2026 tropical fruit & fruit goals

[FruitForward]

...He also has some stone fruit that he wants me to graft. I may try a Capulin to Cherry Laurel just for the fun of it.
[/quote

Hi Galatians522. I have a cherry laurel and I have been thinking about the same thing. Questions:
1. Have you heard of anyone having success with this?
2. Where would you get the budwood?
3. Have you heard of anyone else having success, grafting other stone fruit, like peaches or plums onto the cherry Laurel?
4. The cherry laurel is toxic. Any concerns about putting something edible on top of it?

[Daintree]

Well, since my “win the lottery and build a huge greenhouse” plan didn’t pan out, my goal is the same as last year - quit growing more trees than my greenhouse can hold.
Failed miserably in 2025. Will try again in 2026.
If I can hack my way through the greenhouse jungle…

Carolyn

[johnb51]

johnb51, what happened?! Got sick of the HOA?! I'm guessing your new place doesn't have an HOA?

It's a long story. (Try finding an affordable house in South Florida!  I would have gone a few counties north, where mango trees still grow.  I was outvoted.)  But the new place does have an HOA.  However, they're not the equivalent of the "Red Guards" of the last community, much more easy-going, and I do own my entire lot and can fence in the backyard.

[Galatians522]

...He also has some stone fruit that he wants me to graft. I may try a Capulin to Cherry Laurel just for the fun of it.
[/quote

Hi Galatians522. I have a cherry laurel and I have been thinking about the same thing. Questions:
1. Have you heard of anyone having success with this?
2. Where would you get the budwood?
3. Have you heard of anyone else having success, grafting other stone fruit, like peaches or plums onto the cherry Laurel?
4. The cherry laurel is toxic. Any concerns about putting something edible on top of it?

1. No, I have not. That is why I am experimenting with it. 
2. From a friend on TFF of course!
3. No, actually quite the opposite. I read an old paper once where they tried several stonefruit varieties and were unsuccessful. Some of the grafts appeared to take at first, but they all ended in failure. Capulin was not on that list, by the way
4. That might be a concern. However, the toxin in Prunus is bitter. So, if the fruits are bitter I will know not to eat them. However, I probably will not have to worry about that problem since it is doubtful that the grafts will take. Actually, a better match would be Catalina Island Cherry if I were really trying to graft something on Cherry Laurel that I could eat.

[fliptop]

It's a long story. (Try finding an affordable house in South Florida!  I would have gone a few counties north, where mango trees still grow.  I was outvoted.)  But the new place does have an HOA.  However, they're not the equivalent of the "Red Guards" of the last community, much more easy-going, and I do own my entire lot and can fence in the backyard.

Well, that's good that you'll now have control over your space! Looking forward to hearing how the new yard comes along 😄

[nullzero]

johnb51, what happened?! Got sick of the HOA?! I'm guessing your new place doesn't have an HOA?

It's a long story. (Try finding an affordable house in South Florida!  I would have gone a few counties north, where mango trees still grow.  I was outvoted.)  But the new place does have an HOA.  However, they're not the equivalent of the "Red Guards" of the last community, much more easy-going, and I do own my entire lot and can fence in the backyard.

St. Lucie county has good sales when the real estate market is soft. Lots of none HOA options in PSL and Ft. Pierce.

[bovine421]

4 days into the new year I've already got Athens melons ready to go outside. I have a feeling we won't have another Frost so I'm rolling the dice are these new year sprouts. If we do have a frost event I have plenty of shade cloth and lights and even if they become toast I'll just replant like they do in Iowa with their corns and beans if necessary. I spent yesterday getting to zero pressure gravity flow timer and drip hoses fine tuned. It's not enough pressure for emitters so I use adjustable valves on each spaghetti hose to get the drip instead of the fire hose flow. Some of the SpaghettiOs is kind of stiff and glass season struggled with keeping it in the precise place I wanted it but this season I'll think I'll use plastic forks break off a couple teeth stick it in the soil to get to precise drip where I want it. I've added a experimental station that I was going to plant Triton which is reported to be slightly Superior to Athens with a smaller seed cavity and slightly sweeter flavor. I've decided to go with ambrosia which is supposed to be one of the most top tier commercial varieties as far as taste hopefully disease resistant to. I think maybe shot recommended that several seasons ago. Memories like a sieve but I do tend to remember important stuff.🙂





Experimental station ambrosia. Waiting on seeds will get potting soil today.

