The Tropical Fruit Forum

'tis brillig then and the slithy toves are in the wabe.  Good luck!

Using 110 VAC on raccoons might have unintended consequences on dogs, children, or even the poster.  Much safer is the hotshot version which is very high voltage with low current.  It works with large animals like horses and cattle and they learn to avoid wired areas.  Been dealing with raccoons for almost 50 years, tried many things.  In my trapping days, I removed many only to create an opening for another one to move in.  Watched many viscious fights between raccoons from indoors.  Our population seems stabil now and we sometimes pass in the night, but garden and ponds are left alone (still electrified.)  Electric fence chargers are pretty cheap.

Having tasted and grown most of Frank Serpa's varieties (https://feijoarecipes.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/frank-serpa-fremonts-feijoa-king/) from Edenvale Farms, I believe my New Zealand varieties Mammoth and Triumph surpass them in size and flavor.  Had a good friend in John Moore who collected many and even named his favorite (Moore). The Edenvale varieties, Improved Cooledge, Edenvale Supreme, Edenvale Late are quite good, but really enjoy the New Zealand ones.  Pointed out before is their hardiness and productivity in suboptimal conditions that warrants their being planted.

Nice thought...just a luck of the draw with seedlings obtained from Puerto Rico.  Have a second tree (different seedling, same batch).  Have not had fruit from it yet (competing with two large macadamias)  Sure is a beutiful tree.

Just dug up several branches on my Triumph that were ground layered (thanks B2B).  All were well rooted in multiple places and cut into sections and potted.  Buried branches of my Mammoth for later cutting after they root.  Ground is wet thanks to lots of rain.

I do think the two NZ selections I have are superior in size and quality compared to others I have and  have tasted.  I do have to admit, sometimes there are seedlings with an intense great flavor, but only come in a miniscule size.  The trees/bushes are bullet-proof here with regard to cold and heat (we don't get much of either).  Don't seem to need much water to prosper.  They fall when ripe, and have a thick skin.  Best when eaten out-of-hand.

I have a male and female Kei apple, on opposite sides of property.  Plenty fruit produced, in my opinion one of the most sour fruits I have encounted.  Good flavor, have not tried with sugar.  Giant thorns, use them to clean sprayer orifices.  Stepped on one once, went through shoe to foot, good 2-3 inch thorns.  Read the plant is used to surround villages to keep large creatures out. I stay away from it (female).

The tip of the leaves being necrotic is usually a consequence of accumulated salts either from fertilizers or inherent dissolved solids in irrigation water. Transpiration takes the H2O out leaving the dissolved salts behind. The concentration of dissolved solids is usually greatest at the leaf tips.  Looks like the remainder of the leaf is healthy. The leaf petioles appear limp, if so that would indicate a root problem affecting the entire plant. During the quiescence time in the winter for plants they cannot utilize much nutrition nor water.  I would suspect that if you let the plant dry out, divert rainwater, by the middle of July you will have a happy plant.  Report back and let us know.

No reason to not try!  So many successes are atributed to just doing it.  Report back on your results and techniques.

Unfortunately, the NWS does not reflect accurate historical weather as all weather is local.  Our NWS tends to use data collected on sensors close to the ocean and surrounded by grass not at all reflective of the Nipomo area. I did the local weather daily for two newspapers for years  from data recording thermometers installed when we first moved to the area.  Still record daily temps as part of efforts to grow those plants that we probably shouldn't.  We are surrounded by commercial avocado groves (mostly on hills) and I have vivid memories of black skeletons remaing of groves after some of the old freezes.  They have all been replanted, but facing issues with water now.  I vividly remember the temp that took down my largest cherimoya: 25 degrees.  I have kept that in mind as a limit.  I started some Costa Rican seedlings collected from mountain tops that experienced frost/freezing and they have grown out and sustained growth with colder temps.  But again, freeze duration, humidity, and plant maturity make a difference in cold tolerance. Where would the fun be if it weas all easy?

I think our climate is similar.  My oldest white sapote is dangerous to walk under due to the many fallen fruits.  Multigrafted, the fruiting season is drawn out.  They are prolific fruiters here and I don't worry about frost or freeze with any of them.  About 40 years ago we had 17 degrees (killed lots of very old Eucalyptus globulus trees all over thge Nipomo Mesa, planted about 1906).  The oldest white sapote tree still shows a scar on one limb (about 10 in diameter) from that hit.  In our 50 years here, that was the only time it was that cold.  Our usual temps 30 years ago was always in the low 20s, now we barely make the low 30s.  I had similar experiences with macadamias, but they don't suffer either now.  Maturity helps, lost lots of small macadamias to freeze years ago.  Zone pushing is a moving target when the zone changes.

Interesting concept.  Had a good friend who was a serious "rare" fruit grower who told me that a transplanted plant needed to be oriented in the same direction relative to magnetic north in its new home.  He adhered to that idea with all his plants.  I try to do that, but oriented with the daily travel of the sun. I guess it ends up the same way.