Author Topic: Rare Fruit rant?! Disgruntled highschooler growing rare fruits in TN?  (Read 3356 times)

K-Rimes

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Some of my annona seedling leaves died from frost this year in ZONE 10 A, it’s gonna be incredibly difficult to grow annona up north

Annonas tend to be deciduous and drop all leaves in winter. This is normal for 9 or 10. Maybe in 11a or above they are evergreen?

Daintree

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I feel your pain, Ryan!
Everyone laughed when I got hooked on tropical fruit trees. Boise Idaho is zone 6, so a greenhouse was the only way to go.  I struggle getting things to fruit, and cant put anything in the ground due to cold clay soils and huge tree roots under my greenhouse.

I like to think my trees have it pretty good compared to Florida or the tropics - I can give them the weather they need, and avoid the hurricanes, etc. And greenhouses, as a hobby, are way cheaper than other things, like horses.

So hang in there!

Carolyn

Rex Begonias

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Some of my annona seedling leaves died from frost this year in ZONE 10 A, it’s gonna be incredibly difficult to grow annona up north

Annonas tend to be deciduous and drop all leaves in winter. This is normal for 9 or 10. Maybe in 11a or above they are evergreen?

True story!
My neighbor threw away his 3gal potted sugar apple when the leaves dropped.  I picked it up before the trash man got it and let him know they’re deciduous, tried to give it back to him, but he said to just keep it.  Now it’s flowering.  I suppose I’ll share the fruit if I get any. 

Jaboticaba45

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Ryan, I can understand your frustrations- being a zone pusher is seeing many of your cherished and rare plants die

A few constructive points- It may benefit you to dig out the floor of your greenhouse if possible- look into something called a pit garden, which usually are dug about six feet into the ground.

The idea here is that you are below the frost line which should prevent any of your roots from freezing, you may need to add a layer of organic material on top to act as a top soil since all of that will be removed.

This also gives you the benefit of additional height to your greenhouse for some of the taller things. If you really want a perfect greenhouse set up you should look into something like and arduino controlled unit that has a significant number of sensors and outputs.

Also worth noting rare fruits do not always mean tropical ones, although we mostly focus on the tropical on this forum there are plenty of rare temperate fruits. (honeyberries, pawpaw, goumi and others are all becoming more popular for example)

Since we are on the subject of pawpaw they need a significant amount of chill and we grow them successfully in Michigan 5b with no protection. All the ones in Houston look miserable and do not fruit. (I am not familiar with the more recently developed cultivars that may require fewer or no chill hours though) The fruit might be my favorite Annona, although sometimes they are quite seedy.
Thanks for the tips elouicious!
Also for pointing out that rare fruit don't need to be tropical fruits - that is a good point, although there are more "rare" fruits near the equator as there is more diversity. But of course there are rare fruits everywhere.

I'll look into the pit garden. The greenhouse is already kinda built though...At least maybe dig out a section in the middle? Most of not all of the trees are tolerant of the colder soils in the winter, but that can also contribute to root rot for the picky plants.

Jaboticaba45

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Some of my annona seedling leaves died from frost this year in ZONE 10 A, it’s gonna be incredibly difficult to grow annona up north
While you do have a point, you probably have to worry about frost more than I do. I have heaters and am well readied up for winter, but you people in FL always get caught off guard
Lots of people do and can grow annonas up north. I've fruited sugar apple. But that's it. People have done others. I've read about people fruiting soursop in VA. Mine just doesn't do good as I let the greenhouse get to 40-45 on the coldest nights.
Probably the worst thing for annonas is the wet and prolonged colder temps of winter. That's why I believe rootstock plays an important role.

Jaboticaba45

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Hey Ryan,

With every obstacle you overcome, you become that much more knowledgeable in growing tropical/subtropical fruit trees. I’ve killed many fruit trees and faced many of the same issues you listed and if you love growing fruit trees, you will find a way to jump any hurdles that pop up.

Try growing the red hybrid Jaboticaba, that one will fruit much sooner than the others and it tastes great.

