or large bush or vine that could be trained on a trellis

Any on those seasons? Or, are you looking for a long season or multiple seasons?

Anyway I lived off the ICW and had banana as well as what you have.

You may want to look into guava, loquat, mulberry, cactus, and figs too. I am pretty sure these do ok in the keys

Any of those seasons. I'm not in the Keys. I'm on the barrier island off Melbourne, Florida. Zone 9B

Loving my Barbados cherry (Malpighia emarginata) here on the Gulf coast. It's a small tree w/ pretty pink flowers & bears its yummy fruits in several flushes throughout the year.

Only drawback lately is little leaf notchers (white weevil-like insects) that make the leaves look raggedy. Oil spray seems to control them tho, & they thankfully leave the fruits alone.

I'm a tad south of you, on Hutchinson Island, but FWIW loquat does very well here and papaya grows wild in the undeveloped areas.

guava can be kept very short... it doesnt mind hard pruning either.

I have a Mexican Cream started from a Root-cutting...

its 3ft tall and has 2 dozen flowers on it.

Fig, Pomegranate, Ambarella, Feijoa, coco plum- can all be kept small.

Citrus? All manner of Oranges and Kumquats. Meyer dwarf Lemon. Limes. In Florida you get good production in part shade.

You also get greening these days. I wouldn't recommend citrus anymore, not in FL.

I know ur not in the keys, I mention it because they are in similar growing conditions you are

Citrus are not a good idea in Florida anymore? I never heard of that.

Citrus greening is devastating citrus in Fl:

http://www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/greening/index.shtml

General consensus is that any citrus tree you buy now should be considered temporary. If you go to the Homeowner Links section of that article there's a PDF with more of a general introduction to what it means for dooryard growers.

I have several fruit trees in containers and the one I would recommend above all others is the Makok Sapodilla. It has a true container-compatible growth habit and is a nice looking little tree that sets a good number of fruit every year (probably 50-75) without fail, and has virtually no problem with insects, fungus, etc. that I have witnessed. The fruit is incredibly sweet and without any grit.

I agree with the comment on (most) citrus. I do not know how it is even grown commercially any more here but I can tell you the groves I see look absolutely nothing like the ones when I was a kid back in the 80's. I was leery of this advice because I had heard the same about sago palms but I've kept mine beautiful with a little extra TLC to spite the Asian scale. Citrus is another story and I found out the hard way $$$. The way greening is spread makes it difficult to control and regular use of a systemic is still no guarantee against anything.

This being said I do have a potted calamondin that has been fine and I've also got a newer potted meyers lemon and key lime together in a pot and it seems fine. So if you want to spent $30 on one of those you might be OK and even if you're not it is only $30. I just wouldn't go spending 100's on 30 gallon trees.

irun5k, Do you use systemic on your Makok Sapodilla?

time traveler, I've never had to use any pesticide of any sort on it- not even insecticidal soap.

My yard is not exempt from nasty insects, I've had all kinds of things eating everything else over the years but the Makok has not been affected. Lots of mangos and lychees in our neighborhood but not sapodillas, maybe the nasty things just don't know what it is so they avoid it.

It has been blown over multiple times and nothing has ever snapped.

Timetraveler, I know it's a bit of a schlep for you, but FWIW Martin County is having their Taste of the Tropics on June 25 from 9-12 at the Martin County Fairgrounds. It would be a chance to try some of the fruits you might grow.

ETA there will be a lecture on tropical fruits and also trees for sale.

Thanks for the information iren5k and writersblock. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the Taste of the Tropics. Somehow I always manage to miss these things :(

Sapodilla does really well in Melbourne Beach, I know a couple people there that are about 100 yards from the beach that have Sapodilla growing. Silas Wood is another sapodilla that stays on the small side. With good trimming you should be able to keep any around 10-12 foot and still get good harvest. I am inland from Mel Beach and have a Alano and Silas Wood sapodilla.

Timetraveler you should also check out the Brevard Tropical Fruit Club for good connections.

http://www.brevardrarefruitcouncil.org/monthly-meetings.html

What time of the year is the Sapodilla fruit ready for harvest? Where can I buy a tree?

My makok can have fruit half of the year. I have been eating them for several months. Its blooming now and just finishing up its last crop. They grow and ripen slowly.

I know Excalibur in Boynton has them, but its a longish drive for you .

So they produce mid-December- mid-May? Darn. We're out of town December - mid-March. We'd have some really fat raccoons when we got home!

Both mine have fruit on now but not ripe yet at mid-May. I've gotten both Sapodilla fruits and mangoes at the same time from a friend in Melbourne Beach. So, June-July happens.

The Charles Boning book, "Florida's Best Fruiting Plants" has a fruit bearing scale the shows peak production April-May, moderate production Feb-Mar, June and Oct-Nov and low production Jan, Jul, Aug, Sep and Dec.

You could check with Rockledge Gardens or Tropical Island Nursrey in Merritt Island, would def call first rather than just head over.

Will do. I'll also get Charles Boning's book. My local library has it. Can't believe I never noticed it before!

Another nursery in the TC area would be Trees N More in Palm City. Not close, but closer than Excalibur. Also, the Port St Lucie Botanical Garden is hosting a tropical fruit plant sale on July 2:

http://www.pslbotanicalgardens.org/calendar.html

my guava fruit all summer and fall. in spring they are rebuilding leaves and flowers.

mexican cream is softer and aromatic. i love the aroma and flavor.

i have a pink which is really good also (its a bit harder) , didnt like the white too much.

call Pine Island. they should have a few good ones. you can look into Jaboticaba and Grumichama also should fruit compact, although Jabo grows a bit slower. my 3gal still started fruiting 1 yr after i got it (just 8 fruit) but i should get more this year.

http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_gl.htm