The Tropical Fruit Forum

Not that I know of. I think champa uses and/or recommends osmocote. But laguna hills nursery sells their very own soil "Gary's best". Highly recommended. Based off of volcanic rock dust, drains really well. The recently made a deal to get wider distribution but in the meantime that's where I go now for my soul. They have weekly sales - just keep an eye out for soup sales. Store is in Tustin/orange/Santa Ana so it would be on your way up from San Diego to mimosa or champa anyways.

For fertilizers, David at Bonita creek makes his own mix. He has both a synthetic mix from 5 different commercial brands that he blends, then he also has an organic based fertilizer that he blends from individual components.

Thanks for your replies. I actually didn't think about the leaf situation and the pool.

I live in Orange, and there are plenty of large lots in this area. Apparently I was 5 years late on getting in on a massive house sitting on 2.5 flat acres, but our property suits us just fine

As for water, I pay less now (about 40$) with Irvine ranch water than I did when I lived in Yorba Linda a few years back with fewer trees, smaller trees, and a 300-400$ water bill. We have 9 people living in the house, so the water isn't just for plants. I have had at least one person recommend registering the land as a farm or some such to get a better water rate, but I haven't looked into that too much.

The main thing I don't like about the plan is that some of the trees are tucked against the western wall which is plenty shaded in the afternoon. My neighbors have tall 30+ foot tall trees lining their properties. I hope to keep my trees to about 15 feet, but most of my trees that are already on the western side are shaded in the afternoon. The current plan is to have avocados on that side but I think they will need for sun.

There is a courtyard in the frontyard == thinking of grapes/passionfruit there. By the pool, there are a couple of planters and I was thinking of olives but maybe the fruitless kind or maybe cherimoya (because they look pretty). For the stone fruit, I was thinking of  planting them as hedges or putting them really close to each other like dave wilson nursery lists on their website (2 feet apart I think). Right now, everything is plotted as being 10 feet away from each other.

Also not a fan of having fruit trees against or near the house because of critters.

As for the cultivar list (see below), I have listed what I have but am not committed to keeping all of them. I have started some multi-grafting just to preserve what I have and save space. Pending means I have grafted/budded, bought, ordered, have on hold, solicited, etc... that variety but am waiting for it to grow or arrive. For some cultivars, I have more than 1 (usually by accident, or I didn't think 1 would survive, or I got a deal, or on different rootstock). Depending on space, I may not keep multiples.

Thanks again


AVOCADO
Carmen Hass x2
Day   
Fuerte   
GEM   
Green gold
Hass x2   
Hellen   
Herd   
Holiday   
Jan boyce
Kahalu’u x2   
Lamb hass
Nabal   
Oro negro
Pinkerton x2
Queen   
Reed   
Sharwil x 2
Sir prize   
Sharwil or Jan boyce, lost tag
   
MANGO   
Ambrosia   
Coconut cream
Cotton Candy
Edgehill   
Edward-Angie-Carrie multi-grafted
Fruit Punch
Juicy Peach
Keitt   
Lemon Zest
M-4 (pending)
Madame Francis
Mallika   
Manila queen
Orange Essence
Orange Sherbet* (TT – Yes, I know all the history behind this. I bought it before I knew. I am willing to watch and wait )
Peach Cobbler
Phoenix   
Placid   
PPK   
Multi-grafted mango (pending)
Multi-grafted mango 2 (pending)
Multi-grafted mango 3 (pending)
Multi-grafted mango 4 (pending)
Multi-grafted mango 5 (pending)
   
SAPOTE   
Black – black  beauty
Black – reinecke
Green   
Mamey – pace
Sapodilla – Tikal
   
CHERIMOYA, etc
Cherimoya x atemoya cross
El bumpo (pending)
Fino de jete
Pierce (may not survive…)
   
GUAVA   
Bassateen el sabahia
Red strawberry
Variegated guava
   
PERSIMMON
Chocolate
Coffee cake
Fuyu   
Giant Fuyu
Saijo   
   
FIG   
Black madeira (pending)
Col de dame blanc (pending)
Col de dame noir (pending)
Green ischia
Ischia black (pending)
Kadota   
LSU purple
Panache   
Preto (pending)
Seedless Kadota
Violette de Bordeaux
   
CITRUS   
Mandarin

Algerian   
Daisy   
Daisy SL (pending)
Fairchild LS (pending)
Gold nugget
Lee x nova (5 of these)
Miho wase
Multi-grafted mandarin (Dange, Page, Kishu, Algerian, Dward Honey)
Multi-mandarin (budded July 2017 with take: clemenules, shiranui x 2, china s-9, okitsu wase), August 2017 pending take: sunburst and usda 6-15-150)
Pixie   
Ponkan   
Satsuma   
Shasta gold (pending)
Sudaichi   
Tahoe Gold
Tango   
Unknown mandarin (on property, great flavor)
Xie shan mandarin
Yosemite Gold

