The Tropical Fruit Forum

I'm at 2200' and several miles inland above Santa Barbara.

That sounds like a neat location. On the coast side or inland side? Any pictures?

I'm in the Bay Area, but past the hills, so not as mild as Fremont/San Jose where a lot of the Bay Area members are. After two winters in the ground, my pitangatuba takes a little bit of damage to the leaves, red jabo and grimal a bit more. I bought two seedling pitangatubas from Florida, and one of the two died from the frost. I think it could have been avoided had I been gentler with it. I have some dragonfruit that get through the winter with some minor damage, but I've only ever gotten a couple fruit out of them. I thought it was because I had them sprawling on the ground rather than dangling from a trellis, but they have been on a trellis for a year or two now and they aren't doing much. Eugenia candolleana, Muntingia calabura, and one of my two original pitangatubas died from the frost. I had five star fruit about 9 months old from seed going into last winter, but they slowly wasted away, I think just from prolonged cold weather. I had one Eugenia uniflora split the bark above the graft union, I think due to a freeze of about 27, which then killed the scion but not the rootstock. The regrown plant took the cold with minimal damage even to the leaves this winter, and ones that I grew from seed sown last spring took no damage to the leaves. Eugenia myrcianthes, Eugenia involucrata, Eugenia calycina took no damage. I have found the plants I grow from seed here are tougher than live plants bought from Florida. Some of my pitangatubas turn completely purple in the cold, while some stay green.

I'm trying to avoid things that I'll lose in a 10-year freeze, or that need to be covered in the winter, and have stayed away from cherimoyas and avocados for that reason, but I think I should give them a try eventually.

How does your number of varieties keep increasing? Do you have trees of all of these, but didn't offer them all at first?

Very cool, Nate - what variety is that or is it a seedling?

Thank you. It's a Potomac. I bought the six (at the time) Peterson varieties from OGW, but of the seven trees I was sent, three have died. They came in pretty poor condition two years ago; I think I'd have fruit faster if I'd started from seed.

They both look like COTRG to me. It's a variable species.

The Azeda are starting to germinate!

Mine too!

Flowers are open on one of my trees, buds are on three or four more. Interesting that California is behind Tennessee in bloom time.

Drought hardy sapindaceae that fruits in a pot its the dune soap berry( Deinbollia Oblongifolia).

Looks interesting! Are you growing this? Couldn't find much about it.

One of mine is looking good! #1 and #3 are seedlings from a black-fruited tree from Huertasurbanas, 1 year old. #2 is some rootstock from FlyingFoxFruits, the grafted Zill Dark died last winter (Feb 2019).

How about a dump truck with a tailgate? No need to reinvent the wheel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O_R82OK7_0

Edit: Or if you're set on a sprayer, you might be able to use a shop vac.

For propagation. I have one healthy one of these, and many E. involucrata seedlings. I haven't yet experienced dieback on them, but my oldest is only maybe five years. When my orange one gets big enough, grafting some cuttings onto the involucrata rootstocks would be good insurance, and this one is much prettier than involucrata in my opinion. The trunk is darker green, and the new leaves orange.

Maybe the small Araticú is Annona neosalicifolia. One of your photos showed black skin. https://postimg.cc/HJRsdxyH

I got some at Costco a couple months ago. Skin was really thick, flesh sweet, but not outstanding. I prefer slightly under-ripe Fuji.

Looks like Selenicereus anthonyanus.