The Tropical Fruit Forum

Yum, enjoyed a tasty seedless today! Must be fairly common, don’t have many plants.

Your growing conditions are more similar to wet Hawaii than Florida.

It’s going to be a real challenge. I’ve yet to plant mangoes but have been observing friends trees for years. Casturi is dependable and can be tasty but has a unique flavor not everyone likes. Of the indica varieties Rapoza, R2E2 and Keitt can do well in a drier microclimate if the rains and flowering cooperate. Of the three Rapoza is by far my favorite, orange sherbet with hints of coconut.

My plan is to topwork with multiple varieties on some wild mangoes already in the ground.

Those king and Erdon Lee pics look under ripe and or long storage.

The Erdon Lee I had Australia were delicious but lacked a distinct flavor. On taste alone not many would call them a favorite but they have that wow factor and a lot of juicy flesh to eat despite the large seed. Also they opened dry for me which I appreciate.

As an aside the Australian Kwai May Pinks were fantastic, distinct cinnamon flavor.

I’ve web searched lychee king awhile back. If I remember correct they are special because of the arid volcanic soils they grow in on north Hainan island, suppose to concentrate a certain mineral the Chinese find healthy.

Look for your seeds first here in the US, everything you mentioned can be found. So much easier and often better germination if you buy from good sellers.

I’ve had good experiences with Honolulu office. Problems have been with shipping routed through LA first and getting stuck with border there despite paying for express shipping to Honolulu port. If seed coat has been broken seeds are destroyed.

Good luck!

Meiwa has the tingle, more so in Hawaii than mainland Meiwa

Obscure but lychee can cause encephalitis in malnourished children

The bigger and lighter you make them, by adding more perlite and peat, you should begin to add concrete glue and glass fiber for strength. Searching for hypertufa recipes will give you a good jumping off point.

I have three kinds growing (T. cacao, T. bicolor, and T. grandiflorum), all planted about 3 years ago.  Some of the cacao are fruiting now but I don't yet have enough ripe to want to tackle the whole chocolate-making project.  So, for the first half-dozen, I just cracked them open and popped the seeds with pulp in my mouth, spitting them out a few seconds later.  I found there to be very little pulp -- it is a bit like tossing a tangy hard candy in your mouth and being done with it almost immediately.
An in-the-works experiment I'm currently trying is to take the cacao seeds with pulp and make cider.  I'm hoping it will taste a heck of a lot better than it looks.  If it works, I might report back.

Report back either way, sounds delicious.

Have you tried miel? If you like the pulp, you’ll love miel. The aromatic juice is collected from batches of fermenting seeds, so concentrated and amazing.

Blackberry jam fruit, not sure about zone

How are these getting into the US?! Do some ports of entry/states not have ag inspections?

Wow wow on the lychee selection. Hopefully no new pests or diseases are being introduced.

I'm surprised your clients want the largest fruits available! Your prices must be much lower and your quality better. Our current highway robbery market prices are $10 per lb. No one would want to buy a 12lb montong where half of the fruit isn't edible and lots of weight in skin. But our genetics are inferior so the montong is always unproperly ripened. I'd rather sell a 4lb fruit where every bit of flesh is delicious. We don't have a major durian market yet so its still hard to sell when people haven't even tried durian yet. So interesting how different markets develop!

Is there a growing consensus on the best all around (flavor, texture, productivity, ripening) small durians for Hawaii? Pohakulani? Others?

Mountain apple, breadfruit/breadnut, Garcinias

Feijoas are tough. With care they grow and fruit well in the heat and freezing deserts of southern Arizona.

Seen them growing well at wet humid sea level Hawaii up to 400’ but no flowers or fruit. I’d love to know the lowest they’ve fruited in Hawaii.