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Black/White Sapote and Canistel in SoCal


Sabal Steve

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35 minutes ago, Sabal Steve said:

I’ve been having trouble finding a good info on the size, growth, culture, etc. of these in Southern California.

Pictures or experiences?

Can't speak from personal experience, but there used to be a couple White Sapote growing across from one of my Aunt's house back in San Jose that were ..roughly in the 20ft height range. Pretty easy grower up there and seemed to thrive on very little care.

Imagine they grow ..even easier / can get much larger down your way. Pretty sure Chocolate Sapote are about as easy as well.

You might also look over pictures shared by a former?? ( Hasn't posted here in some time ) Palmtalk member who currently posts on the Grows on You plant forum, under the user name Delonix1.  Posts shots of all sorts of uncommon fruit trees from around San Diego, among lots of other stuff seen there.

I should mention, he has a shot of a Mangosteen specimen ..the real deal.. growing at the Zoo in his photo gallery.

Can get in touch with the owner of... / visit Exotica, up in Vista.. Great info. resource, and you'll likely leave with more than you'd planned on purchasing when visiting the nursery.

@rprimbs would be another great S.D. area resource that comes to mind who i'm sure will chime in.

Check the Tropical Fruit forum as well, lots of S. Cal members on there. https://tropicalfruitforum.com/

Edited by Silas_Sancona
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White sapote are very easy to grow down here in southern California.  But the slugs and snails really like to eat the leaves.  My friend at work said he would make a little mound of slug bait all around his.

I have heard some people say that black sapote are challenging down here, but some of the old members of the California Rare Fruit Growers had big ones.  My grafted black sapote grew much faster in the pot and has been a bit slow in the ground. 

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I forgot to mention canistel.  I have heard that it is relatively easy to grow but I have not tried it yet.  There is a nursery in Vista (California Rare Fruit Nursery) that sells them.  I did have a Ross Sapote in the ground for years.  It would always get winter damage, and then it died.  I think it needs some winter protection, like a frost blanket here.  

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white sapote is very easy here in socal.  last year i picked up a couple black sapotes and canistels and i've been very impressed with their growth in pots.  in the fall i put two different varieties of grafted canistels in the ground next to each other to facilitate cross-pollination.  

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Posted (edited)
On 4/6/2024 at 11:12 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Can't speak from personal experience, but there used to be a couple White Sapote growing across from one of my Aunt's house back in San Jose that were ..roughly in the 20ft height range. Pretty easy grower up there and seemed to thrive on very little care.

Imagine they grow ..even easier / can get much larger down your way. Pretty sure Chocolate Sapote are about as easy as well.

You might also look over pictures shared by a former?? ( Hasn't posted here in some time ) Palmtalk member who currently posts on the Grows on You plant forum, under the user name Delonix1.  Posts shots of all sorts of uncommon fruit trees from around San Diego, among lots of other stuff seen there.

I should mention, he has a shot of a Mangosteen specimen ..the real deal.. growing at the Zoo in his photo gallery.

Can get in touch with the owner of... / visit Exotica, up in Vista.. Great info. resource, and you'll likely leave with more than you'd planned on purchasing when visiting the nursery.

@rprimbs would be another great S.D. area resource that comes to mind who i'm sure will chime in.

Check the Tropical Fruit forum as well, lots of S. Cal members on there. https://tropicalfruitforum.com/

Thanks, Silas

I took a picture of a White Sapote near a friends house, in Escondido.   It’s a big tree, and I’m skeptical that it can be manageable pruned - just a guess.  There’s a 4’ fence for scale.  

(Pics below)

Also, the Mangosteen is interesting.  I know little about those, other than hearing that they like more tropical climates.

On 4/8/2024 at 8:35 AM, epiphyte said:

white sapote is very easy here in socal.  last year i picked up a couple black sapotes and canistels and i've been very impressed with their growth in pots.  in the fall i put two different varieties of grafted canistels in the ground next to each other to facilitate cross-pollination.  

Epiphyte, thank you.  

Would you mind sharing some pictures?

