The Tropical Fruit Forum

I mean maybe the prices aren't for everyone and certain rare species are justified, where else are you going to get them?  A lot of us don't have the time, energy, or resources to acquire them easily, so if someone is willing to romp in the jungle and spread the love upon return at a price to cover it I don't see a reason to hate.  I have only ordered a couple times from Joe and the ones I have received have been high quality with good germ rates.

Anyone know of generally care free cherry trees? I know they have cherry trees in mountainous San Diego where they have enough chill hours (like Julian, CA) but not really sure what varieties that work well out there.

If you are okay with the seeds in the fruit, Guava are super easy in coastal CA.  So long as they get enough water, they really take off during non-winter months.

Just as a follow up, I can confirm that Nitida can probably withstand some amount of cold at a young age.  Doing great in 10b outdoors potted the whole winter.  I did cover it with a plastic bag on the coldest of cold December nights (probably high 30s here so not too cold) but all it showed was a loss of maybe a few older leaves and its growth slowed down, but is now picking back up quickly probably approaching close to 1.5-2 feet tall now.

Has anyone tried or has a live Rhipsalis baccifera aka mistletoe cactus? Looks pretty cool, like a mini jaboticaba cactus from africa.  Supposedly hardy down to 9b.  There's so many unturned stones out there and cacti fruit are the easiest for us who like to set it and forget it.

Mine are both in pots.  Since end of fall I have been giving water about once a week for Malaysian, and probably a little more frequently for Cas. 

So I have been getting a little more invested in different cacti species and it has me wondering what people's opinions are on their favorites/best tasting.

Currently I have some different varieties of dragonfruit going, bilberry cactus, eulychnia acida (sprouts).  Dragonfruit I feel is probably the most obvious as there is a fair amount of sweetness/juice.  Trying to currently germinate lepismium ianthothele which I barely know anything about.  Prickly pear doesn't taste bad to me but I find it sometimes too mild and gritty (prefer red to green).  I'm also interested in melocactus genus but don't know if it is worth the wait, seem to be a boutique kind of fruit. 

Is there anything else worth possibly chasing? 

Great selection.  What is the secret with getting that beach sugar apple a good size?  Some of you guys are wizards.
 Mine is basically doing nothing here in California.

Hi all.  I recently got 2 of these species to sprout (out of about maybe 30 seeds so far).  Does anyone know what the taste is like? In my mind it looks like dragonfruit a bit on the inside so it looks like that but hopefully more tart like the name suggests Acida.  I just wanted a more exact description if someone has tried this fruit from Chile.  Also wondering if anyone knows how long to bear fruit? I realize may be in the longhaul with these species.

I have a young Nitida but mine is way young.  Not sure if self pollinating but I hope it is because I only have the one plant.  It is a quick grower though and develops roots super fast so I suppose will know by next year or 2 if self fertile.  I am basically treating it like a regular passionfruit and it is doing great.

I am okay with taking forever, its an experiment for me.  I am a big fan of sour fruit so if it is really tart that is fine with me.  I would not probably bother using as rootstock for purple mangosteen, though maybe I will try one day.  Was just curious if anyone had the seashore outdoors doing fine as I understand slightly more hardy and will theoretically be okay in zone 10.  My climate is typically low humidity though maybe more humid than other parts of Cali due to how close I am to the ocean but we do sometimes get summer heatwaves and the occasional cold snap in winter maybe down into the mid/high 30s. I was under the impression this species was monoceious vs dio but not much info out there.

Hey all,

I am trying to germinate a seashore mangosteen tree (Garcinia hombroniana).  I have only had the seed for about a week and no sign of germination yet, though I hear they can sometimes take 3 to 6 months.  Does anyone have experience with germinating these and if they will do well outdoors in Southern California?  I already have a potted Achacha that seems to be doing fine outdoors (though this thing seems to be super slow growing, maybe because winter time is almost here?).

Thanks

Sent you a Pm. Thanks.