The Tropical Fruit Forum

Quote from: Oqueel on December 05, 2025, 05:08:36 AM

I started my mango collection in 2019 on the West African Coast with polyembryonic seeds from Tropical Acres. None have fruited yet but the Corne and Ivory seedlings flowered last year so I'm hoping for some fruit this season. The Ivory tree is the cleanest of all and I've taken it as a good sign that it will be disease resistant.

I also recently started growing grafted trees but I don't have enough information yet. I also have a 6-year old topworked NDM 4 that flowers and sets more and more fruit every year. However, it's a disease magnet so if you can spray your tree, then it should be fine. The rest of my grafted trees are too small to fruit but I'll be watching out for flowers this dry season. I can already see the ones that will likely have disease issues from their leaves but perhaps they might power through.   

I should tell you that the Sahara has a beneficial effect on our climate so although it's a close comparison, it's not the same thing. Good luck in your search.

A forum member imported a bunch of grafted Florida mango trees into Sierre Leone a few years ago. If the trees are still alive, would that be an easier source of budwood for you compared to getting it from the US?

Yes, I had a discussion with him a while back and he appears to have handed over the project as a sort of CSR so he’s not really in charge of it. I’m a few countries away, but if there’s ever a decent chance, I would certainly love to visit and look at the trees to see how they’re performing in that part of West Africa and perhaps get a few more scions. Thanks for the suggestion.

Congratulations on your mangosteen flowering! That feels like hitting the jackpot. Thanks to your series of posts, I’ve finally identified my G. cambogia. I also have a Chupa Chupa in full sun and it’s in very bad shape but now I know better. This thread has definitely been very helpful.

I live in the hot, humid tropics too. I'm still a novice grafter but I've done 3 sets of mango grafting this year, with varying degrees of success. The first time was for practice, with scions off my trees and I got 3 out of 4 to take. The second time was around 20 scions from Florida and they were roughly 8 days old. I still got close to 70%. The third time, I was a bit overconfident and grafted more than 40 scions at a time and I got only 5 takes (so far).

I have several theories but no proof. My only nod to sanitization has been single-use sterilized blades for each graft. My best successes seem to have come from dormant scions. It's also possible that the dry season might be a better time because my rates declined as the rains got heavier, even though I kept them out of the rain. I have a few other theories but, like I said, no proof yet. When I complete my target collection then I might start doing comparisons.

I'm sorry to hear your experience and I hope you figure it out soon.

You could also check with forum member New_Jungle. He's in Hilo and he had them for sale earlier this year. It seems that the season in Hawaii is roughly from December to February, but I could be wrong. I'm also trying to buy some seeds to grow a cross pollinator for my sole mature tree that never sets fruit, but my timing has always been off. Good luck!

Thanks. At the moment, Lara Farms doesn’t have these on sale. Perhaps they will in a week’s time.

I received three robust cuttings with extra nodes. Everything looks great and I can hardly wait to get my own clumps too!

Thanks Nate!

I'm looking for the following:

Frogfruit
Perennial peanut
Mimosa strigillosa
Bana grass cuttings
Agapanthus
Long leaf sissoo (Alternanthera sissoo)
Abelmoschus manihot (Large leaf varieties like Kiko’s Crump, Aunt Lilli’s)
Different Sugarcane cuttings
Chayote
Mushroom herb (Rungia klossii)

Delivery to Colorado.

Thanks!

The only vendor I know of is Lara Farms. https://larafarmsmiami.com/search?q=persimmon

Larafarms don't have them in stock

BTW, I gave up my search for Triumph and I planted a Suruga Persimmon last month.

I've been haunting Lara Farms' website ever since I saw their video on Persimmons. I must've missed when it was in stock but I'm more vigilant now!

I wish I could grow a Suruga but my climate is probably far too hot so I'll just wait as long as I can to get the most tropical persimmon I can find.

Tropical persimmons that do well in South FL like Triumph or Hudson?

Pine Island may have Triumph, https://tropicalfruitnursery.com/plant-catalog-reference-5, but they're not always in stock. If anyone knows where to find Triumph, I'm looking for one too.

Yes, I’m looking for the Triumph and types like it. I’ll see if Pine Island has it in stock and might be willing to ship a single tree to a friend in Florida. Thanks for the suggestion.

You looking for a native American persimmon? I have seeds and plants available if so.

I’m looking for a Triumph/South Florida type but perhaps I could try growing a native American variety in the meantime, to see what happens. I’ll send you a PM. Thanks.

I've never succeeded with dry seeds but I once received wet-packed seeds of P. laurifolia from Hawaii and they sprouted before they got to me.

My plants arrived promptly and in excellent condition. They are even large enough to go in the ground by April. Kevin offered me a second plant at reduced rates and refunded excess shipping. Prompt responses, fast shipping and robust plants. I'm very happy with this transaction.

Thanks, Kevin!

Baptiste

I'll second that.