:)thanks for sharing. brought back some memories. my grandfather in Cuba had a club made out of the branches of that tree with the spikes behind his bedroom door in case there were intruders in the house middle of the night. 

have you checked with the folks at going-bananas.com? they are down in homestead. I have also seen some for sale at home depot in the past. had some in my yard but it got panama disease from the manzano bananas I had planted.

Took a stroll through the garden this morning and saw this on my indian jujube. it was planted this past summer (3 gl size),  last time I had checked up on it,  it had blooms on it and now this? how can I treat this? doesn't matter if the solution is organic or not. I'd just like to save my tree if possible.

Tree is on the west side of my house, about 13' from it, behind it is a large variegated hibiscus bush and an everbearing mulberry tree. the base of the jujube is also heavily mulched. thought I'd mention these things in case they factor into things.

thanks in advance,

Mic

I would not say Fruit size on the Pantin (Key West) is that small, I got some this summer from Julian Lara when I visited the redlands.  But, if fruit size is what you want then Magana I think has larger fruit, some of them look like footballs. I too would like to have one more mamey tree but I'm not sure whether to go with Magana, Pace, or in a different direction altogether with Green Sapote. I hear those green sapotes are quite tasty. (Can anyone comment on production of the green sapote?)

I already planted : Lara, and Akil especial.

due to that slight vomit like smell on my papayas, I find myself using them mainly in milkshakes when ripe. But I have tried them green in salads and desserts so at least its versatile and easy for me to grow. going to try and pickle them next. 

I work at a Middle School in west palm beach, Fl zone 10b and the school was looking at starting a vegetable garden, and that sort of changed into lets do more of a backyard kitchen inspired demo gardens from around the world. more perennial plantings, less annuals etc. anyway, I recomended they stick to more herbaceous or shrubby types of fruit trees like papayas and bananas, citrus and guavas, but the desire to have other fruit trees is pretty strong.
Therefore, since this forum is worldwide and there are well traveled folks here  I'd like to pick your brains a bit; I have several questions for you:

first a little background info on the space: the garden area is well protected between 2 story buildings that run North-South, roughly a 120' x50' planting area,  6+ hours of direct sun a day. We are hoping to represent the following countries or regions of the world: latin america and the caribbean, India/Asia, and maybe western Africa. but, I'm open to other ideas. also if anyone would like to partner with us, volunteer their expertise, seeds, plants, cuttings, discounts etc for the school garden let me know.

Q1: what trees/herbs/ perennial vegetables would you suggest or recommend as typical/authentic to represent each demo backyard garden?

for example, for a caribbean inspired garden I would think of: sour orange, avocado, yuca, pigeon peas, plantains, oregano, chayote squash, etc.

Q2: What fruit trees would fit the design without completely overcrowding everything else. or (my suggestion) what dwarf varieties can be grown as a specimen in a large pot to dwarf it further, almost indefinitely (for a good 7-10 years) if possible?

Q3: could you recommend any local sources for mulch, topsoil, plants, and trees that would deliver and maybe sell at a discount?

I will print your comments and suggestions and push them through the bureaucratic machine.

thanks in advance.

I planted a tree under the expectation that it would be a very late variety. I'm surprised to see they are already at market this time of year.

where can I get cotton candy?

I have grown dragon fruit (american beauty) before in ground, trellised like other dragon fruits i saw at Pine Island Nursery down in homestead, Fl; but I had to leave that behind at my old house.
this is my some what "portable"  dragon fruit setup that I started in the spring. I have several varieties now growing including some 2-3 unknown cuttings I got of a white fruiting variety at fruit and spice park and a magenta and red variety I got from rare fruit growers plant sales.

of the known varieties I have : natural mistic (from lotus fruit trees), thai white (lotus fruit trees), american beauty, haley's comet, purple haze.





one of them recently flowered. I'm looking forward to its first fruits.

SonnyCrockett, I purchased them hoping they were spanish red. they look like the picture in the link but, I'll have to wait until they fruit to be sure. I really hope they are.

hello, newb here.

Besides citrus, and black sapote what other fruit can be grown in Floridas' winter months? I'd like to diversify and have fruit throughout the year. any recommendations ?

p.s. I'm not counting Avocado as fruit.  got plenty of those.

I  have heard there are some large fruiting varieties of loquat, specially over seas. But, are there any large fruiting varieties available in Florida?

this season I really enjoyed: ( in no particular order)

K3 - reminded me of a duncan mango, only better.
C18 - probably my favorite mango I tasted this season. it had a very citrusy, sweet orange flavor. can't wait to grow it when released.
M4 - was super sweet. like mango candy. would love to grow this one.
venus- was really good, thinking about at the very least grafting it to another mango in the yard for late season production.
piņa colada - was hit or miss for me I had a few, and some were really good and others very mediocre.
coconut cream was good. and when overripe it tasted like an edward so that was good.
34-12 was good. loved that smooth jello like texture.
P22 - was good. complex flavors, seemed to change throughout the fruit. I would grow it.
sweet tart- was also good-ish?!. but I don't think I enjoy them enough to put a tree in the ground. its not the kind of mango i could binge on. I enjoy the tangy tart mangoes but this one makes your salivary glands just burst in your mouth. mine are bursting now just reminiscing about it.