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Messages - happyisland

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / NYC in mid-May - what fruit can I get?
« on: April 27, 2023, 07:55:50 PM »
I'll be up in NYC in mid May, and looking for fruit! Will lychees be in season and easy to find? In the past I've always gone to the fruit stands in Chinatown. Is that still the spot? I'll be staying with friends in Park Slope, and then visiting other friends on the UWS, but I'm willing to go anywhere if there is tasty fruit to try. In particular I'd like fresh mangosteens and lychees...
Any thoughts, fruit friends?

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Fruit ID
« on: July 11, 2021, 08:43:21 AM »
Wow, super interesting! I wonder if I could grow either of these in my tropical climate...

3
Mango heads of South Florida!
I need to visit the area sometime before the end of June to visit an elderly relative in Palm Beach. Is there any specific time that would be best for maximum mango enjoyment? I assume later in that window will give me more access to ripe fruit. Anything else to take into account - events, etc?

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Alphonsos in Aruba
« on: February 09, 2018, 07:37:30 PM »
Hi Mangaba!
It was a grafted 3 gallon I bought in a nursery here in Aruba.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Alphonsos in Aruba
« on: February 09, 2018, 04:47:43 PM »
Hey everybody,
I just wanted to report that my Aruban Alphonso tree produced about 50 fruit this year, and they were EXCELLENT. I know some people have struggled to get this varietal to yield tasty fruit in Florida. Maybe our dry conditions down here favor the Alphonso?
In other Alphonso news, here's a pretty cool article about attempts to import Indian mangoes to the States.
https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/gyw4zb/alphonso-best-mangoes-india-us?wpisrc=nl_todayworld&wpmm=1

Cheers from the southern Caribbean,
HI

6
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: WTB - 15 gallon mangoes
« on: November 03, 2017, 06:33:25 PM »
Bumping this to add that I have emailed several fruit tree nurseries in Florida and not many have shown any interest in helping me out. I've given up on 25 gallon trees now and will settle (hopefully!) for 15 gallons...

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Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / WTB - 15 gallon mangoes
« on: October 29, 2017, 02:07:19 PM »
we just removed a huge ficus, and for the first time in years I have sunshine to plant some mangoes in. The yard looks terribly bare though, so I need the 15-gallon size for quick growth.

I am looking to get 15 gallons:
- 1 x Maha Chanok
- 2 x some combo of Zill varietals (coconut cream, lemon zest, peach cobbler, etc...)

I spoke with Excalibur, but they were not very interested in helping me figure out shipping (I am willing to pay, but might need minor help with scheduling a pickup.logistics). These will need to be delivered to Miami, for trans-shipment to Aruba, where I live.

Anybody have any leads?

Best from the southern Caribbean,

dave

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: is this po pyu kalay salvageable?
« on: May 24, 2016, 05:26:19 PM »
Looks salvageable to me. I have a Lemon Zest Mango tree on Florida Turpentine rootstock that has that, not as much as your tree, only a few spots where that sap is coming out. I never found out exactly what it is but I assume it's caused from an imbalance of plant hormones and cold weather.

Do you have any parts of your tree that that is girdled by a label, plant tag? How cold does it get when you are?

My tree is still doing ok considering that Florida Turpentine is not the best rootstock for where I live. How does the top of this tree look?

Simon

It's never cold down here, but we have had a VERY dry last 12-18 months. I'm wondering if it's a combination of that and an opportunistic insect infection?

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / is this po pyu kalay salvageable?
« on: May 24, 2016, 08:12:55 AM »
Good news: my tiny 6-year old NDM4 is flowering!


Less fantastic news: the adjacent pu pyu kalay tree (also in the ground 6-years) is doing poorly. Any ideas why the trunk is leaking sap all over the place like this?

I've also noticed the root system weakening, and the tree (which is not tiny - the trunk is about 4" in diameter, and it is about 8 feet tall) has begun to lean. We have had virtually no rainfall over the past 12 months, but I have been doing my best to hand water things as much as possible.

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / top working my Valencia Pride - it's a monster!
« on: September 20, 2015, 09:17:54 AM »
In a previous discussion on Valencia Pride trees someone suggested top-working as a solution to the VP's runaway growth. I have been trying to figure out if this is what I should do, and I have some questions for you grafting badasses out there:

1) is this a good idea?

2) will top-working a slow growth variety I have like NDM onto the VP base calm the tree down completely?

3) Can this be done in phases? IE, can I do a quarter of the tree at a time so it's not too ugly? The VP is a beautiful tree and it sits in my driveway in front of my house, and I'd rather not have it reduced to a stump for aesthetic reasons, if possible.

4) does someone like me, with zero grafting experience, even stand a chance of making this work?

Thanks! I am fighting a losing battle trying to keep this tree subdued, and can use all the help I can get.

11
I have a VP by my driveway that has been in the ground for about 6 years now. It grows incredibly quickly (and vertically - it's very leggy), and seems impervious to even the most brutal pruning. I'm afraid that, as bsbullie mentions, my attempts to keep the tree a manageable size are preventing it from fruiting well. I've only gotten one decent crop from it. In retrospect I wish I had picked a more reasonable varietal - at the time of planting it was hard to imagine it would get so big, so fast.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: fruit in Palm Beach area next week?
« on: April 22, 2015, 07:26:32 PM »
Squam has mangos. I bought some this week.


