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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Importing plants from veliyathgarden India to USA Cali (Update Plants Arrived)
« on: March 01, 2026, 06:32:50 PM »
No. The 12 plant thing is only to carry in a travelers luggage. Period.
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2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Importing plants from veliyathgarden India to USA Cali (Update Plants Arrived)
« on: March 01, 2026, 03:19:33 PM »
The 12 plant thing is strictly for hand carrying in your luggage. I do not know of any way to SHIP 12 plants without a permit and only a phyto. There are Dept of Ag guys at most airports, if not, Customs just looks at them. I always carry a printed copy of the APHIS rule with me.
When I said to buy from a nursery that ships, that is so when you get to the nursery, they should already have the phyto ready, for you to hand carry, along with the plants.
Click on the link that Brian provided. it is for TRAVELERS, not SHIPPERS.
When I said to buy from a nursery that ships, that is so when you get to the nursery, they should already have the phyto ready, for you to hand carry, along with the plants.
Click on the link that Brian provided. it is for TRAVELERS, not SHIPPERS.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Importing plants from veliyathgarden India to USA Cali (Update Plants Arrived)
« on: March 01, 2026, 01:56:43 PM »
As long as you buy from a nursery that already ships, it is pretty straightforward. The trick is ordering ahead so the Dept of Ag guy has time to do the phyto.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Importing plants from veliyathgarden in India to USA California
« on: March 01, 2026, 08:16:01 AM »... I need to learn more about importing because I think there is a way to import 12 or less plants without having to hire a customs broker. A person i spoke with at USDA inspection station mentioned something about this when I was speaking with them.You are partially right on this, and given what you paid, it might still be cheaper
- you can bring back up to 12 bare rooted plants with a phytosanitary certificate IN YOUR CARRY-ON LUGGAGE. I have done this and it is super cheap and easy, provided you already planned to go to that country on vacation... sort of an add-on bonus when you travel! You generally have to order the plants ahead of time in order to get the phyto. Carolyn
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What invasive species could or is troubling to you in your area
« on: February 25, 2026, 08:47:13 AM »
OMG, my teenage son was given a Nile Monitor as a pet decades ago. We named her Godzilla. Fast, mean, and when they bite you they don’t let go, they just start shaking, trying to rip a chunk out of you. We had to keep a spray bottle of alcohol handy. Spraying it in her face was the only way to get her to let go. She was big enough that her diet, at first, was rabbits, but it was too horrible to watch so we switched her over to ZooPreem “mouse in a can”. Why on earth the pet store sold them I have no idea. But I can see why people turned them loose. Ours broke out of her cage and tried to kill my cat. When I came home, the cat was on top of the fridge and the lizard was pacing around, trying to figure out how to reach her. After that, off she went to the zoo. They’ll get big enough in Florida to take down a medium sized dog, or a toddler.
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Citrus General Discussion / Re: Mystery Citrus - Zero acid
« on: February 24, 2026, 08:41:15 AM »
I'd say sweet lemon.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Grow bags vs plastic pots for large trees
« on: February 22, 2026, 04:14:52 PM »
I also say NO to grow bags. The plants I have gotten in bags have been quickly replaced. My oldest pots are 17 years old and doing great. I never use bigger than 30 gallons, and just prune roots if I need to. And my trees are pretty big.
The bags get gross-looking, when the plants put roots down into the ground the bags rot to the ground, and they always take more frequent watering than my plastic pots, which throws my watering schedule off.
I have never had to buy brand new pots. I haunt the local nurseries and scoop up their used pots. If they want to give away, or sell cheap, used 20-30 gallon pots, that is fine with me! I have also picked them up from housing sites (after asking first!) where they are laying in new landscaping.
And everything I have is in pots. My hoard of "ready-to-use" pots occasionally drives hubby crazy, until I tell him how much money he is saving. Then he just laughs like a maniac...
The bags get gross-looking, when the plants put roots down into the ground the bags rot to the ground, and they always take more frequent watering than my plastic pots, which throws my watering schedule off.