On 4/7/2024 at 5:37 AM, rprimbs said:

I forgot to mention canistel.  I have heard that it is relatively easy to grow but I have not tried it yet.  There is a nursery in Vista (California Rare Fruit Nursery) that sells them.  I did have a Ross Sapote in the ground for years.  It would always get winter damage, and then it died.  I think it needs some winter protection, like a frost blanket here.  

Richard, I hope you’re well.  

We met maybe 10 years ago, and I sold you a 15 gallon Pritchardia and smaller D. Leptochielos, I believe (along with a dug up Phoenix Sylvester’s that I donated).

I’m over in City Heights now, maybe like 6-7 miles from the water.  I’m thinking 10A, but not positive.  On a hill, with good cold drainage.

It sounds like those all may be worth a try.   Really want to try the Black Sapote.  Just a beautiful tree.  

Thank you, for all of the info. 

IMG_0089.thumb.jpeg.14b07ab216cbda501cfa1df72f7e9bf6.jpegIMG_0088.thumb.jpeg.609e86cb6234c3a0d9ec9a1530acafb2.jpeg

 

Edited by Sabal Steve
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Steve, I think I remember.  You were living up on the Central Coast?  I work as a truck driver now but I went to Cal Poly SLO for horticulture.

One of the easy semi-tropical fruits I am growing here is jaboticaba.  It is supposed to be very slow, but it was not too slow for me.  It is about ten years old.  I am going to cut it back, so I am taking some air-layers first.  Pardon the weeds, it's been a wet spring.  It is quite ornamental with the grape like fruit all over the stems.  My soil is quite alkaline, but it seems to do just fine.

Jaboticaba.thumb.jpg.2b3f18cb0ad26572b350a4615d23855e.jpg

The star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito) called Vú Sữa in Vietnamese ("breast milk") is quite ornamental.  The top of the leaves are dark green, and the bottoms are brown.  Sorry I don't know how to rotate this image.  My tree usually looks a bit burnt this time of the year, but the winter was mild so I did not have to cover it with a frost blanket.  It is growing in the shade so it has been slow.  I am going to prune back that tree.

StarApple1.thumb.jpg.e9929744d174a66b74c5796b2c585982.jpg

 


Another very ornamental tree is the guava, with it's peeling bark -- like the jaboticaba.  I have a Thai seedless in a pot that I need to plant.   Sorry this is sideways too.  The dead tree behind it is a mango -- which I strangely have a hard time growing.

GuavaThaiSeedless.thumb.jpg.2a7474befdcfbb3cd53bf656317bf642.jpg
 

 

 

Jackfruit are definitely ornamental and do okay here with some winter protection.  Mine has been a bit neglected, and my fishtail palm ( "Caryota obtusa") is sort of smothering it.  I am taking a little time off and I need to get out and work on it.  It is at the top of my property.  Most of the fruit so far is male..

Jackfruit.thumb.jpg.0b9d7b28cf9aea05bf1a617dceb68458.jpg

jackfruitfruit.thumb.jpg.31daff9cbb3b3a50a947e3e30c33afa5.jpg

 

I would recommend the sapadilla (chico sapote) fruit tree too.  "Alano" is an ornamental tree, and it is relatively slower growing for sapadilla so it is a little more manageable.  The fruit tastes a bit like a candied pear with brown sugar.  The tree to the left is a Pakistan mulberry and I would recommend it for the flavorful fruit.  But the birds and squirrels really like it so you might want to cover it with fine netting.  Don't use bird netting unless you want to catch rattle snakes (You will, even if you don't think you have any).

Sapadilla.thumb.jpg.25d819191a324c546ff21f9669e6060b.jpg

 

Here's a picture of my little achacha (Bolivian mangosteen).  It is much faster than my mangosteen.  I had it covered because I was also growing a durian.  But the durian died after some wet weather.  Durians seem to require near perfect drainage and I had some of our soil mixed in with the mix in the pot.

Achacha.thumb.jpg.b8917e782d423989c02b0f6d8539b9e8.jpg

 

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16 minutes ago, rprimbs said:

Steve, I think I remember.  You were living up on the Central Coast?  I work as a truck driver now but I went to Cal Poly SLO for horticulture.

