I obviously don't know nuttin' looks like apples to me.

Looks like apples to me too.

Well jeepers, I can't even fool one person?? Don't ya'll know that apple trees don't grow in S. Florida?

So I've been told(G).

It is neat that you both recognised them, even out of place in the "Tropics."

Dang, you both probably know what Peach, Pear and Plum blossoms look like too(G).

How about this one? It is a shrub/small tree with delicious fruit.

{{gwi:126258}}

Lisa

Is this a guava? I don't think that apples can't grow in the tropics... there's a thread in the California family about the varieties that fruit best in heat.... that was my understanding is that apples needed chill to set fruit.

Not a guava.

Robynlacy, you know more than the local ag extension folks here. I was told by a master gardener that apple trees don't do well in Florida. Not true at all! I have 11 apple trees that are doing great with minimal care.

We can actually grow higher chill apples than previously thought, by stripping off the leaves in winter. We only get 150 chill hours in a "cold" winter here.

Lisa

People who get their book larnin' don't know everything! :D Being I am in zonal denial, I learn a lot.... like a LOT of hoyas can live outside in Sacramento in the winter with minimal protection. :o) I moved and have no more indoor room. I made a mistake, that sentence I wrote earlier this morning was meant to be "California Forum" Not California Family.... must not have finished my coffee. :D

Very pretty pictures. I am enjoying them. Cherries? but they don't grow there either, right? I don't really know my tropical tree bloms but it sort of reminds me of them. My daughter would love to have a cherry tree here but none grow here either- too hot.
My grandmother used to grow apples in Phx. She had granny smith, johnathan, and another yellowish kind (can't remember the name). People told her they wouldn't grow but they did, and nicely. I have a picture of me playing in the mud when I was little,(covered in mud lol) under the granny smith.

SJN, you are right, the lower photo is a tropical Cherry blossom.

"Cherry of the Rio Grande."

I wonder why they aren't more popular?? The plants are beautiful and easy to grow.

Lisa

SJN, Cherries must have a problem with your humidity? Because they can take 110 degree DRY heat here, no problem... there's a cherry tree 15 feet from me right now. I have never tried a TROPICAL cherry before....

Lisa,
What do the Cherry of the Rio Grande taste like? They are very pretty trees. How big do they get? Once upon a time I lived in a zone 4 (lol) and we had a sweet cherry in the backyard and it was pretty big.
robynlacy,
Yeah they probably do have a problem with the humidity, I do too lol ;P I didn't know they liked super hot temps - Go figure.

Yeah! I can grow Cherries in my new garden! (And apples?) When I tried this in my Zone 5, the beaver got them! :) However, will I have better, more reliable success with pots of lemons, limes, and figs?

Deb

I don't know how figs will do.... they like a mediterranean climate, dry during the summer.

SJN, COTRG is supposed to be the tropical cherry that tastes most like a northern sweet cherry. I hope to taste them myself this year, my oldest tree is 7+ feet tall. They can be kept as shrubs or small trees easily. Mine are in containers.

Deb, the most important factor in growing container citrus and other fruits in Florida is that you must have a fast draining, non-compacted soil mix. The very best base for the mix is coconut husk chips, but if you can't find them, pine bark chips will work. Pine bark lasts maybe a year, coconut husk chips 5 years or more. Overwatering kills more container plants than just about anything else.

Figs do fine in Florida. They are prone to nematodes, so I grow mine in containers on in a raised bed with very rich soil.

Lisa

Does anyone grow apricots in zone 9 or 10? If so which ones will live. I have seen peaches here, one called Sam Houston and some type called Florida...(something).

SJN, the lowest chill Apricots I know of, require 300 plus chill hours. I cannot grow them in my zone, I'm lucky to get 150 hours.

But, you can grow Loquats and Pitomba, both of which taste like Apricots, and both tolerate warm weather and humidity.

Peaches are easy to grow in Florida. I have around a dozen or so trees. There are quite a few low-chill Peaches and Nectarines to choose from. My favorite is Tropic Snow- it is a white peach that is incredibly tasty!

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Low Chill fruit trees

I live just south of New Iberia, La. Even in this mildest winter I remmeber we are at 288 chill hours according the the ag center weather station here in Iberia Parish. I planted a Blenheim Apricot last year that seems to be doing fine. Unlike the apples I am trying it did go into dormancy. This year I am adding an Aprium, also rated for Zone 9 as a pollinator. We will see but so far things look good.

Lisa,
Thanks for that link. It makes it a lot easier to determine which types are good for my area when it is all laid out for me lol. Alot of people here must grow loquats because I see them in the nursery. Have you tried the limequat and are they any good? They are more lime like, I guess than apricot-tasting ?
Keith,
That is good to know. I am suprised that we have that many chill hrs here. You are not far from me. Do you also have figs? I got a LSU purple this year and it is still dormant. Do you know when they will break dormancy here?

I had my first Cherry of hte Rio Grande last month. I thought they were even sweeter than any temperate-zone cherry. Think of the sweetest bing cherry you've ever had; that's what cherryof rio grande fruit is like. I don't recall chopping into a seed pit.

They'll grow to about 12-15 feet.