re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates

Two new arrivals today. First, the true Mexican Cream guava. I tried to source this last summer and could not find it anywhere. That's when Steve of Gala Plants on Etsy stepped in. Steve is the single best tree seller on Etsy. When he couldn't find me a tree, he found someone with an existing one, took scions, grafted them to rootstock, and grew them out over the course of 12 months. Just straight up made the tree for me and guava is very, very hard to graft. Charged me only for shipping. Best seller on Etsy hands down.

This one is going to get babied. I have no experience with grafted guava and cannot let this scion wood die, so I took some unusual (for me) steps to be extra safe. I did not disturb the roots at all. Just left the tree in the bag it came in. Gave it some distilled water with mycorrhizae to inoculate the roots. Put it in my grow room where temps stay around 80-85F and humidity around 60%. This thing came from Carlsbad, CA where the weekly high is 82F. Gave it a foliar nutrient feed and tomorrow I'll spray it with brassinolide to encourage growth. Once I've got it strong and large enough I'll air layer it to get it on its own roots and never worry about the graft union again. One of the sweetest guava varieties out there.



I posted earlier in the week about how the flamethrower palm I've been growing over the past year turned out to be Chrysalidocarpus pembanus, the Pemba palm. Very cool and rare palm, but not what I was looking for.

But this gave me a chance to grow the flamethrower that I really wanted, the Chambeyronia macrocarpa hookeri subspecies or blonde flamethrower. This one has a tan crownshaft and brighter red leaves than a regular green flamethrower. But the coolest part is that the seller sent me two seedlings instead of the one I paid for. People have really been doing me a lot of solids lately. They were shipped in dry moss and foil so I had to repot immediately.

Yo Lanier,

I think I was right about the lipstick. It just threw a 6 month tantrum because I took it from a 2g to a 10g. Now that it's settling in it's getting dark green fronds with multiple leaflets. I also started spraying the whole thing with water like you do. This is clearly a species that isn't going to get too wet and get fungus (in hot weather). In the winter I hear it will absolutely get fungus and die if moisture isn't well managed.

Hopefully mine will start looking as good as yours soon. 10g pot is for the next 10 years minimum.

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Yo Lanier,

I think I was right about the lipstick. It just threw a 6 month tantrum because I took it from a 2g to a 10g. Now that it's settling in it's getting dark green fronds with multiple leaflets. I also started spraying the whole thing with water like you do. This is clearly a species that isn't going to get too wet and get fungus (in hot weather). In the winter I hear it will absolutely get fungus and die if moisture isn't well managed.

Hopefully mine will start looking as good as yours soon. 10g pot is for the next 10 years minimum.

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I moved mine from a 3 to a 7 about a month ago. It never really missed a beat. I did not totally remove all the soil from it when I repotted it. I do mist mine everyday a few times as I walk by. I think it is helping. I also use the foliage pro at least every other week. Some times every week. I also keep a pan under mine with some water in it at all times. As soon as the pan gets dry, I pour a little in there or water it.


As for the winter, I know I will have to bring mine inside and then I will need your advice on what to do. It does not stay below 50 here a lot but It does get there for a few months off and on. My plan is just to move it on the other side of my slider from where it is now. Sunlight will be consistent to what it is now but I will have to manage the moisture somehow..


Yours is certainly looking better. I would love to start to see some red on mine. Just dont see any yet

Update on Gary's Top Pot availability:

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Return of TOP POT DELAYED!!!

BAD NEWS: We have been told by several sources that Burton Flower & Garden Supply Co (BFG) the nationwide distributor that we purchase our Gary's Best Soils from is going bankrupt. Several years ago BFG purchased L&L Nursery Supplies that originally helped us create our TOP POT and ACID MIX soils. Lack of liquidity and/or impending shutdown may be the reason that our TOP POT had not been re-registered to sell in California earlier this year.

GOOD NEWS: Redi-Gro, the company in Sacramento that actually blends and bags our soils for BFG is very interested in continuing to produce our TOP POT.

NOT SO GOOD NEWS: We will most likely have to design new bags which takes some time to get approved by the EPA.

GOOD NEWS: We will have more control over our product and perhaps make more money.

BAD NEWS: We have gotten most of our garden supplies, other then plants, from BFG...so we may have to change brands that we currently carry.

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I predict we are 6-12 months away from Top Pot being available again. I've just started buying the bulk materials and making it myself.

It only comes in 1 cubic foot bags. I have a deal with a guy who sends it to me for $30/bag shipped. It's absurdly expensive for soil but making it myself is actually more expensive unless I can find a cheaper source of pumice. There is a product called Dry Stall that is sold in feed stores that is a 40lb bag of pumice that is supposed to be very cheap. Don't know the size of the rocks or if they need to be sifted. Looking into it.

I almost wish Gary's didn't work so well. But the results speak for themselves so I'll keep paying.

Gary's class today was about growing tropical fruit. Haven't watched yet but will be checking it out tonight.

LINK

Have you reached out to the bonsai store under hill out by you in Folsom ?
They sell a mix for $68 5 gal of pumice lava and shale.
Wonder if they mix it or can get bulk product before it’s mixed ??
We really need a nursery to pick up a contract for top pot or at least the precursors !

Yeah I'm currently buying 50qt boxes on Amazon.

Will definitely look into the Folsom place. Didn't even know it existed!

TL, I have a plumeria question for you. 8 weeks ago, I bought a plumeria from my local nursery. I had it in the pot for a couple days then planted it in my front yard. My front yard faxes south so It is getting plenty of sun. Now we were in a drought and I was watering with my irrigation system from below. Now of course it is raining everyday so its getting plenty of water.


It has two stems. One of the stems has been putting out new leaves like crazy. almost always has new leaves coming out and more behind those. the other side has never even had a sprout. The only leaves on that side are the ones that were on it when I bought it minus a few that has fallen off.

I have fertilized it twice with liquid plumeria fertilizer but thats it. That one side just looks odd to me. Its not soft but even if you look at the other side, it is green a good bit down the stalk where the other side is not

Do you think anything is going on here or is time going to fix this.

A few pics





Good side




Non growing side









This is my dwarf plumeria that I purchased from Jacks a few months back. Here is a before and after picture from June 3 to August 2. So about two months. Every single shaft is putting out leaves like crazy and it is doing very well. It got repotted about 4 weeks ago in Gary soil and a bigger pot

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That thing is totally fine. Don't do anything to it. Mine is just starting to bloom this week.

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Dont you find it odd that the one side has not put out one single bud with it being in a great spot with plenty of sunshine and water for 10 weeks in zone 10a? Not one single bud for a leaf or anything all while the other side has made 15 leaves in the same amount of time


Just odd to me. Plus, the tip of that side just looks odd to me


Yours looks amazing.