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Messages - Galatians522

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: White sapote cultivar reviews
« on: July 06, 2025, 06:49:52 PM »
Sam, I got one fruit from your Homestead scion I grafted. Also those Smathers are growing a lot of fruits, need to net them before all the birds and critters keep taking bites of the fruits. I'll post photos later. I think your Smathers will ripen in another 2 weeks.

Great! Based on Coconut Cream's flavor review of Fruit Hunter's, Homestead is pretty similar. I am glad that Smathers is doing so well for you. Contrary to some reports, the branch I grafted to my Dad's in ground Homestead tree has been very vigorous and has not bloomed yet. Hopefully, I will get to taste it next year. There were still a couple Younghan's Gold fruit hanging on the grafts that I made from the wood you sent me. Maybe we'll get to taste them. The color of your seedling fruit and brix look amazing!

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: White sapote cultivar reviews
« on: July 06, 2025, 01:07:06 PM »
I wonder what a tree ripened fruit in November would taste like.

3
Sorry if this is dumb question, but I'm new to grafting. I grafted a Hosui onto an OHxF 333 rootstock a few months ago. The scion started pushing leaves on May 20.

Today I remove the grafting tape & rubber band. The graft union has mostly heal. But there was some green on the scion that's still callusing. (I don't if it was a dumb idea, but I rewrap the graft union with parafilm to help with the healing process).

Thoughts?









Just because it has healed and is growing does not mean that the union is strong enough to stand up to the elements. I have lost several grafts that were growing vigorously be cause the wind snapped the graft off at the union. It is wise to re-wrap it at this stage until it has healed some more.

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Happy Independence Day
« on: July 05, 2025, 01:20:55 PM »
Marinate over night in a big ziplock with Valentina sauce, red wine vinegar, aji amarillo paste and crushed dried oregano. Do not over cook!

I will have to give it a try some time! Thanks! 👍

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Happy Independence Day
« on: July 05, 2025, 08:56:50 AM »
Peruvian Anticuchos on the grill. Enjoy amigos!




Man, that looks delicious! What is the secret Peruvian ingredient? Ahi Amarillo?

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Yangmei (Morella/Myrica rubra) thread
« on: July 04, 2025, 08:40:44 PM »

Perhaps some action on my Wandao on cerifera graft? Wandao is pushing nicely right now vegetatively, so I hopefully hit the window nicely.


Cerifera rooting already after just a week???


Calmei seedling in ground looking GREAT

Looks promising! We are rooting for you!

7
All of those things are good practices as is dipping the base of the cutting in a rooting hormone. Keep in mind that mulberries come from several different species and hybrids between species (figs are mostly just one species). So, there is a wide range of rooting ability among cultivars. Some root just as easily as figs and some are almost impossible to root with everything in between. If you are getting cuttings of one that roots easily, treat it just like your fig cuttings and it will be fine.

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grape for Florida Tari's Burgundy
« on: July 04, 2025, 04:55:07 PM »
I’ve been eating a few handfuls of grape a day! 

I didn’t put bird netting up as there is a ton of fruit this year. 

Super sweet fruit!  Love this variety.






Love the pictures, Dave! Would you be interested in trading some budwood this winter? I have Lake Emerald. It's a green grape with small berries and large clusters. The flavor is good and is a mix of the wild  and Muscat. They can be quite sweet for a hybrid when golden ripe (over 20 brix). They root pretty easily from hardwood cuttings. I would try grafting the Tari's to my Calusa grape rootstock since it is reportedly hard to root.

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Happy Independence Day
« on: July 04, 2025, 04:28:07 PM »
Let's celebrate the world's greatest nation, our liberty and freedom. One nation, under God.
Happy 4th of July my forum friends!!

👍 Happy 4th! One Nation Under God!
We are celebrating with Lemon Joy Mango and Emperor Lychee.

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 04, 2025, 09:37:47 AM »

Call it Okrung, and nobody buys it. Call it Lemon Joy, and it sells out immediately. lol We American consumers are funny, gullible, and predictable. Whatever you call that mango, it's an excellent one. I look forward to eating those every summer. I kinda suspect you might have planted the fertilized embryo, however. Get yourself a certified Okrung fruit and let us know if it's the same or not!

Update after reading further posts: Sounds like it might really be a new variety, and an outstanding one at that! There's no greater joy as a mango grower than discovering that a seed you planted bears fruit that rivals the best mangoes available! Having consumed many, many Okrungs, I too can confirm that there is no detectable lemon flavor. Further testing required, for sure, but this is definitely an exciting possibility. Here's hoping it's something new.  :)

I will definitely be looking into this more and will let everyone know what I find. Thanks for the encouragement!

11
Throughout my life, people have often complained that I complain too much. So, guilty as charged  :D

After I bought the VIP tickets, I had second thoughts about the tasting and whether I really wanted to do it. I hope that sharing the good and bad of my experience might help others decide if the VIP/tasting is a good fit for them, especially if money is tight. Failing that, perhaps you'll find some amusement in the recounting of my misadventures, accepting my tall tales in the friendly spirit that they are offered.

