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Started By
Message
re: Louisiana Tropical Fruit Gardening - Experiences and Updates
Posted on 1/11/26 at 10:25 am to LanierSpots
Posted on 1/11/26 at 10:25 am to LanierSpots
Pots came from Amazon. Injection molded. I buy 10, 15, 20, and 25g.
Caddy also from Amazon:
LINK
I also have larger caddies for the 45g pots.
Caddy also from Amazon:
LINK
I also have larger caddies for the 45g pots.
0
Posted on 1/11/26 at 10:27 am to audioguy
quote:
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.
A week in the shade won't kill it. Leave the lights on in the garage and then just take it out once it warms up. It may drop some leaves.
This post was edited on 1/11/26 at 10:28 am
Posted on 1/11/26 at 10:53 am to Tigerlaff
Have had a lot of morning fog as of late; noticed some powder mildew on the panicles. So hit them with copper fungicide this morning.
A couple of pics from Tampa Bay.
Simmonds and Brogdon avocados getting ready to pop.
Late Namwah bananas still holding on…
With a bit of luck we’ll have pineapples this year.
Some pics of the mango trees.
Pickering
CAC
Lemon Zest
Angie
Cecilove
A couple of pics from Tampa Bay.
Simmonds and Brogdon avocados getting ready to pop.
Late Namwah bananas still holding on…
With a bit of luck we’ll have pineapples this year.
Some pics of the mango trees.
Pickering
CAC
Lemon Zest
Angie
Cecilove
Posted on 1/11/26 at 11:03 am to wiltznucs
Looking great dude. That may be the healthiest looking lemon zest tree I've seen. That thing is clean.
On the spraying, I was under the impression that copper has very little effect on powdery mildew. Copper for anthracnose and sulfur for mildew. Do you find that copper controls the mildew too?
On the spraying, I was under the impression that copper has very little effect on powdery mildew. Copper for anthracnose and sulfur for mildew. Do you find that copper controls the mildew too?
This post was edited on 1/11/26 at 11:04 am
Posted on 1/11/26 at 11:08 am to Tigerlaff
quote:
On the spraying, I was under the impression that copper has very little effect on powdery mildew. Copper for anthracnose and sulfur for mildew. Do you find that copper controls the mildew too?
I’ve found copper to be pretty effective for powdery mildew, anthracnose and black spot. I prefer it over sulfur simply for ease of use. Wettable sulfur works great: but, it’s a pain in the arse as it constantly clogs my little handheld pump sprayer. I’ll likely invest in a backpack sprayer with an agitator sometime in the future to use for sulfur.
Posted on 1/11/26 at 2:19 pm to wiltznucs
That's good to know. I use both. If you've never tried it, pick up some microthiol disperss sulfur. It is micronized and does not clog any of my sprayers like regular sulfur does.
Posted on 1/11/26 at 7:32 pm to Tigerlaff
quote:
microthiol disperss sulfur
Will have to check this out. Does it require the use of sticker?
Posted on 1/11/26 at 11:10 pm to wiltznucs
Not required per the label.
Posted on 1/12/26 at 1:42 pm to Tigerlaff
I need to take some photos but just giving an update on my tropicals
Guava - is looking great. The fruits are about the size of a baseball and it's putting out new growth in the greenhouse. It was an inch or two short of hitting the top and now there are branches bending where they hit the plastic
Payaya - they taste like shite when I'm sober so I'm letting that one die, will replace with a mango tree soon.
Dragon fruit - It's been growing like crazy in the greenhouse. There are a lot of new branches on it. I might have to take the greenhouse down before moving it out since it probably won't fit through the door of it now. It's going to be a tight squeeze.
Blue Java (allegedly) Banana - The leaves were all dried and droopy but last week all of the trunks starting shooting out new ones. It looks like they have all made it so far, even though I only protected the biggest.
Passionfruit vine - haven't protected it at all. It's been doing fine on the porch. It's dropped a few leaves but for the most part it doesn't look any different.
Hopefully we don't have any more hard freezes. My citrus trees have only had to be covered for one weekend.
My peach trees and plum tree are in full bloom.
Guava - is looking great. The fruits are about the size of a baseball and it's putting out new growth in the greenhouse. It was an inch or two short of hitting the top and now there are branches bending where they hit the plastic
Payaya - they taste like shite when I'm sober so I'm letting that one die, will replace with a mango tree soon.
Dragon fruit - It's been growing like crazy in the greenhouse. There are a lot of new branches on it. I might have to take the greenhouse down before moving it out since it probably won't fit through the door of it now. It's going to be a tight squeeze.
