Also at the Fruit & Spice Park this coming weekend is the Asian Culture Festival.

Two day event, Saturday, March 2 and Sunday March 3, 2013 10 am to 6 pm .In its 24th year, this annual festival features Asian crafts, art and exotic music and dance, highlighted by a tasty selection of authentic Far Eastern cuisine. Admission: Adults $10

I saw a nice specimen of this plant at Excalibur a few years back.  It is a very attractive and unusual fruit.

Congratulations Mike!  I'm sure that you will fit in well there.  :-)

Mr. Whitman has a very interesting way of installing his poles.  He created a tool using a large piston head with two rods essentially in the shape of a cross that intersected the piston.  Then he would climb an orchard ladder, insert the longer bottom rod into the pole and use the side rods as handles to lift the piston head, then drop it, which resulted in the piston driving the pole into the ground. 

Wanting numbers is great but why do people overlook quality or quantity (I would rather have 10 of the best than 5  different types with some being noticeably inferior).

(1) Extended season potential.  If you had one type of mango, you would limit yourself to 2-3 months (at best) and with different types, you can easily push it to 6 months or longer.
 
(2) Tired of eating the same variety all season.  Even the best types get old after a while and it is nice to have something different.  It also confirms that what you think is the best really is!

(3) I like to share fruit and everyone may not enjoy the same thing.  Some like mangoes spicy, others sweet, etc., and I like to show people that the one in the grocery store isn't the only game in town.

(4) Some varieties don't bear every year.  It's always nice to have some fruit in an off-year.

I guess you'd have to dig a large enough hole and consider that your "natural container" and backfill with amended, acidic soil instead of native.  Cause wouldn't the plant start to decline once the roots reached the native soil?  Start spreading sulfur on your yard hoping it will leach into your soil over the years??

I think the soil pH is the first limiting factor here in S. Florida.  Those that have coaxed mangosteen to flower here (Whitman, Fairchild-Whitman Pavillion, Johnson, ) have done so with acidic soil (or presumably slightly acidic potting soil) base.  Whitman brought in several hundred truckloads of acidic sand and the Pavillion at Fairchild is reportedly 16 feet deep with an acidic sand mix.  While the natural container is a possibility,  I think you would need a pretty large hole, and not only wide but just as importantly...deep, to overcome the natural buffering capacity of the limestone base.   I have inquired over the years with local university professors and other experts and so far everyone is of the belief that while soil additions can have a short-term effect at lowering the pH, it is not feasible in the long-term.  While my questions were directed more towards a homeowner situation, that does not preclude the possibility of something on a large scale, but I think it is probably not economically feasible at this point in time.  Having said that, I still would encourage people to give Jay's suggestion a try because (1) professors/experts can be wrong and (2)  many of us are already growing on the cutting edge and just because something hasn't been done before, doesn't mean it can't be done now.  Just ask Paulette! :-)

A second limiting factor is likely to be climate.  Whitman grew in a relatively warm section of S. Florida, buffered to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Biscayne Bay.  He told me that his temperatures were routinely 10F warmer than mainland Miami.  The Pavillion is a greenhouse.  Those of you trying to live the dream of a fruiting mangosteen should consider some sort of enclosure, at least for the initial growing period.  As Oscar mentioned, once they become mature they develop "adult" characteristics, and Whitman's mangosteen trees survived the one time that it got down to freezing at his property.

PS Sheehan, didn't you mention one time a guy that had a fruiting mangosteen in N. Miami (or somewhere near there?)

I'm wishing everyone the best of luck!!!

I'll share my experience in the hopes that something good will come of it.  I grew a mangosteen from seed until it was 6 feet tall.  Patting myself on the back I decided to plant it in the ground. I dug a nice 3 foot diameter hole, added quite a bit of peat and then mixed the peat with the native soil (mostly sand with some added coral rock).  I let the hole sit for a couple of months and then one fine Spring day, I planted the mangosteen.  Within a couple of months after planting, dieback ensued, slowly at the upper tips at first, and then 6 months later I had a dead stick in the ground.

Okay, so what are some of the possibilities of where I went wrong.   

(1)  <b>SOIL </b> My soil (and most of South Florida's) has a limestone base that is strongly alkaline and the mangosteen prefers a more acid soil.  While I attempted to counteract alkaline condition this with the addition of the peat, there are reports that indicate that trying to amend soil with a limestone base is a futile effort.

(2) <b>HOLE </b> Perhaps a larger, deeper hole might have allowed it to live longer and get stronger before encountering the alkalinity of the limestone base.

(3) <b>PROTECTION </b> Spring is a bit on the windy and dry side here most years, so it is possible that a humidity tent of some sort (or even placing some larger plants around it) would have allowed it to overcome the transplant shock quicker.  And I cannot discount the possibility that the wind, dryness and direct sun exposure did not have an insurmountable negative effect.  Perhaps shading during the initial planting would be beneficial.  (Note: The potted plant WAS growing in full sun prior to transplanting.)

(4) <b>TIMING</b> While it seemed logical at the time to plant in the Spring, perhaps there is a better time of year to do so.  Maybe waiting for the rainy season to actually start would have been a better idea. 

(5) <b>WATER</b> I was using pumped ground water from the aforemention alkaline soil.  In hindsight, probably a pretty stupid thing to do.  Rain barrels or some other form of naturally collected water would probably be best.

I'm sure that there are other ideas/opinions of how the process could be improved.  I think Harry is on the right track with the raised beds for those of us with alkaline soils, or just grow them in pots as I believe Paulette, our current local mangosteen guru, did.  Hopefully some of you will have better soil conditions to deal with.

Anyway, I hope that my prior experience will be of help to those of you brave souls!  All constructive comments are welcomed. 

