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Messages - cgbills

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help me pick my next tree
« on: April 18, 2025, 06:30:29 PM »
Well I took a trip to A Tree 4 Me in Sebastian. I was able to pick up a Achachairu, ruby supreme guava, and red and green wax jambu. Next goal is to track down a green sapote and a Kwai muk.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help me pick my next tree
« on: April 17, 2025, 11:20:57 PM »
Thank you everyone for all the recommendations. Definitely have some thinking to do. I already have a few questions

Regarding figs. Is anyone familiar with the Celeste variety? There is a local nursery that carries it and I may pick one up. Also, I have been reading say that figs don’t need any more than 100 chill hours. Looking at Vero, it seems we have less than that.  The agroclimate chill calculator does not have a station for Vero but has one for Ft. Pierce which shows 42. So it seems we will be below 100. Is this a problem for fig production?

Kwai muk, anyone know where to get one? Don’t see any available at any places I am familiar with.

Green sapote, same thing, anyone know where to get one?

Wax Jambu, on the growables website it states they will not stand below 44 degrees. Anyone have experience with this? There is a place near here that sells them, so it would be an easy acquisition.


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help me pick my next tree
« on: April 17, 2025, 04:41:03 PM »
Quote from: BloomAndSprout on April 17, 2025, 12:02:56 PM
Does it stay too warm there for feijoa?

How about I suggest you grow something that is lesser known and reported and see what happens, for fun? I've been hopeful for the Alibertia bertierifolia that recently popped up on some of the seed seller sites... Bellamy/Kameron reports in his description that it is a delicious fruit and given its genus (relative of borojo) and intriguing appearance, I have a lot of hope for it (unless anyone knows otherwise). It may still be in stock on Anderson's Tropicals.


I would love to run an experiment if anyone wants to donate a tree  ;)

But seriously I have thought about doing that. Mamey has been big on my list, so maybe I will track down several of the big varieties and see how they do.

Date palms I think would be another interesting experiment, but idk if anyone local has them

Olives were another thought, but it seems like chill hours would be the big problem. I know of someone here who has a Arbequina, but has never got fruit.

Nut trees have been another thought as well. A big part of my growing is self sustainability, and I would like to have some more good fat trees other than avocado. I planted a macadamia, but it was a lot to close to a wet spot and died. I had have really thought about ackee because of good fat, but the toxicity of over and under ripe fruit has scared me.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help me pick my next tree
« on: April 16, 2025, 09:52:42 PM »
Quote from: johnb51 on April 16, 2025, 05:13:04 PM
Out of all these suggestions, I like persimmon, pineapple, garcinias, and Scarlet Beauty plum.  I also like macadamia (if you can prevent the squirrels from getting them all), fig (if you don't have a problem with nematodes), and low-chill peach.  Are you sitting on an acre of land?

Yes I am sitting on 5. I am planting a diversity of stuff in the front part, then deciding if I want to grow anything to scale in the back

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Tropical Fruit Buy, Sell & Trade / Wanted CAC or Orange sherbet scions near Vero Beach
« on: April 16, 2025, 09:10:06 AM »
I had seedling in the ground that I let get pretty big, but was very prone to anthracnose. As such I decided to stump it and I plan on grafting to the new shoots. It will still be a little before the shoots are ready to graft, but I would like to get some scions of CAC or Orange Sherbet around Vero once the shoots are ready. I plan to graft onto multiple shoots, so I would need probably at least 5.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Help me pick my next tree
« on: April 15, 2025, 06:30:46 PM »
Ok I have been doing a lot of research to try and find some other fruit trees that will do well here in Vero. I would love to do Mamey, but the common consensus seems do be it gets to cold here for them to do well. I have heard that maybe green sapote could be a more cold tolerant alternative to mamey.

Also a black beauty black sapote is definitely on my must have. Lastly I have thought about guava, but I am on the fence. They aren’t my favorite and the seeds aren’t great on my stomach. Maybe a pink variety or a more seedless variety would be good. Also I have consider ackee, but don’t like the idea of poisonous under ripe and over ripe fruit.

Not looking to get any more of the things I already have, just maybe some ideas on things I have overlooked. Here is what I have so far.

Pitomba
Mangos
Banana
Loquats
Jaboticaba
Pomegranate
Ice cream bean tree
Peanut butter fruit trees
Strawberry tree
Barbados Cherry
Moringa
Sapodilla
Mulberry
Canistel
Ross sapote
White sapote
Custard Apple
Sugar Apple
Cherilata
Atemoya
Avocados
Jack fruit
Star fruit
Lychee
Longan
Caimito
Soursop
Cashew
Thai giant jujube

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Best mamey sapote for the dooryard grower?
« on: April 14, 2025, 04:36:14 PM »
I really want to plant some mamey, but I had two know nurseries say they will not grow here in Vero. PSL maybe better because it is further south, but I still wonder if anywhere north of WPB can reliable grow Mamey

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Drooping loquat new branch growth
« on: March 29, 2025, 04:36:34 PM »
Quote from: Tropicaltoba on February 27, 2025, 02:45:35 PM
Perhaps clip a couple of leaves so it’s not transpiring so much?