Blue Java (allegedly) Banana - The leaves were all dried and droopy but last week all of the trunks starting shooting out new ones. It looks like they have all made it so far, even though I only protected the biggest.
Passionfruit vine - haven't protected it at all. It's been doing fine on the porch. It's dropped a few leaves but for the most part it doesn't look any different.
Hopefully we don't have any more hard freezes. My citrus trees have only had to be covered for one weekend.
My peach trees and plum tree are in full bloom.
Posted on 1/12/26 at 4:43 pm to Loup
Right on man 
. So satisfying when stuff just works. If it's a pop up greenhouse, they are super light. Just unanchor the frame and lift it up to get the big trees out. Can't wait to see them.
Since your guava is actively growing this is a good time to start pruning into the shape you want for the spring bloom. I tip mine every 14-18 inches.
...and for those of you watching the 10 day weather forecast....
Nope not gonna jinx it. If you know, you know.
. So satisfying when stuff just works. If it's a pop up greenhouse, they are super light. Just unanchor the frame and lift it up to get the big trees out. Can't wait to see them. Since your guava is actively growing this is a good time to start pruning into the shape you want for the spring bloom. I tip mine every 14-18 inches.
...and for those of you watching the 10 day weather forecast....
Nope not gonna jinx it. If you know, you know.
This post was edited on 1/12/26 at 4:46 pm
Posted on 1/12/26 at 8:04 pm to Loup
quote:
Payaya - they taste like shite when I'm sober so I'm letting that one die, will replace with a mango tree soon.
I’m of a similar opinion. But man; the fruit sells like crazy here in Florida to the Latino population. They must see something that I don’t.
Recently planted some Improved Solo Sunrise F1 Papaya seeds aka “Strawberry Papaya” as they supposedly have eliminated the vomit flavor profile and are actually quite sweet. They’ve done okay inside and with a grow light. An inch or two tall now. Got a 75% germination rate from seed which is excellent.
Will be several months before I can identity which are male vs female or hermaphrodites.
Some questions about whether these Hawaiian varieties will be able to withstand the occasional near freezing temperatures here. I doubt I’ll commit any space in the ground to them yet; instead I’ll see what I can do from a pot before trying the fruit and making a decision to keep or toss it.
Posted on 1/12/26 at 9:47 pm to Tigerlaff
quote:
Not required per the label.
Ordered; shite is not inexpensive!
Posted on 1/13/26 at 5:30 am to Tigerlaff
Harvested a late season guava !
Man that thing was good, completely different flavor than what I had a few months ago. It was much smaller but I’ll take small for that flavor ! Any specific Amendments that guavas like to improve fruit flavor ?
Also had a tragedy with my super Hass avocado. A few months ago it got caught on fire by a pine straw bale and a weed torch (that’s what you get trying to not use herbicides)
It took half the tree down, it had started to recover and we got the last cold snap, I had my heater setup in the greenhouse over it, and I just wasn’t thinking.The heater was aimed up towards the tree, and not just at the ground. So basically cooked the tree for 2 days straight. I cut it back, but the branches look terrible, leathery and black..I’ve seen this before.
Not very hopeful.
Saxon Becnel has some super Hass that will be getting put out in 6 weeks, plan to get one for a replacement in the event that this one dies off.
I’ve considered topping it completely and hoping it rebounds come spring.
Good news is my Reed is about to bloom and I’ve learned a lot having 2 to care for.
That’s gardening!
Man that thing was good, completely different flavor than what I had a few months ago. It was much smaller but I’ll take small for that flavor ! Any specific Amendments that guavas like to improve fruit flavor ?
Also had a tragedy with my super Hass avocado. A few months ago it got caught on fire by a pine straw bale and a weed torch (that’s what you get trying to not use herbicides)
It took half the tree down, it had started to recover and we got the last cold snap, I had my heater setup in the greenhouse over it, and I just wasn’t thinking.The heater was aimed up towards the tree, and not just at the ground. So basically cooked the tree for 2 days straight. I cut it back, but the branches look terrible, leathery and black..I’ve seen this before.
Not very hopeful.
Saxon Becnel has some super Hass that will be getting put out in 6 weeks, plan to get one for a replacement in the event that this one dies off.
I’ve considered topping it completely and hoping it rebounds come spring.
Good news is my Reed is about to bloom and I’ve learned a lot having 2 to care for.
That’s gardening!
Posted on 1/13/26 at 7:54 pm to DickTater
quote:
Harvested a late season guava ! Man that thing was good, completely different flavor than what I had a few months ago. It was much smaller but I’ll take small for that flavor ! Any specific Amendments that guavas like to improve fruit flavor ?
