1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Happy Thanksgiving !!!
« on: November 23, 2023, 01:56:09 PM »
Happy Thanksgiving Kaz.
I appreicate all you have done.
God Bless.
Johnny
I appreicate all you have done.
God Bless.
Johnny
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2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How Long Do Macadamia Nuts Remain Edible?
« on: November 19, 2023, 07:00:50 PM »
In September I harvest my nuts, dehusk them and then air dry them in the garage for 60 days. My macadamia nuts stay good for about one year. I have tasted some nuts after two years and some of them are still quite good but if perfer them under one year old.
Johnny
Johnny
3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Prune my 12’ tall Manila to manageable size
« on: November 18, 2023, 11:44:21 AM »
I would top work it and use the existing root-stock to grow more desirable varieties. You can cut it down to about 6' leaving 3-4 of the strongest branches in place. When new growth sprouts appear next year use these to graft onto.
Some vigorous selections I would include would be Seacrest, Orange Essence, 0-15 and peach Cobbler.
Good Luck.
Johnny
Some vigorous selections I would include would be Seacrest, Orange Essence, 0-15 and peach Cobbler.
Good Luck.
Johnny
4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lychee Thread
« on: November 18, 2023, 11:22:58 AM »
I thought I would post some photos of my Mauritius lychee tree I planted in August 2020 along with a recent photo for compairson. I am really pleased so far with the impressive growth of this tree which requires little care. The only thing I do is give it plenty of water (lychees love water), apply some azomite from time to time and give it some organic fertlizer every few months. I wish all of my sub tropical fruit trees grew this well.
The first two photos show the root ball of the Mauritius prior to planting in the ground. Even though this tree was in a #15 pot the roots did not fill the bottom half. The root ball looks closer to something you would see in a #7 container. The third photo shows the tree just after planting three years ago. The last photo was taken a few days ago. I love growing lychee trees.
Johnny
Mauritius lower Rootball (8-20-2020)
Mauritius lower Rootball #2 (8-20-2020)
Mauritius Lychee Tree after planting (8-20-2020)
Mauritius Lychee Tree (11-16-2023)
The first two photos show the root ball of the Mauritius prior to planting in the ground. Even though this tree was in a #15 pot the roots did not fill the bottom half. The root ball looks closer to something you would see in a #7 container. The third photo shows the tree just after planting three years ago. The last photo was taken a few days ago. I love growing lychee trees.
Johnny
Mauritius lower Rootball (8-20-2020)
Mauritius lower Rootball #2 (8-20-2020)
Mauritius Lychee Tree after planting (8-20-2020)
Mauritius Lychee Tree (11-16-2023)
5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mangos in san diego
« on: November 03, 2023, 06:08:00 PM »
Hi Simon,
Interesting you had no issues with Pineapple Pleasure at your house. At my location it is a poor performer but it could have been a rootstock issuue as well as the bark was pealing and it appeared to have disease issues.
My Pina Colada mango tree inside my greenhouse is doing very well and I finally did get my Coconut cream to fruit. Hopefully next year I will get more.
Good Luck
Johnny
Interesting you had no issues with Pineapple Pleasure at your house. At my location it is a poor performer but it could have been a rootstock issuue as well as the bark was pealing and it appeared to have disease issues.
My Pina Colada mango tree inside my greenhouse is doing very well and I finally did get my Coconut cream to fruit. Hopefully next year I will get more.
Good Luck
Johnny
6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mangos in san diego
« on: November 02, 2023, 02:53:49 PM »
Based on my experience I would Not recommend growing the Pineapple Pleasure mango tree in SoCal. I planted one in the ground in 2022 from a #15 pot and it grew poorly this year and is highly suspectable to powdery mildew. All of my other mango trees except for Lemon Zest did not have this issue. After doing some additional research I removed the Pineapple Pleasure and planted a Parfianka pomegranate tree Instead.
