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Messages - Epicatt2

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1
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Paw Paw in south Fla?
« on: March 27, 2024, 10:52:52 PM »
Anyone had success with it?

Last October I ordered two different cultivars of Asimina triloba from a nursery in the NW US.  They arrived bareroot and dormant last month.  They got planted out about three weeks ago (and flagged so the naked 'twigs' wouldn't get mowed by accident) but they haven't yet broken their dormancy as of this writing.

I'll post later on when I start to see activity.

I'm waiting with bated breath (and hook). –with apologies to Mary Rodgers!

Paul M.
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2
I've ordered twice from Wellspring and the various items received were generally so small that they never did well for me.  They were also overpriced for the size yet the photos on eBay seemed to imply much larger plants.

Twice burned, I will not be ordering from them again.

Paul M.
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3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grumichamas blooming now –or not?
« on: March 27, 2024, 12:53:51 PM »
[ snip ]  Just make sure to water it crazy amounts when flowering.

Thanx for the heavy-waterng heads-up!

Cheers!

Paul M.
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4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Banana variety tastes
« on: March 27, 2024, 12:51:43 PM »
So, how about 'Hua Moa' and 'Raja Puri'? 

Neither of those cultivars are overly large although maybe not what would be considere dwarf.

And both have distinctive flavors.

Paul M.
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5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grumichamas blooming now –or not?
« on: March 27, 2024, 03:28:40 AM »
Mine bloomed two years ago but didn't last year. 

Fingers X-Ed for this year!

Paul M.
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6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Grumichamas blooming now –or not?
« on: March 27, 2024, 12:53:28 AM »
My grumichama has been in the ground for three years, growing well, and is about seven feet tall, in partial shade.

I'm in 9b and wondering whether any of the others folks here on TFF in 9b who have grumi's that are showing blooms yet.  Mine isn't so far.

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
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7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Gardening
« on: March 26, 2024, 11:40:46 AM »
Yes, I can remove them. The bots are getting harder to detect. At first it used to be very clear it was a bot, but now they make posts that are somewhat related to the forum subject area.

One other thing that often can help flag a poster as a bot or spammer is that they tend to seldom reply to their initial post with any 'thank yous' or other replies after that initial post.

Also there may be a link included in the message which probably wiser NOT to click on for fear of getting oneself some malware.

Stay safe all and have a fabulous fruiting season!

Paul M.
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8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Gardening
« on: March 25, 2024, 11:09:29 AM »
What are some low-maintenance indoor plants suitable for beginners?
I think this is either a bot or a spammer. A generic question with a website link in their profile.
What happens with these, as moderator can u just remove? There is a cbd post as well on this forum.

Hey Tropicaltoba, you can report spammers (or suspicious posts) to the Moderatrors by clicking on the
'Report to Moderator' link in any post's message box just below the end of the message text and to the right near the bottom.

When you do that you can leave a brief message to the Moderators qualifying why the post appears to be spam. Then hit enter and your complaint will be sent.

(JA's original post –and first and only post– appears to be fairly innocuous, but it likely just makes for a waste of time for our TFF members to take time bothering to answer it.)

OK  —  HTH

Paul M.
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9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Whats the "biggest" mango
« on: March 21, 2024, 02:49:38 AM »
I saw some mangoes while visiting Belize in '81 in Belize City on a sidestreet where a curbside vendor had several in a boxtop off a beer carton. They looked to be close to three quarters the size of footballs, so I had to stop and ask about them.

I asked the ladies selling them what they were but they didn't know a name for them other than mango.  I told them that we never see mangoes for sale in Tampa that are anywhere near so big as theirs and the ladies said that these weren't all that big cuz it was the end of the season there for mangoes.

Nonetheless, those were the largest mangoes that I have ever seen.

Paul M.
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10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Passiflora phoenicea x caerulea?
« on: March 13, 2024, 01:15:39 PM »
on 11 august i sowed around a dozen ruby glow seeds.  only 2 seeds germinated and shortly afterwards, 1 of the seedlings was entirely eaten by a slug. 

