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Message
re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates
Posted on 1/8/26 at 6:47 pm to Tigerlaff
Posted on 1/8/26 at 6:47 pm to Tigerlaff
No rush was just throwing it out before I add the fertilizer you mentioned.
We have another cold snap coming here on the FL gulf coast so I figured I’d use the time out of their planter boxes to check health and status on them.
Really appreciate what you do in this thread!
We have another cold snap coming here on the FL gulf coast so I figured I’d use the time out of their planter boxes to check health and status on them.
Really appreciate what you do in this thread!
0
Posted on 1/8/26 at 10:09 pm to TimeOutdoors
quote:
Thanks for your help. You looking to experiment with anything new in 2026? My office has two cargo doors that were replaced with windows when it was converted to office space. I am thinking about getting a mango tree and a papaya for my office since I get plenty of sun.
Man you are welcome. This thread is becoming exactly what I hoped it would be: a repository of tropical horticultural knowledge for the gulf south climate of zones 8-9. What works, what doesn't, etc.
The large window thing would be interesting to try. Got enough humidity inside for container growing?
I will be trying a few new things in 2026. Most is carryover from 2025. For example a lot of my young grafted trees will be starting to flower and fruit for the first time and I have overwintered 4 passionfruit vines that I want to plant out early. I will be grafting pawpaws and air layering guavas for the first time. My most absurd experiment is not even a fruit but this guy right here:
That is Cyrtostachys renda, the lipstick palm. Of all the many, many plants I own, this one is the most tropical by a good margin. It cannot tolerate temperatures below 50F or being dry even for one day. It's going to be in my grow room for almost half the year sitting in a saucer of filtered water. I'm still sort of wondering why I would voluntarily give myself such a headache of a plant... but it's also probably the most beautiful palm in the world and is going to look unbelievable on my shaded back deck near the pool during summer when the bright red crown shafts emerge.
Posted on 1/8/26 at 10:55 pm to tide06
quote:
Mid Winter Status / Advice
OK, so I'm looking at 3 citrus trees (one cold hardy, one marginal, and one cold sensitive), a barbados cherry (cold sensitive), and a mystery plant that looks to me like a Camellia.
I've never grown barbados cherry but for our purposes I'm going to treat it just like the lime as a very cold sensitive citrus. The Camellia or whatever it is looks fine. If it's supposed to be a fruit tree then I have no idea what's going on.
The first thing I notice is that all of these citrus look unhealthy. They also look small and probably should not be bearing fruit at that size. Tell us the pot sizes to get an idea of how mature they are.
When you say a mix of sand/peat, what was the ratio? If it's mostly peat then it's staying wet and the roots are rotting. The soil looks wet and you should pull all those weeds and sticks/mulch out.
Peat is nice and acidic so we know you don't have a soil pH problem that is preventing nutrient uptake. What were you fertilizing with? Citrus are heavy feeding evergreens and require extra nutrients when in containers, even in winter. I would highly recommend osmocote plus for this. Follow the label directions and you will get a steady slow feed that won't burn your plant in winter.
Where are they staying during the winter? Are they getting enough light? Are you leaving them out in cold weather or bringing them inside? The cold affects potted citrus much more than in ground citrus because the roots are more exposed.
Action plan:
1) clean up the soil of weeds/mulch. If it's staying waterlogged you need to start over with more sand and perlite. Pull them out of the pots and inspect the roots. If brown and mushy with a bad smell they are rotting. You can REALLY back off of watering in the winter. They use about 10% of the water they use in the summer.
2) don't let them freeze or really be exposed to mid 30s for an extended time. This can change once they are healthy again but right now cold is making everything worse.
3) give them an application of osmocote plus.
4) If fertilizing does not fix the chlorosis (yellowing), purchase a good foliar feeding spray and use it as directed. When plants need a particular nutrient immediately, they can get it faster by absorbing it through the leaves than by root uptake. These look like they need chelated iron but get a total nutrient spray to cover all bases. I like southern ag citrus and microgenics sprays. Honestly, everyone should be foliar feeding anyway. It keeps trees looking excellent and resilient.
