The Tropical Fruit Forum

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Partly OT . . . .

Why not try growing watermelons on a sturdy trellis?  That would keep the vines and developing fruit off the ground and mostly isolate the vines from soil-borne pathogens.  The vines have tendrils for climbing after all, so why not give them the chance to climb?

I once saw watermelons growing hanging from an orange tree in a garden in rural Guatemala.  It was kinda startling to see three or four big melons hanging from that orange tree.  But in a small scale garden the fruit could be protected from falling to the ground by a cradle/net 'til ready to harvest.

And anyway, having seen that arrangement in Guatemala gave me the sense that that is part of the melon's natural strategy for distributing its seeds...  Once the fruit is ripe and falls to the ground it breaks open and the interior invites being eaten along with the seeds which are then later distributed in the droppings of the creatures that ate the fallen fruit.

This could be tried with any tendrilled melon.  (Or maybe someone on here is growing melons this way already.)

Paul M.
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Did some more research and eventually discovered that G. homborniana is a very frequent synonym (one of a number of synonyms) for the widespread species, G. celibica.

To get them started and established, I've put my several small seedlings of it into a couple of tall tree pots to accommodate what appears to be going to be a rather long taproot.

The only other thing that would be helpful to know is what the cold tolerance of this species might be.  Anyone on here have experience to know what kind of cold this species will tolerate?

TIA

Paul M.
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Sunrise (or anyone),

What is there new (if anything) in this new, 2nd edition of Boning's great fruit book?

I read thru the introduction and it does not seem to mention anything new.

Since I already have the 1st edition of this title I'm unsure if I should get the 2nd edition.

Just curious . . . .

Paul M.
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And at this very moment Paul has more mangoes on his tree than many in South Florida. Many had their blooms  hit by Frost. Yay Paul go

Thanx for the encouraging words, bovine.  Much appreciated.

It will be interesting to see how these three potted dwarf and semi-dwarf mango cultivars react to the onset of our Florida rainy season now that many of the local meteorologists are touting that's it's about to begin.

(I knew that the rains would begin right after I had my lawn man install a drip/watering system for all the fruit trees.  And he completed it on May 23rd and got it up and running.  And now the rains are just starting.)

Cheers!

Paul M.
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I have noticed that there are many people in Florida that have mango trees in the ground that still raise a few in a pot for the pure challenge of it. There seems to be great satisfaction to get one to hold  three or four fruit.

Certainly it is a challenge but a fun one, IMO.

Everytime I come close to taking the challenge. I talk myself out of it and put them in the ground.

So, why not try 'em in a pot?  The worst that can happen is that the mango won't thrive or won't produce fruit –or in a worst case just plain die!  But then (if it's not an overly rare cultivar) you can get another for a usually reasonable price and plunk it into the ground.  (Anyway, I know one person who'd be happy to read that either you or I had done so.)

Paul my ice cream is down to three mangoes after last week's wind. 😫

Hey your three remaining mangoes is more than my two hangers-on.  And that's of course lots better than if they'd all fallen off, n'est-ce pas?  But if they ripen for me on my dwarf (per Ken Roll's Mango Variety List) mango tree, I'll be all the happier for the 'pure challenge' having been met!

Cheers!

Paul M.  (the apparent mango rebel)
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There will definitely be no more blooms this season.

As to the ice cream, as previously stated,  you are only harming the tree at this point.and any fruit it produces will be sub-par.  I hate to say this but letting it continue to hold the fruit is akin to keeping an elderly ailing dog alive when it should really be put down.

BS,

Since these smaller statured mango cultivars are frequently callled 'condo mangoes' by many and grown in pots, there must be some rationale for that.

Please remember that there is more than one way to skin a catt(ley guava), so to speak!

Paul M.
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Looks like Imbe to me, too.


Paul M.
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Amazon hard copy for $200, but I am still waiting for the English version.

Hey Pink Turtle.  I saw that $200 tome on Amazon. Just don't hold your breath for an english-language edition of FRUTAS NO BRASIL.  It is doubtful that one is in the works.