One of the easy semi-tropical fruits I am growing here is jaboticaba.  It is supposed to be very slow, but it was not too slow for me.  It is about ten years old.  I am going to cut it back, so I am taking some air-layers first.  Pardon the weeds, it's been a wet spring.  It is quite ornamental with the grape like fruit all over the stems.  My soil is quite alkaline, but it seems to do just fine.

Jaboticaba.thumb.jpg.2b3f18cb0ad26572b350a4615d23855e.jpg

The star apple (Chrysophyllum cainito) called Vú Sữa in Vietnamese ("breast milk") is quite ornamental.  The top of the leaves are dark green, and the bottoms are brown.  Sorry I don't know how to rotate this image.  My tree usually looks a bit burnt this time of the year, but the winter was mild so I did not have to cover it with a frost blanket.  It is growing in the shade so it has been slow.  I am going to prune back that tree.

StarApple1.thumb.jpg.e9929744d174a66b74c5796b2c585982.jpg

 


Another very ornamental tree is the guava, with it's peeling bark -- like the jaboticaba.  I have a Thai seedless in a pot that I need to plant.   Sorry this is sideways too.  The dead tree behind it is a mango -- which I strangely have a hard time growing.

GuavaThaiSeedless.thumb.jpg.2a7474befdcfbb3cd53bf656317bf642.jpg
 

 

 

Jackfruit are definitely ornamental and do okay here with some winter protection.  Mine has been a bit neglected, and my fishtail palm ( "Caryota obtusa") is sort of smothering it.  I am taking a little time off and I need to get out and work on it.  It is at the top of my property.  Most of the fruit so far is male..

Jackfruit.thumb.jpg.0b9d7b28cf9aea05bf1a617dceb68458.jpg

jackfruitfruit.thumb.jpg.31daff9cbb3b3a50a947e3e30c33afa5.jpg

 

I would recommend the sapadilla (chico sapote) fruit tree too.  "Alano" is an ornamental tree, and it is relatively slower growing for sapadilla so it is a little more manageable.  The fruit tastes a bit like a candied pear with brown sugar.  The tree to the left is a Pakistan mulberry and I would recommend it for the flavorful fruit.  But the birds and squirrels really like it so you might want to cover it with fine netting.  Don't use bird netting unless you want to catch rattle snakes (You will, even if you don't think you have any).

Sapadilla.thumb.jpg.25d819191a324c546ff21f9669e6060b.jpg

 

Here's a picture of my little achacha (Bolivian mangosteen).  It is much faster than my mangosteen.  I had it covered because I was also growing a durian.  But the durian died after some wet weather.  Durians seem to require near perfect drainage and I had some of our soil mixed in with the mix in the pot.

Achacha.thumb.jpg.b8917e782d423989c02b0f6d8539b9e8.jpg

 

Rotated them / gave the Star Apple shot a slight touch up -to bring out the leaf color a bit more-  for ya'..

Screenshot2024-04-10at12-25-50Black_WhiteSapoteandCanistelinSoCal.png.849c27c766602c2536aa8f72e94b5692.png

Screenshot2024-04-10at12-26-03Black_WhiteSapoteandCanistelinSoCal.png.d2286c4f3291b52508c948f2e42c7124.png

Screenshot2024-04-10at12-26-17Black_WhiteSapoteandCanistelinSoCal.png.521e24f315c4f5bd8c35c2a84a711c9b.png


You tried any of the  Red Joabticaba out there? ..Supposedly fruits much sooner than the commonly available purple / black -fruited types can. 3rd or 4th year after germinating, vs 5-10 - 10+? years for the Sabra types,  if what i recall being told is correct.

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I only have the regular purple jaboticaba.  I want to get the yellow.  There is quite a variety.  Some people get addicted and get a collection of Plinia,  I want to try the "Giant Mulchi" (Plinia inflata)..  But maybe I am getting too off topic.  I will post a picture of my chocolate Sapote today.   Incidentally my jaboticaba fruited after about four years in the ground.