Simon

Thanks for the encouragement Simon. I remember when I was at Pine Island Nursery buying my first jaboticaba. I believe I was in the 4th or 5th grade...Someone handed me PIN's handout with all the trees they sold and wow was I amazed that there were so many trees. Now I look at my knowledge of fruit trees and realize that there are way more plants that I know about now. I've come a long ways now. I recently picked up a couple reds last summer, but still think they need another year or two. I realize now that this is such a cool hobby to be in.


Hey Ryan, I'm going to be a shill here and suggest you play around with hydroponics ^_^

Here is my thread on my hydro red from seed - https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=47159.msg458240

Here is some more 'inspiration' from a guy in Sweden..

Hydro coffee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C_bXUtYP9M

Hydro guava: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3t7Y4dZCE
Thanks for the inspiration! your tree looks really healthy. You encouraged me to bring out my mom's old aerogarden for veggies lol. I just set it up and put in a couple plinias. Hopefully I can report good results in a few months. While it's not a permanent solution, I assume if all goes well I can speed grow seedlings into 1-3 gallon trees at a faster rate.

Adam8aTexas

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Sometimes I think its better to get a new hobby? But I can't leave the plinias as I am the plinia simp!

I'm the same way but with eugenias... the moment I see some new eugenia and the taste report says "sweet", I just have to buy it. I think I have at least 10 different eugenia growing in my house right now (not including extras of just one species), there's just something about how the plants look that makes me want to grow them, the leaves, fruit, and flowers are attractive to me.
Plant nerd in his teens that enjoys finding new species to add to their collection

Jaboticaba45

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I feel your pain, Ryan!
Everyone laughed when I got hooked on tropical fruit trees. Boise Idaho is zone 6, so a greenhouse was the only way to go.  I struggle getting things to fruit, and cant put anything in the ground due to cold clay soils and huge tree roots under my greenhouse.

I like to think my trees have it pretty good compared to Florida or the tropics - I can give them the weather they need, and avoid the hurricanes, etc. And greenhouses, as a hobby, are way cheaper than other things, like horses.

So hang in there!

Carolyn
Carolyn,
Thanks for the encouragement. I saw some pictures of your greenhouse and it looks amazing!

Jaboticaba45

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I’m trying to get things together and get some stuff to fruit in the coming years.

Here’s what the greenhouse currently looks like if anyones interested.
All the other plants are outside though.
Like mentioned there were setbacks, but in the end, it’s just making me a better grower.

brian

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I’m trying to get things together and get some stuff to fruit in the coming years.

Here’s what the greenhouse currently looks like if anyones interested.
All the other plants are outside though.
Like mentioned there were setbacks, but in the end, it’s just making me a better grower.

Right now it looks like you have lots of space in your greenhouse.  You will quickly find your trees doubling and tripling in size and suddently space is a concern.  And you will find your wheelbarrow falling apart and you find yourself buying a Jackson :)

Bush2Beach

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Your greenhouse looks awesome.
I just encourage you to keep up the motivation and curiosity with plants and nature.
Most high schoolers that have participated on the forum drop off ,as other interest’s or work and whatever else take over.

Jaboticaba45

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Your greenhouse looks awesome.
I just encourage you to keep up the motivation and curiosity with plants and nature.
Most high schoolers that have participated on the forum drop off ,as other interest’s or work and whatever else take over.
Thank you.
Right now, I feel like there is nothing that can replace this hobby. I mean I love eating tropical fruits and watching them grow, but I’ll have stuff pop into life the older I get - maybe do this, maybe do that, and my own worries and problems. But I do hope I can do this no matter what.

Rex Begonias

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I’m trying to get things together and get some stuff to fruit in the coming years.

Here’s what the greenhouse currently looks like if anyones interested.
All the other plants are outside though.
Like mentioned there were setbacks, but in the end, it’s just making me a better grower.

Right now it looks like you have lots of space in your greenhouse.  You will quickly find your trees doubling and tripling in size and suddently space is a concern.  And you will find your wheelbarrow falling apart and you find yourself buying a Jackson :)

Lol!  The struggle is real.

