Anyone have experience with Lara farms mamey tree pre orders?

[JR561]

Man Im happy when I bought 1 gallons from them a few years ago for around $20 each I threw them in the ground and had zero issues.

Different times now for sure.

[Coconut Cream]

So far I have lost three Mamey and one avocado. All were 1 gallon trees. The avocado was probably my fault. The Mamey were babied and not overwatered.

You can see how skinny the Mamey rootstocks and scions are when you get them. The other grafted Mamey I have bought (from Xain, for example as 3 gallons) have a much thicker rootstock. I think the choice of seed for rootstock can have an impact, I have heard that Key West gives the best rootstock for a high success rate on Mamey.

Yes, you are getting a healthy, living plant but the margin for error is small and Mamey is one of the tougher trees to keep alive, in my experience. Hopefully we can use the collective knowledge of the forum to keep more of these young trees alive so they go in the ground and start producing fruit. Maybe Julie's suggestion is the best, just put it in the ground.

[pineflatwoods]

Jamaica Mamey finally arrived from Lara Farms, I'm gonna keep it protected with even watering for now. It was packed well, even with being shoved into the corner of the ups truck.

[Coconut Cream]

Congrats. I hope you have an easier time with yours than I have with mine. I finally planted my now 1 year old Jamaica in the ground and it dropped all its leaves and has shown no signs of life for a couple of weeks. The tip bud is brown and I'm just hoping one day it perks up and flushes again before it dies. I put a Pozo Azul in the ground and it also dropped its leaves but flushed back right away.

The pre-ordered 1 gallon Mamey trees from Lara are going out bit by bit, I got my G1 last week.

Here is a photo of what happened to my Tazumal Mamey from Lara Farms. I had up-potted to 3 gallon and was nursing it along to plant it in the ground when it failed above the graft. The rootstock was still viable and sent out a sucker, which to me proves it was not root rot. I found a piece of grafting tape that I missed and I think that was girdling the scion and that's what killed it. Brutal. The photo shows how skinny it is above the graft after one full year.

[roblack]

Guatemalan #1 arrived today, was ordered in January of this year. Expertly packed and looking good from what I can tell. Grateful to be adding to my collection. Also ordered G3 last night, and some fruit. Gotta add Jamaican now too, lol, and then that's it, I think...

[brian]

Not exactly a mamey but my latest grafted green sapote (on mamey rootstock) just randomly croaked, wilting all over.  I think this is my third one.  I have a few seedling green sapotes that are doing great, I am thinking I will just grow these out instead of trying another grafted one.

[pineflatwoods]

I've struggled with root rot on a lot of the one gallons lately, might have been the continuous colder weather, I'm growing everything out until it's a robust 3 gallon before planting now. I've had trees take a year before they give their first flush.

For these "new" varieties, we have to roll the dice for now. I'm glad Julian packed it well

[Iceman716238]

I ordered my jamaica mamey back in January of 2024 also and just got mine today. Plant is in great shape! Just put it in my screen enclosed lanai away from direct sun since it has only one growth flush that just recently hardened.

I also ordered mine in January of 2024 and at first I was told 2-3 months, then he made a YouTube video with Paul saying all orders from January will ship in 2-3 weeks(did not happen), then ill have it in the summer, then bumped into him at the mango festival and asked him for an update and he told me before the end of the year. Asked him early January 2025 and got a sarcastic/rude response where he just copied and pasted an earlier response. Here in pretty much May 2025 and not a peep from him. If you order from him, be prepared to wait over 1.5 years to receive your tree, so be prepared to be disappointed, even if he gives you a good eta originally 😞. I purchased a lorito 1g mamey from him that I believe was recently grafted(pretty fresh buddy tape) and died. Pretty sure it was not ready and stable enough to go out, probably best to get 3g or bigger, not these 1g trees he is selling.
Edit: forgot to add that i also got a 1g green sapote from him which was another fresh graft, that died shortly after....😥 buyer beware

[roblack]

I waited 3 months for the tree I bought on a waiting list. More than reasonable.