If you are interested in other "sapotes" like  Mamey Sapote -- which has orange flesh that tastes very similar to pumpkin pie -- you should try a Green Sapote.  The Mamey sapote can grow and survive here but it always looks terrible.    I suspect the "sapote" in the video below tastes a little similar to the mamey sapote, but it sounds like it is much sweeter.  The Plinia that they first taste is similar to the Plinia inflata.

 

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Here is a picture of my pitiful, semi-sprawling, chocolate sapote, that I planted last year.  I got it from Lara Farms ( larafarmsmiami.com ).  It is a grafted "Bernecker", which Lara Farms says is considered the best.  Hopefully it will get some sturdier growth this year.  However the leaves appear to look reasonable healthy.

Chocolatesapote.thumb.jpg.aecc76369ae7ee5ae8ae096a0069d264.jpg


 


 

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1 hour ago, rprimbs said:

I only have the regular purple jaboticaba.  I want to get the yellow.  There is quite a variety.  Some people get addicted and get a collection of Plinia,  I want to try the "Giant Mulchi" (Plinia inflata)..  But maybe I am getting too off topic.  I will post a picture of my chocolate Sapote today.   Incidentally my jaboticaba fruited after about four years in the ground.

If you are interested in other "sapotes" like  Mamey Sapote -- which has orange flesh that tastes very similar to pumpkin pie -- you should try a Green Sapote.  The Mamey sapote can grow and survive here but it always looks terrible.    I suspect the "sapote" in the video below tastes a little similar to the mamey sapote, but it sounds like it is much sweeter.  The Plinia that they first taste is similar to the Plinia inflata.

 

Agree, collecting Jaboticaba / Plina can become addicting.  I lost them ( ..tough to keep happy in pots where it is over 105F for 3+ months and your yard has little canopy / faces west ) but had Sabara, Red, Yellow, White, and Blue ( Myricaria vexator )  ..among some other fruiting stuff when we moved here.

Out of them all, yellow seemed like it was the most sensitive ..Not necessarily to what cold i've seen but water quality / heat..

  Blue was surprisingly tougher than i'd assumed, and the other 3, Sabara and Red esp. did well.  No doubt if i had more overhead canopy and planted them, they'd likely have done much better.

One of my neighbors has ..one of the standard purples planted, and it has handled the heat / dry air here w/ out issue ( under high canopy of course ) . Fruits every year.

Since they can fruit fairly easily in containers, have considered getting my hands on a pair of Reds, and another Blue Jabo again.  Have room out front where they'd have right shade pretty much all day.  Would plant but, this being a rental, not happening, lol.

Have to ask again, but think my neighbor is / was growing a Green Sapote in his food forest.  Everything else he has  has done fine in both places he has edibles planted.  Might have mentioned Chocolate Sapote as well..

My humble opinion ofcourse,  but, your Chocolate Sapote looks like it is off to a good start.. I'm sure it should start to take off as it's roots get established.

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I think that you could possibly keep the white sapote at a reasonable size with aggressive pruning.  The problem is that most people don't seem to understand how to prune.  

I started out as a horticulture major before I switched to geology, and I took an excellent landscape maintenance course at Cal Poly.  It was taught by a professor who had been the head horticulturist at Disneyland.  I should remember his name but I don't...  Anyway he started off by explaining that every time you prune a branch off the center of the branch will die back into the tree until bark heals over it and "compartmentalizes" the dead part.  If bark does not heal over it that branch base can die inside the tree down the trunk.  So when people use pruning paint (Like half latex half water) they are trying to stop the branch from dying down into the tree.

I don't fully understand it but a tree does not have a brain and it does not say "I think I will put a branch out here, or here.".  There is something chemical going on inside the trunk.  Like a concentration of auxins and cytokinins hormones.  So curiously where the tree put out the branch is also where the healing will take place.  And if you are trying to root a cutting, it is where the roots will come out -- near a bud, or branch.  If you just prune at any random spot on the branch bark will not heal over the wound and the center of the branch will die.  You will get all sorts of adventitious growth around the edges of the tip of the branch, but the center will be dead.  So you always want to "drop crotch" back to a branch, a bud, or the tree..  The part of the branch closest to the trunk can be slightly thickened.  People call it the "branch collar".  Is it a response the the greater hormone concentration, or whatever is going on, or is it the source of the new growth?  I think it is the response, and people who argue that you should prune a little above the "branch collar' have no idea what they are talking about.  I think it is the ideal place to prune for fastest growth of bark, and compartmentalization. 

