Breadfruit

[Wai`anae Steve]

Ok, I guess most of you can't grow this "up north" or "way down south", but what are it's limits?

Here are two shots of mine. It's been in the ground for maybe 7 years from a maybe 3 gallon plant a few feet tall.

In Hawaiian it's know as "Ulu". This is a Samoan variety known as "Maafala".

It's yummy. I "nuke" it in the microwave for about 4 minutes and then cut off the skin much as you would with a pineapple. Then I cut it into mouth sized chunks and mix w/canned mushrooms, stewed tomatos, two types of beans and then as spicy sause like Rotel. This goes into a slow cooker on low heat for 4 hours.

The resutls is "stew" like meal that is oh so yummy, or as we say in the islands

"Broke da mouth".

[aussiearoids]

I want one , but am waiting for a superior cultivar.

Steve , yours looks a bit small for 7 years growth !

My Jak is that big in 3 from a small seedling .

[Wai`anae Steve]

I want one , but am waiting for a superior cultivar.

Steve , yours looks a bit small for 7 years growth !

My Jak is that big in 3 from a small seedling .

Mike compare your rain fall at 4 meters to mine at 20+ inches a year.

[Moose]

Breadfruit is very marginal in South Florida. It has been reported that some have grown it up to 10 years down here. Sooner or later a cold front dispatches them.

At the Biennel in the Dominican Republic they were seen growing by the roadsides like weeds.

Ron.

[aussiearoids]

hehe sorry Steve ,, I will be cursing the rain soon , but for the last few months we have had hardly a drop . Damn pain when you get a meter a month for 4 months then nothing for the rest of the year .

Does your tree drop its leaves in winter ? Did you know it can be propagated by root cuttings ?

If you cultivate to much around the drip line you will get suckers coming up all over the place .

It is a fantastic looking tree , and I would grow it for the foliage alone .

Have been reading a bit about it recently , some postings and great links from another forum I subscribe to .

There is a vast collection of cultivars somewhere on one of the islands . I think it is part of the National Tropical Botanic Gardens on Kaua'i .

[aussiearoids]

Diane Ragone bio the ' Breadfruit Queen '

[Peter]

One of my favorites-what I would give to be able to grow in in Socal. One of the signature trees of the tropics-nothing says Tahiti like a breadfruit tree.

[Eric in Orlando]

I had one survive one winter here but not 2. It was a small specimen. I was looking to see if it would grow as a "die-back perennial" here, use it for the foliage. I have another one and a Breadnut, Artrocarpus camansi, in containers. When they get to large to bring in the greenhouse they will be planted out and tested.

[Peter]

I had one for a couple of years in Hollywood Florida, but it gave up this past spring. If I lived there I'm sure I could have babied it and kept it alive for longer. My friend Cris in Lake Worth had one for 4 years and had it up to about 15', but had to take it out after it was severely weakened by the bad hurricane season a few years back.

[mnorell]

They show damage right at 50F or so. I grow one here in a container, and it seems quite happy and maintains an attractive appearance even after months inside in dry, furnace-heated air, though mealy-bugs find it attractive and need to be removed while the plant's inside. It spends its time outside from April to mid-October in the sunny courtyard, then to a bright position in the enclosed gallery for the rest of the year. We are expecting a cold-front this weekend and they're threatening lows in the 40s. That means inside it goes on Friday until next spring. By far the most tender plant I grow and one of that select group of ultra-tender tropical wonders after which we all lust. The leaves start to show very minor spotting at exposure to literally just about 50F. Mine is grafted onto seeded breadfruit, not sure if that makes any difference in its hardiness. But I've seen shots of pretty much defoliated trees from the east coast of Mexico after temps in the upper 40s had a field-day with them. I guess they would survive at least for long stretches in Key West with some damage annually. I can't really recall seeing any good-sized trees there, however.

It's worth every nickel of trouble for that beautiful foliage. It catches everyone's eye, and I certainly never get tired of looking at it.

[Peter]

Mmm, maybe I should grow one like Michael and keep it as a houseplant for the winter.

[Al in Kona]

Steve, I have a Breadfruit growing here too but it is a different variety from yours. A friend gave me a small rootcutting plant and it is now producing seedless fruit. I only water it if we have a prolonged dry spell. I'm sure it appreciated the 4 inches of rain we got one afternoon (4 days ago). See pics:

[Wai`anae Steve]

Steve, I have a Breadfruit growing here too but it is a different variety from yours. A friend gave me a small rootcutting plant and it is now producing seedless fruit. I only water it if we have a prolonged dry spell. I'm sure it appreciated the 4 inches of rain we got one afternoon (4 days ago). See pics:

Nice Al. Seedless, hmmmmmmmm. Next time you harvest one take a pic of it when you slice it.

How do you cook it?

[Wai`anae Steve]

Steve, I have a Breadfruit growing here too but it is a different variety from yours. A friend gave me a small rootcutting plant and it is now producing seedless fruit. I only water it if we have a prolonged dry spell. I'm sure it appreciated the 4 inches of rain we got one afternoon (4 days ago). See pics:

Nice Al. Seedless, hmmmmmmmm. Next time you harvest one take a pic of it when you slice it.

How do you cook it?

[Carlo Morici]

Here is a picture of a seeded Atocarpus in Tenerife , at the Palmetum, sown in late 1999, taken this week.