I have never had to buy brand new pots. I haunt the local nurseries and scoop up their used pots. If they want to give away, or sell cheap, used 20-30 gallon pots, that is fine with me! I have also picked them up from housing sites (after asking first!) where they are laying in new landscaping.
And everything I have is in pots. My hoard of "ready-to-use" pots occasionally drives hubby crazy, until I tell him how much money he is saving. Then he just laughs like a maniac...
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Show your greenhouse!
« on: February 20, 2026, 06:42:10 PM »
Oh goodness! My FAVORITE subject!!
I love my greenhouse so much! If I could, I would rent out the house and live in there.
Mine is 15x40 ft, started out as a 15x20 ft kit, then I built a 20x20 stickbuilt addition.
8 mm polycarbonate. The kit house is 17 years old, and the addition is 7 years old.
Built them both myself!
Minimum temps are about 55. That is when the alarm in the house goes off. That only happens when outside temps get into the low single digits. I have two unvented gas wall furnaces, one at either end. Big intake, exhaust and ceiling fans, plus shade paint, for the summer.
We are at 2,800 ft, so the summer sun is intense, but it usually doesn't get hotter than 90 inside.
My freakish obsession is tropical fruit trees, which is difficult in the high desert of Idaho, but I make it work...
My then 9-year-old granddaughter helped. She loved to climb up high!
The porch and pergola my sweet hubby built! In the summer, it is covered by wisteria, but I couldn't find a picture.
My Splendid Grasskeet, Jewel
One of my Bourkes Grasskeets, Hei-hei
The laughing Impala Pub. Ya'll are invited over for a beer!!! - Only holds two at a time...
The sign for the pub. I took this picture in South Africa. Hubby says the Impala is yawning, but I say he is laughing!
The addition. We call it the Orangerie, but it is the same winter temps as the Tropical house, just a little hotter and drier in the summer.
Going from the Orangerie into the Tropical house
My work area in the Orangerie
The Tropical house
Another shot of the Tropical house
I love my greenhouse so much! If I could, I would rent out the house and live in there.
Mine is 15x40 ft, started out as a 15x20 ft kit, then I built a 20x20 stickbuilt addition.
8 mm polycarbonate. The kit house is 17 years old, and the addition is 7 years old.
Built them both myself!
Minimum temps are about 55. That is when the alarm in the house goes off. That only happens when outside temps get into the low single digits. I have two unvented gas wall furnaces, one at either end. Big intake, exhaust and ceiling fans, plus shade paint, for the summer.
We are at 2,800 ft, so the summer sun is intense, but it usually doesn't get hotter than 90 inside.
My freakish obsession is tropical fruit trees, which is difficult in the high desert of Idaho, but I make it work...
My then 9-year-old granddaughter helped. She loved to climb up high!
The porch and pergola my sweet hubby built! In the summer, it is covered by wisteria, but I couldn't find a picture.
My Splendid Grasskeet, Jewel
One of my Bourkes Grasskeets, Hei-hei
The laughing Impala Pub. Ya'll are invited over for a beer!!! - Only holds two at a time...
The sign for the pub. I took this picture in South Africa. Hubby says the Impala is yawning, but I say he is laughing!
The addition. We call it the Orangerie, but it is the same winter temps as the Tropical house, just a little hotter and drier in the summer.
Going from the Orangerie into the Tropical house
My work area in the Orangerie
The Tropical house
Another shot of the Tropical house
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Growing edibile bananas in the northeast
« on: February 18, 2026, 11:04:21 PM »
I am in zone 6 and I grow all my bananas in pots. They are dwarf cavs in 25 gallon pots. I get delicious bananas every year.
They are in my greenhouse so they get lots of light. In the house they would make an inflorescence but never hold fruit.
They like lots of water but not wet feet, so well draining mix with lots of Perlite is important. Since there is not a lot of biological activity in potting mix, they need synthetic fertilizer, and they like lots of food.
They are in my greenhouse so they get lots of light. In the house they would make an inflorescence but never hold fruit.
