will be easy to move them to safety. After they are in the ground? I went to the local Kiwanas and bought 20 large bed sheets for $20 and use them to cover small trees.

I live in 9b close to LaBelle, FL. When the fruit gets soft it's ready to eat. It may still be green.
If you wait till it turns orange it could be dry and worthless. It is very unpredictable to grow oranges here and each year
I have experienced different results. This year we had a very wet September which caused some brown spot and fruit drop.
I have:
1 brown select satsuma
2 ponkans
1 owari satsuma
1 xie shan satsuma
1 sugarbelle
1 temple
1 ortanique
1 kishu
1 clementine
1 tango
I plan to dig up the clementine and replace with my newest purchase the Tango. Your tree looks great and the fruit looks ripe now?
Squeeze the fruit and if it is soft try one. So far we have only had one night that got 55F and the fruit will not be very sweet. It should be
tangy and juicy though. Some of my fruit is still green and already drying out. Last year was so warm there was an early bloom and the fruit
is early. If you leave dry fruit on the tree too long it will effect next years harvest also.
Mike

I also have heard that Barbados cherries don't grow true from seed? Why not  try a couple of seeds and see how well they germinate?
I thought that if a tree produced fruit then pollination occurred and therefore the seeds should be viable. If the flowers need cross pollination to
set fruit you would not get fruit with seeds, right?
Mike

I got 10 pitangatubas last year in 1 gal pots that were yearlings. I bumped them up to 7 gallon pots and then this spring I bumped them up to 15 gallon pots. They were about a foot last year or smaller and now they are 3-4 feet and are flowering heavy and producing small amounts of fruit all summer. A couple plants are starting to produce heavy but last weekend it was 55F and I imagine they will shut down for the winter. I got 3 fruit today. I used composted manure and potting soil for their mix and have added small amounts of manure all summer. They seem to really be taking off, I also water them 4-5 times a week.  They are probably ready for 25 gal pots next spring or the ground?
Mike

Florida grande only needs 75 hours. These UF strains are designed in Gainesville and made for North Florida. However
I live in 9b and have enjoyed peaches the last 2 years. I have a 2 year old Florida Grande that should fruit the first time
this year. My Tropic beauty and Florida glow are flowering right now? We haven't had one hour of chill yet? The trees grow
fast and the fruit is way better then any Georgia peach I have ever eaten. The fruit is smaller with melting flesh. I would say
try it for a few years and really put the fertilizer to them. You will see fast results and should be eating peaches within 2 years.
They are heavy feeders and will respond to fertilizer. I also remember them needing zinc so include micros with your fertilizer.
Mike

DEATHBLOOM!

This past year I went to Fruitscapes in Pine Island for their mango tasting weekend. They had an unripe mango that was crunchy that I missed the name of and it was one of my son's favorites. My other son likes the mallika the best. I didn't have one favorite. I did try the Pickering which is suppose to taste like coconut which I don't like. To me the pickering was excellent and didn't remind me of anything like coconut. The lady that was running the booth said #1 lemonzest #2 dot and #3 Nam doc mai. Then another guy who works there came up raving about the Maha chanok. After he left the lady said it's average at best? If you ask 5 people you will get 5 different answers.  It is really fun to try 15-20 types at once. And I guess if you can figure out a favorite then you have to take in consideration that mangos can vary each year in their flavor. Buy more land is the only answer.