Oh, I also meant to ask if it's possible to grow it in a pot and when it gets bigger, transfer it to the ground. If so, how long should it stay in the pot? Thanks for any input you might have.

Eldys is growing rambutan in Miami. He might be better suited to answer. If you are north of Miami, I would bet some cold protection will be needed.

I have several rambutans, and they all seem to be doing well for me here in Miami - I have 2 'R-167's, a 'Rongrien' and a seedling. They are all being grown outdoors. My larger 'R-167' flowered in its 5-gallon pot last year, which I am now told is not terribly unusual for rambutan - in fact, they are probably better suited to container culture than lychee. It also seems that rambutan is a more reliable bearer than lychee (since they don't seem to have a chilling requirement), although I have yet to confirm this from personal experience. A few things to note:

1. Make sure you get a grafted tree, since seedlings are frequently male trees which will never bear fruit. Some popular varieties are 'Jitlee', 'Rongrien' (which has green spinterns), and various members of the 'R' series ('R-167', 'R-162', etc). Almost any named variety you find will be delicious, as well as self-pollinating. Montoso Gardens is sold out at the moment, but they should have more trees this summer. Govardhan gardens probably has some in stock, although Sadhu doesn't really like to ship them out (he'll do it if you ask nicely, but he can't really match the packing job Bryan Brunner does at Montoso Gardens). When they arrive, they will likely be bare-rooted; pot them carefully in light, quality soil and water them thoroughly. Don't over-pot them, or you will be inviting unhealthy anaerobic bacteria to thrive in the container; a 3-5 gallon pot should be fine when they first arrive. Move them to the shade for a couple of days and gradually introduce them to direct sun.

2. Rambutans don't like alkaline soil. If you are unsure as to the acidity of your soil, have it tested. If your ph is in the 5.5 to 6.5 range, you should be fine; a ph of 7 is probably pushing it, although I suspect that any deficiencies that would develop under these conditions could be corrected with foliar sprays in much the same way as lychee deficiencies. If the ph is any higher the plant is unlikely to thrive, or even survive. As my native soil is highly alkaline, I am in the process of excavating a 4-foot deep hole with a 6 foot radius to replace it with a more appropriate medium for planting my largest 'R-167' in the ground.

3. Rambutans are very cold sensitive; even the lightest frost can kill them. This is especially problematic for those of us growing grafted trees, since even if the root system survives unprotected in a cold spell, the desirable grafted portion of the tree is almost sure to be lost. If growing them in-ground and outdoors, I would suggest giving them some serious protection whenever temperatures drop under 45 F. My rambutans endured several hours of temperatures in the high 40s this winter without any damage whatsoever, so I think it's safe to say that they are hardy down to at least 45 F (Bill Whitman has had them survive down to 32 F, albeit with considerable damage). My favored method for protecting tender ultra-tropicals is to set up a removable pvc or aluminum framework for the winter over which to drape some protective cloth when temperatures drop; light bulbs placed inside of these temporary enclosures do a surprisingly good job of bringing the temperature up several degrees. To date, none of my trees have ever experienced any cold damage (not even my durians or mangosteens!), largely thanks to the preventative methods I use to protect them. Of course, I usually only have to protect them 3 or 4 nights a year...

4. I would suggest raising your rambutans in containers until they are about 3-4 feet high before putting them in the ground; this way, you can just bring them inside during your winter cold spells for about the first year. If you let them get much larger, transplanting them becomes more difficult and they take longer to get established. If you would like to keep the tree as a permanent container specimen, with regular pruning you could keep the tree in a large container (25 gallon or more) indefinitely. Once in the ground, keep the size manageable (no more than 15 feet high) to facilitate both harvest and cold protection (could you imagine draping protective cloth over a 35 foot tree?).

You shouldn't have too much more trouble growing this fantastic fruit in your area than I do in mine, since any place in Florida is likely to meet the heat requirement for most of the year. The real challenges are in providing adequate soil and cold protection during those (thankfully brief) times when the temperature drops.

BF...Eldys was the goto guy on this! Great info that I can use as well. Thanks!

My Rongrien should arrive from Bryan today since it didn't make it yesterday as I hoped. He's also sending me a couple of scions, R-167 & R-156, that I will attempt to graft onto the remaining rootstock I have. Hope it works out. Pretty excited about the plant arrival though!

Thanks, Ohiojay, for pointing me to Eldys for advice. I certainly have gained a lot from reading his post. I'm glad you're expecting your Rambutans any time from now. Do you plan to grow them in pots?

