The Tropical Fruit Forum

So awesome, Brian!

Wonderful that you have so much in the ground!!!

Love the Chinese Painted Quail! Mine say "hello"!
Do you get unexpected chicks? I had to separate my boys and girls...

I need to make a video like this for my greenhouse!!

Cheers,
Carolyn

They aren't near or under a walnut tree, are they?
Other than walnut toxicity, I would lean towards a virus.
Throw all the soil out and move the pots to a new location - like SDC said, full sun.
As for pots, I grow tomatoes in pots all the time. They do have huge root systems and are very thirsty, so make sure the pots are big (16 inches at least) and well watered but not water-logged.

Cheers, Carolyn

Thank you so much!!!

Carolyn

Injust added pictures to this post.

Gadzooks, I'm a good 30 miles north of you, kudos to you for being a determined fruit nut! :-)

You think THAT'S a long haul? We flew from Idaho into Tampa, drove down to the Keys, shopping along the way, then mailed our clothes home and filled four carry-ons with plants.  The guy at the x-ray machine asked my husband to "blink twice if you're carrying against your will..."   

Well, it's not like I bathe in it. 

Very cute little setup!
I always use seed starting trays, lights and heat mats.
Most tropical seeds are going to want warm soil, so definitely go with heat mats! They are designed to not cook the seeds, so work indoors or in a greenhouse.

As far as light, I would go with about 12-15 hours of light, just put the lights on a timer.
 
All species are different, but most tropical seeds are similar - don't plant them too deep, keep them warm and put a light on them.

Most (but not all!) seeds need light and warmth to germinate. Not that you are growing these, but for example, brassicas like broccoli seeds want cool soil temps and darkness to germinate. Tomato seeds want light, and can tolerate up to 100 degree soil temps.

Just make sure it doesn't get too humid and you start growing mold, etc. I like to spray my seedlings and the soil with Consan or Physan (brand names), diluted according to the label, to prevent damping off.

Cheers,
Carolyn

Yeah, I like to collect the actual fruit as much as possible, then I have all the seeds I want.
But when I buy seeds, I usually go for the $1 each ones, so I can order a handful.  Sometimes they all come up and I have extras, but I prefer that over buying ONE seed and it never germinates.

Carolyn

I dump seeds out to check on them all the time. All different kinds of seeds. Never seems to bother them.

Carolyn

The only ones I have ever seen that get that big are the Panama Red.  They can get huge.
Maybe your original fruit was crossed with it?

Carolyn

Never had cupuacu, but the pulp of theobroma cacao is tasty. Sort of lemony and sticky. You have to suck it off the seeds.

Others may correct me if I give wrong information, but here is what I have noticed -
I have several mature cacao trees in my greenhouse.  They all flowered by year two.  They are in 25 gallon pots.

The only ones that seems capable, or willing, to fruit without my intervention is forestero. And when I say intervention, I mean a full court press of tweezers, jewelers loupe, marking pen, and the ability to get out there every morning for a month.  Of course, I am a sicko and find that sort of fun...

They do not like anything below 50 degrees, and I actually keep the tropical house higher than 60 even at night if I can.

I have sold seedlings to people who kill them really fast, so I don't honestly know what the trick is, but I have very good luck with them.  I have some seeds prepping to germinate now that my son brought back from Belize. 

I have forestero and trinatario all grown up right now.  The fruit set is very low, and you can't really make chocolate out of what you could grow in a greenhouse. It takes about 100 beans to make one chocolate bar, and a pod may make 40-50 beans.
If you really want to make "bean-to-bar" chocolate, order raw beans, roast and grind them yourself. Or buy a bunch of pods and go through the whole process.

But they make an AWeSOME conversation piece!!!

Carolyn

I guess I should add that "flowering" and "ability to hold fruit" are two different things.  The trunk needs to be nice and thick or the fruit aborts, usually when it is about the size of okra.  Four years, in a greenhouse, is probably a good expectation of holding fruit.

Looks like some sort of fungal leaf spot to me.  They like to be kept damp, but not soggy. Make sure you are not over-watering. 
You mentioned the spots are purple.  There is a chance it could be Phyllosticta minima, which is ugly but fairly harmless.  Other fungal spot diseases can be more harmful.

If I have anything possibly fungal show up, I cut back on the watering. Make sure the soil is not soggy.  If it is super wet, you can pull the plant out and replace the peat-based potting soil with something a little drier and throw the old stuff out. 
If it is not overly wet, I would spray it with Consan 20.  Consan is also good for preventing damping off in seedlings, so you should always have some around.
Good luck!