Yes, I often find the early season fruit (August/September) to be bland and not sweet. The late season fruit from Nov. - Jan. is like the best fruit I've ever eaten in my entire life. I have a few theories about why this is and how to potentially increase early season quality.
First, I am fairly convinced that the main reason late season fruit is so good is because there are far fewer fruits on the tree. There is only so much sugar to go around and they get concentrated in the smaller crop. I also notice that smaller guava varieties tend to be sweeter than larger guavas like ruby supreme in the early season, which seems to support this point.
Second, cooler weather slows the ripening process and they hang on the tree longer to develop more sugars. The ideal ruby supreme guava when maximally ripe is the same shade of yellow as a very ripe Meyer lemon and they are always better when ripened on the tree as long as possible. I let mine fall off the tree (don't pick them) and counter ripen at room temperature in a paper bag until totally yellow and the skin is thinning so that you can barely see the red flesh beneath and the aroma is very strong. To avoid injury when the fruit falls off the tree, I bag mine with organza bags that hang onto the branches. The guava falls into the bag and the bag drawstrings catch on the tree. Counterintuitively, off-tree ripening in a paper bag in warm outdoor temperatures seems to be inferior to paper bag ripening at indoor room temperature. I have tried both ways and the results are in as far as I'm concerned. Slowing down the ripening process either by doing it indoors or by cooler weather arriving definitely allows the fruit more time to develop sugars. The best fruit are always in early winter.
To address both these issues (sugar scarcity in large crops and fast ripening speed as a result of heat), I first think that you need to thin the fruit. Lots of experienced growers say this as guavas are very heavy bearers. This is even more true for potted trees; they just can't produce as much glucose as big ones in the ground. This season is going to be my first year of thinning tropical guava. I'm going to cut the total harvest by nearly half to see if I can get the tree to concentrate the sugars better. In the past I've always gone for maximum production.
Second, in addition to thinning, I would do the same thing I do to pretty much any fruit tree to improve fruit health and hopefully hangtime on the tree: make sure it is primed with plenty of micronutrients and k-mag/langbeinite (0-0-22) in the winter before growing season kicks off. For micros, I use azomite for all minerals and gypsum specifically for calcium. Potassium and magnesium (k-mag) are known to improve the quality and sweetness of just about all fruit. Calcium helps the fruit to build better tissues to avoid fruit split and hang on the tree longer without dropping from stress. This will be the first year I've used k-mag on guava. We'll see how it goes. As always, all trees should get a good foliar feed every now and then in addition to normal fertilization. I just do it randomly a few times per season.
Here is a perfectly ripe ruby supreme guava harvested 11/29/25:
This one was amazing and I want to try to make them all like that.
This post was edited on 1/13/26 at 10:29 pm
Posted on 1/14/26 at 5:29 am to wiltznucs
quote:
Some questions about whether these Hawaiian varieties will be able to withstand the occasional near freezing temperatures here. I doubt I’ll commit any space in the ground to them yet; instead I’ll see what I can do from a pot before trying the fruit and making a decision to keep or toss it.
Good question for this week baw. Bout to get us tomorrow night. Probably almost 32 in your area. Hell, 35 down here in Sarasota as well. I have 6 Desert Roses potted around my pool and Im thinking about putting them in the garage tomorrow for a day. Wind going to be blowing 20 as well so the wind chill could be below freezing
Posted on 1/14/26 at 6:38 am to LanierSpots
quote:
wind chill could be below freezing
Wind is good. Plants do not experience wind chill and wind makes it very difficult for frost to form.
Posted on 1/14/26 at 3:30 pm to LanierSpots
I’m hoping it’s not too bad. I’ve got some recent fruit set on my mango trees that I fear will be lost.
Posted on 1/14/26 at 4:43 pm to Tigerlaff
This wind is fricking up my coverings. I had to pull the tarps back because it kept blowing apart my supports. Hoping it dies down before dark so I can recover the trees. I have lights but not sure how well they will keep heat with the wind.
Posted on 1/14/26 at 7:17 pm to mchias1
What are you using as anchors?
Posted on 1/14/26 at 8:47 pm to Tigerlaff
Nothing. PVC framing with thin plastic drop cloth. PVC is stuck in the ground to keep from moving. So far been enough with the lights to keep the 2 lemon trees warm.
I just wrapped them up since the wind died.
I just wrapped them up since the wind died.
This post was edited on 1/14/26 at 8:48 pm
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