Just to interject:  Sprinkle a bit of used coffee grounds around on the surface of your seedlings'
growing area/pot to repel slugs and snails. Coffee grounds work like a charm since the residual
caffeine in the grounds is a neurotoxin to slugs and snails and they will avoid it completely.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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11
A few years ago, calycina and involucrata were merged into being the same species, so, I guess
it's both. I do have both calycina and CORG, and several cultivars of each from other collectors.


What was the rationale for this species merge?  Did they justify this species merge by
examining and comparing the gemomes of the two?

But then the tale  that's so long been floating around has been that E. calycina is easier
to grow than E. involucrata and that E. calycina doesn't experience the frequent dieback
than the other one does.

Just pondering a bit . . . .

Paul M.
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12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Any way to tell the sex of . . .
« on: March 10, 2024, 01:43:39 AM »
How can you tell Male/Female Imbe by the leaves?
Thanks

They are slightly differently shaped between the two sexes: 
One sex has leaves with a more rounded apex and the other
has leaves with a slightly more pointed apex.

And usually if you buy 4 or 5 eedlings you will get at least one
of the opposite sex (whichever that happens to be.) Once they
get established they start to grow reasonably fast.

But there are also some Imbe which produce perfect flowers.

Or you could graft a male branch onto a female.  I tend to
just plant the two near each other.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Any way to tell the sex of . . .
« on: March 07, 2024, 02:16:34 PM »
. . . Melicoccus bijugatus (spanish lime or mamoncillo) using a visual inspection (as
can be done with Imbe, the leaves of the males and females of those being different). 

I ask because I have two plants and cannot see any particular difference bewteen them.

Any observation or suggestions are welcome...

TIA

Paul M.
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14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Online nurseries suggestions
« on: March 06, 2024, 11:52:37 PM »
Troll🧌 in the dungeon

Reported him after his first post but he's still posting.  Don't click on the links he's posting!

Use the report button below the message.

PM
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15
I always mulch, for the sake of keeping soil cool and for the beneficial microbes and fungus. If there's tons of rain and the soil tends to be wet I've heard some folks say to skip mulching to allow the soil to dry out between waterings... but I feel like that's more of a soil mix issue, and it'd be better to amend the soil (coarse chunky perlite, and calcined clay) and keep mulching.

Useful advice on several fronts, MCO!  (Not flighty at all . . .)

Again, thanks, much appreciated!!

Paul M.
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16
You can get 15 figs per gallon pot size, according to ASCPete on OurFigs. So 5 gallon fig tree when mature = 75 figs with max nutrition. You can use a slow release pelletized fert like Osmocote Plus (that’s 15-9-12; other brands can work too; around 0.5-1.0 cup per container), plus half cup gypsum, a tablespoon Epsom, and a 1/4 tsp borax every February and June (maybe again in September if your trees never go dormant). Figs like Ironite and/or Azomite for micronutrients too.

Great info mcoambassador, Thanx!  That is really good to know.

One other question I have –apart from the suggested feeding/nutrition– is whether
figs in pots benefit from mulching on the surface of the soil in their pots.

Again TIA . . .

Paul M.
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17
If you are in eastern central FL with our wonderful grey sand, just put them in pots. I have not found any that are resistant that will survive in ground more than a couple years. I grow about two dozen currently in pots on cement tiles. (snip)

Of course I'm on the west side with the usual Florida sand so, like you, I have my fig cultivars
growing in 5- or 7-gallon pots in a made up potting mix each one sitting on a concrete tile. 
That seems to protect them from the nematodes well enough but the pot size seems to
be a limiter of the plant's growth.  Do they need larger than a 7-gal pot to succeed?

What fertilizer formulation do figs prefer here in Florida 9b?  Mine are all just
now starting to leaf out.

TIA

Paul M.
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18
I'm looking for suggestions for the best nematode resistant fig cultivars for my area. 
I have sandy soil in my yard that I know is likely to have root knot nematodes in it.

So with that in mind are there any fig cultivars suitable for here in 9b with sandy soil
which are also nematode resistant?

Of course heavy mulching and/or planting French marigolds (and turning the marigolds in
to the soil around the base of the figs after theMarigold have passed is also a suppressant
for those nematodes.

Are there other methods –other than keeping the figs in pots– to avoid nematodes?

