Yangmei (Morella/Myrica rubra) thread

[Galatians522]

Oh no, I just bought more Californica rootstock, one large tree in a 15 gallon, cost me $150, grafted all my new yangmei on them. Can't find any cerifera rootstock large enough for grafting onto.

Crazy thing is I know a place where there are literally 1,000 cerifera plants (it is native here) from 4' to 20' tall growing wild. I would never have dreamed that they would have a street value like that.

[seng]

Simon, if you have only yangmei variety to grow, which one?  Thanks.

[simon_grow]

Seng, that’s like asking which one of my daughters I love more. They all have their own unique flavors and some ripen earlier and others ripen later. You really need several to extend the season and get the full spectrum of flavors. White Honey, for instance, has a bright citrusy taste tgat is a completely different flavor profile and smell compared to Dongkui. Dongkui has a unique flavor tgat I can only explain as Dongkui flavor and you have to taste it for yourself to know what im talking about out but once you taste it, you’ll never forget it. The early Hermaphrodite has a sweet Sangria fruit punch flavor tgat is absolutely incredible.

Other forum members asked me the same question about Mangos, figs, Dragonfruit and Cherimoyas and I could only narrow it down to several varieties tgat I liked best.

If I absolutely had to narrow it down to my to 4, in no particular order, White Honey, Early Hermaphrodite, Dongkui and Wandao.

[seng]

Simon, thanks.  Tough choices to make.  I might have to go with Dongkui then.

[simon_grow]

You could always multigraft a tree. Yangmei is densely branched so you could have a lot of varieties on one tree.

Simon

[pinkturtle]

Thanks everyone!

Scott, you should try grafting onto Cerifera rootstock. My trees on Rubra and Californica get destroyed by the sudden death. Some people may be able to grow Yangmei on its own roots but if you’ve already killed multiple trees on Rubra Rootstock, give Cerifera a try.

Thanks Simon, yes I had a Californica multi-grafted but did the sudden death thing! Thanks for tip on using cerifera r.s.

I had that experience too.  After a year of grafted No reason and it sudden death on Californica. 

[pinkturtle]

Simon, thanks.  Tough choices to make.  I might have to go with Dongkui then.

DongKui is the most popular one in China and I only go with DongKui too and the best is Self-pollinate.

[simon_grow]

I would still recommend grafting a male or Hermaphrodite branch onto Dongkui in order to get fruit sooner and also to get higher yields. I forget how many year’s Fang had to wait until his Dongkui started producing fruit consistently.

[K-Rimes]

Well, I took the plunge and went big on this Wandao from Simon. It just barely fit in my 8’ truck bed. I have complete confidence in Simon and his suggestions and work on yangmei is invaluable for all of us on the forum. It was a very informative and inspiring visit. Really I was just visiting for pitanga scion and to check his collection out but the yang called to me again. I’ve spent so much already, what’s a bit more?! I’ll be grafting to cerifera as he suggests.

[nattyfroootz]

yolo!!!!

[SHV]

Whoa, that’s a beastly Yang.  I had a good chuckle that you went for a Pitanga Scion and came back with an 8 ft tree.  That is always my experience when nursery browsing. 
Next time you’re in the area, pop on by for a visit. 

[ScottR]

Well, I took the plunge and went big on this Wandao from Simon. It just barely fit in my 8’ truck bed. I have complete confidence in Simon and his suggestions and work on yangmei is invaluable for all of us on the forum. It was a very informative and inspiring visit. Really I was just visiting for pitanga scion and to check his collection out but the yang called to me again. I’ve spent so much already, what’s a bit more?! I’ll be grafting to cerifera as he suggests.

Whoa the big plunge best of luck growing that beautiful specimen Kevin, did you find source for cerifera ?

[K-Rimes]

Well, I took the plunge and went big on this Wandao from Simon. It just barely fit in my 8’ truck bed. I have complete confidence in Simon and his suggestions and work on yangmei is invaluable for all of us on the forum. It was a very informative and inspiring visit. Really I was just visiting for pitanga scion and to check his collection out but the yang called to me again. I’ve spent so much already, what’s a bit more?! I’ll be grafting to cerifera as he suggests.

Whoa the big plunge best of luck growing that beautiful specimen Kevin, did you find source for cerifera ?

Simon was kind enough to ply me with a few cerifera rootstocks and let me know they root well from cutting. I have a nice 3' tall one which I'll chop up for propagation, and also a rack of 6 well rooted cuttings in seed cell that I just up potted to 1g.

Whoa, that’s a beastly Yang.  I had a good chuckle that you went for a Pitanga Scion and came back with an 8 ft tree.  That is always my experience when nursery browsing. 
Next time you’re in the area, pop on by for a visit. 