Maybe some grafts didn't do well, and had to be redone. Who knows. I hate waiting too, growing fruit has made me more patient.

[pineflatwoods]

I think selling the trees that far in advance is a mistake, I know space is tight and you need to move stuff, but I think it takes around a year for a graft to fully take and heal. If I'm the seller I wouldn't want someone showing me a photo like coconut Cream's

[roblack]

CC's graft died, presumably due to old grafting tape not being removed. Can blame whoever.

I agree, well healed grafts with several flushes are ideal for buyers, but maybe not for sellers with limited stock of varieties in high demand. Lots of things can go wrong with grafts in the first months and year or so. Realize there are risks involved.

I had 2 established (5 ft) grafted citrus (kumquat and finger lime) recently die above the graft, with rootstock still thriving. Still don't know what happened.

Personally, I am grateful for Lara Farms selling these varieties via waiting list VS hearing he released a few dozen at one time and they all sold out. I am after genetics. You are not going to find a nice 3 or 5 or 7 gallon G1, G3, or Jamaican mamey for sale unless you get supremely lucky.

[pineflatwoods]

No I agree, some of my 1G trees I got from Julian are my most robust trees, and most people don't have the skill or time to graft their own. I encourage everyone to go there in person, if you know you know.

[Coconut Cream]

CC's graft died, presumably due to old grafting tape not being removed. Can blame whoever.

I agree, well healed grafts with several flushes are ideal for buyers, but maybe not for sellers with limited stock of varieties in high demand. Lots of things can go wrong with grafts in the first months and year or so. Realize there are risks involved.

I don't mind taking the blame. I am not ashamed to admit that I have killed a lot of plants. I'm not an expert gardener and growing Mamey has proven challenging for me. Maybe whatever I'm doing wrong can be figured out so more people can be successful with their trees where I have failed. My goal in raising these issues is to warn others well in advance what they are getting into so they can be prepared for potential problems and address them. Or maybe a loss rate of 30 - 50% in the first year is normal for certain species in the nursery trade? I can't say.

I also agree very much with you that these new genetics are important and I'm glad some nurseries, including Julian, are trying to bring new and better stuff to market. I don't mind waiting. I don't mind paying more for something rare. I have kept buying 1g trees from Lara Farms even with the problems I have experienced. I want better results but I have to accept the trees as they are currently available or wait years until they are commonly propagated by nurseries that sell more mature trees. I would be willing to wait longer and pay more to get a more mature and bigger tree from Lara Farms, but that's just not an option right now.

Despite the losses, overall I have had very positive experiences buying thousands of dollars worth of fruit and trees from Lara Farms. Thanks to Julian I have gotten to experience a lot of new stuff. I don't want to discourage anybody from ordering trees from Lara Farms. Maybe there are some adjustments at the nursery or for the customer that could improve the survival of these trees for less skilled growers like me. Knowing there could be a problem is the first step toward fixing it. Expectations have been raised so high for these new trees that there is potential for disappointment for the people who waited and waited for their "best variety ever" Mamey trees.

[roblack]

Perhaps no one really needs to take the blame, but yeah, I usually blame myself when a plant goes down. If it is barely alive, feel I should be able to take things from there. Obviously, I don't always succeed.

I've got a complaint for Julian; ordered a grafted G3 on "reserve" waitlist on 4/23/25, and it arrived yesterday (5/1/25). What kind of wait is that!?!? False advertising, that's just a tad over a week. Also, those Pace mameys were sooo good we now have to order more. Damn you Julian!

[brian]

I ordered a tree on a waitlist for the first time from Lara Farms this winter, it says expected "late spring" so I am hoping for at least by July

[gozp]

plant your mamey with peatmoss, perlite and sand to avoid root rot.

Potting mix rots as time passes by.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Lara trees some of the best out there.