There are too many other mango trees that are far more vigorous and much more disease resistant than PP. Seacrest, Peach Cobbler, Guava, Orange Essence, Val-Carrie and Fruit Punch are all doing well at my location and don’t have the problems of PP or LZ.
Johnny
There are too many other mango trees that are far more vigorous and much more disease resistant than PP. Seacrest, Peach Cobbler, Guava, Orange Essence, Val-Carrie and Fruit Punch are all doing well at my location and don’t have the problems of PP or LZ.
Johnny
7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mangos in san diego
« on: November 02, 2023, 01:31:51 PM »
Yep, Seacrest and TripleSec are one and the same.
8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mangos in san diego
« on: November 02, 2023, 11:33:44 AM »
In the last 2-3 weeks I have been eating Seacrest, Guava, Angie and one Coconut Cream witch was excellent.
I just started picking my Peach Cobbler mangos which tend to ripen last. Looking foward to trying those late this week into early November. So far the standouts for me were Seacrest and Angie. Both are awesome mangoes if picked at the proper ripeness. I was so impressed with Seacreast I will be grafting this variety onto several other trees in 2024. It grows fast, has no diesese issues, produces well and has a intense wonderfully rich flavor. A winner for sure. I really love Angie too as it is similar Carrie in flavor. The only downside to Angie is that is slower growing but it does appear to produce well relative to its smaller size.
Enclosed are a few photos of some Peach Cobblers and Seacrest hanging on my tree from October. These were from three year old grafts. I already ate most of the Seacrests.
Johnny
Peach Cobbler Fruit Hanging (10-9-2023)
Seacrest Mangoes (10-9-2023)
I just started picking my Peach Cobbler mangos which tend to ripen last. Looking foward to trying those late this week into early November. So far the standouts for me were Seacrest and Angie. Both are awesome mangoes if picked at the proper ripeness. I was so impressed with Seacreast I will be grafting this variety onto several other trees in 2024. It grows fast, has no diesese issues, produces well and has a intense wonderfully rich flavor. A winner for sure. I really love Angie too as it is similar Carrie in flavor. The only downside to Angie is that is slower growing but it does appear to produce well relative to its smaller size.
Enclosed are a few photos of some Peach Cobblers and Seacrest hanging on my tree from October. These were from three year old grafts. I already ate most of the Seacrests.
Johnny
Peach Cobbler Fruit Hanging (10-9-2023)
Seacrest Mangoes (10-9-2023)
9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lychee Thread
« on: October 20, 2023, 06:27:18 PM »
My three year old Mauritius lychee tree is putting on a late fall growth flush. Hopefully it will produce a few fruits in 2024. The Brewster is not currently flushing. I planted both of these trees in 2020 but the Mauritius is now noticeably larger in size.
My experience with growing lychee trees thus far is postive. They are much easier to grow than mangoes and look nicer.
Johnny
Mauritius Lychee Tree (10-19-23)
My experience with growing lychee trees thus far is postive. They are much easier to grow than mangoes and look nicer.
Johnny
Mauritius Lychee Tree (10-19-23)
10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What are your favorite, must-have fruit/ nut trees to grow?
« on: October 20, 2023, 06:06:48 PM »
My Beaumont Macadamia Nut tree is having a fall growth flush. Already harvested (4) boxes of nuts in early October and letting them dry out now.
I like the Red growth from the new flush. Most other Mac trees do not have this. This is the only nut tree that looks nice and produces well in my area.
Johnny
Beaumont Mac Tree (10-19-2023)
I like the Red growth from the new flush. Most other Mac trees do not have this. This is the only nut tree that looks nice and produces well in my area.
Johnny
Beaumont Mac Tree (10-19-2023)
11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Peach Cobbler Mangoes & Sharwil Avocado Graft
« on: September 24, 2023, 07:39:50 PM »
Thought I would post a few interesting photos from a few of my fruit trees.