The 'energy' in the tree seems to be directed upward -- apical dominance.  You cut off the tip of the highest branch and the tree will shift from growing tall to growing wide -- and fruiting!  Branches that grow horizontally tend to fruit the best.  It is almost counterintuitive but a branch that grows at a ninety-degree angle to the trunk will be much stronger than a branch that grows almost straight up against the trunk -- because the bark will grow down the crotch and there will not be much wood anchoring the branch to the tree.  Cut one off in cross section and you will see what I mean.  Remember the base of where the branch decided to grow is where the bark grows and the healing takes place.

If you want to espalier an apple you cut off the 'whip' just above the buds, you want to form side branches -- or arms.  The 'energy' in the tree shifts from growing tall and the side arms start to grow -- and the highest bud near the top cut goes straight up.  When the arms reach a reasonable length you want to cut off the tips.  This will stimulate side growth.  If you keep the side growth at around one, or two inches long by repeatedly pruning off any growth you will get fruiting "spurs".  You could do the same thing on the branches of an apple tree grown in the central leader method -- but it is a lot of work and it requires vigilance. 

Many of the fruit trees bear fruit out at the tips of the branches -- mulberries, mangoes, some apples, etc.  Apples that really do it are the Fuji, and the Gravenstein (Which also make good pollinators for each other).  To get them to produce 'spurs' along the branch you need to prune off the tips, and persistently keep the side growth short -- pruning close to a bud.  Every time you prune off the tip of a mulberry you will get more fruit.  All year if you keep at it.   Like a mango you want it to branch and produce the most 'tips' -- even along the edges of the branch. 
A mulberry can grow very big, but you can also keep it small.  Here is a picture of my Pakistan mulberry.  it is about two meters tall.  And the trunk is about ten inches (25 cms) across.  I have size thirteen feet.   It is eight years old.

Pakistanmulberrytree.thumb.jpg.11954a8bd44271e82f71af02cac26579.jpg

Mulberrytrunk.thumb.jpg.8d2ccafd82d48e564281c425e43af17a.jpg

Mulberryfruit.thumb.jpg.ecae7def6ceed250edc869a6b026c98b.jpg

 

 

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Thank you, Richard

 

Upon reflection, I was remembering meeting someone else…

 

Good info, that’s a lot to digest. I have tried the White Sapote and Mamey.  So far, the White is my favorite.

Fruit trees are new to me; So far, I’m growing two different pink guavas (to include a red Malaysian, which is delicious), and a lemon guava.  I’m also growing pineapple guava, Hass avocado, Nagami kumquat, and Meyer lemons.

Steve

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White sapote is about the easiest fruit tree you will grow. Fast growing and tolerates cold, heat, frost, wind... They are not uncommon in the central valley, and they will bloom and fruit pretty much year round - with the heavy fruit sets in summer. 

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55 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

White sapote is about the easiest fruit tree you will grow. Fast growing and tolerates cold, heat, frost, wind... They are not uncommon in the central valley, and they will bloom and fruit pretty much year round - with the heavy fruit sets in summer. 

You see any Tamarind growing in yards out there?

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On 4/11/2024 at 2:13 PM, rprimbs said:

I think that you could possibly keep the white sapote at a reasonable size with aggressive pruning.  The problem is that most people don't seem to understand how to prune.  

I started out as a horticulture major before I switched to geology, and I took an excellent landscape maintenance course at Cal Poly.  It was taught by a professor who had been the head horticulturist at Disneyland.  I should remember his name but I don't...  Anyway he started off by explaining that every time you prune a branch off the center of the branch will die back into the tree until bark heals over it and "compartmentalizes" the dead part.  If bark does not heal over it that branch base can die inside the tree down the trunk.  So when people use pruning paint (Like half latex half water) they are trying to stop the branch from dying down into the tree.