Kumquat

Meiwa kumquat
Nagami kumquat
Nordmann kumquat

Lime/Lime-like

Bearss lime x 2
Kaffir lime
Mexican thornless lime
Rangpur lime

Lemon/Lemon-like

Meyer lemon x 4
Multi-lemon (budded August 2017 pending take: limonero fino 49, seedless lemon, genoa lemon, limonero fino largo 95, femminello siracusano 2kr)
New Zealand lemonade
Ponderosa lemon
Santa Teresa lemon
Variegated pink lemon
Villafranca lemon

Orange

Cara Cara pink navel
Moro blood orange
Navel x2   
Robertson
Valencia blood orange
Valencia x3
Multi-grafted Valencia orange, bearss lime, pink lemon (one of my first trees, kept for sentimental reasons)

Other

Minneola x4
Rio red grape fruit
Oro blanco grape fruit
Australian finger lime
Yuzu   
Indio mandarinquat
Marrakesh limonetta
Dweet tangor
Ortanique tangor
   
STONE FRUIT
Multi: July elberta peach, fantasia nectarine, babcock white peach, Blenheim royal apricot, Santa rosa plum
Nectaplum – Spice zee x2
Cherry – 6gm25
Cherry – 6gm25
Cherry – Minnie royal
Cherry – Minnie royal
Cherry – royal lee
Pluerry – Candy heart
Pluerry – Sweet treat
Multi-peach: mid-pride, eva’s pride, Florida prince, Desert Gold, May pride
Donut peach x 3
Katy apricot x 2
Nectarine x 3 (unknown varieties)
Santa rosa plum
Multi-pluot: Flavor supreme, flavor queen, flavor king, dapple dandy
Multi-pluot: Geo pride, splash, flavor grenade, emerald drop
Multi- cherry plum: Delight and Sprite
Pluot – Dapple supreme
Pluot – flavor finale
Pluto – flavor grenade
   
APPLE/PEAR
20th century Asian pear
Hosui Asian pear
Multi-apple: Gordon, Anna, golden dorsett, fuji, Arkansa black spur (I think… 2 grafts took but I lost my label)
Anna   
Fuji x 2   
   
POMEGRANATE
Grenada   
Parfianka   
Red silk   
Wonderful
Yellow (not sure if this is the cultivar name, got wood at scion exchange)
   
MULBERRY
Black Pakistan
Dwarf everbearing mulberry
Pakistan fruiting (Cooke)
Teas weeping
   
BERRIES   
Bababerry raspberry
Blackberry triple crown
Boysenberry thornless
Fall gold raspberry
Goji berry
Olallieberry
   
BLUEBERRY
1 other type, lost the tag
Misty blueberries
Pink lemonade
Southmoon
   
DRAGON FRUIT
1 other type, lost tag, supposedly very good
Dark star   
Hailey’s comet
Unknown variety (Gift from friend)
Vietnamese white
Yellow   
   
OLIVE   
1 other type, lost the tag
Arbequina
Arbosana   
   
OTHER   
Cacao x 5   
Cinnamon
Elder berry
Miracle fruit x 2
Passion fruit
Peanut butter fruit

After 7 years of collecting trees and growing them in pots and boxes, it's time to put these plants in the ground. I am working with a landscape architect for the design but wanted to solicit advice from the group at large. I have to work in roughly 170 trees/plants. Some will probably have to be axed. East is towards the top of the plan. I don't like where the cherimoyas are positioned and want to move them between the curved firepit and the sports court. Thanks in advance for your collective wisdom and advice :-)

Avocado - 21
Citrus - 34
Stone Fruit - 15
Apples/Pears - 3
Mango - 22
Mulberry - 3
Blueberry - 5
Cherimoya – 4
Persimmon – 5
Sapote – 5
Guava – 2
Fig – 8
Miracle Fruit – 2
Cinnamon – 1
Elder Berry – 1
Olive – 3
Dragon Fruit – 3-5
Grapes – 7
Pomegranate - 5

Would like some trellises for grapes and other vine plants (ie, passionfruit)
Would like a simple structure for the dragon fruit

Cinnamon and miracle fruit need shade with indirect light

-K

Re Bonita creek: Last time I was there he had a few of the brokaw mangoes, and some of the older varieties. He told me he was planning on having some new hybrids in the next few months . I don't think he has any of the zill mangoes. He had quite a collection of cherimoyas as wel as cherimoyas x  atemoya crosses. I got a mamey, green sapote, and sapodilla from him. And he had a neat collection of citrus as well. Had a xie Shan growing as well as a Lee x nova, ponkan, New Zealand lemonade, and ponderosa lemon. All on various root stock.
Also had a few carmen hass and GEM avocados , either on zutano or clonal  rootstock, which I had been looking for for quite some time.

