Tigerlaff

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Awesome, I'll wait until then and hack it back. I want it to be shorter and bushier. It keeps growing upwards. Last winter it was touching the roof of the greenhouse. I don't think it could fit in it now without bending the tops over and having them nipped by the cold where they touch.

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Can always prune in the greenhouse too. But yeah the big haircut should be done in early spring before flowering.

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It looks like your fruits are a good ways ahead of mine. The biggest on my trees are about the size of pecans right now.

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Bigger older tree in a 25g. Yours will settle in the next 1-2 years and start producing earlier and more prolifically.

Uhhh, that's not M4. Do you mean Nam Doc Mai #4?

These have a 100% take rate for me. I don't even use the rooting powder. Just make the point sharp and jam that baby into the ground. Mine all froze but are coming back nicely.

OK bunch of early season updates. Let's do the palms first. Been on a real palm kick.

Lipstick finally happy.


Flamethrower pushing a new spear. This one wasn't draining for some reason and I cannot figure out why. Keeping a close eye on it. Seems to be ok with a couple hours of direct sun each day.


On the left, Chamaedorea radicalis. One the right, Adonidia merilli, the Christmas palm. The radicalis is hardy to the teens, takes full sun and full shade, and can stay in a pot without growing huge. The Christmas palm requires full sun, high humidity, dies in freezing weather, grows tall, and is exceptionally prone to spider mites when moved indoors. Why is the radicalis not everywhere in the south? Need to get these repotted into good soil.


Another radicalis. Tell me this isn't better than a Christmas palm.


Orange bird of paradise doing its thing.


Tall Namwah bananas on the left and Rajapuri on the right. The larger Rajapuri stalk survived winter with protection and will flower any day now.


Jalisco roja guava loaded with fruit. Very very excited about this one. Near legendary on the Tropical Fruit Forum boards.


Ruby supreme guava getting huge. 40+ guavas on the tree after thinning.


Lemon cattley guava on the back right and Kari starfruit on the back left. Cattley is absolutely loaded and Kari is right behind it.


Geffner atemoya tree has about 10 fruits set. Think big tropical pawpaw.




Sweetheart lychees from Lara Farms and Mexican guava from Costco.




Backyard bananas, loquats, and pawpaws. Just bought a new grafted pawpaw, Tropical Treat. Has one of the longest known ripening windows and requires multiple days above 90F to ripen. This should be a good cultivar for 9a/9b. Will ship in October from Perry's Pawpaws. Still have many in stock.


Just realized there is a slight haze on the camera lens. Probably sunscreen. Oh well, will be more careful next time.

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Y’all were right banana buying is a crapshoot.

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I don't even bother with actual retailers now. I just buy them over Facebook from hobby growers who actually have the real deal. After the 3rd or 4th speciality banana turned out to be just another dwarf Cavendish I learned my lesson. :lol:

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time for me to repot my Lipstick. That thing is taking off and growing like crazy. Lots of new growth and I have roots starting to grow out the bottom of the 3 gallon pot.

Very happy with how its doing. You had me scared to death of it at first.

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Awesome! Show us some pics. Mine is also doing well. Once the heat got here it started pushing growth all over. Will snap a pic in a minute.

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Travelers palm. I just cant find a place to plant it in the yard once it gets too big for a container.

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Ahh yes, that means it's time for the poor man's travelers palm: Strelitzia nicolai in a container. The white bird of paradise.

Osmocote every 3 months. Top dress refresh every spring.

In the ground hip height. In a container lower because the container and caddy add height. My Pickering starts branching at 19in from soil level and that's about perfect for a 25+ gallon container mango.

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Force branching? Is this where you cut off the top to make it grow more like a bush?

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Yes. But it's a little more complicated. A grafted mango will try to grow straight up until you cut it. But where you cut it matters.

There are these obvious growth rings along the stem that have leaves coming out of them. If you cut the tree above the growth ring, the ring will shoot out 3-5 new branches from that spot. All the initial scaffolding branches will therefore originate from the same point. They will also be more laterally oriented (growing out not up). In other words, a cut above the growth ring results in a lollipop shape.

If you cut below the growth ring (removing the ring), new single branches will emerge from the leaf stems below. Those branches will be more vertically oriented. If you like where the leaves are located below the ring, then you can plan out where new vertical branches will appear. If the leaves are not in convenient locations for new branches below the ring, you might want to just cut above the ring.

Some growers will say that below the ring cuts are better because you don't have all the scaffolding branches emerging from a single point on the trunk, which creates more weight stress at that point. Other growers say it doesn't matter. Personally, I think if the leaves below the ring are well-oriented, it's probably better to have your main branches emerging from 2-3 locations on the trunk instead of a single point. But I'm willing to change my mind on that.

What their price/volume on pumice?