They like lots of water but not wet feet, so well draining mix with lots of Perlite is important. Since there is not a lot of biological activity in potting mix, they need synthetic fertilizer, and they like lots of food.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Look before you prune, my live and learn lesson
« on: February 16, 2026, 08:00:02 AM »
I keep this sad picture of my now-dried-up little immature soursop fruit as a cruel reminder to carefully check the whole branch before pruning! My cries echoed throughout the greenhouse when I saw what I had done. Especially since I have to hand pollinate… :'(
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Salacca and Theobroma fails
« on: February 16, 2026, 07:54:24 AM »Well Daintree, if you grow any T. bicolor and have any extra seeds please reach out to me so I can buy a bunch!I WISH I had bicolor! Just plain old forastero and trinitario.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Greenhouse cooling
« on: February 13, 2026, 02:49:09 PM »
Guess it depends on their definition or permanent. When I tried to get a building permit for my greenhouse (15x40’), our building dept said it was temporary because it didn’t have a poured foundation. Still on a cinderblock foundation 17 years later!
Carolyn
Carolyn
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Greenhouse cooling
« on: February 13, 2026, 08:23:03 AM »I have a large 3300cfm exhaust fan and 5 12” intake ducts for a 15ft wide gh. You need to exchange all the air 1-2x per minute just to keep it 2-4F ABOVE outside temps (University of Florida has graphs of this on their website). I then mounted low pressure patio misters with just 1 mister per intake duct and it allows it to drop up to 16F cooler (the drier the air the more the affect and it is pretty dry here). I also keep the low e double pane glass dirty in the summer which blocks 30% of the PAR (photosynthetically active radiation)Yep, airflow is definitely the key. I looked at those lovely graphs on the UF website and decided that my brain cannot understand graphs! There are websites that offer airflow calculators, where you feed in numbers and it tells you how big of a fan you need (in CFM, cubic feet per minute) to exchange your air once a minute. Then of course they want to sell you the fan...
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Salacca and Theobroma fails
« on: February 12, 2026, 09:50:19 AM »
I don't grow snake fruit but I do grow Theobroma cacao in my greenhouse in pots.
I have grown them all from seed, the oldest T. cacao is 10 years old, and the others range from 2-8 years old. I have gotten fruit from the oldest three but because I have to hand pollinate I rarely go through the effort anymore.
Mine do very well, and are large and healthy. I grow EVERYTHING from seed. Somewhere in my mind I think that if they live their entire lives here, they "complain" less. Their environment doesn't change from the day they sprout. I have grown a LOT of cacao, and because I start with whole pods (mine or others) and plant ALL the seeds, I start many more than I can hold, so I sell the spares when they are about 3 ft tall. To my knowledge, none that I have sold have lived more than a year, so I honestly don't know what I do and they don't, but here is how mine live happily -
25 gallon pots. Extremely well-draining potting mix. I do NOT use dirt in the pots. 2/3 raised bed mix and 1/3 Perlite.
Even temps throughout the year, 60-90 F.
Humidity in my greenhouse naturally fluctuates between 60 and 70 percent and they seem to do well with that.
I prune for height when they hit the ceiling.
Light shade. They do get some afternoon sun, but the cacao are in the shadiest part of my greenhouse.
I water weekly until the water floods through the bottom of the pot. The bigger ones get 2-3 gallons weekly. I measure all the food and water they get, no guessing.
Mine have been unforgiving when left to dry out. My older ones can tolerate it a bit. If "peaty" mixtures get too dry, it become hydrophobic again and the water just runs through without being absorbed, so if the water runs through too fast, I may give them 5 gallons, then 5 gallons the next day.
I use Miracle Grow and Cal-Mag, alternating with Dyna-GRO Foliage Pro (Dyna-GRO has been bought out by SuperThrive. Pay close attention when ordering as the bottles look similar) Some people may laugh at Miracle Grow, but it has the right amounts of NPK. Almost complete, only lacking the calcium and magnesium. The Foliage Pro is totally complete and suitable for hydroponics. I water, then three days later go back and fertilize. Because I water until things flood, I don't like wasting the fertilizer to the floor.