This actually seemed to fix it!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Planting Jaboticaba by a pond
« on: March 18, 2025, 08:27:47 AM »
We have a large pond on our property. I was thinking of planting a few Jabos along the back of the pond, maybe 10-15 feet from the waters edge. Here the soil is usually pretty moist a few inches down all year long. In addition to looking beautiful around the pond, I was thinking the moist soil would be good since they like water. Do you think this is a good idea? I hear they grow near rivers and bodies of water in Brazil.

One other thing, this would also be full sun. I hear mixed info about Jabos needing full or partial sun.

10
Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Chinese Olive (Canarium album)
« on: March 14, 2025, 09:30:29 AM »
 have always been intrigued by rowing olives in Florida. I think their good fats would be a good dietary supplement to the good fats of Avocados. However, it seems there can be issues with growing standard Mediterranean varieties in Florida. I recently came across the Chinese Olive (Canarium album) at Incredible Edible Landscapes. Their description is:

“grown in Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Not a true olive, but it is preserved and eaten similarly. Culinary oil can also be extracted. More productive in S. Florida's climate than true olives (Olea sp.)”

Does anyone have any experience growing these? Also do they have the same good fats/taste that regular olives do?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Chinese Olive (Canarium album)
« on: March 13, 2025, 08:56:16 AM »
I have always been intrigued by growing olives in Florida. I think their good fats would be a good dietary supplement to the good fats of Avocados. However, it seems there can be issues with growing standard Mediterranean varieties in Florida. I recently came across the Chinese Olive (Canarium album) at Incredible Edible Landscapes. Their description is:

“grown in Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Not a true olive, but it is preserved and eaten similarly. Culinary oil can also be extracted. More productive in S. Florida's climate than true olives (Olea sp.)”

Does anyone have any experience growing these? Also do they have the same good fats/taste that regular olives do?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is your favorite sapodilla? Makok vs Alano vs butterscotch
« on: March 12, 2025, 10:54:50 PM »
When does Silas Wood produce? I was thinking Makok (May-Nov) season would complement my Alano (Nov-June) season, but I am wondering if Silas Wood would be a better/more productive choice if the season lines up.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Nurseries to visit in West Palm Beach
« on: March 06, 2025, 08:37:41 PM »
My wife and I are looking at driving down to West Palm for our anniversary and we were looking at hitting up some of the nurseries. Which ones would you all recommend? So far I am tracking Excalibur and Xian’s world. Also may hit up trees and more on the way down.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mamey Sapote Flavor Reviews & General Cultivar Info
« on: March 03, 2025, 09:00:33 AM »
Thanks for the info. I have been looking into mamey more. I am curious if you have thought about which 3 or 4 trees would be best to plant to have mamey year round?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Drooping loquat new branch growth
« on: February 27, 2025, 12:29:49 PM »
So I checked the tree this morning and the branches were straight and ridged again; however, I just checked it here about 12:30 and the branches are drooping and floppy again. We have not had any more rain, so I am not sure it is water. With no further rain or watering, it would be odd for it to be stiff then droop.

I maybe leaning more towards too much sun, but it is a cool 75 degree, party cloudy day and it’s only 12:30. Surely that is not too much sun. I guess the next step is to put up a shade and see. One question, are bigger trees less susceptible to too much sun? I ask because I may need to move to a more shaded place if they don’t improve. Also I wonder if the champagne variety is more susceptible to too much sun, as I have never had an issue with my Christmas.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Drooping loquat new branch growth
« on: February 26, 2025, 08:09:38 PM »
The soil is kind of compact and can hold water at times. This particular spot does not have standing water and I dug a hole 2 to 3 times the size of the pot. I venture to say it’s not too little water with how much rain we had. Would this not be as much of an issue once established? Ed’s delight and Christmas loquats near by are not showing similar signs. I guess I could move it if this would be a problem even as it gets older. Thoughts?

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Drooping loquat new branch growth
« on: February 26, 2025, 12:43:46 PM »
I have a champagne loquat I planted in the ground from a 7gal a month or so ago. It has been doing well, but today I looked and its new growth branches are drooping (pic below). The light green new branches have no rigidity and are flopped over. We got a lot of rain here the other day, so could it be it’s had too much water? Also read it maybe too much sun?


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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Canistel Fairchild #2 year round?
« on: February 20, 2025, 06:04:48 PM »
Quote from: Squam256 on February 20, 2025, 11:59:31 AM
I haven’t known Fairchild #2 to bear year round, more like 2 crops per year the length/extent of which depends on the size and age of the tree.