Your best bet may be to buy a copy (make an offer of a lesser price) and then invest in an optical scanner/translator which will translate the português for you.

But I did find a site that may allow you to download the book.  Here's the link:
https://sites.google.com/site/ciotwinenri/home/frutas-no-br-oizjikjdl8r842

Boa sorte!

Paul M.
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Hi Kevin,

Have you found any way to tell the males from the females befoore they flower?

Also how large did your Imbes get before they began to flower?

I have about eight plants but they are too small yet (I think) to flower at only about ten to twelve inches tall. 

With that many I should have some of each sex but it is still too soon to tell.

I may need to start a few more but before I buy seeds I'm looking for your comments on this.

Regards,

Paul M.
Tampa, FL
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TedB,

I've just set up a semi-permanent drip system, very basic and 'adjustable' or movable.  Many of my fruit trees are in pots,  3-, 5, and 7-gallon ones.

Some are smaller plants which are only in pots 'til they get large enough to put into the gound.

Others plants are those which will not get really so large that they cannot be maintained in a 5- or 7-gallon pot.

But all those fruit trees (which are in one particular area together) are set in shallow saucers.  Some saucers are comparatively smaller based on the size of the pot, and other saucers are comparatively larger based upon how much water certain of the plants use. 

Certain of the plants, like Bixa orellana (achiote) and Acrostichum aureum (Florida golden leather fern -which volunteered in one of the saucers and eventually got potted out on its own) and Rollinia deliciosa (Biribá) are in even larger saucers in relation to the size of their pots because they are real water guzzlers!  The achiote in a 7-gallon pot will drink a large saucer of water 2-inches deep only in about four or five hours when it is hot or windy (or both)!!

My new drip system is set up so that the water guzzlers get more water and so their saucers fill up faster than the other less thirsty 'drinkers' in smaller saucers.  This seems to be working well enough now in the beginning but since the system has only been set up for two days now it still must be tweaked a bit.

Still, it looks as if this new drip system is going to be very helpful during the hottest parts of our Florida summer and will save me from standing out in the heat watering three or four times per week.

I've been keeping these fruit trees in saucers for a couple years already and there has been no problem with any root damage except during the rainy season here.  But I have learned that when we get several days of rain in a row I need to empty those of the saucers under the fruit trees that don't like extended wet feet.

This new drip watering system is admittedly an ongoing experiment which looks to be going to be very useful.  During our hot Florida summers if it doesn't rain the water in all the dishes is used up in one, or sometimes in only two days.  After the saucers are empty the fruit trees tend to be okay maybe for one or two days before they begin to show any drought stress.

As I already mentioned, this system is brand new to me and must/will have to be tweaked to optimize it.  But that was expected.  All the parts were cobbled together from items gotten from Home Depot but it was not a drip system kit of any sort.  Just the tubing and joins needed to cobble the system together.

Just a final note:  This system is not automatic; at least not for now.  I need to go out and turn on the faucet manually.  Right now the system seems to need to run for about 1/2 hour for all the dishes to fill up.  It is actually a good thing that I go out to turn on the water; it makes me take a look at the plants and saucers to see which ones are or aren't using up all their water.

OK — Hope this helps . . . .  And maybe offers up some ideas that others can use.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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[snip] I found a really good wrap that is stretchy and self-sticky.  Actually, another forum member discovered it and is using it to wrap seedlings.  It is sold as a type of gauze.

That sounds like CoFlex, a stretchy sort of rubberized gauze bandaging wrap that is used in compression wraps on human extremities and also on horses' ankles (which is what it was invented for: for racehorses' ankle support).  It does stick to itself.

Sounds like it will serve well as a substrate for putting Tanglefoot on top of.

CoFlex should be available at medical supply houses, Amazon, or some local pharmacies.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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Wonderfruit,

So.... Did you start yours from seed or as a seedling (how tall)?

Paul M.
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