The Tropical Fruit Forum

Not a Garcinia but I’ve had multiple people tell me that the red hybrid Jaboticaba tastes a lot like Mangosteen.

Simon

I agree with  Galatians552 and the thicker diameter branches will give you an effectively older tree. I usually air layer the smaller branches for rare varieties I’m trying to propagate or when larger branches are not available. I also air layer small branches that I may end up clipping off anyways.

There are air layering balls you can get cheap on Amazon that are great for small air layers and they’re re-usable to a certain point.

I can’t post pictures for some reason

Simon

Venus and CAC are also great varieties that are productive and relatively disease resistant in my area. Honey Kiss is reliable and disease resistant but it’s a bit on the smaller size because it holds so many fruit per panicle. Disease resistance in one area does not guarantee disease resistance and productivity in another area. Here’s a thread with some additional information.

https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=31480.0

Simon

Taste perception and preferences are different for each individual but you may like ValCarrie, Carrie, Angie, Super Alphonso, J12. These have a different flavor profile from Indian grown Alphonso but they have some characteristics of the Indian resinous flavor of Alphonso. The ValCarrie is productive in my area and is disease resistant and has a richness passed onto it from the Valencia Pride and Carrie. J12 has a very different taste but my Indian friends really enjoyed this mango although it can have some s un even ripening issues when grown in my area. I love Alphonso with its metallic pine sol resinous gasoline flavor but these other varieties are as good or better without the Jellyseed or internal breakdown issues associated with Alphonso. Alphonso is also prone to Powdery Mildew at my location.

Simon

Did you fertilize the same? Fertilization, weather, amount of water and the daily amount of light can all affect the fruit quality. If all things were the same except this year was more cloudy and we got more rain, it could significantly decrease the quality of fruit.

Without proper fertilization, yields and fruit quality can go downhill as the trees use up the minerals in the rhizosphere.

Simon

I haven’t been grafting as much mangos lately but here’s a few bud grafts I did late last year around September-October which I don’t recommend because it is too late in the season. Some of the buds didn’t push till last month and some pushed blooms immediately. Stick to the May-August grafting for best success in SoCal as this is our primary vegetative growing season.

This thread is getting very long so I want to reiterate how important it is for us to fertilize and push growth during our short vegetative season here in SoCal.

Also, one of the main issues with grafted trees is that the flowering caused by the grafting of mature scions is what causes the major issues such as droopiness which leads to horizontal exposure of cambium to full sunlight which causes sunburns which leads to wounds which can get infected. The grafting of mature scions also significantly slows growth because up to 8 months out of the year will be spent flowering and holding fruit.

This is why I recommend planting seedlings where you will typically get 3 years of vegetative growth before flowering and if you multiple rootstock a seedling and grow a single trunk tree without grafting it with mature scions, you can get a large rootstock tree with great scaffold branches in several years.

Alternatively, you can spend about $1000+ on a large potted mango tree which you can plant into the ground.











Simon

If you cross pollinate one variety of sapodilla with another (e.g., a butterscotch next to an Alano), does this change the nature of the fruit? Sapodillas are supposed to be self-pollinating, from what I’ve read.

Anyone know if self-pollination with a paintbrush leads to superior fruit set/yield when compared to pinching/rolling each flower?

If you cross pollinate, it should not change the taste of the fruit. Cross pollination can improve fruit set and there is a chance there will be more seeds which may or may not increase fruit size but the flavor will not be affected.

I’ve only got one small Alano tree planted in ground and it’s multigrafted with Thomas and I plan to also add BS to it but currently waiting for my BS to get a little bigger as it’s only in a one gallon container and about 9 inches tall.

Simon

Quote from: simon_grow on September 02, 2022, 12:46:33 AM

I’ve grown very fond of bud grafting mango trees and have found that they grow vigorously and require significantly less scion material.

Simon

Hi Simon, this thread keeps providing super useful info not just for you guys living in SoCal but for anyone living in Mediterranean-type climates. Almost everything you comment on here is applicable to my area. I was wondering what particular type of bud grafting are you using and if there are any particulars (season, temps, rootstock characteristics...) worth keeping in mind. I often use chip and inverted T on citrus, Prunus and figs but on mango I have only used once, I did a couple of bud grafting (chip) years ago from a Maha scion and one took and healed particularly well (is an inground tree now). I never tried again but I'd like to give it a try this season since I plan to graft some material particularly hard to get here.

Jose

Hey Jose, I use chip budding for my Mangos. This video is for figs but it the same technique I use for bud grafting my mango trees. It’s best to perform this type of graft during your active growing season when temperatures are above the threshold for flowering. For Southern California, this would be around June through August. If you graft too late, the bud can push blooms and it can take longer for the graft to take so your percentage of successful grafts will be lower.

Simon

Hah, I was about to respond with admiration at your successful grafting.  So far I am 0 out of gazillion, grafting onto cerifera, californica and even my Biqis from an earlier buy. Sadly, my  Californica which is many many years old looks like it is dying. I am not sure if this is because of all the rain we had or the fact that it is surrounded by banana plants. Or if they just have a finite life span.  My cerifera, both in pots and in the ground are all hale and hearty but so far no success with the grafts. I have decided I am just a crappy grafter though I'm doing okay with persimmons and avos.

One thing I have become really intrigued by is the fact that my three yang mei from the most recent buy, two  Wusu and one Dong Kui,  are all pushing growth from both below and above the graft.  Since the consensus seems to be that the rootstocks have a 50-50 chance of being male does it make sense to let these below grafts continue to push to give  me better odds of having a male in this harem? 

Somewhat related, this morning I inspected my two inground Biqi from last year's buy and have come to the conclusion that the so-called female looks to me like a failed graft and the so-called male looks to me like a successful graft.  The only sense I can make of this is that the labels got switched somewhere along the line.  On the other hand, the Biqi so-called male is huge and the so-called female is small and delicate so I guess I  will just wait and see on the happy day when they flower

It would be a good idea to keep at least one branch from below the graft in the hopes of getting an opposite sex plant. If you have lots of growths belie the graft, it may be a good idea to remove most the growths so that the rootstock doesn’t overtake the grafted portion.

Don’t give up on grafting Yangmei. It could be that your scions/rootstocks weren’t in the best shape. A simple cleft graft works well for Yangmei onto Cerifera or Californica.

Simon

Looks great Roblack!



Got around to up potting a few today


Always happy to see clean roots

Jaboticaba45, the roots look healthy. Hopefully everyone’s plants are exploding with growth now that it’s warmer. My trees are really starting to flush hard.

Simon

That's great news!

Do you know when? next year or in 5 years?

Quote from: simon_grow on March 10, 2022, 10:08:32 PM

For those that can wait, I know there will be grafted trees for sale in the future. These trees will be grafted onto M Californica, Cerifera or seedling Rubra.

Simon

Not sure yet. I’ve been so busy at work that I haven’t had much time to graft on a commercial scale.

Simon

Quote from: simon_grow on April 10, 2023, 03:28:31 PM

Good going, they look super healthy. Is that Coco Coir you’re using as the soil?

Simon

Kellogg Patio Plus with about 30% peat added. The peat kind of floats to the top cause it's lightest.

This dispels the belief that high organic matter is bad for seedlings. Thanks for the info. When I transplanted my Yangmei seedlings, they didn’t like being moved.

Simon

Good going, they look super healthy. Is that Coco Coir you’re using as the soil?

Simon