It’s a superb canistel. One of the best.

Thank you for the response. How would you say it’s productive season/time compare to other varieties? Would you say it’s more extended though not year round?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Canistel Fairchild #2 year round?
« on: February 19, 2025, 12:27:14 PM »
Thanks for the video. It sounds like from their experience the claim of being a shy bearer isn’t true. I didn’t hear them mention year round fruiting, just that it fruits in the winter. Several sources say year round, but just want to confirm with someone with first hand experience.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Canistel Fairchild #2 year round?
« on: February 19, 2025, 09:24:13 AM »
I was looking to add a Canistel to my collection. As I was reading the University of Florida fact sheet, it mentioned that the Fairchild #2 variety is a low producer but gives fruit year round. Does anyone have a Fairchild #2 that can confirm this? I like the idea of having fruit throughout the year as apposed to a single season.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Florida Spring Avocados
« on: February 15, 2025, 09:44:12 AM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on February 13, 2025, 11:17:55 AM
It sounds like you already have pretty good coverage and have made some good choices, I apologize for replying as if you had no experience growing avocados :)

Apmay is only available through Lara, and nobody even has a tree yet. Nobody has even tasted the fruit except the people in the videos. They were eating the avocado in August so I suspect it's more of a summer Avocado where you could pick some fruit early in April/May but that is just my skeptical nature.

Ronnie, on the other hand, is the real deal. I have tasted that one and it's delightful. Very dense, creamy, flavorful and intense flesh with good sized fruit. It's probably the latest season avocado we have available to grow here and the one I put in the ground is doing pretty well.


No offense taken. I am still early on in this journey and appreciate the help!

It looks like I may just have to suck it up and spend the $90 for the Apmay. But since it’s a one gallon, should I keep it in a pot till it is big enough for a 3 gallon, or should I just put it in the ground? I have never dealt with a 1gal avocado. Lastly, does anyone know where I can get a Ronnie? I checked around here in Vero and at Nelson’s in Ft pierce, but couldn’t locate one

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Florida Spring Avocados
« on: February 12, 2025, 05:59:12 PM »
I was looking, is Lara Farms the only one selling the Apmay?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Florida Spring Avocados
« on: February 12, 2025, 02:07:38 PM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on February 12, 2025, 01:55:14 PM
You're in Vero Beach, so your calendar will probably run a few weeks behind those estimated dates which are for Homestead, almost 200 miles south. You may have to give some consideration to cold tolerance as well.

My best advice for Summer avocados in Florida is to focus on mango & pineapple season  ;D

The avocado trees all flower in the early part of the calendar year, and it takes time and sunlight for those flowers to turn into nutritious fruit, that's why we have the gap in the calendar. The longer they stay on the tree, the better they will taste, so it pays to be patient with the early season varieties.

If I had to pick the best tasting avocados with the most complete coverage of the calendar, these would be my choices:

Apmay - Brogdon - Simmonds - Maria Black - Nishikawa - Ronnie

We don't know the flower type of Apmay. Of the rest, Simmonds is the only Type A.

Thank you for the response. Of the ones you listed I have brogdon, Simmons, Maria Black, and Nishikawa. I think I may take your advice and add a Ronnie and Apmay

And don’t worry, I am trying to fill in some holes with my mango production too lol

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Florida Spring Avocados
« on: February 12, 2025, 01:03:38 PM »
Quote from: johnb51 on February 12, 2025, 12:31:44 PM
Quote from: fruitmonger on February 12, 2025, 10:04:28 AM
You would be better off with a Pollock.

Spring is not a great time for Avocado in Florida.

There are early varieties like Donnie ....but any part of May is going to be a very far stretch for 2025....I don't see Donnies being ready until Mid to late June this year at the earliest.

Simmonds are a good bit better than Donnie in what most folks are looking for in a tropical avocado and Pollock is (IMO) a far superior fruit to either of the first two varieties mentioned.

Pollock will also hang on to the tree for a very long time and if getting giant fruit with amazing fat and solids content is important to you then Pollock will not disappoint.
I think you're probably right.  Donnie--the earliest avocado--picked May-June are absolute crap. I doubt that Apmay is much better when picked early.  Let me ask you about Pollock.  It's supposed to be a lot less productive than Simmonds.  Do you think it produces enough for a homeowner?  How consistent is it?

To the OP:  Try to keep your winter avocados on the tree as long as possible if you want "spring avocados."

Thank you for the advice. How long can you keep them on the tree? Do they eventually go bad, or is it just an issue of pests and animals getting them?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Help me select my next mango
« on: February 12, 2025, 10:49:37 AM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on February 12, 2025, 09:05:07 AM
Early Season = Dwarf Hawaiian

Late Season = Honey Kiss, Little Gem

Should all be fairly disease resistant.

I have seen Neelam is one of the latest. Do you think honey kiss and little gem beat it in taste?

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