Personally, I enjoy hearing your honest opinions and humorous descriptions. I remember laughing so hard that I almost fell out of my chair when you described chewing around the San Pablo custard apple seeds "like two camels" in one of your posts. It was something to that effect anyway.  ;D

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 03, 2025, 02:59:30 PM »
My tree is over 20ft now and the okrung fruit has zero lemon taste for sure....

No need to get grafts for verification.

Yours is cleaner with the exterior skin reminding me of a smaller phillipine.

You have a new variety.

I had forgotten that you had an Okrung tree. The fruit from my seedling does have a tart or citrus like flavor particularly at certain stages of ripening. Pretty much everyone who has eaten the fruit has noticed it and all have said that they like it. Some people have even told me that it was their favorite Mango. If you let it sit after ripening long enough it will turn yellow/green and most of the citrus flavor will be gone. At that stage it will taste like a more intense Nam Doc Mai.

I have sprayed the tree with zero fungicide the entire time I have had it and most fruits come out nice and clean so far even with the terrible Mango weather we had this bloom.

Lemon Joy it is.

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 03, 2025, 12:34:48 PM »
Thanks to the generosity of forum member Galatians522, who sent me a box of fruit out of the goodness of his heart, I can do a detailed review of Sam's seedling of the rarely discussed Okrung mango. I was barely aware of the Okrung mango prior to this, let alone this seedling which merits some attention.


Sam's seedling fruit is on the small side of medium, with a familiar comma shape. The skin is exceptionally clean and free of blemishes and scale. When ripe, the mango remains green or shows a slight yellow blush at the shoulders. Inside, the husk is long, thin and flat with a low profile seed inside, similar to Maha Chanok. The flesh is evenly ripened to a sunshine yellow color. A very presentable mango!

The texture retains some firmness and body without much perceptible fiber. Cutting the mango yields some juice without making a big mess.


The sweetness level is a notch above average with a honeyed quality. A slightly acidic, citrus component balances the sweetness. I taste a distinct lemon flavor with floral honey. The flavors are well balanced and harmonious - this is a delicious mango with a very clean flavor. No funky off tastes and no unpleasant aftertaste. In fact, it doesn't taste much like classic mango at all, but something fresher than that. Sam describes the flavor as a perfectly-weighted blend of Lemon Meringue and Nam Doc Mai, which is very fitting. That's similar to how the Tropical Acres website describes the original Okrung, but I've never tasted one to compare to this seedling.

Sam's sitting on a clean looking mango with an outstanding bright lemony flavor. and a light eating quality. I could call it "seedling of Okrung". What's in a name? Oh, krung! Oak – rung? Uck wrong... instead, may I humbly suggest, if indeed this seedling is propagated and earns a name, Lemon Blossom, Honey Lemon, or in honor of the bible verse Galatians 5:22... Lemon Joy.

This needs to be corrected:::
1. "the flavor as a perfectly-weighted blend of Lemon Meringue and Nam Doc Mai, which is very fitting. That's similar to how the Tropical Acres website describes the original Okrung, but I've never tasted one to compare to this seedling."

Tropical Acres Flavor Description today on their website:::
1. " The flavor is sugar cane sweetness, with no acidity to balance it out. It contains a monoembryonic seed."

There is NO mention of a lemon Flavor on Tropical Acres Website for Okrung...

Thus Galations now has a new variety to name as he pleases...

Thanks for the vote of confidence! I just want to make sure this is actually a different variety and not just something that has happened because of rootstock or environmental conditions before I go around naming things. For example, I have tasted shocking differences between Emperor lychees grown in South Florida soil vs. what we have here in Central Florida. I may buy some Okrung scions from Alex's tree and graft them to mine just so that I can compare.

14
As another form of social media, it comes with the territory, I guess.

I know what you mean there, John. That is part of the reason this forum is the only social media I use. Even then, I was hesitant because I know that at times I have been part of the problem. So, when I signed up I picked an Avatar that reminds me of how to be part of the solution.

15
My last tree acquired at the Mango Festival, I'm out of room.





Wow! A T-budded Mango tree. I got to learn the secret for that.

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 02, 2025, 06:44:39 PM »


My mango season is just getting started since I got back from FL. I did visit Fruit and Spice Park and was really pleased with how many trees had good quality fruit, so I got to sample lots of the old school oddballs. It was great.

I was well taken care of by Skhan, who is a top tier grower in my humble opinion, visited Rich Campbell, and also had a few seedling mangoes of good quality with JohnB51! A well rounded trip. It looked to me that it was a solid year for mangoes, and I was glad I made the trip. Maybe not a banner year, but a good one nonetheless.

Sometimes I think the "good year" mangoes are better than the bumper crop years. I think it has to do with resource allocation (with more leaves per fruit causing higher brix).

17
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Yangmei on Sale ---> WEEE
« on: July 02, 2025, 06:30:33 PM »
I got a box of the eastern giant and they are a little bigger and better than the pearls. 