5) if none of this works and your trees still look bad despite having clean fast draining soil, plenty of light and warmth, fertilizer, and foliar feeding, then you need to start considering more unlikely explanations. They could be infected with HLB. If that's the case, you should just burn them to avoid it spreading to other citrus in your area. They could potentially have a fungal or insect infestation that you cannot see. I would use a systemic insecticide like imidacloprid and a systemic fungicide like Bonide Infuse. I would purchase and add beneficial mycorrhizae fungal spores to the root zone.
99% of the time it's the soil staying too wet or the plant starving for nutrients. Take some of these measures if they might apply to you and update us on how it's working. Citrus are tough and will bounce back from almost anything except root rot and HLB.
This post was edited on 1/8/26 at 11:03 pm
Posted on 1/9/26 at 9:04 am to Tigerlaff
Yea man I’m in Geismar! Good growth over the last year. These are in Gary’s top pot mix. It’s definitely the real deal.
You think still to small to
Hold fruit ? Or is Pickering okay to maybe hold 1-2 just so my kids believe they’re actually mango trees lol.
I have a ruby guava that I need to repot into a better mix, but gonna wait until closer to spring, and prune it back
You think still to small to
Hold fruit ? Or is Pickering okay to maybe hold 1-2 just so my kids believe they’re actually mango trees lol.
I have a ruby guava that I need to repot into a better mix, but gonna wait until closer to spring, and prune it back
Posted on 1/9/26 at 11:50 am to Tigerlaff
quote:
That is Cyrtostachys renda, the lipstick palm. Of all the many, many plants I own, this one is the most tropical by a good margin. It cannot tolerate temperatures below 50F or being dry even for one day. It's going to be in my grow room for almost half the year sitting in a saucer of filtered water.
They had them at my local nursery last week. They are not cheap either. Very expensive. I went there looking for some bottle palms for my back flower bed and the illusive Flame Thrower and they have 5 of them about 15 gallons and 5 feet or so. We are about to have a cold week so I am holding off till after next week and Im going back to but one.
If I am not mistaken, those damn lipstick palms were $500.
Posted on 1/9/26 at 11:53 am to LanierSpots
Yeah they are stupid expensive because they grow slowly and everyone kills them. 
I really want to see that 15g flamethrower.
I really want to see that 15g flamethrower.
This post was edited on 1/9/26 at 11:54 am
Posted on 1/9/26 at 11:59 am to DickTater
quote:
Yea man I’m in Geismar! Good growth over the last year. These are in Gary’s top pot mix. It’s definitely the real deal.
Bro, you are CRUSHING it. Those look great. Gary's is the truth and the light. Gary Matsuoka changed everything I thought and did with container growing. It's all I use on anything I care about.
quote:
You think still to small to
Hold fruit ? Or is Pickering okay to maybe hold 1-2 just so my kids believe they’re actually mango trees lol.
You can let that Pickering do one fruit. It may stunt growth a bit in the spring but whatever you want these trees to stay smaller. Just keep an eye on it and if the tree starts to look stressed remove the fruit.
quote:
I have a ruby guava that I need to repot into a better mix, but gonna wait until closer to spring, and prune it back
Yes, guava is pretty much invincible as long as the roots are warm.
Posted on 1/9/26 at 12:12 pm to wiltznucs
Wiltz, did your cecilove ever wake up and start pushing? Mine is flowering like crazy.
Posted on 1/9/26 at 7:31 pm to Tigerlaff
quote:
Wiltz, did your cecilove ever wake up and start pushing? Mine is flowering like crazy.
It’s got a cluster of panicles like a Christmas tree topper. Yours actually looks far better than mine. I’m super frustrated with it. It’s been in the ground now for 2+ years (planted as a 3 gallon tree) and has perhaps grown an inch. It’s still probably 15” tall and has not even thrown off a branch yet. Just a short vertical trunk of a tree. It’s too short to hold fruit or for me to even clip the top to promote branching. I’m debating yanking it in the Spring and replacing it with a larger example or something else entirely.
