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Messages - Epicatt2

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1
[snip] I have way more plants than I have room for these days, but as this one seems ripe for bonsai culture it should be easy to make space for.  I started hanging the smallest trees from the ceiling of my greenhouse to make room.

Fliptop, if you want seeds I'll mail you some, they are small enough to mail as a "letter" for just the cost of a postage stamp.  But I'm getting ahead of myself... let's see if the fruit matures first :)

Hi Brian,

I'd be interested in a few seeds too, please, if all that fruit does manage to develop.

I also sent you a PM.

Paul M.
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2
I may be shooting at ghosts but your plant and its leaves look very much like it could be some sort of guava –or a guava relative.

That is abetted by the persistent green sepals on the flower-end of the fruit.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What Eats Papaya Leafs?
« on: December 01, 2023, 01:15:47 PM »
While you don't want continued leaf/plant damage, if you can wait 'til a nice cold snap comes along –one when the iguanas tend to fall out of the trees– then you could plan to police your area for the fallen of same said before the day warms up. (The smaller ones should be more susceptible to the cold.)

But eliminating them from your yard isn't a permanent soution but rather a stopgap one, because like with squirrels, nature abhors a vacuum and next season you'll surely have some new iguanas moving back into the now 'unclaimed territory' that you will have ccreated.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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4
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: ISO of Puerto Rico rare fruit vendor
« on: December 01, 2023, 01:51:35 AM »
Montoso Gardens used to sell Cacao.

Not sure if they're open or not, but it might be worth checking to see.

HTH

Paul M.
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5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Florida weather South Southwest and Central
« on: November 29, 2023, 03:33:31 AM »
The TV weatherman on our Tampa TV was telling us last evening that tom'w (WED - 11/29) morning we should expect lows in the morning in the city of around 45ºF. (with some patchy frost possible).  I'm not really expecting any frost, though where I am.  (Fingers X-ed!) and...

...Then a warm-up WED Afternoon.  What a Fahrenheit-y roller-coaster Florida dan be!

This will be an interestng cold tolerance test for some of my tropical fruit trees and especially for my Eugenias and Garcinias.

It wIll also be interesting to observe how my several banana cultivars react to this sudden cold.

Good Luck All!

Paul M.
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6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Battle of the Soapberries
« on: November 26, 2023, 11:03:50 PM »
Love lychees a lot but there's the limited availability problem.

While living in Costa Rica I developed a taste for mamon chino, what rambutans are called there.  They were plentiful and cheap down there, costing only about a buck US for a whole kilo of 'em in the mercado central in Alajuela.  Yum!

Paul M.
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7
If the rot continues to worsen but before it overcomes the plant you might consider whacking off the top about an inch or so below the rotted area, making sure that youv'e removed all the rot.  Sacrificing the top won't kill the plant and it should continue to grow out from the top of the stub that's left.

Just be sure that there is no evidence of rot in the ramaining portion of the stub.  You may also want to dust the cut end with some cinnamon powder which has antibacterial properties.

Anyway, that is what I would do in a similar situation.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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8
I sort of doubt that tHD uses much or any fertilizer because the plants that they sell they are
just brokering, so that amounts to plants in and out, asap!

Form what I've seen at times it seems that they aren't even watering their plant stock regularly.

Just my 2¢ worth . . .

Paul M.
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9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How Long Do Macadamia Nuts Remain Edible?
« on: November 19, 2023, 02:02:50 PM »
Once macadamia nuts are harvested and de-husked, but remaining in their shells, how long are they safe to eat if not frozen, refrigerated, or otherwise processed? [snip]

My experience(s) with shelled macs has been that when one has gone rancid it is slightly darker in color compared to the rest of the ones around it.  If one has gotten really, really rancid it will even start to develop a brownish cast to it.  But as Galatians remarked, you will know it when you eat a rancid one.  This is true, yuk!

My advice is to aways keep your hulled macs in an air-tight container in the 'fridge.  They'll last a lot longer that way.  (I don't freeze mine, though, due to lack of space in my freezer.)

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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10
The full tree leaf strip should come right before the tree wakes up from winter.  Around February or March here. 

But you can continue to do it through summer to get more flowers.  But this time dont strip the whole tree.  Just strip back some leaves towards the inside of the tree on big branches where a good fruit will form.   

Spaugh,

Would leaf stripping also encourage a bitibá (Rollinia) to produce flowers.

Mine bloomed in July this year for the first time with about ten flowers but did not try to set any fruit. That is probably because the tree is only five or six years old with a 2-in. dia. trunk and 7 ft tall.

If stripping it would encourage my biribá to flower then when should the leaf-strip be done?  Perhaps in June, even though it seems to be about the middle of its growing season?

Just curious . . .

Paul M.
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11
Me, too, Roblack...

I have a lemon drop and an improved LD both of which dropped their leaves from an acidental laspe in watering.

Their stems were still green and about that time I installed a misting system so they began getting watered regularly, but just lightly.  After a couple months I noticed that  they had made a few new leaves, halla-loo.

They've continued to v-e-r-y slowly recover.  I've learned from this that it's best not to abuse them.

Hope that you have great luck with  those G. prainiana!   (I'm hoping to find some to try eventually.)

Good luck!

Paul M.
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12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: New USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Update?
« on: November 16, 2023, 03:38:43 AM »
Glad to see on this new zone map that where I am in Tampa is now 10a,
but I won't hold my breath about that fer sure 'til after this winter.

Now all we need here in west central Florida is some much-needed rain.
(We're jealous of the Miami area's recent rain glut!)

