The Tropical Fruit Forum

There are lots of fruits that you should have no problem with: for example- citrus, passion fruit, sapodilla, avocado, sugar apple, dragon fruit, and the others you mentioned.

That being said, I feel your pain.  I grew papayas for a few years and at least here in my area of Saint Petersburg, they were nothing but a magnet for a number of nasty things.  And, often they tasted like crap even when they survived.  I rarely had a bad papaya when I lived in Hawaii.

Another problem is that the cultivar is often unknown once you're outside of a place like Pine Island where they know what they're growing.  The stuff you pick up in the store (be it the local Asian store or some hipster market) could be any variety.  Just like mangos or anything else- some are good and some are not.

I used to get great rambutan and lychee by people selling beside the road on Kauai.  Have had plenty of good (and bad) fresh lychee here in FL but never a really good rambutan.  Locally grown longan are hit or miss as well in my experience.

Hi all, two years ago I bought a dragon fruit at Lowes that didn't have a variety name but it did have the grower's name.  I emailed the grower and they said it was Hylocereus undatus, Vietnamese Jaina.

I've had a world of trouble getting it to fruit, even with hand pollination.  Dozens of flowers have just fallen off.  We just got our first runt (an understatement - that is a tiny dessert size paper plate it is on) fruit but it was enough for me to tell that it sure as heck isn't Vietnamese Jaina.  Deep, deep red inside.

So who knows what it is but maybe this explains a few things.  Do I need a separate pollinator?  Can the pollinator be a plant started from a cutting of this same plant, or should it be a different cultivar altogether?  Appreciate any tips or advice!

Thanks, I picked up some BT from Amazon the other day and sprayed a couple nights ago.  Hopefully it it works.  I just planted this vine a few months ago so it is still of a size where a few hungry caterpillars could completely defoliate it.  (this happened to my neighbor's vine actually.)

Thanks, good point on a grid pattern making pruning more difficult.  I will probably try to go with a a few horizontal runs.  I do feel that this is a little like trying to herd cats, based on my previous experience, but I've also seen some relatively tidy setups so I have hope

palmcity, thanks for the encouragement!  You are spot on- Carrie's lack of coloration is a saving grace.  The only people in the neighborhood that might pick and eat green mangos are Asian folks and I happen to be married to the only Asian person in the neighborhood, and I'm good about sharing with her... so it is a perfect situation all around!  Both her and my son can tear through a green Carrie with the purple shrimp fry stuff from the Asian store in no time flat!

I try to pick daily once I notice the first ones turning yellow.. I'll grab the ones that are green but a mature size and let them ripen for a day or two on the counter.  I've found that if I pick them when they're already yellow, they really have to be eaten quickly!

The dense foliage you mentioned is also beneficial since by June you can barely see the mangos at all.  Do you thin your canopy at all by removing some of the more significant structural branches?  If so, when? 

Last year I had enough surplus to make a couple batches of jam (used the low sugar mix since the carries are already so sweet.)  I had multiple requests for additional jars   I also made popsicles for my kids (and uh, maybe I had one or twelve just to sample.)  Nothing but blended up carries... but so delicious.

Same exact thing happened to my potted Makok a few winters ago.  Others said it was cold damage but it was nowhere near freezing.  Never figured it out, but it didn't cause a problem.

Right now mine is dropping some leaves- probably leaf obsolescence, but it looks totally different- they're fully brown vs. the partial brown seen here.

Hello all,

My first guess would be cold damage or some sort of leaf burn?  However, the tree has not encountered anything near dangerous temps... high 40's at the worst.  I should mention that the tree has a heavy set of fruit that is rapidly maturing.  Early on, I did thin some fruit, maybe from around 50 down to 30.  I am wondering if that is still too much stress on a young tree?   (It is 3-4 years old, about 6" tall or so.)



Many thanks,
Brian

Thanks all,

So maybe for a tree this size I should thin from 50 fruit down to.... guessing... hmm... 30 or so?  It actually had blooms when I bought it last December so I am assuming it might try to set even more fruit.  The potential productiveness of this tree makes me consider putting it in-ground where it can achieve its full potential... but OTHO if I get 30 fruit from such a small tree in a container that is pretty good IMHO even if they are small.

I agree on the skin.  People eat much thicker skins on other fruits and vegetables.  A lot of fruit is lost no matter how careful you are in removing or eating around the skin.

The one fruit I actually ate from the tree so far was delicious.  Zero grit and basically tasted like someone mixed butter (not margarine!), brown sugar, and pear together.