The Tropical Fruit Forum

I know cherimoya seeds aren't supposed to be consumed. I accidentally just swallowed a small one (this particular fruit had so many seeds in it).  Should I call poison control, induce vomiting, or think one is okay?

Hi there:
Did anyone else here receive the cucumis cantaloupensis seeds from the now-banned Romanian user?  That user sent me a very nice letter with the seeds meticulously organized last year.  I have very little space and never grew any sort of melon other than pickling cucumbers.  So, I've really no idea what I'm doing here both in terms of growing and knowledge of this fruit, that's the fine print 

We grew a total of five plants:  one in a double-bucket self-watering system, two in a 22 gallon grow bag, and 2 in the dirt.  The two in the grow bag had no fruit, and the remaining three plants had one fruit each. 

The SWC cantaloupe grew to a 7x5 inch ellipse, and days before full ripeness, it split!    Despite this, I went ahead and tried it.  It had a nice cantaloupe aroma, the meat was dry and mealy, a mild sweetness.  This growing method was a total experiment and a fun try.  Will try it again, and probably tweak the fertilizer a bit.

One of the plants in dirt has a small fruit that needs probably another 2 weeks to ripen, it's small, about a 4" diameter water-balloon shape - this is the one we're all waiting for because it has no netting on the fruit (apparently important).  According to this now former cantaloupe expert, the netting means hybridization, which is something we are looking to avoid.  Okay then!

The other one turned color to almost ripe, and while I took pictures, it fell off the vine.  It took only two days to turn fully yellow (including the ribs), so we opened it up.  It was juicier than the SWC cantaloupe, texture was sort of like a plantain/banana and not silky like what we are used to here for honeydew or cantaloupes.  Aroma was pretty strong.  Flavor was good, also mildly sweet, actually, pretty refreshing especially after chilling.  I like these with a little salt.  I also tried a bit of sugar as suggested by the user, it didn't really do much for me.  Many of the seeds had already begun to germinate inside the watermelon, that was interesting to see!

Will try growing again next year, with some tweaks to the bucket system, and try to find other in-ground spots.  Will report back once the third fruit ripens, hopefully, this time without issue!

Very curious to hear if others here had any luck with these cantaloupes

This small section in my front yard gets full sun from about noon through sunset, it faces south, gets pretty warm from the wall.  Can some tropical fruiting plant fit in such a small space where the water regulator is?  I was thinking some sort of passiflora or maybe kiwi?  Better ideas?  I would also like to put something on the other side of the pillar inside the gate, similar size, but gets more shade due to the pillar blocking sun as it sets.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Hi!

I have a number of sabara jaboticaba seeds germinating right now and was surprised to see them polyzygotic?  I think that's the right term, if not, apologies.  This one's got 5!


Do I just let this be, or should I be snipping these somehow?

Hi:

I have a spot in my garden that after some research in November and December I think a jaboticaba might grow decently.  Goal is quick growth and tasty. 

Zone 10a, coastal so cal (<1 mile from beach).  Relative humidity averages around 65%, temps rarely fall below 40F in the winter, and rarely get over 85F in the summer.  The particular garden spot is near full shade for six months from late fall through early spring, and full sun rest of the six months.  Soil drains well but for is moist most of the year because of over-watering from the HOA.  pH is 7.8, I've begun amending with acidic soil mix and spreading the soil acidifier like sulfur.  Tree needs to stay below 8ft in height.

There's quite a lot of information here (especially the jaboticaba's anonymous thread), I'm confused which one I should try to grow and how to go about it.    Escarlate?  Red hybrid?  I read there was a variety that did better in high pH soil and drought conditions, and some were grafting the more vigorous varieties to it.  Should I consider this?  I was sort of hoping to start from seed, given the lower entry cost and not feeling so bad if it doesn't make it. 

Thanks for reading.

Hi there:

I purchased on impulse and planted a "Myrciaria sp., Escarlate" seed near the end of April this year.  The seed went into one of the 1.5"x1.5" six-pack pots, reused from some nursery seedling purchase.  "Soil" is a mix of coconut coir and perlite.  I kept it covered in south-facing window on a seedling mat inside.

It sprouted early-mid June, and then a couple weeks later relocated it outside to a warmish area that gets sun until about noon, shady rest of the day.  It hasn't really done much since, having remained as a tiny little sprout with a bud and no leaves since then - the bud has lengthened a bit in the past week.    I read up on jaboticaba and learned this happens on occasion.  I am coastal south-OC (southern california).

Here are a few questions:
1. what is the abbreviation "sp." for ?
2. what should I do next:
  a) move to a 4" pot?  When?
  b) bring it back indoors?
  c) put it in better soil mix now, such as a 5-1-1 that's acidic in the 5.5-6.5 range?
3. "feeding" plans, anything extra needs to be done for best success?  I did the below mostly on a whim, was not planned
  a) I gave a small drink of 1/2 strength DG foliage pro mid june
  b) yesterday while watering other outdoor plants, I gave it a light watering with a normal dose of a 2-2-2 fish/seaweed/molasses fertilizer (something I picked up last year from HD, "Kellogg" brand).

Thank you for your time!

Picture!

Hi there:

I've read a number of threads over the last few weeks on pineapples, trying to see what kind of success others have had and to learn from them, because frankly speaking, I have almost none in the last three years trying to get them to root.  I've tried well over two dozen, changing my methods, water, dirt, orchid bark, lava rock, twist, cust, dry, organic, inorganic, etc, and have had only four taking root last year.  The only correlation I've found with the successes: none were sold with tags through the core.

The costco pineapple I got today was surprisingly sweet, and has said tag.  Curious, I peeled a bit more of the fronds away, and eventually the core just fell apart. 

This confuses me a little.. it shouldn't die because of this?  Someone here posted an interesting PDF that concluded it is possible to grow many pineapples by cutting the core into pieces, although, this does cause a longer time to maturity.  That said, with the removed core, I'm letting this dry a bit to "heal" and maybe it'll sprout new growth.  Bah. 

Hi:

I have a few, 5-year old avocados in 15-20 gallon pots for about 2.5 years.  They were all grown from seed, no ID unfortunately.  From what I've read, the best time to repot an avocado is when it is dormant, however, I just missed that and it has new growth.

1. Can I go ahead and repot now, or should I wait until end of season?
2. I'm certain they'll be root bound given how long they've been in the pots, and I can't put them in a bigger container at this time, okay to root prune a little?
3a. One tree has a new growth about 8" up from the base - should I cut this or leave it?
3b. Given that the tree has been somewhat neglected, and I'm not really expecting any fruit yet, should I consider leaving the new growth, and chop the tree just above it to give it a sort of "restart" ?

Thank you for your time.

Here's the short version: I have 12 avocado treelings in pots, no actual yard space, and all desperately need to be re and up potted.  I don't want to repot and take care of all 12, I don't want to throw them out, and no one I know wants them.  What am I supposed to do?

Long version by request