Yangmei (Morella/Myrica rubra) thread

[simon_grow]

I’m starting this thread to track the progress of our Yangmei trees in the hopes of learning as much as we can about this exciting and delicious new fruit crop. I am especially interested in tracking the growth rate, fruiting season, identifying morphological characteristics (leaf shape, size, etc…) and fruit quality of the various varieties.

My understanding is that there may be some varieties that fruit a little earlier or later and it would make sense that there would be males out there that produce pollen earlier or later in the season as well. According to one article I read there are also some monoecious (hermaphrodite) trees out there.

Since this is such a new crop in North America, I would love to gather as much data as possible. Please feel free to post pictures of your trees, links to articles and share your success and failures. There is a lot of information out there but almost all the information is in regards to growing Yangmei in China and some of the information may not translate well to growing this crop in the US.

I recently started a new job so I don’t have as much time as I used to have but I will come back to this thread to post a lot more information and pictures as time permits.

Simon

[simon_grow]

Here are some pictures of a variety called Wandao. This variety may ripen a little later than other varieties but ripening times in the US may be very different. The morphology of the leaves may be influenced by environmental factors and stage of growth of the tree so until we get a better understanding of how these trees grow in the US, we should use these pictures for informational purposes only.

Initial observation of the leaves indicate that the leaves may be more narrow. Some leaves have the serrations and some don’t. I have noticed that for many of the varieties, the leaves may or may not show serrations based on the growth stage.









This next variety is called Early Hard and it is supposed to be monoecious (hermaphrodite). Initial observations of the morphology of the leaves indicates it has wider leaves. I have observed both serrated and non serrated leaves on the same tree.








Simon

[jtnguyen333]

this will even more popular than your mango thread..Simon.

[roblack]

Wandao and Early Hard sound WOW! The cultivars keep piling on.

Here are some pics of Biqis finally waking up for spring:





Should I strip the leaves and wait for buds before trimming and grafting, as with mango or annona?

[Jeramyl SoCal]

this will even more popular than your mango thread..Simon.

WHOA NOW!!!  Slow down there JT.    That is a big statement.  That mango thread was magnificently popular!  Just teasing you.

Thanks for starting this Simon.  I share the excitement and look forward to adding to this post.  As always, your efforts are very appreciated. 

[simon_grow]

Thanks Janet, Rob and Jeramy!

Rob, I have not found it necessary to strip the leaves. There are so many buds on the branches that you should have plenty of material to work with.

Brads tree was also starting to take off last time I saw it. I am very confident we will be able to grow and fruit this wonderful fruit in the US.

As I work more and more with Yangmei, I am getting the sense that they are much more hardy and easier to grow than we gave them credit for. Yes, it can be extremely time consuming and difficult to revive bare root trees from China but once you get the root system established, they grow like weeds.

There is at least one unidentified disease that causes rapid death in Yangmei trees and I haven’t figured out if it’s Bacterial, Viral or Fungal but this disease is one of the major issues we should be on the lookout for. The disease causes the leaves to dry up and remain attached to the stems. It seems to affect the vascular tissue.


Simon

[simon_grow]

Here’s An Hai soft. An Hai soft is supposed to be better in terms of fruit quality compared to the regular An Hai.









Simon

[simon_grow]

Here’s Improved Biqi. The Improved Biqi like the name implies is supposed to be an improvement over the regular Biqi. The regular Biqi is already an excellent tasting fruit so I’m very eager to try this newer selection.




Like the regular Biqi, this variety appears to have slightly smaller leaves compared to varieties like An Hai and Dongkui.

Simon

[simon_grow]

This variety is called White Honey. So far, it is the slowest growing variety. This may, or may not be the same as Crystal. We will have to fruit these to find out.





Simon

[K-Rimes]

Are these scions you acquired from overseas, Simon? Or are they whole trees? Seedlings?

[K-Rimes]

Found this from a 2015 post here on TFF:

"I have been using a biochar mix  (char and coco coir)at at a ratio of 70/30 weighted to char. It has worked superbly.

Anyway, what I have noticed is that the yangmei's rooting habit is to grow deep, long, and very very thin fibrous roots which are extremely prone to rotting. The yangmei I had rooting in seed raising mix and sand at 50/50 have no grown anywhere near the kind of rootmass as the char mix. I assume this because they are too wet and are simply rotting off before they can form. They were all potted in the same style of pot and all received the same amount of watering.

So if you're trying to root bayberries-- totally free draining soil is essential! They are extremely sensitive to root rot."

[simon_grow]

These are local trees. I may also be posting pictures of my seedlings so that we can compare growth rates. The more data we get, the better.