I don't fully understand it but a tree does not have a brain and it does not say "I think I will put a branch out here, or here.".  There is something chemical going on inside the trunk.  Like a concentration of auxins and cytokinins hormones.  So curiously where the tree put out the branch is also where the healing will take place.  And if you are trying to root a cutting, it is where the roots will come out -- near a bud, or branch.  If you just prune at any random spot on the branch bark will not heal over the wound and the center of the branch will die.  You will get all sorts of adventitious growth around the edges of the tip of the branch, but the center will be dead.  So you always want to "drop crotch" back to a branch, a bud, or the tree..  The part of the branch closest to the trunk can be slightly thickened.  People call it the "branch collar".  Is it a response the the greater hormone concentration, or whatever is going on, or is it the source of the new growth?  I think it is the response, and people who argue that you should prune a little above the "branch collar' have no idea what they are talking about.  I think it is the ideal place to prune for fastest growth of bark, and compartmentalization. 

The 'energy' in the tree seems to be directed upward -- apical dominance.  You cut off the tip of the highest branch and the tree will shift from growing tall to growing wide -- and fruiting!  Branches that grow horizontally tend to fruit the best.  It is almost counterintuitive but a branch that grows at a ninety-degree angle to the trunk will be much stronger than a branch that grows almost straight up against the trunk -- because the bark will grow down the crotch and there will not be much wood anchoring the branch to the tree.  Cut one off in cross section and you will see what I mean.  Remember the base of where the branch decided to grow is where the bark grows and the healing takes place.

If you want to espalier an apple you cut off the 'whip' just above the buds, you want to form side branches -- or arms.  The 'energy' in the tree shifts from growing tall and the side arms start to grow -- and the highest bud near the top cut goes straight up.  When the arms reach a reasonable length you want to cut off the tips.  This will stimulate side growth.  If you keep the side growth at around one, or two inches long by repeatedly pruning off any growth you will get fruiting "spurs".  You could do the same thing on the branches of an apple tree grown in the central leader method -- but it is a lot of work and it requires vigilance. 

Many of the fruit trees bear fruit out at the tips of the branches -- mulberries, mangoes, some apples, etc.  Apples that really do it are the Fuji, and the Gravenstein (Which also make good pollinators for each other).  To get them to produce 'spurs' along the branch you need to prune off the tips, and persistently keep the side growth short -- pruning close to a bud.  Every time you prune off the tip of a mulberry you will get more fruit.  All year if you keep at it.   Like a mango you want it to branch and produce the most 'tips' -- even along the edges of the branch. 
A mulberry can grow very big, but you can also keep it small.  Here is a picture of my Pakistan mulberry.  it is about two meters tall.  And the trunk is about ten inches (25 cms) across.  I have size thirteen feet.   It is eight years old.

Pakistanmulberrytree.thumb.jpg.11954a8bd44271e82f71af02cac26579.jpg

Mulberrytrunk.thumb.jpg.8d2ccafd82d48e564281c425e43af17a.jpg

Mulberryfruit.thumb.jpg.ecae7def6ceed250edc869a6b026c98b.jpg

 

 

I'm 18 and going to Cal Poly next year, very cool to have an alum on here. Any palms of note in the area? I saw a good sized Roystonea with some other more rare palms planted by an outdoor seating court on campus. I look forward to going there and being in such a nice and palmy climate (I'm from Maryland). I will be filming palms in the area on my YouTube channel, Palm Planet. Thanks!

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18 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You see any Tamarind growing in yards out there?

no, never seen a tamarind. But I have seen many mature and fruiting inga and mangoes

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Great topic! Love Jaboticaba. Love Star Fruit. Sapote's all over. Tamarind gone wild. Never ate a Canistel but got pictures:

 

2373A411-E53F-4BDE-B264-4672B04F8651.jpeg

BD28B3CE-A1F7-49CA-97C0-EA310C504CB5.jpeg

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What you look for is what is looking

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On 4/9/2024 at 5:43 PM, Sabal Steve said:

Epiphyte, thank you.  

