The Tropical Fruit Forum

Getting pretty nasty down here on the coast...

 Actually I love that type of weather hot/humid but I知 in the minority

If you were a little farther south (say, Sebring), would you try mango trees in the ground?
[/quote

 If I had more ambition to create micro-climates and so forth I def would, but otherwise I wouldn稚 bother unless I was near the coast and much further south where I wouldn稚 have to worry about a bad winter killing my tree. I see mangos growing around Orlando doing great but always next to walls or structures. My food forest will be in an open setting. I give lots of credit to those who experiment and zone push but I値l go with the proven survivors. I値l keep my mangos and ultra tropicals in pots and build a greenhouse. I知 still debating if atemoya is worth putting in the ground?

So I知 thinking of bringing my citrus trees down to FL and putting them in the ground within the food forest I知 building but is it worth it with the greening issues?

LSU fig is not resistant enough. Mine lasted three years in the ground before dying as opposed to two. The only method of planting that has promise is the 5 gallon bucket method where you cut the bottom of a buck out and plant the fig inside that since the nematodes apparently don't go lower than 18inches or so.

That hard freeze we had last winter didn't mess with my lychee or my in the open regular jaboticabas. It did kill my red jabo though and it was under an oak tree for protection from frost. Did kill all my sugar apples, Barbados cherries, and Annona aside from freeze a mountain annonna down to the roots. Cheriyoma did fine. Surinam cherry in the open in a low spot didn't care about the cold either.

That sucks, central Florida is a real tricky climate. It can get downright brutal in the winter, even though not for long , just enough to wipe out tropicals. So it looks like lychee, Surinam cherry, and the normal Jaboticaba I値l put up higher on this list. I値l keep my sugar Apple, mangoes and such in a pot.

LSU purple fig should do fine. Supposedly nematode resistant.  Mine has done very well in the ground for the last few years.

Brad

 That痴 awesome to hear. I wonder if the other southern figs such as Smith and Col Littmans also have some resistance?

The magic fountain weeping persimmon has an awesome look and very compact and upright growth habit. I知 def going to plant even if it痴 strictly ornamental.

My jaboticaba has been surprisingly cold hardy, with only minor leaf burn at around 23 F.

The University of Florida has bred some quite good low-chill peaches, plums, & nectarines. Grapes, both muscadine & bunch should do well too.

Blueberries, blackberries & raspberries also.

 As much as I love berries they are too invasive and the food forest will be overrun with them in a few years.

 Do the low chill stone fruits require the continuous sprays like the traditional varieties up north?

Along the fencing I値l probably grow passion fruit and grapes.

Thank you both for the suggestions. Lychee, Jaboticaba , Longan....very cool, I would think a bad Orlando winter would wipe them out but I値l give it a try if others are having no issues.

Avocados I知 sure would do well too.

 I was thinking about putting in pecan trees for the tremendous yields and market potential but they get absolutely huge and would take up the entire 3 acres.

I致e been trying to compile a list of reliable central Florida (Orlando area) fruit tree food forest. Based on my reading it seems not all that different in terms what will survive from zone 7. By survive I mean guaranteed, not being knocked off by a relatively common winter freeze in the area. I知 not planning to build tents or set up micro-climates, just looking for trees I can count on.

I知 shocked at the nurseries selling soursop, a tree that has absolutely no chance to survive outdoors in the area.

 Here is a list I compiled, please let me know if I知 missing anything...

Low chill peaches

Low chill apples

Persimmon

Pawpaw

Pomegranate

Loquat

Citrus

White sapote (maybe)

Atemoya (maybe)

Mulberry

**I was dreaming of a fig forest but my understanding is nematodes all but ruin that possibility so I値l keep my fig collection above ground**

From everything I've read, neonics are in the plant for a year and sometimes two, that I understood when I purchased them, but my concern is the pesticide contaminating ground soil....

Not only Dr. Earth, but all organic fertilizers are of not much use when applied to container culture.  This is because organic fertilizers must rely on microorganisms to first break down organic fertilizers, before they become available for the tree's absorption.  Container culture provides none, to very little microorganisms to accomplish this task. Therefore, organic fertilizers are a very poor choice for container grown trees. EDTA, especially in the form of the EDTA-iron chelate, is readily decomposed on exposure to sunlight and yields biodegradable products. Both biodegradation and non biological degradation ensure that EDTA doesn't ppersist
in the environment.   

 In the summertime it appears organics work just fine compared with their synthetic counterparts so I'm assuming there is some microorganism activity?

 Thats good to hear about EDTA as everything I've read say its not easy to degrade and toxic to microorganisms! I'd love to read something countering this if you could provide me some reading material..?

Laaz for potted plants though I would imagine applying micro nutrients through out the year would be essential for health and proper fruit production

I have a fertilizer called Apples and Oranges. It has all those micros but unfortunately the chelator is EDTA which is suspected of being a perisistent environmental pollutant. Whats another good micro-rich fertilizer without EDTA?