re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates

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took a lot of soul searching

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At some point, I know my electrical systems and gas backups will fail. Either when I'm out of town on some emergency or old and infirm, it won't last forever. I'm really just a more exaggerated 9a version of you. Winter is always coming for these trees in the US, no matter how long we stave it off. But I can either spend these years eating amazing exotic fruit or spend these years being a pussy because nature says so.

Replant all of that stuff and just prepare for the next freeze.

ETA: I'm putting a new cecilove mango in the ground next week. I'd do it now, but we are having 3 nights in the 50s at the end of this week. Don't want it flowering.

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We’re just a few weeks away from hearing the deets on cold hardy mangoes.

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I also agree that this event is a great source for empirical data. But if I know anything about the mango community, it's that they all want to make claims about cold hardiness. I strongly believe that individual tree health and microclimates are to blame over cultivar specific traits in almost all cases. A well fertilized and strong tree will always out perform a smaller weaker tree.
Alex Salazar says, at best, there is anecdotal evidence that Bailey's Marvel is more cold tolerant. Personally I believe they are all pretty much the same, maybe 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit in either direction.

The Richard Campbell experimental root stocks remain just that: experimental.

If you don't want it to hold fruit, here is the best way to conserve its energy. Wait until the panicle is fully formed and then cut 80% of it off. Leave the remaining 20% and then pick off the fruits when pea sized. That will prevent rebloom when we get the next cool front.

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Don't know if you guys know about this farm, but it looks fairly new

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not new and a very well-known mango farm. It is run by whom I consider to be the single best authority on mango growing in the US. The best thing about TA is that they sit on probably the most ideal tract of land in America for mango growing and the fruit they produce is elite. Highly recommend everyone spend the $168 bucks to get a shipped mixed box at least once this season. The second best thing about them is their commitment to mango diversity. They actively try to collect every variety on earth to preserve the bud wood for posterity. No other farm is doing that; they grow what sells. If you want to learn about any particular mango variety you can think of, the TA website should be the first resource you check out. Whatever he says you can take to the bank.

Yes, tip it. White sapote will try to get huge. Need early branching.

That soil is looking RIGHT. Need to mulch it because that sucker is gonna drain fast.

OK, since this is my thread and winter is over I am ready to start my first experiment of the year. Our knowledge of guava types is insufficient and I'm going to do some real world research.

If you are familiar with guava, you probably know that there are two "classifications" of the fruit, soft types and crunchy types. Soft types are the ones we are growing in this thread like ruby supreme and tropical pink. They are sweet and creamy and you eat them ripe.

The "crunchy" types are grown almost exclusively by southeast Asians and are eaten unripe with salt/pepper/oil/etc. Honestly, a guava with the consistency of an apple that you dip into chili oil has zero appeal to me. But... if you really dig into the internet accounts or talk to an Asian who knows their tropical fruits, you will invariably find that select cultivars of these "crunchy" guavas are consistently rated as the best and sweetest in the world. Examples are Taiwan ruby seedless, Thai ruby seedless, diamond, queen, Thai white, etc. These trees have distinct oval shaped leaves that are noticeably different from normal western hemisphere guavas.

So does that mean that the sweetest guavas on earth are the Asian ones you eat unripe? Will they ripen and become sweeter and soft if left on the tree? Do crunchy guavas turn into soft guavas over time? The answers to those very simple questions are essentially nowhere to be found. Google AI will tell you that crunchy guavas do not become soft. Message boards will say they do. There are no YouTube videos of anyone tree ripening these crunchy guavas to see what happens. Asians are eating all of them unripe and no one is finding out if they get soft like a normal guava.

My friend from NOLA (Asian) grows these select cultivars and eats them crunchy with spices. He tells me they are far, far better and sweeter than ruby supreme and I happen to think ruby supreme is exceptional. He also assures me that they do tree ripen and become soft and even sweeter, but that no one he knows eats them like that.

So ya boy is gonna find out the answer for all of us and contribute to the existing knowledge of the fruit world. I did my homework and concluded that the best rated guava cultivar for flavor amongst people who should know is Taiwan ruby seedless. I bought a 7gal tree that arrived today and uppotted into a 25g. It already has flower buds but I expect them to drop after my bare rooting process.

Clearly an air layer, so that's a good sign. We've got the genuine article.


Look at this disgusting bark sludge that people call soil. All that shite has to come off of the roots.


Our new Taiwan ruby seedless in good soil at 25g.


Stay tuned, we're going to find out if these elite Asian guavas can be eaten soft like the guavas we are used to.

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Honestly, I would have never attempted growing subtropical/tropical trees in containers if it weren’t for this thread

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Tigerlaff deserves a great deal of applause for bringing the knowledge he’s worked very hard to attain to this board. The mechanics of long term container growing alone are not something I would have expected to be so wrong about, and I’m very glad to have learned something new

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Tigerlaff deserves a great deal of applause for bringing the knowledge he’s worked very hard to attain to this board. The mechanics of long term container growing alone are not something I would have expected to be so wrong about, and I’m very glad to have learned something new

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Absolutely agree. Ive learned from that guy and because of him, I have some very exotic palms growing around my pool. And I now know how to repot them, what to repot them in and how to keep them alive.

He is the man

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Y'all are the best. When I really took the deep dive on this stuff a couple of years ago, there was almost NO information about any of this in the context of the Gulf South zone 9. Everything was coming out of South Florida and California, places with entirely different climates where most people are growing in the ground. The only sources that were on point were the Houston fruit growing Facebook groups largely populated by foreigners and often not in English.

My goal was to start a running long-term resource for the next guy who googles "can I grow mangos in a pot in Louisiana?" Hopefully that guy stumbles across this thread and gets sucked into this awesome and rewarding hobby.

But I am not taking one ounce of credit for the most important thing in this thread: what the horticultural industry calls “soil" isn't soil and it kills your potted plants. Like cgrand, I was shocked at how wrong all my assumptions were. That credit goes entirely to Gary Matsuoka of Laguna Hills Nursery in Santa Ana, CA and 99% of my success is attributable solely to him. He's having a live all topic Q&A today 4/4/26 at 11am central time at the link below. Highly encourage anyone interested to watch this week and every week.

Gary's Best Gardening

And thank y'all for participating in this thread. I strongly suspected it would just be me posting into the void for years. I have learned from y'all too and am so impressed with the things I've seen you pull off. And the best is yet to come. 90% of my more exotic trees are only in year 2. I can't wait to see what kinds of things are being posted in this thread in 2-3 years when our work is really paying off.

Second replacement mango is in…

Not bad for a $200 Sweet Tart tree with delivery included.



This was the $225 Orange Sherbet I had delivered. Unfortunately; a mishap broke it shortly after this image was taken. Hopefully get a new one soon.