re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates

Here's my Mamey that lost all it's leaves. May be done for but whatever that is at the top is new, so hoping maybe it comes back.


Pickering Mango got a little damage from the cold, as well as a basketball breaking off one of the 3 branches.


Alphonso Mango did a bit better with the cold, and the basketball




I'm putting my two Barbados Cherry trees in the ground next weekend. They did excellent with the cold weather outside the greenhouse.
The Loquat I already had in the ground did fine this winter.
My two lime trees are blossoming and doing well. May put one of those in the ground as well.
My pineapple is getting way too big for it's pot and is desperate for a upgrade, but i was waiting for warmer weather before doing that.
Two guava trees are doing well and need pot upgrades as well.
Ice Cream Banana is also doing well now after losing brown leaves in the freeze, and he needs a bigger pot.
My Papaya lost all it's leaves, some to the basketball and then to the freeze. Not sure if it'll recover or not.
Hass Avocado is doing well and has plenty of blooms on it right now. I've had it for almost a year now and I don't think it's grown a single new leaf in that time.

Just put osmocote on everythign this weekend.


haven't tried to see if the bark is still green on the Mamey. Didn't want to injure it anymore that it already is.
I did lose my Kikos Crump Hibiscus to the cold.

I’ve got a Bell variety carambola coming tomorrow. Developed here in Florida. A wee 1 gallon tree; but, I will pot it up to 3 gallons upon arrival. Supposedly sweet with a citrusy character. A nice mix of sweet and tart with a somewhat watery texture. The crew at Lara Farms are big fans. If it does well I’m going to put it in the ground at a later date.

I’ve got a spot vacated near my home by a Papaya that got root rot and died last year due to excess moisture from irrigation and being near the drip line of my house. I worry that carambolas growth habit is too much to be close to my house. Plus the excess moisture is a factor.

May end up throwing another banana there. I’ve got a friend with Huamoa, Goldfinger and Pitogo at his place. May see if I can snag a pup or two.

White flies are already out

Is that safe for my citrus etc?

I was about to spray Maverick and then saw it wasn't safe for edible plants.

Yes. Spinosad is fine on citrus. It is toxic to bees but it gets absorbed into the leaves the breaks down in about 10 hours on the surface with sunlight. Spray in the evening after bees are gone and you're good.

Is that the 1 or 3 gallon size? If that's supposed to be a 3 that's ridiculous. Luckily they grow at warp speed and you will not have a small tree for very long.

The worst about this is Everglades Farms. Their stuff is always comically small. I try to only buy 3-5 gallons as I agree that small pots are more difficult to manage. Best to keep it in the shade and not let the direct sun cook the tiny pot.

Damnit you're gonna make me order another tree!

ETA: starfruit are listed as highly toxic to dogs. Oh well. I can't keep mine away from any veggies/fruits that I grow.

I just saw an IG video wherein the guy was talking about Nam Doc Mai mangoes and saying the seeds are polyembryonic and will produce 4 trees, 3 identical to the original and 1 that's different. So you don't have to graft them. Who knew!

I think I got jipped on my super haas. It looks so sad