Eric, I see these A.camansi are more sensitive to cold than seedless Artocarpus and look bad at the end of each winter.

Carlo

[Al in Kona]

Steve, We haven't yet cooked any of the breadfruit as it really just started producing any quantity of fruit the last year or so. Need to check some recipes and see different ways people are using it. I'm gonna check some at this site.

[url=http://www.hawaii.edu/eecb/FacultyPgs/dianeragone.html]

[ariscott]

One of my favourite trees... There is a huge one at the Government house, but it is very hard to take a photo of because it is among the canopy. I don't even know they get that big...

They really love water, so don't let them dry out. My friend planted hers on her swampy area and it was the happiest breadfruit tree I have ever seen. Mine is on the irrigation and get watered 3 times a week during the dry, every day during build up and hopefully nothing during the wet (whenever that might be ). It starts to look good now, although it still has a bit to grow...

Indonesians cook it for afternoon tea... we peel and slice it and marinate with salt and garlic, and fry it. We have it with a cup of tea in the wet afternoon. Yummy and life is great!!

Regards, Ari

[Wai`anae Steve]

Thanks for all the comments.

If you make any kind of stews you could substitute bread fruit for potatoes. Yummy.

[Donald Sanders]

I have been interested in Breadfruit for many years. When I lived in SCal many years ago I attempted several times to grow Breadfruit. I found that although very easy to grow its main requirement is no cold. I had a decent size plant growing in a pot for several years, outside in summer, inside winter in a sunny room. As it turned out one night we left the window open in the sun room and the temp went well into the 40's. It died. Years ago I noticed that there was a beautiful tree growing in the rare plant house at Fairchild. Breadfruit are fantastic trees! I think that it is too chilly for any luck with them in Cal. They defoliate and die at temps lower than 50.

Here in Hawaii the Breadfruit trees are common. Breadfruit and Jackfruit trees look very much alike but are different. There are many kinds of Breadfruit trees and there is fantastic research on being done by the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai.

As much as I love the Breadfruit trees I am not growing one. Some fruit are as big as basketballs. When you have a huge tree and it drops about 100 fruit, they rot on the ground and attract lots that you might not want to deal with. I love them now in the forest and in other gardens.

Here on the Big Island there are some interesting historical tales of Breadfruit and King Kamehameha. There are trees close to where I live that are decendants of trees he had planted.

As for food they are many many ways to eat it. Cooked right it is very delicious. Try Breadfruit chips.

Aloha and good luck with beautiful Breadfruit.

[anthrome]

You can also eat the soft mature fruit, it has a sweet, custard-like texture, totally different flavor.

[amazondk]

I recently got two little breadfruit trees that I am going to plant at my country place when the rains set in for the season. They are starting so that should be soon. Interestingly here the people only eat the cooked seeds and throw the fruit away. It a fairly common tree but not as common as it could be. They grow quite easily in my climate. Many years ago I spent some time in the South Pacific and when I think of breadfruit I often remember those trips.

dk

[Manolitus]

Nothing says "tropical" like the Breadfruit. In both appearance and in tenderness.

I live in Coconut Grove ( Miami ) about 2 miles from the bay. I have had a breadfruit tree for about 3 years. I have seen breadfruit trees fruit in Miami, north of me actually.

If we are lucky enough to have one or two mild winters, depending on size, we can get some fruiting.

Otherwise, the trees get beaten back with dips below 50 and the winds. They don't die because it does not stay cold enough long enough, but it just disrupts them where in my opinion they're too busy trying to come back an survive. And they usually come back.

I will be trying that new product freeze pruf this winter when a front is on its way. Let's see how the Breadfruit copes.

manny

[Peter]

Good luck Manny!

[chinandega81]

On 10/26/2009 at 9:33 PM, Manolitus said:

Nothing says "tropical" like the Breadfruit. In both appearance and in tenderness.

 

I live in Coconut Grove ( Miami ) about 2 miles from the bay. I have had a breadfruit tree for about 3 years. I have seen breadfruit trees fruit in Miami, north of me actually.

 

If we are lucky enough to have one or two mild winters, depending on size, we can get some fruiting.

 

Otherwise, the trees get beaten back with dips below 50 and the winds. They don't die because it does not stay cold enough long enough, but it just disrupts them where in my opinion they're too busy trying to come back an survive. And they usually come back.

 

I will be trying that new product freeze pruf this winter when a front is on its way. Let's see how the Breadfruit copes.

 

 

manny

How is your breadfruit doing now almost a decade later? I know 2010 was an awful year, hopefully you protected it and it survived?

[WaianaeCrider]

On 10/13/2009 at 8:31 PM, Wai`anae Steve said:

Ok, I guess most of you can't grow this "up north" or "way down south", but what are it's limits?

 

Here are two shots of mine. It's been in the ground for maybe 7 years from a maybe 3 gallon plant a few feet tall.

 

In Hawaiian it's know as "Ulu". This is a Samoan variety known as "Maafala".

 

It's yummy. I "nuke" it in the microwave for about 4 minutes and then cut off the skin much as you would with a pineapple. Then I cut it into mouth sized chunks and mix w/canned mushrooms, stewed tomatos, two types of beans and then as spicy sause like Rotel. This goes into a slow cooker on low heat for 4 hours.

 

The resutls is "stew" like meal that is oh so yummy, or as we say in the islands

 

"Broke da mouth".

This one died a few years ago for lack of attention and water.