I got good fruit set on Nam Doc Mai already. CAC looks very promising. Lemon Zest finally woke up this year. It’s funny; several trees are only blooming on one side. My Pickering, Angie and Mahachanok only have panicles on the side that gets first light.
Saw panicles in recent days on Dwarf Hawaiian. Usually it goes first. No panicles yet on P-22, Kathy, Kesar, Dusari, Bolt, Orange Sherbet or Sweet Tart.
We’re in a pretty profound drought here. 25’ was one of the driest years on record for us. Now we’re in what’s historically the dry part of the year. The trees with irrigation are doing much better than those which aren’t.
I’m hoping we get some rain and perhaps a second bloom once we do.
Posted on 1/9/26 at 7:33 pm to wiltznucs
Why is this thread not pinned?
Total injustice. Lets riot
Total injustice. Lets riot
Posted on 1/9/26 at 8:56 pm to wiltznucs
quote:
It’s funny; several trees are only blooming on one side. My Pickering, Angie and Mahachanok only have panicles on the side that gets first light.
Same, but you would think that wouldn't be true for me as mine is potted and not getting uneven light. My Pickering has heavy bloom on one side only and is just starting to bud on the other side. We're about to get blasted with cold non-freezing weather though, so hopefully the other side of the tree gets into gear. I'll probably wheel it out of the greenhouse anytime we get above 40F to get some chill on it.
We've also got the very first emperor lychee flower panicles emerging. Long, long way to go with that. I expect them to drop but you never know....
This post was edited on 1/9/26 at 9:02 pm
Posted on 1/9/26 at 9:06 pm to LanierSpots
quote:
Why is this thread not pinned?
Total injustice. Lets riot
Fall garden thread: 146 posts. Stickied.
Tropical fruit thread: 1051 posts. Not Stickied.
I blame the winter veggie lobby and Monsanto. Big Fig also spends a fortune to suppress alternative high brix fruits.
This post was edited on 1/9/26 at 9:48 pm
Posted on 1/10/26 at 8:47 am to Tigerlaff
quote:careful brah they are watching…always watching
Big Fig
Posted on 1/10/26 at 1:26 pm to cgrand
We've got mangos!
Posted on 1/10/26 at 4:05 pm to Tigerlaff
I cleaned my pool cage today and had to move my potted plant out of the way. I didnt realize how big this Sago Palm had gotten but I think it is about as big as its going to get in this pot. It has been a great thing to have around my pool because it does not make any mess and its basically maintenance free. I water it every once in a while and fertilize on occasion.
I am going to put it in the ground once this cold front gets out of here this week. It really has gotten big. I have not had it but about a year. I have a place for it in one of my front beds. Its going to look great right in front of my queen palm.
I am going to put it in the ground once this cold front gets out of here this week. It really has gotten big. I have not had it but about a year. I have a place for it in one of my front beds. Its going to look great right in front of my queen palm.
Posted on 1/10/26 at 5:19 pm to Tigerlaff
Posted on 1/10/26 at 6:11 pm to LanierSpots
Holy shite! My first stickied thread in my 16 year tenure!
Lanier my man!
Sago looks great. I have 4 huge ones in ground. I like the ones in shade the best because they make the largest fronds and don't trunk like the ones in the sun.
Lanier my man!
Sago looks great. I have 4 huge ones in ground. I like the ones in shade the best because they make the largest fronds and don't trunk like the ones in the sun.
Posted on 1/10/26 at 6:41 pm to Tigerlaff
My Sago has been so easy. It’s gonna be planted in a place that gets direct sun part of the day and indirect sun half the day.
Posted on 1/11/26 at 6:10 am to Tigerlaff
May I ask where you get those pots with rollers?
Posted on 1/11/26 at 9:28 am to Tigerlaff
How long can something like a guava last indoors without some supplemental light (no big windows in the garage)? There’s at least a week with lots of mid 30’s coming up and I’d rather just leave it picked up. Wondering if I need to break out the led lights.
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