Paul M.
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13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Feijoa hardiness in Concord, NC , , , , ?
« on: November 13, 2023, 12:00:58 PM »
I'm wanting to gift a friend in Concord, NC (zone 7b) a couple of early cropping feijoa cultivars for her yard. 

I would prefer to get a couple of New Zealand cultivars, ones which would be more cold tolerant since Concord, in zone7b, is close to the top end of their hardiness range.

Wanting ideally self-fertile cultivars, but with two cultivars planted near eaach other that's not necesary.

Any suggestions for early season ripening NZ cultivars that may be more cold tolerant?

All suggestions welcomed as well as for US sourcing!  (I've searched a bit online already w/o real success.)

Paul M.
Tampa, FL
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14
[ snip ] I will go back and start digging up the roots tomorrow. 

Wow, SC — I wish I had so productive a Meyer Lemon!

Anyway, I cannot understand why the owner is having it dug out if it is so productive.

Could you maybe explain why it's being sacrificed, please?

Paul M.
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15
~ EDITED on 231113 ~

My  (updated) guess is 618 lemons.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Pink Wampee first flowers
« on: November 12, 2023, 12:01:26 AM »
Good luck,wampee is one of the worst fruit I know .Taste like grapefruit skin .

Generally speaking, which wampees are better tasting, the pink ones or the white ones?

I've heard both ways.

Is it important to choose a named variety for the best flavor?

Paul M.
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17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Rabbit discourager
« on: November 11, 2023, 03:14:49 PM »
I have one cat that is deadly to rabbits if i don't feed him a lot he kills one every night as of late.
Then he kindly leaves me he mangled carcass on the front porch,Yum!

Orkine,

Why don't you arrange to rent out Shot's killer cat?  Then leave the carcasses
near those things that you don't want chewed on...

Just a thought!

Paul M.
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18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: rollinia growing tips
« on: November 09, 2023, 03:38:28 PM »
How old is it? 

To answer your question Filoz, my biribá is about five, maybe six, years old now with a trunk
about two inches in diameter.  It is between six and seven feet tall in a 10 gallon pot.

Gets plenty of water but is allowed ti dry out slightly every so often.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
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19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What’s up with my rollinia?
« on: November 09, 2023, 03:31:08 PM »
My bitibá will start to yellow and drop (some of) its leaves once we have some coolish nights. 

I also believe that it may tend to have a period of lesser activity during the drier part of the year in its native range.

But since it comes from the Amazon river basin I don't think that the day length probably has much to do with any dormancy for biribá.

I find that if I continue to give mine sufficient water while the weather is still warm I have no leaf drop or yellowing.

OK  HTH

Paul M.
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20
Paul, from my experiences, I was able to get a guava tree to flower from pinching the tips of branches. I wasn’t even trying to get it to flower. I just wanted a bushier tree but to my surprise, the guava tree started producing flowers.

Thanks Chris.

Pnching the tips might be something I should try. 

Think I'll wait 'til next spring/summer, though, to try that.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Overwintering Eugenia stipitatum in FL 9b . . .
« on: November 08, 2023, 07:21:15 PM »
Just replaced my deceased araça-boi (E. stipitatum) which died after this past spring's cold temps in Tampa.

The new one is small but healthy (about 12-in tall) and has gone into a 2 gal pot beause I understand that this species is a fast grower.

Apart from protecting this one from the cool weather, is it going to want any kind of dry-off during DEC or JAN?

Any suggestions welcome.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: rollinia growing tips
« on: November 08, 2023, 07:14:29 PM »
They like lots of sun, lots of water, and flower and fruit better when fertilized. My compost bin started leaking into the root field. Better flowering followed, along with fruits.

Thanx Roblack… That's very useful advice for any of us who're trying to grow a biribá!

Mine is getting two of the requirements: full sun & lotsa water.

Mine bloomed finally late spring this year but set no fruit. (I'm guessing that was a 'trial run'.)

Obviously I'm going to have to feed it more generously.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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23

Is it a seedling? I've heard of great success whacking tree trunks with an old broom handle at night-

Why at night?

So your neighbors dont think youve lost your mind when they see you walking around whacking trees  ;D

Never heard of the broom-whacking thingy.

But to answer your QQ it was bought from TTropicals in a 3 gal pot and was about 3 ft tall.  So I didn't consider it a seedling.

Still can't figure out why it hasn't bloomed, as large as it has gotten.

Paul M.
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24
If you want fruit production, I would try to keep it in as small a pot as possible, guavaja tends to need a larger pot but there are plenty of other Psidium spp. that can fruit in even a 3 gallon pot.

Now my guava went into the ground two+ years ago and grew lushly to ten feet tall. But even with good watering and fertilizing it never bloomed or set any fruit.

Then it got pruned to six feet last year in June and grew back again but didn't flower or fruit.

Again this year in June it had grown back to about eight feet tall but no blooms. (This year it did not get fertilized like last year, but got plenty of water.)  And it got purned in July back to six feet once more but has grown another foot since then.

Not sure why this guava is reluctant to bloom.  It's a Barbie Supreme hybrid.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Fingers X-ed!

Paul M.
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25
Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Re: Selling : 3 Duguetias
« on: November 07, 2023, 10:17:13 PM »
Very nice to see someone is finally offering some of these S. American Dugetia species as seedlings, but . . .

Does anyone know how much these three Dugetia species may be tolerant of our Florida 9b winter weather?

I don't mind investing in one if it's not super-tropical in its needs.

Any comments welcome.

Paul M.
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