The fig cultivars that I have in 5 or 7 gallon pots which are doing the best from top
to bottom are:

~Brown Turkey (7 gal) - fruits regualrly, but shyly
~LSU Purple (7 gal) - fruits sporadically, not every year for me
~Green Ischia (5 gal) - not yet fruited
~Celeste (3 gal) - most recent acquisition; has been dormant the last 3 months; just now
                          started leafing out

Okay any suggestions for better cultivar for my area of west central Florida are welcomed.

TIA

Paul M.
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19
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB - Mature Olosapo Wood
« on: March 04, 2024, 04:11:12 AM »
I bought two Olosapos from member Abimael last year and they've grown well enough for
me even though they are still in pots.

This wintertime they were on my north-facing covered (but open) front porch and the taller
of the two got to looking a lot like the ones in the other members' photos in this thread with
burnt-edged leaves, so I am glad to read that theirs recover fairly quickly once the weather
warms back up.

I expect to plant mine both out this coming spring to see it they'll take off growing.

I'm hoping that at least one of them will have decent tasting fruit once they start blooming.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruit trees I gave up on
« on: March 03, 2024, 04:24:41 PM »
……Ugni seems to do best in shade in 60 degree san francisco fog.
I gave up on them , but they are worthy of a spot if they grow and fruit great
at your location. Seems to be a northern Cal , PNW plant.

Well this finally makes sense to me here in Tampa 9b (or maybe now 10a).  I never got
Ugni to thrive, even in the shade.  The two I got just never grew, just sat there, and
eventually just expired. [sigh] They were in 80% shade but I'm guessing that our
central Florida summertime heat is what finally did 'em in.

Now, unless there is a named cultivar or cultivars which are more heat tolerant I'm just
washing my hands of this species.

Paul M.
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21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Is this passion fruit unique or common?
« on: February 28, 2024, 12:38:25 PM »
You should try planting the seeds from the biggest of those fruits.

Amazing, definitely worth propagating

I think you've got a winner, how vigorous is it?

Hoping that Frederick will reply to these questions AND consider, naming, propagating
and sharing (t)his distinctive new Passiflora cultivar.  It really looks to be a winner!

Cheers!

Paul M.
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22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Jumbo Sugar apple cultivar
« on: February 27, 2024, 03:22:32 PM »
Thought that I would like to try this big fruited cultivar but also heard that this variety
was a shy fruiter.  Any other word on that?  Maybe some folks have gotten it to make
decent crops fo fruit somehow which still could make it a worthwhile tree to grow.

Comments?  Suggestions?

TIA

Paul M.
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23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Is this passion fruit unique or common?
« on: February 27, 2024, 02:25:44 PM »
What a great windfall/find, Frederick!

I agree with the others who were encouraging you to start cuttings of it –AND to
give it a cultivar name. It sounds like something that should be shared around.

I'm positive that many of us would like to give it a try, eventually.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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24
[snip] I would like to graft a couple other varieties onto the mini cado tree but will this “dwarf” interstock
produce slower growing grafts or will the other grafts just dominate the mini cado and grow to a typically
large avocado tree size?

How small a tree are you aiming for?  You never said...

The smallest avocado I've read about is 'Wurtz,' considered a true dwarf avocado, which at
maturity reaches only 15 ft tall. is that about a large as you'd want your dwarf avocado?

The 'Wurtz' dwarf might be a 'starting point' to graft onto.

Paul M.
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25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Two one gallon pawpaws have shipped . . .
« on: February 25, 2024, 02:23:08 AM »
I have always but a round fence material around my new seedlings or new grafted tree with shade cloth all around and on top for first year, then open shade cloth up to morning sun and take top shade cloth off for second year.  Third year open to full sun my trees are growing fine with no problems. My climate is coastal influence inland about 3-miles as crow fly's.

Thank for that reply; makes for a great suggestion, ScottR.

In Florida it becomes quite hot and bright by June or July so shading a young pawpaw seems more needed than in places where there is less intense sun, etc.

I'm thinking to use a short tomato cage with 50% shade cloth affixed, to be removed by degrees over time as the saplings become better established.  (The simpler the better, n'est-ce pas?)

Cheers!

Paul M.
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