Funny how quickly things escalate in this hobby, right?

Midwestfruitjungle

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Dang I am feeling that. I am in college right now and it is such a pain moving plants indoors and outdoors, acclimating them and fitting them in my dorm. I need a greenhouse but I won't have one of those for quite a while. I hope you keep it up!

Dmaxx69

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There are struggles for us in the tropics too. I live in puna on the Big Island which comes with year round rain and high humidity pretty much all the time. No dry season. I dove hard into annonas last year after learning of all the awesome species available and finding this forum. Already had a fruiting soursop at the time but was hungry for more (pun intended). Soursops and rollinias grow effortlessly here and fruit on their own so everybody grows them. I wanted some sugar apple action up in my life. I killed so many plants both seed and scion material the past year but the few that succeeded are cherished and usually vigorous having survived puna wetness. My fruit tree/plant index is currently 129 different species of sub tropic and tropic fruits. This addiction is great 😁 and supportable by wives 🤙 the biggest downside of my climate is most mangifera indica varieties do poorly here which was a big bummer at first but then learned of the few that I could a have some types like nam doc mai, kasturi, lalee jewo, and kuini , so not too bad. Also I get to struggle with being a reverse zone pusher growing figs, blueberries, cherimoya, and kiwi in zone 12 lol no grapes for me

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That greenhouse makes me so jealous! its lovely.

johnb51

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There are struggles for us in the tropics too. I live in puna on the Big Island which comes with year round rain and high humidity pretty much all the time. No dry season. I dove hard into annonas last year after learning of all the awesome species available and finding this forum. Already had a fruiting soursop at the time but was hungry for more (pun intended). Soursops and rollinias grow effortlessly here and fruit on their own so everybody grows them. I wanted some sugar apple action up in my life. I killed so many plants both seed and scion material the past year but the few that succeeded are cherished and usually vigorous having survived puna wetness. My fruit tree/plant index is currently 129 different species of sub tropic and tropic fruits. This addiction is great 😁 and supportable by wives 🤙 the biggest downside of my climate is most mangifera indica varieties do poorly here which was a big bummer at first but then learned of the few that I could a have some types like nam doc mai, kasturi, lalee jewo, and kuini , so not too bad. Also I get to struggle with being a reverse zone pusher growing figs, blueberries, cherimoya, and kiwi in zone 12 lol no grapes for me
How many of those do you have? ??? (Old-school Mormon?)
« Last Edit: May 10, 2022, 10:54:59 AM by johnb51 »
John

Jaboticaba45

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There are struggles for us in the tropics too. I live in puna on the Big Island which comes with year round rain and high humidity pretty much all the time. No dry season. I dove hard into annonas last year after learning of all the awesome species available and finding this forum. Already had a fruiting soursop at the time but was hungry for more (pun intended). Soursops and rollinias grow effortlessly here and fruit on their own so everybody grows them. I wanted some sugar apple action up in my life. I killed so many plants both seed and scion material the past year but the few that succeeded are cherished and usually vigorous having survived puna wetness. My fruit tree/plant index is currently 129 different species of sub tropic and tropic fruits. This addiction is great 😁 and supportable by wives 🤙 the biggest downside of my climate is most mangifera indica varieties do poorly here which was a big bummer at first but then learned of the few that I could a have some types like nam doc mai, kasturi, lalee jewo, and kuini , so not too bad. Also I get to struggle with being a reverse zone pusher growing figs, blueberries, cherimoya, and kiwi in zone 12 lol no grapes for me
Pretty cool you live in Hawaii. If I lived there, I would invest heavily into durians, mangosteen, rambutan, pulasan, langasat, salak, marang, pedalai, and chepedak
It does suck that you can't grow much mangoes though. The newer zill varieties are the bomb! Figs taste really bad to me, so instead of those, I'd go with kwai muk. It makes me wonder why people would invest in getting over 50 varieties of figs? Funny stuff.