Trees that do well and trees that don't

[yoski]

Over the years I experimented with various trees in my yard. Central Florida (Sebring), well drained sandy soil, ph 5.5 on an 8% slope facing west on a lake.
Some do exceptionally well while other refuse to grow an eventually die.
Good success with:
Lychee, Mango, Sapodilla, Longan, Macadamia, Starfruit, Miracle fruit, Allspice, Papaya
moderate success with:
Atemoya, Jaboticaba, Avocado (some do very well like Monroe, Brogdon and Bacon, others not so much like Oro Negro, Lula)
stuff that absolutely refuses to grow in my yard:
Pomegranate, Fig, Rollinia, Pecan, any Citrus (greening disease)

I might be too far south for Pecan, but I have seen a few isolated trees nearby that bear nuts. Does anybody have any success with Figs or Rollinia? Under what conditions?
Thanks
Mike

[johnb51]

That's good information, Mike.  Isn't the problem with figs nematodes in the soil?  And you've actually seen pecan trees in your area that bear good-quality nuts?  That's surprising.

[achetadomestica]

figs can be grown in pots and I have a LSU purple that is in the ground and
doing OK for over 5 years with lots of mulch and other organics The problem
with figs is most of the fruit ripens in the rainy season and they split or are bloated
and not very good to eat. Figs Thrive in dry heat

Rollinia might be too cold in 9b. I tried to grow a tree but it really didn't like 40s and mid 30s
and I dug it up and gave it away

The Vietnamese pomegranate will fruit well in the subtropics but it's not very good
to eat

[Galatians522]

I have seen a very productive fig in Spring Lake (5-10 miles East of Sebring), but the soil there is very heavy and nematodes are not as big a problem. Wayne Clifton had quite the collection of very productive figs in his yard in Bradenton, but just about every square inch was covered in heavy mulch.

With Pecans, there are some very old trees on CR 17 between Sebring and Lake Placid that produce nuts every year as well as another tree on Lake Sebring that produces heavy crops sporadically according to the owner. They are very slow growers here. They are more of a "bottom land" tree, and our soil isn't rich enough for them. I think one of the biggest problems (appart from Squirrels) is there are not enough disease resistant varieties for good pollination.

A commercial pomegranite grove just outside of Sebring ended up being a failure. However, a Lady in Zolpho (once again heavier soil) has had excellent production as long as she used fungicides. Unfortunately, not many fungicides are labeled for pomegranate, so she could not sell the fruit.