The Tropical Fruit Forum

They like lots of sun, lots of water, and flower and fruit better when fertilized. My compost bin started leaking into the root field. Better flowering followed, along with fruits.

Thanx Roblack… That's very useful advice for any of us who're trying to grow a biribá!

Mine is getting two of the requirements: full sun & lotsa water.

Mine bloomed finally late spring this year but set no fruit. (I'm guessing that was a 'trial run'.)

Obviously I'm going to have to feed it more generously.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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If you want fruit production, I would try to keep it in as small a pot as possible, guavaja tends to need a larger pot but there are plenty of other Psidium spp. that can fruit in even a 3 gallon pot.

Now my guava went into the ground two+ years ago and grew lushly to ten feet tall. But even with good watering and fertilizing it never bloomed or set any fruit.

Then it got pruned to six feet last year in June and grew back again but didn't flower or fruit.

Again this year in June it had grown back to about eight feet tall but no blooms. (This year it did not get fertilized like last year, but got plenty of water.)  And it got purned in July back to six feet once more but has grown another foot since then.

Not sure why this guava is reluctant to bloom.  It's a Barbie Supreme hybrid.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
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Just FWIW, I have read that sugar apple can become rootbound and then stunted if kept in too small a pot for too long a time.

And once it has become rootbound then puttng a sugar apple into a larger pot doesn't usually allow it to recover from being rootbound.

So, it sounds to me like when a sugar apple has filled its pot with roots it needs to go asap into a much larger pot –OR maybe at that point just be planted out in the ground to keep it from becoming stunted.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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Not sure about hardiness but its native region in Baja California does get occasional light frost. I would guess Zpne 9a or 9b at least.

Yes, but how should it do here in Floirda which is more rainy than the Baja?

Winter temps should suit it but what about our extra moisture and humitity?

Just pondering . . . .

Paul M.
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Calusa,

FWIW, Ms. Croft advised me in several email exchanges that their studies show that the Tamarixia wasps will stay in the area as long as there are phyllids present.  The ACPs can feed on more members of the Rutaceae than just citrus.

Ms. Croft further advised that these little wasps will breed in your yard and can eventually range as far as five miles from their original release point.

True the wasps don't cure HLB but by curbing the ACP population that has the effect of slowing down the infection rate of citrus trees.

I'm also of the mind that getting wasps to release a couple times per year should help keep the ACP population whittled down to a much smaller number.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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Wanting to find sources to buy Asimina triloba grafted named cultivar saplings.

Not having any luck googling this info so am hoping that some of our TFF members might know some places they could share on here.

Fingers X-ed!  & TIA

Paul M.
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Just adding my 2¢ worth here . . .

There is a parisitic wasp release program underway in Gainsville aiming to help control the Asian Citrus Psyllid populations in Florida.

That program is providing free vials to release of the tiny Tamarixia (non-stinging) wasps that feed on ACPs.  These wasps predate both the ACP adults and their nymphs by laying eggs in them or simply feeding on the adults ACPs. ACPs are the sole food for this Tamarixia wasp species.

The aim of the program is over time to drastically lower the ACP population that is affecting Florida citrus.

Interested parties may contact Amy Croft at the 'Methods Development & Biological Control
Division of Plant Industry' in Gainsville, FL at [ Amy.Croft@fdacs.gov  ]
to inquire about this free Tamarixia release program and details about it including instructions for ordering the wasps.

I released several free vials of these tiny Tamarixia wasps in my yard here in Tampa back in late spring and now no longer notice any ACPs on any of my citrus trees.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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Pitomba isnt a Eugênia. Most of the Portuguese fruit names derive from tupi guarani because the indigenous group were the translators for the Portuguese even away from their native biomes. Common names can deceive that way. Araçá boi is a Eugênia but the common name is for a guava.

And therein lies the main problem with using common names for plants and fruit, etc., since common names can vary locally for one species as well as be applied to completely separate, unrelated species from different regions.

Mostly what we see discussed here on TFF for 'pitoma' is usually for Eugenia luschnathiana which is definitely a Eugenia species.  Here is one link:  [https://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/pitomba.htm]
with photos of the fruit.

There is apparently one other unrelated species —called Talisia esculenta— which apparently is also known as 'pitomba' in some places.   These two species are not related. Talisia is a member of the soapberry family.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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Check this out. Looks like the genetics are there for paw paws to grow in Florida zone 9a for sure.

Hmmm...  Well Galatians, if the A. triloba genetics are present and suitlable for growing in 9a, then if reason persists perhaps someone ought to do some selective cross-breeding of some of those southermost-found trilobas and raise a population in 9b (or further south) to see whether they would thrive and produce fruit.

Another option might be to try crossing A. triloba with, say, A. obovata to see if the progeny might would produce larger, tasty fruit that would be happy growing in the 9b and south.....

Of course either of those options are a long-term endeavor but nonetheless could prove useful for creating a wider growing range for larger-fruited pawpaws, likely making this lost native fruit more popular and available.

Just me maundering a bit again . . .

Paul M.
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... honestly, I recommend cooking with Mexican avocado leaves, which have a strong anise scent.

Hey!  That is true for the Guatemalan and Mexican races of avocado BUT the leaves of the Caribbean race of avocado have no anise scent and are toxic.  Don't cook with those.

Just FWIW . . .

Paul M.
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Quote from: D-Grower on May 02, 2022, 08:25:13 AM

There are definitely wild trilobas here in North fl. Supposed they may grow better with less chill hours than ones from further north. Hard to catch the fruit on them let alone harvest them before animals do.

D-Grower,

What more might you be able to tell us about these N. Florida Asimina triloba that you mentioned?  Are they in your area.  I understood that this species naturally ranges as far south as the Apalachicola River Valley in like Liberty County.

I continue to wonder whether individuals from that area (or yours) might be 'bred' to have a bit less of a need for a large number of chilling hours but still be inclined to produce fruit this far south.

I've only been able to find mention of one cultivar "Collins' that implies that it has (maybe been) grown as far south as in Florida, but that info was barebones at best.

Still, with all the selection and breeding of A. triloba that has recently been done I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't at least one cultivar that might be amenable to growing in Central Florida 9b.  But I suspect no one so far has done anything much in the way of experimenting to see if there's any cultivar adaptible to our central Florida conditions.

With the recent uptick in interest in pawpaws, I'm mildly surprised that no one has taken this species in hand and tried to select some reduced chill hour requirements into it.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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I'm sorely tempted to try a clone of Asimina triloba hoping to discover one that requires minimal chilling hours which might set fruit here in Tampa (9b).

I suspect that there are a few TFF members in 9b who've tried growing A. triloba and maybe someone has found a cultivar that has set fruit for them in central Florida.

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
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For whomever might be interested . . . .

There is a vendor on eBay (from Venice, FL) selling Asimina obovata at this writing at a fairly reasonable price (plus free shipping).

I took the plunge and bought myself a couple.  I feel reasonable about trying these in Tampa since we are quite similar to Venice.

Fingers Xed!

Paul M.
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