[Coconut Cream]

RIP Jamaica Mamey, Jan2024 - May 2025, gone too soon. I had this Jamaica in a pot for over a year, keeping it alive through several flushes and up-potting to 3 gallon. It started looking a little stressed this Spring so I decided it was time to plant it in the ground, in a specially reserved spot of the best draining soil I have. I put some potted plants around it to provide a little shade while it got established. I watched in horror as the leaves fell off a few weeks ago and so far have not come back. The tip bud went from green to light brown to now brown and shriveled. The area around the graft is not looking so hot.

Maybe maybe maybe it can bounce back from a side bud or some other miracle.

[roblack]

Very sad to see your Jamaica Mamey going down. Hunting that one too, can imagine the grief you are feeling. Some plants hurt way more than others.

How did the roots look when you planted it?

Thinking of grafting G1 onto 45 gallon established KW tree, as I am afraid of the same fate befalling my tree, when planted in ground. Would like an insurance policy.

[MadFarm]

RIP Jamaica Mamey, Jan2024 - May 2025, gone too soon. I had this Jamaica in a pot for over a year, keeping it alive through several flushes and up-potting to 3 gallon. It started looking a little stressed this Spring so I decided it was time to plant it in the ground, in a specially reserved spot of the best draining soil I have. I put some potted plants around it to provide a little shade while it got established. I watched in horror as the leaves fell off a few weeks ago and so far have not come back. The tip bud went from green to light brown to now brown and shriveled. The area around the graft is not looking so hot.

Maybe maybe maybe it can bounce back from a side bud or some other miracle.

Looks like a very wet spot with all that grass and pots keeping moisture from evaporating from the soil.

[Coconut Cream]

How did the roots look when you planted it?

I thought it looked fine, I cut the pot away and saw lots of fine white root hairs branching out.

Madfarm, I took the photo after the big rain we had. That particular spot is on the top of a sloped hill that gets unlimited Southern sun exposure. Whatever moisture accumulates doesn't last long. If it doesn't perk up, maybe I will move the pots away from it.

[MadFarm]

How did the roots look when you planted it?

I thought it looked fine, I cut the pot away and saw lots of fine white root hairs branching out.

Madfarm, I took the photo after the big rain we had. That particular spot is on the top of a sloped hill that gets unlimited Southern sun exposure. Whatever moisture accumulates doesn't last long. If it doesn't perk up, maybe I will move the pots away from it.

The superficial surface roots need to breathe. That healthy green grass/weeds around there is a sign of plenty of moisture in the soil, and the roots will out-compete the small Mamey for oxygen and nutrients while retaining moisture. No offense, but I think you're underestimating how wet and unsuitable that spot obviously appears. Especially if it was after a rain event; I would clear the pots and weeds away at least a foot diamter from the mamey. And, don't water it. They commonly drop leaves and regrow them in spring but will rot from the bottom up if they are not very dry while there are no leaves. I've never seen a mamey die from being too dry, but have seen many succumb to rot.

[Coconut Cream]

The superficial surface roots need to breathe. That healthy green grass/weeds around there is a sign of plenty of moisture in the soil, and the roots will out-compete the small Mamey for oxygen and nutrients while retaining moisture. No offense, but I think you're underestimating how wet and unsuitable that spot obviously appears. Especially if it was after a rain event; I would clear the pots and weeds away at least a foot diamter from the mamey. And, don't water it. They commonly drop leaves and regrow them in spring but will rot from the bottom up if they are not very dry while there are no leaves. I've never seen a mamey die from being too dry, but have seen many succumb to rot.

Don't worry about offending me, I'd rather hear what you really think. I appreciate the advice and I will give it a shot. Hopefully we can save this one still. Thanks.

[roblack]

Update on G1 and G2. They get some direct sun and a bit of dappled and indirect light. Lots of rain in the last week or so. New growth flush looks healthy. Haven't fed them yet.

[sgvfruit]

Jamaica Mamey finally arrived from Lara Farms, I'm gonna keep it protected with even watering for now. It was packed well, even with being shoved into the corner of the ups truck.

when did you order yours? I ordered mine last August, but no updates yet.