The First photo show a multi grafted mango tree but the right branch is a Peach Cobbler graft from 2020 with is holding a number of fruit. I also have PC grafted onto another tree with adddational fruit developing. This variety apears to be well suited to California.
The second photo shows my (3) year old Carmen avocado tree with a recent Sharwil Graft. The 3rd photo shows the Sharwil graft Close-Up which was grafted in July 2023 and growing very well. Very happy how this graft turned out. It's nice to have a type "B" avocado grafted onto a type "A".
Johnny
Multi Grafted Mango with Hanging Peach Cobbler fruit
Carmen Avocado Tree planted in 2020
July 2023 Sharwil Avocado Graft to Carmen
The First photo show a multi grafted mango tree but the right branch is a Peach Cobbler graft from 2020 with is holding a number of fruit. I also have PC grafted onto another tree with adddational fruit developing. This variety apears to be well suited to California.
The second photo shows my (3) year old Carmen avocado tree with a recent Sharwil Graft. The 3rd photo shows the Sharwil graft Close-Up which was grafted in July 2023 and growing very well. Very happy how this graft turned out. It's nice to have a type "B" avocado grafted onto a type "A".
Johnny
Multi Grafted Mango with Hanging Peach Cobbler fruit
Carmen Avocado Tree planted in 2020
July 2023 Sharwil Avocado Graft to Carmen
12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Thief Caught
« on: September 13, 2023, 10:06:55 PM »
Eastern Fox Squirrel eating my Beaumont Macadamia Nuts. Not native to California they have become quite agressive in eating fruit and nuts in this area.
Take them out if you can. Traps exct. These are Rodents. Kill them.
Johnny
Eastern Fox Squirrel (8-19-2023)
Take them out if you can. Traps exct. These are Rodents. Kill them.
Johnny
Eastern Fox Squirrel (8-19-2023)
13
Citrus General Discussion / Re: Growers in Los Angeles area: how often do you water in-ground citrus?
« on: September 06, 2023, 04:41:34 PM »
Water everyday during the summer with a automated Drip irrigation system.
Johnny
Johnny
14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lychee harvest
« on: September 04, 2023, 06:56:03 PM »
Iron is not a problem as I apply Azomite at least twice a year for all of the essencial trace ellements for all of my fruit trees.
Johnny
Johnny
15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Lychee harvest
« on: September 04, 2023, 06:39:58 PM »
The Bruster lychee fruit I recieved from Kaz near Fullerton about a week a go were delicious and very juicy. About 30-40% of the fruit had a chicken seed or a very small seed. 40-45% of the fruit had the standard large seed. The remainder were somewhere inbetween with a medium seed.
I also noticed the smaller the fruit size was the more likely the chicken tongue was present. The smaller fruit were better with more flesh.
My three yeard old Brewster tree is flushing now so looking foward to more fruit in a few years. Lychee trees love water so I water mine frequently.
Johnny
I also noticed the smaller the fruit size was the more likely the chicken tongue was present. The smaller fruit were better with more flesh.
My three yeard old Brewster tree is flushing now so looking foward to more fruit in a few years. Lychee trees love water so I water mine frequently.
Johnny
16
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Future Sale? - Questionnaire on Brewster Lychee Air Layer for 2024
« on: August 28, 2023, 12:40:57 PM »
I just recieved some Brewster fruit from Kaz and they were delicious. Fresh, sweet and with excellent texture. So much better than the store bought fruit. Recomended.
Johnny
Johnny
17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: SoCal Tropical Storm Watch
« on: August 21, 2023, 11:54:40 AM »
My final rain measurement this Monday at 8 AM was 1.9" of rain in the last 24 hours.
We did have some 20-25 mph winds last night but no damage to anything at my location. This was a slow soaker so very little flooding.
This rain will really help with vegetative growth in the next month or two.
Johnny
We did have some 20-25 mph winds last night but no damage to anything at my location. This was a slow soaker so very little flooding.
