re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates

Pruned the Jalisco Roja guava for the third (yes, third) time since March. Man this is a vigorous tree. More so than even my ruby supreme.


Lord Baltimore hibiscus started blooming today. This is my favorite hardy hibiscus because it has defined lobed petals like the tropical ones.


Sweet Tart mango. It's like a flavor bomb. Honestly it might be too much flavor. Very strong acidity and very sweet. Just an intense tasting experience. Enjoyed the Pickering more. Just too much intensity here.

Nice! Roselle is a cool looking flower.

Posting this for the starfruit growers in this thread. Guy in London (9a) had his potted tree survive the winter outside. Wouldn't recommend trying it, but it's still impressive. London is significantly cooler over the course of the year than south Louisiana, which just shows you how resilient these trees can be.

quote:

---

Damn, that's a pretty tree. Should I be routinely pruning my ruby or just wait and hack it down before it goes into the greenhouse? It's getting pretty tall now even though I hacked it down back in March.

---

Routinely. The problem is that it fruits only on new growth and flowers all summer. If you let it go, you're going to have a bunch of fruit up high and way out from the trunk. You'll end up cutting them off to fit in the greenhouse. Keep it the size you want so it fruits closer to the trunk and low enough. That way you extend your harvest. The best fruit also comes in Nov.-Jan. so you want that late crop.

Yep. Good work. It will be back in 4 weeks with fruit.

cgrand, this one's for you.


New banana arrived today: Saba.


Why Saba? Because it's very cold tolerant and grows to 25 damn feet tall, that's why.

Should have mentioned, that photo with the guy next to it? South Carolina. 8b. That's who I bought it from. That's unreal size for anywhere that freezes.

quote:

---

Why Saba? Because it's very cold tolerant and grows to 25 damn feet tall, that's why.

---

Gosh dang. I want to plant a bunch of those in my back yard so I can pretend I'm hunting tigers when I get drunk.

Yeah these aren't for fruit, although it would be nice. Using them as a backdrop behind my fence along the bayou. Just want to see huge nanners in the distance.

A respected mango dealer near me swears that a perfect Dot is the best mango they’ve ever had. He sells 1,000-3,000 lbs a week during the season. I’ve had them; hasn’t left that much of an impression on me.

Had Juicy Peach for the first time a few days ago. I really enjoyed it.

Still haven’t had White Piri. Apparently they struggled this year.

Fruit Punch is a banger. Lemon Meringue/PPK is quietly becoming one of my favorites.

Had one I definitely didn’t like today. Diamond is a Zill selection in the Thai profile. Has nothing to do with that; I’m just learning that I generally dislike Thai mangos as I prefer them ripe and they like them green.

Trying to convince myself to go to Mango Mania at Pine Island tomorrow. It’s about 2 hours away. There 4-5 different mango farms I can hit while there. May make for a fun day.

Good news. It’s easy as hell to graft loquat during the summer. All 3 grafts are showing signs of life. This was a healthy seedling rootstock in a 7 gallon container.

This is a cleft graft of Big Jim White at the top of the main leader.


Here is a veneer graft of Argelino about halfway up the main leader.


And lastly, here is a veneer graft of Big Jim White on the lower portion of the main leader.


I let the grafts heal for 2-3 weeks and then cut off all existing rootstock branches. That really forced the grafts to start leaving out.

Mulberry update - I was able to root Tice, Maple Leaf, and Chicken Claw but they are very touch and go right now. Just took out of my rooting bags and placed in 1 gallon pots. Very minimal roots. I wouldn’t be surprised if they take off and grow great or wilt and die. Mulberry grafting is also very touch and go. Still have some with swollen buds but nothing really leafing out yet. Fingers crossed on the mulberries.

I don't think the mango is going to make it. I never sprayed it with anything so no chance I grabbed the wrong sprayer. It went from growing like crazy to wilting overnight.