Champa nursery had the broadest  collection of Florida mangoes that I had seen, many from pine island but a few must have been special ordered from other places because he had a boxed coconut cream some months back and I don't think pine island nursery sells those.

Mimosa nursery has many mangoes in general, but they don't have a broad variety. They just have a high quantity of the few cultivars that they grow.

Jimmy at champa seems much more like a mango enthusiast to me.

Quote from: CA Hockey on September 12, 2017, 01:20:08 AM

Bonita creek nursery also has a huge selection. Plus he's always experimenting and has interesting/unusual crosses on the side that he sometimes will part with. I like exotica and champa and mimosa as well but Bonita creek always has interesting things and great variety, for all your various tree needs

What type of mangos does bonita creek carry?  Do they graft them here or import from florida?

Let me look at my tree tomorrow.
-K

I don't think they have to line up perfectly all along the edges. I have read on this forum that some members recommend the scion actually be a touch larger than the recipient wood/cut. I suspect that the more the cambium layers match, then the better the chances of success. so long as there is a connection between layers (i.e., the two cross and intersect at one or 2 points) and the rootstock is pushing sap, then you've got a chance at success.

Best of luck
K

To maximize fruit production, get yourself a pollinator but either way you will get fruit. Bees will be picking up pollen and shuttling it around all day from the same tree.

I container grow for now and I have had great success with a 3-5 gallon Jim bacon tree: it flowers like crazy and has both male/female flowers for quite a while during the middle of the day. In that size container, you can just move the tree around to whichever tree you want to have enhanced fruit set. I have found Pinkerton also makes quite a few flowers. Unfortunately I lost my first Jim bacon tree. All that flowering... I guess it set so much fruit even at such a small size and I failed to remove or thin  the fruit. Carried 40 avocados for several months before slowly dropping them and tree went into decline for next 2 seasons then died on me. Never grew the same again. Word to the wise. - don't let young trees bear so much energy rich fruit.

Glad you got some help but while I think it's fun to drop by various nurseries and check out what they have, I think you can save some time by:
1) going on the dwn website
2) click on home garden at the top left
3) select variety finder at top right
4) this will bring you to a page with all of their listed trees. Multi-bidder ones appear at the top of the list but you can use the filters to further refine your options
5) choose the variety you are interested in
6) you should now be at a page that lists which nurseries bought that particular tree. The results listed are for all states so just scroll down until you find the relevant zip codes (how the list is organized on my phone) and give them a call.


Hope this post saves you some time. There's only so much driving you can do, especially here in socal

H and h nursery in Lakewood. They have a large selection of dwn trees (lots of multigrafted still be trees). You can also go on dwn website and track down what trees you like. I believe you can actually see which nurseries ordered a particular tree type and call them directly, although you may have better luck during bareroot season when the orders come in.

K

I called la Verne and asked them directly. They said they use the same rootstock for all their mangoesband just graft on other varieties (like keitt). For Manila, they just let thebrootstock grow.

I did try and graft on earlier this season. Didn't takenbutbthat was probably me.

I recently found a 15 gallon la Verne Manila monster at h&h nursery in Lakewood. Couldn't believe the size of this juggernaut. Will post a picture if I can figure that out later.

I hear you on putting them in the ground. When I first started  this hobby and wasn't as good with nutrition and the various needs of potted plants, everyone so often I would notice my plants (especially avocados) would sprout a foot or 2 out of nowhere and I wouldn't have to water as often. That usually meant that the roots had popped through the bottom and i hated having to rip them out to move he pots around.

K

CA Hockey, avocados do sooooo much better in the ground. They are one of those plants that really don't like being in pots. Put it in the ground as soon as possible.

My six foot tall Reed tried to hold 50 fruit!  I thinned it down to three since I want it to spend its energy on growth. I do love Reed avocados. In my book they are one of the best varieties.

Bill

I have a hybrid from Steve at Bonita creek nursery, cherimoya x atemoya. Couldn't remember the name but a friend of his helped develop it. It's either what they're calling a Satin or Coochie island.

I don't have any experience successfully multigrafting mangoes or anything other than stonefruit but from what I understand with stone fruit it is conveneient and encouraged to graft varieties that ripen at different times so that you can enjoy the different fruits over an extended harvest period (see videos on multigrafting and home orchards at davewilson.com). I don't know if this same strategy would apply to mangoes but one could argue that doing so allows the tree to spend less energy at any given time during the fruiting season but over an extended fruiting season. The net energy expenditure would be the same. Again, not sure if this applies to mangoes or not but I haven't heard people put the same argument for other energy intensive crops like avocados.

What I have seen is vigorous branches take over the tree and sometimes causing dieback of weaker or less vigorous grafts, so you would have to prune to balance the growth of each variety.

K