Never mind - I GTFM...  ::)

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: fruit in Palm Beach area next week?
« on: April 22, 2015, 07:25:27 PM »
Squam has mangos. I bought some this week.

Excalibur may have a jackfruit. I can check for you this weekend.

That would be awesome Sheehan. Thanks!

It has been a while since I've been to Florida, and I'll be there for a few days, so I'm hoping to get as much fruit accumulated as early as possible in the trip (I fly into MIA on Monday) so I can gorge myself and further convince my wife that I'm a weirdo...

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / fruit in Palm Beach area next week?
« on: April 22, 2015, 07:15:00 PM »
I'll be traveling north next week to visit family in Palm Beach, and I am hoping to enjoy some fruits!

Does anyone know of any good local* sources for fresh tropical fruit? In particular I would love to score some early mangoes, but anything tropical and high quality would be appreciated.




*I'm as crazy as most of you on this forum, so I would be willing to put quite a few miles on the old rental car if it meant scoring some fruit to eat!  ;D

15
I used potassium nitrate spray a couple years ago, and it worked pretty well. Here's a thread about it that I posted back then:
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=4604.0  ;D

16
I'll be in St Pete for the next 5 days visiting family and I'd love to get a bunch of tropical fruit to eat (esp fresh ripe mangoes).
Anybody have any leads for me? Fruit stands? Nurseries that sell excess mangoes?
I've been fairly mango-free down here in Aruba, since my Valencia Pride is late, and there aren't many decent mangoes in the markets...

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: to girdle or not to girdle?
« on: May 25, 2014, 08:12:52 PM »
Where do you get potassium nitrate?  Is there a commercial name?

Hey Gwen - here in Aruba they just sell it as KNO3 potassium nitrate - it's a white powder that you mix with water and spray on the foliage. As bangkok mentioned above, last year I did foliar spraying (Described here: http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=4604.0 ) and it worked on three of my 12 plants. I am interested in girdling since it seems like it might be a more long-term, and less labor-intensive solution. We get very little rain here in Aruba, so I think the trees should be stressed already and prone to fruit.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / to girdle or not to girdle?
« on: May 25, 2014, 02:30:04 PM »
I have several mango trees that have been in the ground for ~4 years and are big and beautiful but don't produce any flowers/fruit. Is girdling something I should consider? And does anyone have a link to a good how-to?


19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What's your highest water bill?
« on: May 18, 2014, 05:21:29 PM »
Down here in Aruba the only source of fresh water is the desalination plant, and it's PRICEY. My worst ever bill for a small yard with a drip system was ~$600. My average is around $150.


20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: The Ultimate Sun/Shade Thread
« on: May 11, 2014, 10:55:04 AM »
Garcinia Intermedia
yes, ?, ?, ?

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Weird growths on my garcinia...
« on: December 16, 2013, 07:12:08 PM »
Awesome info! When my tiny g. intermedia grows up a tad I'll start hitting you people up for scion wood and grafting tips. Or maybe I'd be better off just buying a potted achachairu - they sound good!


So far I've found achachairu to be graft-compatible with G. intermedia, so perhaps all you need to do is graft on an achachairu branch to your already-fruiting plant.

I've also had success grafting Luc's Mexican Garcinia onto G. intermedia rootstock, so you could go for a cocktail tree- I have one with G. sp. 'achachairu', G. intermedia and G. sp. "Luc's Mexican Garcinia" all happily growing so far (I'm hoping there won't be long-term incompatibilities).

   Kevin

22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Weird growths on my garcinia...
« on: December 15, 2013, 02:33:42 PM »
I just tasted my first lemon drop from my yard, and it (unsurprisingly) was just like Harry described: a more interesting and tasty version of a kinepa. The eating experience is decent, and the fact that the little shrub fruited in almost 100% shade, under a huge ficus, is a huge plus.

Question: will achachairu similarly fruit in shade?

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Weird growths on my garcinia...
« on: September 12, 2013, 09:44:17 PM »
There is a lemon drop tree here at the arboretum that is totally in the shade under a giant mango tree. Yes it fruits, and made decent amount of fruits too! But i'm sure the tree would be happier and more fruitful if it got some occasional sunlight.


Have you ever tried the fruit? Because I haven't, but that whole "Bolivian Mangosteen" name has got my expectations sky high!

It's definitely not comparable to mangosteen. I like the fruit though. Pretty sour with a small amount of flesh but it does have good flavor (to me at least).

That kind of sounds like kinepa, which is currently in season down here in Aruba.

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Weird growths on my garcinia...
« on: September 12, 2013, 07:23:20 PM »
There is a lemon drop tree here at the arboretum that is totally in the shade under a giant mango tree. Yes it fruits, and made decent amount of fruits too! But i'm sure the tree would be happier and more fruitful if it got some occasional sunlight.


Have you ever tried the fruit? Because I haven't, but that whole "Bolivian Mangosteen" name has got my expectations sky high!

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Weird growths on my garcinia...
« on: September 12, 2013, 06:37:53 PM »
Very nice, it looks like it bloomed while you weren't looking and set some fruits. 8)

I noticed the flowers, but they're so unassuming, and the tree is so little (and I've never seen a garcinia intermedia before), that I didn't expect anything to come from it. Now I'm pretty impressed that it has fruited (as advertised) in almost total shade.

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