I do NOT use organic fertilizers. No matter what I have done with the mix in my pots (and I have spent a lot of money experimenting with different mixes and additives and getting soil tests!) I can't get enough microbial activity to break down the organic stuff so the plants can access it readily. So I go with what works. I try to fertilize weekly at half the recommended strength.
I do have a bark floor. Concrete heats up way too much in the summer and gets way too cold in the winter. Their roots seems to enjoy regularity.
And that's it. They grow fantastic for me, here in zone 6 at 2,700 ft in the high desert.
I did the best I could on the photos - I can't get far enough away to get a good shot. My greenhouse is pretty crowded...
I have grown them all from seed, the oldest T. cacao is 10 years old, and the others range from 2-8 years old. I have gotten fruit from the oldest three but because I have to hand pollinate I rarely go through the effort anymore.
Mine do very well, and are large and healthy. I grow EVERYTHING from seed. Somewhere in my mind I think that if they live their entire lives here, they "complain" less. Their environment doesn't change from the day they sprout. I have grown a LOT of cacao, and because I start with whole pods (mine or others) and plant ALL the seeds, I start many more than I can hold, so I sell the spares when they are about 3 ft tall. To my knowledge, none that I have sold have lived more than a year, so I honestly don't know what I do and they don't, but here is how mine live happily -
25 gallon pots. Extremely well-draining potting mix. I do NOT use dirt in the pots. 2/3 raised bed mix and 1/3 Perlite.
Even temps throughout the year, 60-90 F.
Humidity in my greenhouse naturally fluctuates between 60 and 70 percent and they seem to do well with that.
I prune for height when they hit the ceiling.
Light shade. They do get some afternoon sun, but the cacao are in the shadiest part of my greenhouse.
I water weekly until the water floods through the bottom of the pot. The bigger ones get 2-3 gallons weekly. I measure all the food and water they get, no guessing.
Mine have been unforgiving when left to dry out. My older ones can tolerate it a bit. If "peaty" mixtures get too dry, it become hydrophobic again and the water just runs through without being absorbed, so if the water runs through too fast, I may give them 5 gallons, then 5 gallons the next day.
I use Miracle Grow and Cal-Mag, alternating with Dyna-GRO Foliage Pro (Dyna-GRO has been bought out by SuperThrive. Pay close attention when ordering as the bottles look similar) Some people may laugh at Miracle Grow, but it has the right amounts of NPK. Almost complete, only lacking the calcium and magnesium. The Foliage Pro is totally complete and suitable for hydroponics. I water, then three days later go back and fertilize. Because I water until things flood, I don't like wasting the fertilizer to the floor.
I do NOT use organic fertilizers. No matter what I have done with the mix in my pots (and I have spent a lot of money experimenting with different mixes and additives and getting soil tests!) I can't get enough microbial activity to break down the organic stuff so the plants can access it readily. So I go with what works. I try to fertilize weekly at half the recommended strength.
I do have a bark floor. Concrete heats up way too much in the summer and gets way too cold in the winter. Their roots seems to enjoy regularity.
And that's it. They grow fantastic for me, here in zone 6 at 2,700 ft in the high desert.
I did the best I could on the photos - I can't get far enough away to get a good shot. My greenhouse is pretty crowded...
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Greenhouse cooling
« on: February 12, 2026, 09:10:11 AM »
Never looked at YouTube, but it gets very hot and sunny here in the summer. We are high desert so can go months without a cloud in the sky, daytime temps will be in the 90's or 100's, and at 2,730 in elevation, the sun is a scorcher. I keep my greenhouse running all year long. My tropical trees are too big to move outside in the summer, and the sun would broil them. So summer cooling is a HUGE "must" for me. My greenhouse has been up for 17 years now, and after messing will a zillion things, I have found it comes down to misters, shade from a tree, shade paint and airflow, airflow, airflow. I switched from shade canopies because laying them on the greenhouse actually holds in heat, and when I placed them on a frame above the greenhouse, shade paint worked just as well.
