The Tropical Fruit Forum

Hi Gary,
Well, I have 176 trees in my greenhouse, comprising 83 different species, and they are ALL in pots.
The biggest thing, in my mind, is that you have a rapidly draining soil.
People have all sorts of formulas for that (the merits of which are widely discussed on the forum), but for my money, because I have so many trees (some of which are several inches across and have been in the same pots for over a decade), I use 2/3 raised bed/potting mix, and 1/3 Perlite. The thing that will kill potted trees the fastest is root rot.
I don't use any clay pots because they are too heavy if I need to move something, and if I have all the same type of pots it is easier to decide when to water. 

That being said, to answer your questions -

1. I only use an overflow dish if the pot is sitting on something that I want to protect.  When you water, you want a lot of water to come out the bottom. Then you know the entire pot is well-saturated, and if you have fast-draining soil, no need to worry about mud in the bottom of the pot. You can toss the water out of the dish after the pot is done draining.

2. Finger depth tells you nothing in a 25 gallon pot.  It could be bone dry at finger depth and a puddle of mud at the bottom.  I like plastic pots because I can just lift one side and tell if the soil is dry by the weight.  If I get really curious about what is happening at the bottom, I use my "muddy stick" that I made.  See the really terrible drawing below.  I make them out of dowels.  For that size pot they are 1/2 to 5/8 inch dowels and I cut the slot with a Dremel sanding drum.  When you shove the stick down, potting mix does not go into the slot. When you reach the bottom of the pot, give the stick a little jiggle and twist, and pull it slowly out. Anything in the groove is from the bottom, or near the bottom, of the pot.

Cheers,
Carolyn

Hi,
Well, I just got ripped off from an Etsy seller.
I just want some ackee seeds from Florida, so I don't have to deal with the permit.

Anybody have some???

Thanks!

We have urban flood irrigation, and pay $60 per year. With that, we get about 2 inches of water once a week. I use that in the summer, and when irrigation shuts down I use city water that I pump into the little pond in my greenhouse to let the chlorine evaporate.
Of course, all my trees are in pots in the greenhouse. I go through about 120 gallons every time I water (every 5-10 days depending on temps). My greenhouse is 15x40 ft.

Definitely old dried up pods. My son travels to various chocolate festivals and does "pod openings" and lets people try them.  The pulp should be soft and sticky and taste sort of lemony.
Yes Bryan at Montoso has sent me some excellent fruits. I have three mature cacao trees and a bunch of juveniles in my greenhouse.

So, years ago, I got a seed for Crateranthus talbotii from a seed dealer in Cameroon. I can find out no info on this plant regarding fruiting, size, or anything. All I can find is that it is red listed as vulnerable. It wants to vine, and I don’t have room for it.

I am trying to donate it to a botanical garden. Fairchild hasn’t gotten back to me yet.
Does anybody have any other ideas on what botanical garden in the US might be interested?

Thanks!

Carolyn

Hmmm, tough question. I guess I would wonder about the criteria -
Taste?
Nutrition?
Monetary gain?

The little yellow Alphonso mango is really good.
I can eat myself sick on both lychee and rambutan, so for flavor, those rise to the top.
The bananas that I grow in my greenhouse actually earn me a few pennies.
Miracle berries can make the lives of cancer patients SO much more bearable.

Is a puzzlement...

What a find! It’s one tough tree if it is that old.
My thoughts are - only change one thing at a time. Location, wait a month, repot, etc.
According to the California Avocado Commission, they bloom and set fruit best at a temp of 65-75F, and they need full sun. A window, even a large one, is not full sun. Some good lights may help.  If it has been inside its whole life, that would explain not blooming. 
Have fun and good luck!!!

Carolyn

So, just got back from the Caribbean, and loved all the ackee growing in Jamaica.
I am thinking about growing it in my greenhouse.
Does anyone else grow it?
Not worried about the size as I generally keep things pruned down.

Cheers,
Carolyn

Yeah, anything can be toxic.
The entire Solanum genus is poisonous in one way or another.
Drink too much water and you dilute your blood and could have seizures or die.
Undercooked kidney beans can send you to the ER.
Don't let your asparagus bolt and fruit - kids can find the bright red, poisonous berries irresistible.
But then again, you gotta die of something...
Might as well be something tasty!

I have not purchased from him because it is too cold right now, but I have communicated with him. Seems like a nice guy. They get all their trees from Puerto Rico. It sounds like he has some family or business connection down there.  He was careful to explain that the plants are inspected and fumigated.  I would imagine they come to him bare root, but I don't know for sure. I may try an order once it warms up a bit.

Cheers,
Carolyn

I still think you could keep the bottom and sides intact, and use that to hold the groundwater out.  Throw in a foot of gravel, then soil, and water carefully.  I have over a hundred fruiting tropical trees in 20 gallon pots, using WAY less soil than that, and they do great.  Cover the pool with a frame and mesh, throw plastic over it during rainy periods, and viola! 

Well, I am in zone 6/7 and everything I have is in pots. So for me, it is less about the soil, and more about the nutrients that I am feeding.  I did conduct my own tests a few years ago, where I bought the organic food that contains mycorrhiza and beneficial fungi that was supposed to improve your potting soil.

I had a bunch of pots with different soils or soilless mediums and fertilizers, both organic and synthetic, grew the plants, observed them, then sent the plant and soil samples off to a lab and spent a huge amount of money for the results.
What I discovered was that potting soil is just not that good at holding microorganisms.  Too fluffy and inert.

The thing is, all the helpful symbiosis that occurs between plant roots and organisms in the soil are really only advantageous in the case of stress.  My trees all lead a pretty stress-free life, so anything that I WAS able to achieve in the soil wasn't needed.  Sort of like those boxes of emergency food kits that sit in your closet for 20 years, taking up space.

So now, after my very costly "experimental phase", I just use a really good complete synthetic fertilizer, top off my pots every so often with fresh soil and worm compost (because I have the worms, not because I think its magic...) talk to my "leafy kids" a lot, and enjoy my completely unscientific greenhouse.

Happy New Year!

Guess I'm dumb. I can't figure out how to vote.
I am a Yes"...