I'm in California but Florida growers are known to do extremely well with their mangos. Grafted varieties usually fruits in a year or two. And I don't think there are any kind of serious pests or diseases except for the minor anthacnose. You can't go wrong with them there....well unless your alergic to the sap.

I think Passionfruit (P. edulis) is hard to beat. I bought some fruit, at a flea market, in Fort Lauderdale, in late January, 2005. Planted the seeds, in a greenhouse, in New York, on February 5th. Moved plants outside in May. Had flowers by September, (Moved back inside in October) and ripe fruit by December. Plants from seeds of those fruits are now coming along nicely.

I think I am going to go with a 'Carrie' mango. But, how long does the tree take to fruit? I'd also love to try passionfruit and dragonfruit, but, I'm not sure if dragonfruit plants are all that attractive and fast growing..

If you want ***fast*** fruit, I'd suggest checking out the Jamaica Cherry tree (Muntingia calabura L).

It is the fastest growing, most prolific fruiting plant I have ever known. It is a delicate, pretty, small tree, with white flowers that resemble strawberry blooms. It goes from flower to fruit seemingly overnight. I pick fruit from my potted ones, twice a day, every day. The fruit have not been attacked by fruit flies, most likely because they form so rapidly, ripen in a day, and are picked daily. The berries are round, smooth, cranberry sized, with a delicious strawberry/fig flavor. I have offered these fruits to at least 12 people recently, and they all were ooohing and aahing over the flavor. This small fruit leaves a sweet aftertaste that makes you want more, and more..

They grow so fast, that I suspect they are not very long-lived. From seed to fruiting tree can be less than a year.

Barbados Cherry is another option. An interesting looking shrub, with pretty pink blooms and lots of juicy cherries that taste citrusy/sharp, not super sweet like northern cherries.

Peaches and Nectarines do very well here, but they fruit only once a year, in early summer, and the rest of the year you are resigned to fondly remembering that incredible juicy sweetness of homegrown Peaches.

Lisa

Wow. Thank you for all the info! The Jamaica cherry sounds very interesting considering I love both strawberries and figs. And the tree sounds like a nice addition to our yard! One question though..would it do well in our winters here? They're not too much different at night but the day temps vary a little more.

I bought my trees at Lychee Tree Nursery, in Stuart, zone 9. They have adult trees in the ground, so it appears they do fine there. The tree can be hard to find. I can't believe it escaped my notice for so long-it is one of my favorites! One taste, and I was sold. If it freezes/dies, they are easy to grow from seeds. that is, if any fruit escape being gobbled up!

The tree has lots of different names. Lychee Tree Nursery calls them Strawberry trees.

Lisa

Here is a link that might be useful: Jamaica Cherry