I was really not planning on purchasing it, though it had crossed my mind when Simon said he had some big bruisers for pick up only. After seeing them in person, and talking with Simon, it really convinced me to try again. The root growth on cerifera is outstanding. The tree was completely rooted out in that squat 15g. I am not at the ranch daily right now, and the winds are high, so I thought a 25g and reduced watering would be best for me.

It is so hard to visit everyone! I stopped by at Brad's since he's pretty close to Simon and was astounded at how much his place had shot up, and also stopped at Mark Lee's, which was really cool to finally visit as well. You're next up on my "hit list"!

[simon_grow]

Hey Kevin, im glad the tree made it home safe. Luckily you picked one of the shorter trees or else we may have had to clip the top. I can’t wait to see how this tree does for you. It will definitely grow and fruit a lot better in ground but it should also do good for you in a bigger pot as long as you keep it well watered during hot dry weather.

[simon_grow]

Big Black Carbon

Big Black Carbon is the second earliest ripening variety for me this year. The first fruit ripened at the end of May and lots of fruit are ripening now in early June. This variety can have female and male blooms on the same tree but this is the first year I have observed this and there were only a few male blooms that I could find.

This variety, like the White Honey, can drop its fruit early.  I thinned this potted tree by removing approximately 800-1000 fruit and there are still around 200-300 fruit remaining.

The fruit size can get medium large and the bigger ones are about 17-18g. The highest Brix I got so far was 12.3%. This tree is in a pot and needs to be up potted and I believe the fruit size and the Brix can increase if it were planted into the ground.

The color of the ripe fruit is a dark burgundy color. The flavor is good and mild. The acid level is low and there is a mild Yangmei flavor similar to An Hai. This is a good variety for anyone that doesn’t like much acidity and wants to plant a single tree (no male) and still get fruit. This variety also ripens fruit earlier in the season.










Simon

[RevivalR00ts]

Jesus. That tree is huge. Simon, is that grafted onto rubra?

And that was the smaller tree!? Can you post a picture of the larger one?

[K-Rimes]

Grafted to cerifera. It is a pounder. I put it in a 25g and it drinks the whole thing up daily. Incredible trees that Simon is working on, he is the man without question. I bet in just a few weeks it'll need to go into a 45 or 65g.

[simon_grow]

Jesus. That tree is huge. Simon, is that grafted onto rubra?

And that was the smaller tree!? Can you post a picture of the larger one?

Another member bought all my big trees. The bigger trees were a few feet taller and some were a few feet wider.

I stopped grafting trees onto Rubra rootstocks because of the issues with sudden death.

A few people recently contacted me regarding large Wandao trees but im all sold out. I may have a few small Wandao, White Honey and male trees available in the next month or so. These will all be grafted onto Cerifera Rootstock

[Luisport]

Hard Silk



Dongkui



Black Carbon



Crystal

[Luisport]

Yangmei seedlings

[K-Rimes]

Jesus. That tree is huge. Simon, is that grafted onto rubra?

And that was the smaller tree!? Can you post a picture of the larger one?

Another member bought all my big trees. The bigger trees were a few feet taller and some were a few feet wider.

I stopped grafting trees onto Rubra rootstocks because of the issues with sudden death.

A few people recently contacted me regarding large Wandao trees but im all sold out. I may have a few small Wandao, White Honey and male trees available in the next month or so. These will all be grafted onto Cerifera Rootstock

Put me down for a white honey please.

[FV Fruit Freak]

Hi Simon hope all is well. Can you please tell us what you do before harvest to ensure a good crop? Thank you.

[K-Rimes]

Hi Simon hope all is well. Can you please tell us what you do before harvest to ensure a good crop? Thank you.

My guess is supplemental watering, thinning, and maybe wind protection. I am testing the limits of wind on the tree I bought, gusting 50mph here.

[simon_grow]

Hi Simon hope all is well. Can you please tell us what you do before harvest to ensure a good crop? Thank you.

There’s a lot tgat needs to be done in preparation for harvest and I can’t get into the details because of my consultation side hustle but if the tree was not prepped from the start, the yield will be substantially reduced. The appropriate fertilization, pruning and an integrated pest management is what people should pay attention to.

All of my large and small trees are sold out and there is a very long wait list for everyone that contacted me. I will be sold out for all of 2025 while I try to fill the orders on my wait list. Thanks everyone!

[dolomis]

All of my large and small trees are sold out and there is a very long wait list for everyone that contacted me. I will be sold out for all of 2025 while I try to fill the orders on my wait list. Thanks everyone!

You mentioned in your previous message you may have some small Wanda’s and white honey available in the coming months. Are those already spoken for ?