Penang 88 is a great durian

[Mike T]

The larger of the 2 durians here off my trees is Penang 88 and the other is Limberlost. This morning I broke it open and have been eating it.



It is better than my red prawn and the tree is smaller and more productive as well. It is way better than the monthongs and other standards I have eaten so far this season. This is a special durian variety of very high quality.

[Gone tropo]

I cant wait to get my hands on a penang 88 tree, hoping salleras has one for me!!!!!!

[Mike T]

Today I am ploughing through a big chanee so wish me luck. They are a fine fruit and this one has all seeds wrinkled.

[Mike T]

I am a big fan of high flesh yield types

[Jabba The Hutt]

  Mike, is there anyway to get grafted Durians imported from Australia to US? How long did your trees take to produce?

[Mike T]

I have 5 bearing trees of which one is a marcot and 4 are grafted. They were all planted out at around 2 feet high and the marcotted tree was fastest to have fruit at just over 4 years after planting out. The other 4 took 5 to 8 years to have fruit. Getting trees from Australia to the US may be a bit too challenging and getting them from Hawaii to go to Florida is more likely to be in the realm of being possible.

[jimreevescairns]

Looks great in the photo Mike. Still a few years before I get fruit off mine. It’s actually planted really close to the same red prawn you have which is growing very vigorously ...... useful information because at some stage it’s going to be one or the other. If they both turned out well I would leave them and just prune the branches between them.
One of my limberlost trees is huge but has really poor fruit ..... on the lookout for a good variety to have a go at top grafting if you hear of any. How does the p88 rate with other good local cultivars you have tried?
Cheers
Jim

[Mike T]

Jim I found out the hard way that limberlost is not a top durian. The flesh is pale and there is a low flesh yield, and taste is mediocre. It is reliable however. If you are seeking durians which bear well in local conditions and have good quality fruits then Penang 88, monthong, luang and gumpun are good, Chanee amd gaan yeow are also respectable with nice fruit.

[Finca La Isla]

So Mike, that’s encouraging to hear about your marcotted durian.  I like the idea and have recently planted two.  Do you have any other observations comparing them to grafted trees.  And are there others in the area to corroborate your experience?
Peter

[Jabba The Hutt]

I have 5 bearing trees of which one is a marcot and 4 are grafted. They were all planted out at around 2 feet high and the marcotted tree was fastest to have fruit at just over 4 years after planting out. The other 4 took 5 to 8 years to have fruit. Getting trees from Australia to the US may be a bit too challenging and getting them from Hawaii to go to Florida is more likely to be in the realm of being possible.

Thanks for the info Mike.

[Mike T]

The marcotted tree is smaller and seems less vigorous than the grafted trees. I know they are more prone to blowing over in strong winds.

[Gone tropo]

Looks great in the photo Mike. Still a few years before I get fruit off mine. It’s actually planted really close to the same red prawn you have which is growing very vigorously ...... useful information because at some stage it’s going to be one or the other. If they both turned out well I would leave them and just prune the branches between them.
One of my limberlost trees is huge but has really poor fruit ..... on the lookout for a good variety to have a go at top grafting if you hear of any. How does the p88 rate with other good local cultivars you have tried?
Cheers
Jim

Jim this May not be of help to you but I will be growing out a few gan Yao seedlings your welcome to have one if you want when they are bigger.

[jimreevescairns]

Thanks Troppo
I already Have a grafted gan yao off Trina that is behaving like a sickly child. I have literally no room for any new ones - that’s why I am thinking of grafting onto the crap tree when I cut it .
Mike - cheers - already have young ones of a few of them.
Have you tasted the Peter Knutsford monthong?  Supposed to be a good local variant and fast growing
Cheers

[Finca La Isla]

Fortunately we don’t have strong winds.  I’ve noticed that the Thais often cut the taproots when re potting young durians.  Consequently, they might end up with a root system more akin to a marcotted tree.  Could be an advantage for superficial feeding.
Mike, do you know if other layered trees in your area?
Peter

[Mike T]

They are not often air layered and I don't know of other trees around that are. My one came from Limberlost nursery which was selling lots of air layered durians at the the time as well as grafted trees so there will be some around from that lot.