This rain will really help with vegetative growth in the next month or two.
Johnny
18
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Mango scions/budwood
« on: August 21, 2023, 11:25:48 AM »
The mango bud-wood orders I have placed recently with TAF have been fine.
Orders mailed out Monday and arrived Wednesday. I always cut the bottom of the scions off and place them in a cup of distilled water overnight prior to grafting for better hydration.
Orders mailed out Monday and arrived Wednesday. I always cut the bottom of the scions off and place them in a cup of distilled water overnight prior to grafting for better hydration.
19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: SoCal Tropical Storm Watch
« on: August 20, 2023, 09:11:50 PM »
1.3" of rain so far according to my rain guage at 6 PM PST.
Seems like another overhyped and media exerbated event.
Just a moderate rain event so far. Light winds.
LA Unitifed Schools just anounced they are closing all schools for Monday August 21, 2023. They recieved 1.5-2" of rain in a 24 hour periord. Oh so Terrible. We must close our schools for such a catasthophric event.
Johnny
Seems like another overhyped and media exerbated event.
Just a moderate rain event so far. Light winds.
LA Unitifed Schools just anounced they are closing all schools for Monday August 21, 2023. They recieved 1.5-2" of rain in a 24 hour periord. Oh so Terrible. We must close our schools for such a catasthophric event.
Johnny
20
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Mango scions/budwood
« on: August 20, 2023, 07:49:10 PM »
San Jose is really marginal for growing mangoes. Very low take rate due to lack of heat. Best to assemble a greenhouse purchase seeds and seleect the most vigorous for growth for root stock. Grafts scions in the greenhouse for more sucess.
Good Luck
Johnny
Good Luck
Johnny
21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What are your favorite, must-have fruit/ nut trees to grow?
« on: August 20, 2023, 07:00:47 PM »
I love Macadamia Nuts as well. So much better than the store nuts by a factor of 2 to 3 at least. Enclosed is a photo of my (10) year old Beaumont Macadamia nut tree with ripening fruit. The tree is orentimantal as well.
I also love mangoes but they are much more of a challance to grow. Not for the faint of heart.
Avocado and citrus are California stapes that every grower in this area should have.
Johnny
Beaumont Macadamia Nut Tree (8-10-2023)
I also love mangoes but they are much more of a challance to grow. Not for the faint of heart.
Avocado and citrus are California stapes that every grower in this area should have.
Johnny
Beaumont Macadamia Nut Tree (8-10-2023)
22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Butterscotch sapodilla questions
« on: August 16, 2023, 06:24:24 PM »
No developed fruits yet. Not really focuced on fruit production for the first five years. Would rather have more maturity with a well developed root system prior to production. These trees are rather slow growers.
Johnny
Johnny
23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Butterscotch sapodilla questions
« on: August 16, 2023, 06:12:19 PM »
Hey Kaz,
I have a Butterscotch Spaodilla in the greenhouse that is 42" tall. I recently moved it into a larger #7 Pot. Will keep this one in the greenhouse for at least one more year to maxamize growth.
The tallest Sapodilla Tree I have in the Ground is my Multi grafted Tikal-Alano-Venezuela that is about 8' tall. I also have a Molix in the ground that is about 6' tall. There growth habbits are quite different. These were planted in the ground in 2020. (See two Photos)
Johnny
Tikal-Alano Sapodilla Tree (8-10-2023)
Molix Sapodilla (8-10-2023)
I have a Butterscotch Spaodilla in the greenhouse that is 42" tall. I recently moved it into a larger #7 Pot. Will keep this one in the greenhouse for at least one more year to maxamize growth.