[bovine421]

Early morning posting mistake🤣

[Galatians522]

Early morning posting mistake🤣

It's ok, I started a What's Growing 2026 thread in the vegetables section so that we can talk about your melon project over there. Excited to see how it goes.👍🏻

On the fruit side, I am a dozen grafts in on my goals for the year. Hopefully I get good % of takes. 😁

[bovine421]

Early morning posting mistake🤣

It's ok, I started a What's Growing 2026 thread in the vegetables section so that we can talk about your melon project over there. Excited to see how it goes.👍🏻

On the fruit side, I am a dozen grafts in on my goals for the year. Hopefully I get good % of takes. 😁

Central Florida is subtropic South Florida is Tropic any fruit we grow is tropical in my book. I think it's a gray area somebody had to make a decision or an opinion. With that being said we've discussed Citrus muscadine grapes  about everything other than rhubarb. I forgot I plant Two melons per pot So I'm Four melons short. So I decided to plant 4 Tritons so I can compare to Athens which I'm completely satisfied with performance and flavor.Triton has a smaller seed cavity so worthy of comparison.

The 'Triton' cantaloupe is a popular, delicious, disease-resistant hybrid known for its good storage life, firm orange flesh, smaller seed cavity, and sweet flavor, making it a favorite for both commercial growers and home gardeners seeking reliability and quality. It offers excellent handling and crack tolerance, along with resistance to Fusarium wilt and powdery mildew, making it a robust choice compared to traditional varieties like 'Athena

This is the only forum group I post on so throw me out with the baby and the bathwater.🤣

[brian]

Hoping my seashore mangoseen (g. hombroniana) seedlings will flower this year.

Giving my abiu one last season to set fruit or it's gone, it has been years with thousands of flowers and not a single fruitlet set.

...

Have you ever considered moving to Florida?

But Pennsylvania is so nice      

And no fruit flies or Asian Citrus Psyllid

[SoCalGardenNut]

Get rid of non tropical fruit trees that don’t perform and add more tropical fruit trees to my yard.,

[Galatians522]

Early morning posting mistake🤣

It's ok, I started a What's Growing 2026 thread in the vegetables section so that we can talk about your melon project over there. Excited to see how it goes.👍🏻

On the fruit side, I am a dozen grafts in on my goals for the year. Hopefully I get good % of takes. 😁

Central Florida is subtropic South Florida is Tropic any fruit we grow is tropical in my book. I think it's a gray area somebody had to make a decision or an opinion. With that being said we've discussed Citrus muscadine grapes  about everything other than rhubarb. I forgot I plant Two melons per pot So I'm Four melons short. So I decided to plant 4 Tritons so I can compare to Athens which I'm completely satisfied with performance and flavor.Triton has a smaller seed cavity so worthy of comparison.

The 'Triton' cantaloupe is a popular, delicious, disease-resistant hybrid known for its good storage life, firm orange flesh, smaller seed cavity, and sweet flavor, making it a favorite for both commercial growers and home gardeners seeking reliability and quality. It offers excellent handling and crack tolerance, along with resistance to Fusarium wilt and powdery mildew, making it a robust choice compared to traditional varieties like 'Athena

This is the only forum group I post on so throw me out with the baby and the bathwater.🤣

I guess I misinterpreted what you were saying was a mistake. As long as we are talking about melons, I ordered seeds for Chou Cheh Red watermelon. It's probably about time to start them growing. One advantage to watermelon is the resistance to pickle worms.

[ScottR]

my goals for 2026 are to get more grafted avocado's into ground this year and other eugenias and to try and maintain 2.4 acres which is getting harder with vintage age
also looking forward to CRFG festival of fruit put on by Orange county chapter this year in June

[bovine421]

 2026 Goal to turn this Rogue avocado seedling into a Monroe Catalina  Oro Negro cocktail tree

[pineflatwoods]

I'm going to get a couple trail cameras for the grove this season, had something visit the plants last night and chomped the flower panicles- probably a deer.