The Tropical Fruit Forum

I know I'm going out on a limb.... see what I did there? 

But, I'm looking for some variegated Jaboticaba pruning that I can use as scions to graft onto Red Hybrid stalks. They say that begging is good for the soul, so if anybody has a variegated Jaboticaba with some crossing or spare sucker branches that need pruning off and wants to sell me a few then hit me up! I'd also be interested in scions from other unusual varieties for grafting.

I'm poor as dirt due to health problems and this is one of the few ways I can think of to be able to afford my Jaboticaba obsession is by grafting scions. I can't afford the max bid amounts of a typical ebay auction for one or the import fees/phytosanitary certificates to buy from out of the country.  Anything over $50 is just out of my budget. But, maybe somebody somewhere out there would send me a cutting or two for scion grafting. One can hope anyway.

Cheers,

-John

I have a few mystery seedlings. One is unlabeled completely and I have one that I labeled the pot J.D. mansa or J.O. mansa and now I can't figure out what it is. It's sprouting up with red stem and red leaves. I just transplanted it into a bigger 1 gallon pot but for the life of me I can't find it in my records on either of these guys.

Anybody recognize these plants?!

The J.D. Mensa?


My second mystery

So, yeah I obviously like a challenge. I've been watching the GrowTropicalFruits videos on youtube (I understand he's also a member here) and i'm going to attempt to duplicate his methods for rooting out some difficult to root Jaboticabas from cuttings. I wouldn't mind a little review and some critique/input about what i'm seeing to make sure i'm thinking the right way to go about this.

I've got the same tall humidity dome trays on order and it looks like he's using peat moss and hydroponic clay spheres as water retention and just either placing his cuttings directly into the substrate or placing his cuttings in root riot cubes in contact with the damp peat moss substrate. I'm assuming he's keeping the peat moss substrate in the tray at field capacity and leaving the holes in the humidity dome closed.

It looks like he has some sort of a little blue plastic rainbird fogger maybe in there as well. Is that what that is?!? I'm not sure if he's using that. It's in the tray but he makes no mention of it.

So, for my setup I have the tray and the peat moss. I'm going to mix in vermiculite in lieu of the clay balls as it's what I have and they'll serve a similar function (retain moisture while allowing for oxygen exchange/drainage at the root level). I have a few different types of rooting hormone, including dip n grow, generic rootone powder and hormex #16 for difficult to root plants (mainly hardwood). From what I understand, he used clonex gel and/or dip-n-grow at 5x concentration or nothing at all. I'll use the dip n grow at the recommended concentration but i'd also like to try the hormex for difficult cuttings to see if there's any difference.

I've read some reports that as soon as some varieties of plants are cut, they'll secrete a sap that has oxidants in it which can inhibit root growth. Would there be any benefit in dipping the stems for a few minutes in lemon juice or crushed aspirin in water briefly to act as an antioxidant to counter act the root inhibiting?

I'll be using root riot plugs. Stripping the bottom four nodes or so from the cuttings plus possibly scraping a little of the outer layer to expose more cambria layer and then dipping the cuttings in the rooting hormones for the manufacturers recommended time. Then, sticking the cuttings into hydrated root riot plugs and then into the tray with hydrated substrate, put the lid on and stick them in the shade outside where it's warm for approx. four months.
I have sequestered rain water in rain barrels and will use that to keep the substrate hydrated. Were I am in North FL, we usually get our first cold snap around November so I can easily move them inside and onto a heating mat at any time during the process.

 Is there anything else i'm missing or overlooking?

Cheers.