The tallest Sapodilla Tree I have in the Ground is my Multi grafted Tikal-Alano-Venezuela that is about 8' tall. I also have a Molix in the ground that is about 6' tall. There growth habbits are quite different. These were planted in the ground in 2020. (See two Photos)
Johnny
Tikal-Alano Sapodilla Tree (8-10-2023)
Molix Sapodilla (8-10-2023)
24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Having a Strong Mango Rootstock does Help with Growth in SoCal
« on: August 13, 2023, 03:23:33 PM »
Hey Janet,
In answer to your questions I start all of my young plants in the greenhouse for the first 1-2 years of life them Up-Pot tem and move outside. The mango seeds that I started to germinate were nothing special. Just ataulfo's you buy at the store. I start with (10) seends and after 1-2 years select the top 2-3 plants. I disgard the other lower perfomers. As Simon has mentoned a few times before any mango seed can be grown as rootstock and with the passage of time the good growers will become apparant.
Hey Eggo, Good phots of the rootstock, Thanks. One differance I may have with you is that I remove and replace my low vigor mango trees immediataly after identifing them as such. I replace my duds for studs. I don't allow loosers with poor vigor to hang on for years or decades. Just better to throw them out and move on. Also why did you select the Kesar mango to grow here in Socal. Even in India where the Kesar originated it is known as a slow grower. This is not a good choice for our location in California in my opinon.
Having good sucess recently with Orange Essence and Cotton Candy. All of my recent grafts from mid July taken from my mother trees have thrived and are growing well now. Both OE and CC are good growers and have no disease issues at my location.
Below is a typical example of a five year old mango tree with good vigor. I purchased this laverne manila mango tree in 2018 and planted it in the ground. It is now about 10 feet tall with a lower trunk diameter of 4.5" as measured about 1 inch up from the soil line. I already top worked this mango tree with three principal varieties. They are Cac, Fruit Punch and Peach Cobbler. There are some Cac fruit towards the back of the tree but it's hard to see them in the photo. This tree has not flushed yet in 2023 but hopefully will do do by late summer. If I had more heat like Riverside my trees would grow much better. The only advantage at my location is I rearly need to use A/C.
Johnny
Five year old Manila Mango Tree Top Worked (8-10-2023)
In answer to your questions I start all of my young plants in the greenhouse for the first 1-2 years of life them Up-Pot tem and move outside. The mango seeds that I started to germinate were nothing special. Just ataulfo's you buy at the store. I start with (10) seends and after 1-2 years select the top 2-3 plants. I disgard the other lower perfomers. As Simon has mentoned a few times before any mango seed can be grown as rootstock and with the passage of time the good growers will become apparant.
Hey Eggo, Good phots of the rootstock, Thanks. One differance I may have with you is that I remove and replace my low vigor mango trees immediataly after identifing them as such. I replace my duds for studs. I don't allow loosers with poor vigor to hang on for years or decades. Just better to throw them out and move on. Also why did you select the Kesar mango to grow here in Socal. Even in India where the Kesar originated it is known as a slow grower. This is not a good choice for our location in California in my opinon.
Having good sucess recently with Orange Essence and Cotton Candy. All of my recent grafts from mid July taken from my mother trees have thrived and are growing well now. Both OE and CC are good growers and have no disease issues at my location.
Below is a typical example of a five year old mango tree with good vigor. I purchased this laverne manila mango tree in 2018 and planted it in the ground. It is now about 10 feet tall with a lower trunk diameter of 4.5" as measured about 1 inch up from the soil line. I already top worked this mango tree with three principal varieties. They are Cac, Fruit Punch and Peach Cobbler. There are some Cac fruit towards the back of the tree but it's hard to see them in the photo. This tree has not flushed yet in 2023 but hopefully will do do by late summer. If I had more heat like Riverside my trees would grow much better. The only advantage at my location is I rearly need to use A/C.
Johnny
Five year old Manila Mango Tree Top Worked (8-10-2023)
25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Having a Strong Mango Rootstock does Help with Growth in SoCal
« on: August 12, 2023, 05:24:22 PM »
For the benefit of our California growers I thought I would post a few phots of some mango trees showing various rootstock. The goal is to select robust rootstock to increase tree vigor. A healthy root system is a healthy tree. Our mango loving frends in Florida have no such problems but here in SoCal it is a issue because of our cool winter and spring tempatures.