Also got 4 lbs of lychee that are green but also sweet.  Nice juicy and sweet lychee even though they are green. 

Also got 3 boxes of champagne mango and some lychee gummy candy. 

Going to serve the mangos and lychee on the 4th of July.









The green lychees you bought are probably Fei Zi Xiao. It is one of the few that can be picked green like that. We will have Lychee and Mango for the 4th, too! It is something of a family tradition now. The only catch is that they have to be home grown. Too bad we don't have Yangmei to go with them like you do. Ah! maybe some day.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 02, 2025, 06:08:10 PM »
I am glad that you enjoyed the Okrung! I was actually expecting much lower marks from a "Coconut Cream" guy on this particular flavor profile.  ;D I think you have hit everything spot on in your description of the fruit. Disease pressure has been very low so far in my yard, but that might change as pathogens build up.

I bought the fruit that this tree grew from for .25¢ off the Excalibur Mango table because I had read (on this forum I believe) that Okrung was polyembryonic.The seed put up 3 sprouts and I planted the most vigorous in my yard about 8-9 years ago. I picked over 150 mangoes off the tree this year--best 25¢ I ever spent! Alex lists Okrung as mono on the TAF website which makes me wonder if this is different than what he has by that name...The fruit is very similar to what I remember getting at Excalibur. So up to now I have assumed that it was an Okrung clone. However, I have not gotten a chance to compare fruit from a grafted Okrung with this tree side by side. This year I picked over 150 fruits. Best 25¢ I ever spent!

I guess you have discovered the secret code of my Avatar. I think the whole world could use a little more love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, and faith right about now. If it is indeed determined to different enough from the original Okrung to merit naming I do like the name Lemon Joy.

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self-Fertile Carob Tree
« on: July 01, 2025, 03:07:08 PM »
Well, there is only one other place I have seen them for sale. I believe that Marta with Really Good Plants has a variety that she has offered (as budwood) during her December budwood sale. She has always been extremely helpful when I have contacted her about purchasing scion material or other matters.  ;)

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Self-Fertile Carob Tree
« on: July 01, 2025, 02:40:49 PM »
Try calling Fruitwood Nursery. They might be able to make that happen for you

21
Thank you for sharing your experiences. We’ve had nothing but problems with Venus, LZ and  Keitt with MBBS as well.
Surprised to hear Cac hasn’t done well, that’s a shame.

Rosigold is extremely prone to wind losses for us also, mostly due to weak panicles. Fortunately they usually make so much fruit that we still end up with good crops from them.

Pineapple Pleasure is notorious for us for dropping size able fruit that most other mangos would hold to maturity. Also has issues with weak panicles.
Anything that helps against MBBS? My Venus loses most of the fruit (like 70%) to MBBS, not as bad as Keitt or LZ was, which lost 100%.
Rosigold is also mildly susceptible to MBBS, I lose about 20-30% of the fruit. My tree are planted 15 - 30 feet apart, but I guess once it is in the area there's nothing that can be done.

I think there was a video where Chris from Truly Tropical talked about limiting MBBS by spraying copper and destroying diseased fruits while they were small.

22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 01, 2025, 07:23:02 AM »
I have my first ever Angie bought from the Mango Fest.
Oh my gosh! It was so sweet and creamy. I couldn't believe how sweet it was that I had to grab my Brix measurement right the way.
I was shocked. It read 28.2%! The sweetest mango I ever eaten.
Angie smell a lot like Carrie with the coconut scent. The flavor is very very sweet, creamy, buttery coconut, with orange zing to it. Very concentrated flavor.
Very low fiber. I do not feel any fiber stuck in my teeth at all.
Another surprise is this one is a nubbin. It had Flat paper thin seed. Without seed inside the shell.
Too bad I didn't make a video because I thought it was over ripped.






I have noticed this season that nubbin fruits seem to be sweeter. I am not sure if it is because they are from the early bloom that survived the cold and are sweeter because they have hung longer on the tree or if being a nubbin makes them sweeter for some reason (ie the plant is able to put more resources into the fruit because it did not spend energy on the seed embryo). 🤔

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lychee Season 2025
« on: June 28, 2025, 01:44:27 PM »
I am in Taiwan right now eating this variety that has the smallest seed I've ever seen. All the fruits basically have this size of seed. They have a strong rose flavor but not as sweet as other varieties, but very good. Not sure if the variety is known outside of Taiwan, anyone know?








*edited to remove duplicate photos

I believe that is No Mai Chee lychee.

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Annona that graft to pond apple
« on: June 27, 2025, 07:26:21 AM »
I grafted mature Cherilata wood to semi-lignified new growth on the pond apple. That may have contributed to my success rate. Or, maybe I just beat the odds

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Annona that graft to pond apple
« on: June 26, 2025, 11:00:02 PM »
I am 4 for 4 grafting cherilata to pound apple. Most other anonas should be graft compatible with cherilata as an interstem: sugar apple, cherimoya, atemoya, & custard apple.

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