re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates

I had to start digging up plants and repotting them today, no choice. Only way I can keep them alive

Water hoses aren’t getting it done when the ground is completely desiccated. At least in a pot I can be sure the root ball is soaked

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Yea I think you’re right on pot size. Guessing that’ll be the final up pot for that tree’s life ? Maybe a root prune in 5 years?

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Alex Salazar of Tropical acres has said several times that 25g is the minimum size to grow mangos and 45g is the minimum "good" size. But yes, 45g is where I stop. Will grow until it needs root maintenance.

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I don’t think I’m far from jumping my guava. That thing can suck a pot dryyyyy and goes from perfectly perky to droopy mess by the afternoon lol.

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They drink a ton of water. The fast rate of growth plus those soft matte papery leaves just plows through water. Highly recommend getting guava to 25g sooner rather than later just for the water stress. I have had trees put on an entire inch of trunk caliper in one year.

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Yea I would love a winter not in the teens…just really screwy with all the plants..would love a normal flowering cycle for my deciduous fruit trees also.

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Amen. 7 years. We are due for it.

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And my poor Reed avocado despite my best efforts is so stressed by spring it drops all its leaves around flowering time, been in a holding pattern for 18 months on size. It’s finally pushing well again. I do think it’s the wrong variety for our climate though. My potted ones and the Maria black in ground I think will do substantially better.

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Really excited to see how Maria Black performs. If I ever grow an avocado (doubtful) that's the one I will attempt.

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Would love some star fruit this year, but any that set end up dropping, guessing the heat??

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Just wait a few weeks. When we get to September/October they are going to enter their fall flowering cycle and put on a bunch of fruit. Mine sets way more fruit in the fall than during the summer heat. I've got maybe 20 fruit on the tree from the summer cycle ripening now (which have been crazy sweet BTW), but I'm expecting closer to 75-100 fruit from the fall cycle. Your tree is probably just too new to really set a good summer crop yet. Keep it watered every day if you're not already. Will help with fruit retention.

First ruby supreme of the year. Wasn't really ready to come off but was softening and had some decay on the stylar end. Decided to pick it instead of letting it rot. As expected, not great. The first ones never are. Interestingly there was actually some sweetness here. In years past where I didn't thin the fruit, the early ones had zero sweetness. Hoping it's a sign of things to come.

Kind of looks like Barbie Pink. It was both not ripe enough AND the early fruit suck anyway in my experience. They will improve significantly over the coming months.

In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like mine go from insipid to good almost overnight. I don't really remember there being a quality gradient where they slowly improve. I'll keep that in mind this year to see if that holds true.

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Dwarf namwah de Tigerlaff in its spot for the rest of the year,

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Just don't let it freeze! It's honestly the best dessert banana we can pull off. Namwah is regarded as an extremely good banana even in south Florida. We are just lucky that it deals with the cold and stays small enough to wrap.

Had one fall off into the bag when I bumped it. Good call on the bags Laff. Pretty good, probably should have left it on the counter for a day or two. Does the mealy texture go away if more ripe?




I really like that the peel is edible. I hate peeling fruit.

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Mine are shaded after about 1 and they're doing great. I haven't had to water them yet this summer. The shade might be a good idea.

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Mine is pretty much in the sun all day and I’m not watering it but maybe once every 3 days and it has been doing great.

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Will do. My wife was not happy with the texture . She's pregnant right now and is going through the nausea stage. She immediately started gagging when she took a bite.

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I mean it probably did suck, but it's well known that Americans have a problem with soft fruit, especially ones with seeds. Americans prefer crisp acidic fruits that have been bred or engineered to be seedless. It's a real shame because some of the best tasting fruits on earth are soft and creamy: guava, atemoya, cherimola, custard apple, jackfruit, mamey, etc.

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Mealy bugs

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Good luck. The alcohol is just a temporary bandaid. Their eggs are in the soil and in every single nook and cranny on the plant. If you don't have imidacloprid for an eventual soil drench go ahead and buy it. Strongest concentration you can find.