Good luck! :-)

In Thailand, everything is negotiable.  I was told that it is almost an insult NOT to try and bargain down the price.   ... 

I don't know who told you that, but it's not true. They will very gladly take your money! All of it!!  It's customary to quote farangs (foreigners) prices 2 to 4x normal price. So if you pay it they will just smile and take your money.

I was told that by a native Thai.  The belief stems from the thinking that if you (as the buyer) do not play the game of negotiation, then you either think you are too good or too rich to negotiate.  That is where the insult stems from.  It probably relates to fellow Thais more than foreigners as you are correct in that the vendors will happily take the inflated initial offering price. 

Very interesting.  And the way I get seeds for this variety is....?

You may wish to go for the grafted tree from Jeff or any other reputable nursery.  While many different jakfruit reportedly coming close to true from seed, Chris R. at the Fruit & Spice Park tells of planting a dozen or so seeds of 'Cochin' and not a single one producing small fruit.  The resulting trees can be found planted in two rows behind the Poisonous Plants area in the Park and the fruit are definitely larger than 5 lbs.  (NOTE:  This does not preclude the possibility that the seeds were switched at birth, or that some nefarious individual switched the seedlings out prior to planting!) ;-)
Perhaps the small fruit is a recessive trait?

I'd like to get there some time.  What sort of fruits / cultivars  to they specialize in?

I can say for sure that they specialize in Mamey as the father was either the first or one of the first to graft them here in Florida, and mangoes, including some lesser known varieties.  I haven't been to the farm in a few years but I recall they had quite a few other fruits as well.  They are closed today, but if someone wants to give them a call, the phone number is (305) 253-2750.  They are open Saturdays.  One could easily make a tour of other farms in the area on the same trip.

Julian showed us a video during his recent presentation to the Tropical Fruit & Vegetable Society of the Redland and the magnificent looking custard apple is a neighbor's fruit.  He referred to it by the neighbor's name, which I think was "Hernandez". 

Almost like a cross between a cleft and bark graft like this?

Yes, pretty much like that. 

Cool. Thanks! Did he mention anything about fertilizers for in-ground mamey trees?

No, I don't believe so.  He did show a couple of videos that are available on line that he and his father (Pablo Lara) did, one in English and the other in Spanish.  They focused mainly on mango cultivars.  They intend to do more in the future. 

He discussed a few of the mamey cultivars:  'Pantin' - gets soft/slimy after a few days in the refrigerator.  Best mamey rootstock as it produces a thicker stem on the seedling.  'Magana' has ripening issues, where sometimes it will ripen on one side of the fruit and not the other.  He suggested that many people scratch the skin on the end when they should scratch it at the middle for 'Magana', and on multiple sides. 'Pace' is a hybrid between Tazumal (sp?) and 'Magana' that was developed by his father. The name is derived from the first two letters of his father's name, and the first two letters of his mother's name (Cecilia?). It ripens at the same time as 'Magana', but ripens evenly, and is precocious.  He mentioned 3 cultivars from the Yucatan Peninsula (spelling may be off): 'Cepeda Especial', 'Akil Especial', and 'Vidal Redondo'.  All were said to have a very good flavor and a reddish flesh.  He may be selling those at Lara Farms (Homestead). 

Since he had no ripe mameys, he brought in some ripe caimitos.  He had two types (seedlings), one with purple flesh and the other with half purple/half white flesh.

A few of other tidbits that he shared (general, for all fruit trees) that are probably familiar to most of us:
 
"Fruit trees will not drink old water."  Translation: Use a well drained soil and let them dry out before re-watering. 

"Don't use black soil or potting soil in the planting hole."  To clarity, you should leave the potting soil that was attached to the roots from the pot, just don't add any additional.

(Specifically for mamey) - Prune larger trees to let more light in, or else you will only get fruit on the tips of the trees.

"Leave circling roots when planting potted plants."  This was a new one on me, but I'm assuming that he believes that it is more important to NOT disturb the roots.

On a side note, Chris Rollins shared one of the first fruits of Psidium acutangulum (or a very similar sounding species) at the Fruit & Spice Park.  Flavor was similar to Cas guava.  Nice.

Please think twice about destroying a thriving Dragon Fruit cactus, that you started from seed, just because the fruit it produces is not of good quality.

Without knowing it, you may have hit the jackpot! What I mean is, you may have a great Dragon-Fruit root-stock, that is not affected by nasty nematodes.
Specially, if it's just planted straight in the ground.  Without any barriers between the D.F. and the surrounding area. By barriers I mean sand, clay-pot or pot of some kind, spraying pesticides, black-nylon-sheets, etc.

I planted about 6 cuttings of David-Bowie D.F. cultivar around a pressure-treated pole in the ground, about 10 months ago, Without any barriers.
Now, they look to me like they are showing signs of nematode damage. Maybe my Zone-10b/South-Florida, is affected by nematodes and other Zone/areas are not?
One of the cuttings was climbing the pole OK. But now, it kinda stopped & there is some kind of dirt accumulating at the tip, at the top.
The other cuttings around the pole, have thrown some air-roots like a Medusa, or they've done nothing or developed some rotting holes or both!

I'm very interested in knowing whether anyone has a Dragon Fruit, whether a cultivar or a seedling, that they've just planted in the ground and, it is thriving and doing wonderfully. Regardless of whether it is producing good fruit or not. But showing no nematode damage.

I grow several varieties and species of DF, nearly all with their roots in the ground.  Most were planted in concrete CBS blocks which were set next to pressure-treated pine posts.  A few grow naturally up trees.  All are thriving.  (No seedlings planted in the ground yet.)

What are the symptoms of nematode damage that you have seen?  Is it what you have described, stopped growth or lots of arial (Medusa-like) roots?