You got a great deal on that mangosteen seedling. I wonder if Richard knows it was $35 lol. I don't think you'll have any problems growing the abiu or the grumichama. The abiu seems to loose a lot of its leaves though during winter. The only problem i've seen with the grumichama is that many of the fruits had worms in em. You dont notice them though when you eat em but if you squeeze a fruit they pop out of a hole.

Hi Mike:
At my house, my two grumichamas need exceeding little care. They are shallow rooted so if they are planted high, they will be afffected by drought. In my experience, they thrive with whatever fertilizer you give them. They bloom and bear a couple of times a year. You can induce a flowering by giving them a good flooding after a couple month rest period. Mine are both seedlings and they are slightly different fruitwise....but both good. In short, hard to screw them up. They will take the wind and the cold and are only damaged by frost/freeze.

Now Abiu...on the otherhand is another story. I've had tremendous difficulty with them. They bloom regular but haven't set fruit but once and that was years ago. My trees were uprooted in Hurricane Wilma. In any case, they are magnets for lobate lac scale, sooty mold, aphids and whatever else comes around. Mine are planted on fairly high ground. They like lots of water and are much more suseptible to cold than the grumichama. Anyway, good luck with both. I didn't see that big mangosteen seedling last week when I was at Excalibur...or I would have grabbed it.

Harry

Thanks for the input. I hope I eventually get some from from the Abiu. I was reading that the Caribbean fruit fly will infest the fruitof the Grumichama and that's probably what the worm is that you mentioned (they're maggots) yum!!!! Maybe I can bag some of the fruits...??? Any ways as promised here are the pics of the plants I picked up:
The new mangosteen is the one on the left. the other one I've had for about 2 years. I purchased on Ebay from Puerto Rico.

Nice looking trees.....good luck with them. BTW, I haven't really noticed a problem with fruit fly with my grumichama. They seem to much prefer guava and even Surinam Cherry. Unfortunately bagging is not a very good option on these. The way the tree fruits it would be somewhat impractical to bag. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Harry

Mike, What are your plans for those mangosteens? Gonna try them in the ground or keep them containerized? I think it was the caribbean fruit fly in those grumichamas. Barely noticed em though. Thats a very nice looking abiu.

Harry,
What colour grumichama is it that you have? The ones at Excalibur that always had the fruit fly were the purple.

Mike, do you mind saying how much you paid for that Abiu? Looks great I have a little seedling that has not done much growing for me and your tree looks amazing. Is it grafted?

Does anyone know how far north the caribbean fruit fly goes? I am in central fl and am wondering if I will have a problem with them up here?

jsvand, the Abiu was $65 the mangosteen was $35 and the Grumichama was only $15, All in all I came in about $100 over budget. But what are you to do around so many plants. It looks like the kids are going to a local college.....

Murahilin:

My grumichamas are nothing different or special. They are the standard dark maroonish cherry red when fully ripe. Like these:

{{!gwi}}

Yum! Delicious looking fruit hshaus... If I can only get my Grim's to flower. I guess I have to wait for dry season to see if the spring rains stimulate them.

Mikesid- My Abiu have fruited with very little care from me. They are a nice tasting fruit, but they have a little latex in the skin.
I am still waiting on my mangosteen. That is a nice looking plant you got- good luck!

How big is your mangosteen Ray?

Harry,
Must be nice not getting bothered by the fruit fly. Do they attack many of your other fruit?

Murahilin:
Fruit flies mainly attack Surinam Cherry now that the guavas are gone. Watch, now that I bragged on my grumichama's lack of flies.....they'll attack next year.

Harry

Will Cherry of Rio Grande and or Grumichama survive and fruit in North Florida? I was thinking of giving them a try. What is the lowest temperature they can withstand without die back?

The cherry of the Rio Grande has withstood
temperatures of about 20°F for short periods with
only twig damage, while the Surinam cherry has
withstood temperatures as low as 22°F. Grumichana
has fair cold tolerance, mature trees having withstood
temperatures of 26°F without injury in Florida. The
pitomba is fairly hardy with a cold tolerance
comparable to gumichama, freezing at about 27°F.
Small trees are less tolerant and should be protected
from temperatures below 30°F.

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00002898/00001

... also see...

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/content/fruits-ornamentals-by-hardiness.htm