When I say airflow, I don't mean gentle. I have 6 fans in the ceiling (it is 40 feet long), a powerful intake fan and an equally powerful exhaust fan. The grass outside the greenhouse on the end with the intake fan is shaded by a large maple tree, so the air being sucked into the greenhouse is cooler than the air in the sun. The maple tree also provides light afternoon shade to about half the building. The ceiling fans all point in the direction of the exhaust fan, and they move a LOT of air. Rapidly dissipating the heat that gathers at the top seems to help me the most.
It's very economical, just the fans. The water is almost free.
Hope that helps.
Carolyn
When I say airflow, I don't mean gentle. I have 6 fans in the ceiling (it is 40 feet long), a powerful intake fan and an equally powerful exhaust fan. The grass outside the greenhouse on the end with the intake fan is shaded by a large maple tree, so the air being sucked into the greenhouse is cooler than the air in the sun. The maple tree also provides light afternoon shade to about half the building. The ceiling fans all point in the direction of the exhaust fan, and they move a LOT of air. Rapidly dissipating the heat that gathers at the top seems to help me the most.
It's very economical, just the fans. The water is almost free.
Hope that helps.
Carolyn
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: how would I bring seeds back from Brazil/other countries
« on: February 11, 2026, 09:26:57 AM »
Eewww! I saw that on Naked and Afraid! Guy ate a huge bunch of tomatoes right before the thing started, shat them out and grew tomato plants! Rough way to find out something is poisonous, though 
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: how would I bring seeds back from Brazil/other countries
« on: February 10, 2026, 08:42:58 AM »Additionally, I have confirmed the existence of a plant inspection station at my home airport, does that change any possibility of bringing the seeds on the plane or no? however, our customs layover is in Dallas Texas, rather than Seattle.Did you actually call the Seattle APHIS? I go through SeaTac airport all the time, and unless they have moved in the past couple of weeks, the APHIS station is a couple of miles from the airport. Yeah, they are both in the "town" of SeaTac, but it is NOT in the airport. Plus, it says right on my permit "Hand carry through personal baggage is not authorized under this permit".
Note - You CAN bring in up to a dozen live plants in your baggage with a phytosanitary certificate. You do NOT need a permit for this. They must be bare root, no soil etc. I have used wet paper towels.
Here is the information I carry when confronted by confused airport personnel - https://www.aphis.usda.gov/es/print/pdf/node/2215#:~:text=Plants%20in%20soil%20are%20prohibited,the%20expense%20of%20the%20importer.
Also - I have had VERY bad luck getting things to an actual APHIS station for inspection when packages are sent via FedEx. Instead of going to an APHIS station, they go to the FedEx hub in Memphis, where a USDA person (NOT a trained APHIS person!) goes through things remotely, without ever seeing or opening a package. I have had packages with all the correct paperwork be denied. Makes me nuts. Don't use FedEx when you mail things home.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Importing plants from veliyathgarden in India to USA California
« on: February 09, 2026, 09:17:17 AM »
Sounds like you have all your ducks in a row. They aren't going FedEx are they? I have had terrible luck, not with the shipper or APHIS, but with the FedEx hub in Memphis. Apparently they have some sort of contract with the USDA, but my plants got denied and sent back in spite of having all the correct paperwork. Turned out the plants were never physically examined. Some guy was doing it remotely. I have a very good working relationship with the APHIS office that I use, and even they couldn't figure out what FedEx was doing, OR get them to physically send the box to an APHIS office. Really crazy dow there in Memphis...
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How to make a monstera fruit indoors?
« on: February 08, 2026, 09:01:59 AM »
I found the taste to be the same, only the color was splotchy. As far as climbing vs bush, I have no idea. I always encourage mine to climb since they would take up my entire greenhouse on the floor. But I have seen bushy ones in parks that fruit. Hmmm.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How to make a monstera fruit indoors?
« on: February 06, 2026, 10:17:49 PM »
I have a tropical greenhouse. I don’t do anything to them, they are true weeds out there. They haven’t bloomed yet, but should this year. The variegated ones even make variegated fruit.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: How to make a monstera fruit indoors?