Eldys, salutations and thanks so very much for the detailed write-up. I'm truly richer in knowledge about growing Rambutans now than before and I think I'm ready to make an informed choice now. I really love the Rambutan fruit. Maybe I will get two, one to grow in the pot and the other to go to the ground and see how things go. Will growing the tree close to the house on the south end be safe enough for it? If so, how close can one safely grow a tree next to the house?

I've also been thinking of growing durian in a pot. I know this is a huge tree with huge fruit, but is there a chance that it might also yield fruit in the pot if given the right treatment and so on? Thanks once again.

Bryan is out of country this week. My rambutan was supposed to be shipped Monday and not tree. I believe his brother was to take care of all of this and may have dropped the ball. All dressed up and no tree to pot up.

Yes, this will probably stay a container plant...for now anyway. I have no more strength to dig anymore holes.

Bananafan, it's very unlikely that simply planting the rambutan on the South side of the house will be enough to protect it in your climate - you are almost certain to be experiencing weather in at least the low 30s every year, which is enough to seriously damage or even kill an unprotected rambutan. It's definitely doable though, insofar as you are willing to wrap your tree and provide it with artificial heat during those late night/early morning temperature drops.

Durian, on the other hand, is a much more challenging tree to grow. They are even more cold tender than rambutan, and take much longer to bear fruit. I read an Australian durian evaluation trial wherein most of the grafted trees survived down to 40 F, but these temperature were only sustained very briefly - even so, a few of the clones evaluated were seriously damaged or killed. Cold protection for your tree would be imperative. Durian is also very sensitive with respect to soil alkalinity, so ensuring that the soil is slightly acid is very important. Durians are sun-sensitive when young, so you would have to grow them under shade cloth until they get about 4 feet high. The massive size of the mature tree is a formidable obstacle to container growers, especially if when growing seedlings. Grafted trees are difficult to obtain, but they would be your best bet, since the size is easier to manage; I have a 'Chanee' variety coming in soon which will eventually go into the ground, so I'll be sure to post more about it when it arrives. My other three durians are seedlings, and are growing much more vigorously now that temperatures are rising again - at some point I guess I should post pictures.

Yeah...building us up with all your descriptions and then not post pictures?! That is hereby our forum law #1, you describe something like this...you must post pics!

Durians do survive with brief drops below 40F. I had some seedlings for about 3 yrs that survive the 38F drop in winter. However none made it this year though as the 32F fried them to a crisp. They don't like drought and usually dies quite quickly if it happens. They do suffer more easily in cooler weather and if prolong does die easily but does recover quicker than most tropicals when the weather heats back up.

Eldys, as always thanks for the info about durians. I wish there was a dwarf variety somewhere out there. Maybe they will adapt better as a container specimen.

Eggo, I'm sorry to hear that yours didn't make it. It's a pity after 3 years of taking care of them. So, did you plant them in containers or did you put them in the ground? Are you planning to plant any more?

Ohiojay, I saw some of the pictures you posted of your plants in containers. They are all way too cool. You must have got a large greenhouse to house them all? Can you also grow them in the ground in the greenhouse? Also, have you been able to get any harvest from them yet?

Speaking about greenhouse, I've been wondering if I should get/build a greenhouse for planting cold sensitive plants and the cost involved in having one. Would like to learn more about greenhouse planting for tropical fruit trees. If any one has anything to share, would really love to hear it from you.

Happy planting and "hi" to all your plants for me!

Has anyone bought anything from Fruit Lover's Nursery? If so, what do you think of tme? They seem to carry all kinds of imaginable tropical fruit trees/plants including Rambutan and Durian. Check this out.

http://www.fruitlovers.com/fruittreedescriptions.html

Typo: If so, what do you think of t h e m ?

I believe Frankies in Hawaii has durian if you are interested. Everything I have ordered from them have been wonderful plants. Just be prepared for high shipping/handling fees. They also have several varieties of rambutan.

Some of the durians were in containers and some were in the ground. Its a little setback. I'll plan to try again once I get some free time.
Eldys, come on now we want pictures!!!

i just want to know where i can buy Rambutan thanks

in miami

I recently got some seeds and was wondering how to acquire a grafted tree for the momones chinos so they can fruit? Can anyone please explain this process to me?

I realize this is an old post. But....I have some seeds I’d like to grow for fun. If they turn out to be all males can I use them as rootstock for scion?