The first (3) photos is a Selected Ataulfo seeding I started two years ago and is green house grown. I just took it out of the container to Up-Pot to a larger #15. As you can see from the root system is is very well developed. This tree is excellent rootstock for grafting.
The next photo is my grafted Orange Essence mango tree grafted to a strong ataulfo that I just moved to a larger #25 pot in Spring. Even after harvesting (6) OE scions from this tree in mid July it still is putting out a good flush now. This tree grows well at my location with no disease issues.
Next is my young Dot mango Tree. I just planted this in the ground in 2022 from a #7 pot and it just flushed. I did have some dieback in spring from this tree but I just cut out the die back limbs and it seems to be recovering well now.
Next up is my five year old Lemon Zest Mango Tree on Ataulfo rootstock. It is currenty starting a new growth flush. The rootstock is fine but the issue I have with this variety is the constant attack of Powerdy Mildew (PM) with this variety. For this reason I am in the process fo topworking this tree. Orange Sherbet thus far has no disease issues and is a attractive mango tree so it is a much better choice as is OE with even faster growth.
The last example is my 0-15 mango tree on manila rootstock. I grafted this in 2020 to a very small tree at the time and planted it in the ground in 2021. This seems to have grown well and just finished it's first flush. The rootstock is strong and long term I am optomistic. There are no disease issues at all.
Having strong mango rootstock and good draining soil gives you a fighting chance in the early years of growth.
Johnny
Two year old Ataulfo Seedling Tree for Grafting (8-12-2023)
Ataulfo Lower Rootstock (8-12-23)
Ataulfo Lower Rootstock Exposed (8-12-23)
Orange Essence with new flush (8-12-23)
Young Dot mango tree with New Flush (8-10-2023)
0-15 mango tree on Manila rootstock (8-12-2023)
Lemon Zest on Ataulfo (8-10-23)
The first (3) photos is a Selected Ataulfo seeding I started two years ago and is green house grown. I just took it out of the container to Up-Pot to a larger #15. As you can see from the root system is is very well developed. This tree is excellent rootstock for grafting.
The next photo is my grafted Orange Essence mango tree grafted to a strong ataulfo that I just moved to a larger #25 pot in Spring. Even after harvesting (6) OE scions from this tree in mid July it still is putting out a good flush now. This tree grows well at my location with no disease issues.
Next is my young Dot mango Tree. I just planted this in the ground in 2022 from a #7 pot and it just flushed. I did have some dieback in spring from this tree but I just cut out the die back limbs and it seems to be recovering well now.
Next up is my five year old Lemon Zest Mango Tree on Ataulfo rootstock. It is currenty starting a new growth flush. The rootstock is fine but the issue I have with this variety is the constant attack of Powerdy Mildew (PM) with this variety. For this reason I am in the process fo topworking this tree. Orange Sherbet thus far has no disease issues and is a attractive mango tree so it is a much better choice as is OE with even faster growth.
The last example is my 0-15 mango tree on manila rootstock. I grafted this in 2020 to a very small tree at the time and planted it in the ground in 2021. This seems to have grown well and just finished it's first flush. The rootstock is strong and long term I am optomistic. There are no disease issues at all.
Having strong mango rootstock and good draining soil gives you a fighting chance in the early years of growth.
Johnny
Two year old Ataulfo Seedling Tree for Grafting (8-12-2023)
Ataulfo Lower Rootstock (8-12-23)
Ataulfo Lower Rootstock Exposed (8-12-23)
Orange Essence with new flush (8-12-23)
Young Dot mango tree with New Flush (8-10-2023)
0-15 mango tree on Manila rootstock (8-12-2023)
Lemon Zest on Ataulfo (8-10-23)
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