The Tropical Fruit Forum

Malhar, over the years I found the key to successful graft here in SoCal is to start with a healthy rootstock. I am in the minority here, I prefer to graft from mid April, otherwise, it’s hard to get scions until August from tropicalacres. Benefit of early grafting is, the scion gets a full summer to grow. I don’t like to graft in August or later because there is a high probability of the scion to flower in winter and continue flowering throughout its life. Here are couple E-4 scions I grafted on ataulfo rootstock (scions from tropicalacres) on 4/20/22. I had the rootstock for 2 years and it was probably 2 years old when I bought it. I left the third major branch to graft Angie but couldn’t find Angie scions. I will probably cut the branch and keep the tree as E-4 only. As you can see I have the pot against a brick wall to keep it warm at night. I use buddy tape to wrap the scions and graft union then tighten the union with garden Velcro tape. I use the same Velcro to stake the branches after the scion takes (~4 weeks later).


E-4 scions grafted on 4/20/22

4/20/22



Growth of the scions in 2 months or less

My NDM #4 bloomed again within the last week. It was already loaded with fruitlets of various sizes but decided those were not plenty enough, no complains though 
Cotton candy and Carrie are blooming now while holding ftuitlets but not as much as the NDM.

My OS looks like this, long with a pointy nose. Like the name it has an orange flavor to it. It should be ready to pick in a week or two.

K-Rimes, I like them both and they complement each other in my case. For example, I am feeding grow-more 4-26-26 with ez-flo and using dosatron for occasional kelp or fish emulsion. Only disadvantage of dosatron is it makes a clicking noise at every stroke when water passes through it but you can turn off the ball valve when not feeding. However, dosatron is more precise imo (1:10 to 1:500 depending on the model).

Eggo,

That’s very good to know, I threw away many unripe NDM mangoes last December thinking they will never ripe. I will keep them in the tree if I get a late bloom this year which is likely because my ndm is currently growing vegetatively only. How old are those seedling mango trees.

JC

Quote from: Victoria Ave on April 15, 2022, 05:27:49 PM

Hey all, had some time this morning to take care of my trees so thought I’d post an update on my yard

My advice: don't graft on any seedlings until they are over 8 ft with trunk bigger than 2.5". Graft too early will stop growing and end up with droopy trees regardless seedling variety. The graft will spend most energy in making flowers and fruits.

I second sapote, scions grafted to small 2-3 year old seedlings will droop no matter what seedling variety is used. People posting pic of seedlings with 2.5" trunk are at least 8 years old or older here in SoCal.

That is Kaimana in the picture, it is blooming for the first time. I have a slightly larger hak ip that has fruited last year and in full bloom currently. I have them in rootbuilder panels from rootmaker. They do well in those panels plus I don’t have to dig.

Main water line to orbit, orbit to 3/8” line to pump, pump to mister main is 1/4” with 3/8” to 1/4” reducer. Adapters are included with pump kit. Once installed it is pretty much a solid system. Tubing are UV rated and no visible damages after almost 4 years in direct sun.

Main line is about 90’ long, I installed misting nozzles every 4-6’ depending on tree locations, so about 16 or so total. I installed it only in the south end of my property where trees get full afternoon sun in summer. Misting line is off of a whole house carbon filter (7 gpm GAC filter from Lowes, GAC filter is for irrigation line only). With 160 psi misting pump, it has enough pressure to cover other sides of the property if needed.
Misting line is controlled by Rachio 3 and pump is controlled by a smart plug. This is in addition to in ground sprinklers and mushroom bubblers of course. Misting system is to add some humidity and lower ambient temp a little during hottest days. I didn’t encounter clog nozzles much  probably due to water quality, drain valve to drain the line when not in use, plus 160 psi pump helps to keep the nozzles open.

Very nice trees.

Thanks sc4001992. Just noticed my Kaimana started to bloom, this would be the first year it is blooming. Brewster and Mauritious are growing vegetatively.


Kaimana

Thanks Simon, for some reason my Cac didn’t hold any fruits this year, last year they were excellent.

Tree ripen LZ was 1.8 lbs with 26.1 brix. It was full of lemon zest flavor near the skin, subtle hint of lemon zest in the middle. It was an excellent quality fruit. I am looking forward to the rest that are still hanging on the tree. I didn’t find tree ripen one much different than the ones picked mature green and ripened on the counter.

Here is the overall size of the star cherry. You can see fruits on the ground. Fruits filled the air with mango/papaya/pineapple aroma, too bad they are too sour.