I’m not sure if the 2015 post is completely accurate.

My Yangmei roots are relatively thick and white, not stringy and as they mature, they lignify like regular tree roots and become tough. The white roots can be crispy and brittle like bean sprouts but I would not say they’re stringy.

Also, my roots were shallow and dense. They completely filled the pot from top to bottom.





Simon

[kh0110]

...
Also, my roots were shallow and dense. They completely filled the pot from top to bottom.
...
Simon

Kind of like fig roots, good to know.

[K-Rimes]

Very helpful images of the roots, thank you Simon. I went with pure peat moss for my batch this time, I hope it works.

[RevivalR00ts]

Update: I found out that they did indeed identify 3 species of RKN: incognita, hapla and javanica

The roots here are what many of the trees had in this last group order and, from what I hear, previous group orders as well. I’m not sure how worried I should be because when they were inspected, nematodes were found and further testing had to be performed. In the end they released them, but I am not sure which nematodes are acceptable and not. It would be nice if Bill could get the report or their findings so we know more about what they tested for and their determinations. If these are Root Knot Nematodes, everyone should be aware of what they are working with.

[simon_grow]

As a best practice, I prophylactically treated my trees with this product



When we received our trees in April 2021, I noticed what might have been RKN on the bare root trees so I looked under a microscope and dissected some of the galls and didn’t see any live nematodes.

Shortly after the shipment, I messed up and may have accidentally inoculated my soil with RKN thinking it was Frankia, still not sure but anyway, I used this product and waited about a month and then I used these beneficial nematodes

https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/products/5-million-live-beneficial-nematodes-sf-fungus-gnat-rootknot-gall-exterminator?variant=23323522563

As you can see by the pictures of my Yangmei roots, there is no sign of RKN.

It would be wise for all current and future Yangmei group buys to prophylactically treat their trees.

RKN thrives under certain conditions and some parts of Florida and California may have conditions where RKN can thrive. Under less than ideal conditions, RKN will not flourish and will not cause much of an issue but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Simon

[roblack]

Can RKN be transferred through plant material other than roots? Can grafted material transfer RKN?

[simon_grow]

Highly unlikely. It is transferred by root or contaminated soil. Runoff water from infected roots/soil can transfer RKN. I’m no RKN expert, I just did a lot of internet search last year.

If there’s a RKN expert, please chime in.

Simon

[kh0110]

...
It would be wise for all current and future Yangmei group buys to prophylactically treat their trees.
...
Simon

Future group buy? ROFL!!!

[simon_grow]

For those that can wait, I know there will be grafted trees for sale in the future. These trees will be grafted onto M Californica, Cerifera or seedling Rubra.

Simon

[RevivalR00ts]

As a best practice, I prophylactically treated my trees with this product



When we received our trees in April 2021, I noticed what might have been RKN on the bare root trees so I looked under a microscope and dissected some of the galls and didn’t see any live nematodes.

Shortly after the shipment, I messed up and may have accidentally inoculated my soil with RKN thinking it was Frankia, still not sure but anyway, I used this product and waited about a month and then I used these beneficial nematodes

https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/products/5-million-live-beneficial-nematodes-sf-fungus-gnat-rootknot-gall-exterminator?variant=23323522563

As you can see by the pictures of my Yangmei roots, there is no sign of RKN.

It would be wise for all current and future Yangmei group buys to prophylactically treat their trees.

RKN thrives under certain conditions and some parts of Florida and California may have conditions where RKN can thrive. Under less than ideal conditions, RKN will not flourish and will not cause much of an issue but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Simon

You mentioned seeing that there are no RKN on your yangmei roots. Did you post the roots from your trees from the last group order?

[simon_grow]

I posted pictures of the trees roots after I pumped them up. I did not post pictures of the roots when I received them.

Simon

[RevivalR00ts]

I posted pictures of the trees roots after I pumped them up. I did not post pictures of the roots when I received them.

Simon

‘Pumped’?

Where is that post?

[simon_grow]

I have been experimenting on Yangmei for the last year and I recently teamed up with a company to produce trees for sale so unfortunately it is proprietary information.

If you read through this thread

https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=43270.0

There is a lot of information that I did share.

Simon

[RevivalR00ts]

I have been experimenting on Yangmei for the last year and I recently teamed up with a company to produce trees for sale so unfortunately it is proprietary information.

If you read through this thread

https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=43270.0

There is a lot of information that I did share.

Simon

I’ll get through those 30 pages one day... but I was just curious what you meant by pumped. Not looking for proprietary info.