Would you mind sharing some pictures?

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terrible pic of my surinam cherry (eugenia uniflora).  it's a beautiful big bush / small tree.  new growth is bright red, and the old leaves during winter are dark red.  flowers are small and white but there are lots of them.  right now there are a bunch of fruits starting to develop.  soon they will turn big and bright red.  reviews are mixed.  to the left is an australian tree fern, and to the left of it is another surinam cherry.  it produces smaller fruit that is very dark.  doesn't have the weird aftertaste of the big red fruit.  cross-pollination isn't needed but it's always a good idea, especially for the seedlings.  the seeds germinate very easily.  i've successfully grafted surinam's a couple times, not as easy as loquat or fig but definitely doable.  so if you get a dud you can graft a fancy variety onto it.  in terms of culture, pretty much the same as tree ferns and azaleas.  

if i could go back in time and plant a cherry of the rio grande (corg, eugenia calycina or eugenia involucrata) or grumichama (eugenia brasiliensis) or pitomba (eugenia luschnathiana) instead, would i?  maaaybe.  probably.  they are all less common but more palatable.  i recently planted them, except for the corg, which is still too small.  i'm not sure how they will compare to uniflora in terms of growth. 

to the left of the surinams in a more sunny area i recently planted a couple canistels... 

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left is bruce and right is oro.  as i mentioned, i tried the fruit from the store once and it was ok, but i'm guessing that tree-ripened fruit will taste a lot better.  i primarily planted them because i was really impressed with how fast they grew while potted.  a month ago i grafted a scion of lucuma onto the bruce and it is just starting to push.  no sign of growth yet on the reverse graft i also did at the same time.  

to the left is a recently planted guava, kinda like a strawberry guava but a little different.  fruit is also red but smaller, more crunchy and perhaps a bit less sweet.  the fruit will probably change now that the tree is in the ground.  to the left of it is an old lemon guava that produces fruit of uneven quality.  probably depends on the conditions.  a while back i gave volunteers to my neighbors on both sides of me.  the neighbor who waters more often has better fruit.

to the left of the lemon guava is my rose apple (syzygium jambos)...

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many years ago i was in manaus brazil and i climbed up a tree and stuffed myself with the tasty fruit.  shortly afterwards i really regretted not washing the fruit first.  maybe a decade later i guessed that the tree was a rose apple, which i bought and planted.  when it finally fruited i was very disappointed because the fruit was completely different.  it was yellow, dry and had barely any flesh.  not at all what i was expecting.  the fruit quickly grew on me though and i ended up loving it.  later on i guessed that the fruit in manaus was probably a wax apple.  when a friend shared some fruit from her mom's tree... it looked right... red on the outside and white on the inside, but the consistency was wrong.  it was crunchy instead of smooth.  so my current guess is otaheite apple.  i have a 5 gallon tree in the greenhouse.  

jambos is a really lovely tree... the new growth is dark red.  pretty soon the entire tree will be covered in big white puffball flowers.  its a fast grower if given lots of warmth and water.  last year i bought a variety with fruit that's theoretically much large.  i planted it to the left of my original one.  gonna try grafting them.

in the small area where i water more frequently, i just planted a variegated wax apple...

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kinda hard to tell but next to it is a variegated monstera deliciosa (thai constellation) climbing up a ficus tree.  i constantly chop and drop the ficus tree.  all the branches and leaves quickly breakdown and fuel its growth.  it's a vicious cycle, kinda.

after i planted the wax apple,  in the same area i planted a luc's garcinia seedling conjoined grafted with a garcinia pacuri seedling.  they both have their own root systems and shoots but they are essentially joined at the hip.  this functions as hedging my bets.  maybe the soil is better for the pacuri but the climate is better for the luc's.  or vice versa.   

garcinias, especially luc's and the achacha, are the fruit trees that i most wish that i had 1st planted when i moved in.  

hope this helps!  let me know if you have any questions.  

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