The Tropical Fruit Forum

My four mango trees arrived today. Thanks, Phelipe.

Most were larger than expected.  Great service and fast shipment as promised. Even boxed in two separate boxes because of the extra-large size but did not charge extra.

See photos of the trees I received today.

Johnny



Butter Cream Mango Tree after Repotting


Cac Root-Ball


 Cac Manto Tree


Orange Sherbert after Repotting


Seacrest Mango Tree

You can likely manage size of your Gold Nugget on semi dwarf root stock. I finally just completed the removal of my tree and so glad I did. There is so much more room now in my backyard now with that tree gone. My tree was crowing out everything is close proximity including one of my mango trees. You can only eat so much citrus during the main citrus season (January to May) and my Navel Orange, Yosemite Gold, Oroblanco and a few other grafts provide more than enough for our family. Still love the Page for juicing and the Kinnow for its superior flavor later in the season.

Johnny

My Sweet Tart mango tree is finally flushing now. Last year in 2018 it only had one growth flush. Hopefully this year I will get two from this tree. Time will tell.


Sweet Tart Mango Tree (8-13-2019)

Good Job. I too have recently removed (5) dud trees that are either nonproductive, inconsistent in production, mediocre quality or too big and labor-intensive to keep Trimming.

My Gold Nugget mandarin, Cot-N-Candy Aprium, two peach trees and one plum were on the chopping block this year and were hacked down last month.

I love the appearance of my Pdero walnut tree but I only have about 20 nuts from a 15-foot tree and last year was the same. That tree will likely be removed next year. 

Johnny

Don't Let young mango trees hold fruit. Most people want immediate gratification but success is for those that are tolerant and willing to wait.

In California, we have slow and poor growth as it is why give the young tree early stress of production? 

Be Patient. So many impatient growers.

Johnny

You are highly unlikely to find a top tier Gold Nugget purchased from a grocery store but it is possible to get one from a more mature home grown tree. At it's best the GN is like liquid sunshine with a intense sweetness and a moderate mandarin flavor. It is the sweetest citrus I have tasted but not the most richly flavored. The Page, Yosemite Gold and Kinnow all have a richer mandarin flavor compared to the Gold Nugget. The Kinnow mandarin is the best tasting of the bunch but it has one major flaw, 25 seeds per fruit. Also the Gold Nugget is not as juicy as most tangerines, similar to a Washington Navel orange, so if you like to make mandarin juice the Page is perfect because of the high juice content and rich flavor but they tend to be small in size.

It is interesting to note if you choose to grow the Gold Nugget younger trees (less than 6 years) tend to produce mediocre fruit. Older trees will give you a glimpse of what GN is capable of. Look for small to medium size fruit where the skin is thin and tight. About 35-40% of the crop will be in this category and they will be excellent (top tier). Another 35-40% will be fair to good but nothing exceptional in terms of quality, only average. About 25% of the crop will be large lumpy and fibrous balls that are completely worthless and go right into my trash can.

There you have it. I think most people only need one mandarin tree but think hard before deciding which one it is.

Johnny   

For the Gold Nugget close spacing is 10 feet or less on standard rootstock. The tree will grow so tall over time it will block out sunlight for trees in close proximity.

On C-35 rootstock the GN will reach 18-20 feet tall. On Semi Dwarf rootstock it should be around 12-13 feet at maturity. It usually produces a crop every other year when it finally does start to produce. (It's a long wait)

The biggest problem with this cultivar is in inconsistent fruit quality. When you get a good one it is top tier and very sweet but some are only fair in quality and others get puffy and fibrous and are awfull.

I can not recommend the Gold Nugget for the homeowners unless you have plenty of room and are very, very patient.

The Yosemite Gold produces earlier, has consistent fruit quality and in my opinion, is more attractive as the leaves are bigger and deeper green. The Yosemite Gold is moderately tall and bushier than the Gold Nugget which is more erect.  My YG is a keeper and produces large seedless fruit with a wonderful rich flavor. 

Johnny 

After nine years my Gold Nugget mandarin on C-35 has produced on one good crop. The tree is too tall, grows fast once established and requires constant maintenance to keep it under (14) feet.  By giving it a haircut every year this reduces new fruit production for the following season. The Gold Nugget also is alternative bearing like most mandarins but I found the fruit quality to be variable with some fruit being excellent and others to be dry and fibrous. My Yosemite Gold has both more reliable production and fruit quality and my Cara Cara Pink Navel produces excellent fruit each year with a much smaller foot print. In my view both of these trees are superior to the Gold Nugget.

If I had more room in the backyard and was to do it over again I might plant one Gold Nugget on semi dwarf Trifoliate root stock but there are other citrus trees that offer better long term consistency. 

Johnny

I can probably answer your question in about 1-2 years, unfortunately not now.

Growing five varieties of sapodilla and only Morea has fruit right now. As the trees mature and produce more it will be interesting to compare the various flavors and textures. 

Only Tikal and Molix are in the ground at the present time but I plan on grafting the others to my more established trees later.

They all seem to grow well and flush before most of my mango trees here in SoCal.

Johnny

My favorite vinyl electrical tape is Plymouth Premium 37.  It stretches very nicely, holds tight and leaves no residue.

I bought mine at an electronic supply shop for $5 a roll.  It is made in Spain according to the label.

Johnny

Here are a few Scions I received from Alex at Tropical Acres Farms just yesterday.

They look Good.

I am hoping for a 30 - 40% take. The weather is cooler now but if it warms up again my chances increase.

The two grafted varieties I purchased from Atkins Nursery are Beaumont and a new Cultivar called "Alba". Alba was developed by a guy named Snyder who is now passed away. The folks at Atkins renamed it Alba and I was told its main character is good production of large quality nuts. I can say also based on my experience that it also grows very fast. I planted my Alba in early 2015 and it is already nearly as tall and wide as my Beaumont that has been in the ground twice as long.  Both trees look quite different with the Beaumont producing red and pink flowers and new growth while the Alba is white flowers with green new growth (see the photos for comparison) Looking forward to tasting the Alba nut later this year and I will compare it to my Beaumont.

As for folks planting seedling Macadamia trees, they will have a long long wait for nut production with an untested variety. In my view, it's not worth the risk or long wait time.

The First photo is my Beaumont in April during flowering and the second photo I just took today of my Alba.

Johnny


Beaumont Macadamia


Alba Macadamia

Yea, Macadamia Trees are very Pretty when they put out new flowers.

Here is a photo of my much smaller and younger (8 years) old Beaumont Macadamia Tree.

Should have some nice nuts in the fall.

Johnny


Beaumont Macadamia Tree, April 2019