Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Topics - King

Pages: [1]

Tropical Fruit Discussion / Tamarillo care

« on: April 28, 2016, 12:21:33 AM »

Some tamarillos are showing up on my tree. They start as these tiny green fruits, then grow. Last year, the tree aborted every single one of these fruits. Some of the green fruit rotted with black rot , and the rest of the fruit simply disappeared and I couldn't find them under the tree. Below is my thread on what happened to the tamarillos last year.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=16449.msg208651#msg208651

How do I keep these fruits on the tree until fall when they are ripe? I'm mulching them more this year with cardboard and newspaper. And I'm making sure they are watered more regularly so the leaves never droop in the summer sun of the Central Valley of California. Last year, a lot of ants and aphids were on the leaves, so it could have been aphid introduced diseases that caused the tree to abort all the fruit.

Citrus General Discussion / Rangpur Limes

« on: November 23, 2015, 06:10:10 PM »

I've had this Rangpur Lime tree growing in my yard in Northern California since I was born. I didn't even know it was a Rangpur Lime tree until recently, my mother says that it was originally a mikan (Japanese mandarin) tree before a frost killed it, and then it regrew as a very sour and acidic fruit which my family never consumed. It matches all the descriptions of a Rangpur lime- very thorny, same flavor, same appearance, and used as a rootstock.

The Rangpur lime is interesting in how long the fruit stays on the tree, much of the fruit from last winter is still on the tree. It appears to be a fairly cold hardy citrus. If you try to eat one of these raw, it is so acidic that it will make your mouth numb.

What am I supposed to do with Rangpur limes? I've found a recipe for Rangpur lime marmelade. I did make a key lime pie with these and it turned out pretty good. The juice can be good in cocktails, I like to mix it with Tang, basil, water, and vodka. The Wikipedia page says they are preferred in Costa Rica over lemons and limes. They might be a good substitute for limes for squeezing over Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, and Latin American food.

Tropical Fruit Discussion / Dissappearing Tamarillo

« on: June 18, 2015, 10:12:43 PM »

I'm having a problem with tamarillos simply disappearing from my tree. The tree was planted in the ground in February 2014 and has since grown to over 7 feet tall, it finally flowered in the spring of this year and then set fruit. I live in Northern California near Stockton. The tree appears healthy and is still growing vigorously.

The problem is that these tiny green fruits are simply disappearing. I can't even find them when I search under the tree. Out of all the flowers on the tree,I can only see around 6 active fruits. The only thing I can assume is that some hungry bird or squirrel is eating them. If the fruit keep disappearing at this rate, then I won't have any in the fall. Is there anything I can do to make the tree flower again or protect the fruit that is already there?

Tropical Fruit Discussion / Feijoa weak trunk

« on: March 08, 2015, 08:38:14 PM »

The trunk to my feijoa tree is very weak. It has this strange bend to it where it can't support the weight of the tree. I'm staking it loosely with rubber bands. I recently replaced that rubber band chain with a thin strip of bike tubing.

I bought this tree at Home Depot last year in August. I was excited to see a feijoa at Home Depot since I always wanted one. Its a Nazemetz, so its self fertile. What should I do to try to make the trunk thicker and stop falling over? It seems to be growing very slowly, but I can see some small buds on the ends of the branches. I've read that feijoa trees are supposed to grow very slowly during the first 2 years and then grow more quickly.