« on: February 06, 2026, 09:36:23 AM »
Be careful what you wish for...
Your plant is still in its juvenile form.
First they have to get to their mature form, grow quite big, send out air roots to neighboring subdivisions, invade your house like Godzilla took over Tokyo, THEN they fruit.
I have a love/hate relationship with mine. They are quite invasive. I try to stick them on the north wall so at least they provide some insulation, and they don't seem to object to their job duties. But I have to prune them pretty heavily because I am afraid they are going to punch through the roof, crawl into the back yard and eat my dog...
The only one I have seen get this big indoors was grown in a 20" pot next to a two-story fireplace. they let it climb the brick. But when they tried to remove it, they discovered the air roots had invaded the mortar.
The variegated varieties grow a little more slowly. This one is 3 years old, I got it as a rooted cutting. I have pruned the top three times to make more plants, to sell
These leaves are three feet long. This one I bought from a local garden center in a 2" pot 3 years ago.
I have traced some of these air roots for over 15 feet, all throughout the floor of the greenhouse
Your plant is still in its juvenile form.
First they have to get to their mature form, grow quite big, send out air roots to neighboring subdivisions, invade your house like Godzilla took over Tokyo, THEN they fruit.
I have a love/hate relationship with mine. They are quite invasive. I try to stick them on the north wall so at least they provide some insulation, and they don't seem to object to their job duties. But I have to prune them pretty heavily because I am afraid they are going to punch through the roof, crawl into the back yard and eat my dog...
The only one I have seen get this big indoors was grown in a 20" pot next to a two-story fireplace. they let it climb the brick. But when they tried to remove it, they discovered the air roots had invaded the mortar.
The variegated varieties grow a little more slowly. This one is 3 years old, I got it as a rooted cutting. I have pruned the top three times to make more plants, to sell
These leaves are three feet long. This one I bought from a local garden center in a 2" pot 3 years ago.
I have traced some of these air roots for over 15 feet, all throughout the floor of the greenhouse
22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Your rarest or least grown Fruit.
« on: February 04, 2026, 08:26:25 AM »
I have a Dacryodes edulis, a couple of Chytranthus mannii (can hardly wait until they bloom - I am in love cauliflorous trees!) and two Brosimum gaudichaudii.
Most of my other stuff is totally weird for Idaho, but not uncommon overall.
Carolyn
Most of my other stuff is totally weird for Idaho, but not uncommon overall.
Carolyn
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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: What's Growing 2026
« on: January 28, 2026, 08:20:28 AM »
Well, it is 15 degrees here, so all my tropical veggies are snug in the greenhouse.
Mostly I have "longevity spinach" Gynura procumbens. The stuff grows faster than I can eat it, but since it is good for me I can't complain.
I keep a few tomatoes too, and plant them back out in the spring.
That's about all that I can squeeze in...
Mostly I have "longevity spinach" Gynura procumbens. The stuff grows faster than I can eat it, but since it is good for me I can't complain.
I keep a few tomatoes too, and plant them back out in the spring.
That's about all that I can squeeze in...
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Moringa seedlings with white stuff on stems
« on: January 17, 2026, 08:54:31 AM »
No, not mealy bugs for sure. The picture is not actually that blurry, just a very narrow focus, if you look at the stem it is in focus. The white stuff is just sort of foamy and makes it look blurry. I took the photos with my USB microscope.
I am leaning towards some sort of mold, since the Consan seems to be working.
I am leaning towards some sort of mold, since the Consan seems to be working.
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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Moringa seedlings with white stuff on stems
« on: January 16, 2026, 10:41:57 AM »
No ideas?
I still don’t know what it is/was, but I sprayed it with Consan, at the same strength I use to prevent damping off and mildew, and it seems to have taken care of it.
Hmmmm.
I still don’t know what it is/was, but I sprayed it with Consan, at the same strength I use to prevent damping off and mildew, and it seems to have taken care of it.
Hmmmm.