Well, my small avocado and mango trees did not make it, because my lawn service used a weed-eater and stripped the bark and killed them.
I plant ti wait till spring and this time plant larger trees from a nursery. I'll put rocks around the base to protect them too.
I definitely want a new mango and avocado tree and would like to add a papaya and one or two varieties of banana.
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I am also looking for one or two more exotic and unusual fruit trees to plant.
I wanted ideas on what trees to plant. My goal is hardy plants that produce best fruit to eat - these trees would be behind house and not seen.
In our area squirrels do a lot of fruit damage to Avocados and so do the 3-4 hours of frost we get each year. But more mature trees seem to survive.
I am torn between planting the large watery Florida Avocado and the smaller Hass or Mexican oily avocado.
I prefer eating red papaya but have no idea if they would grow well here. And is this something that I could grow quickly from the seeds of the fruit?
My neighbor has really tall banana trees but they fall over with strong winds and the fruit branches break and she has to support them - so I am looking for shorter stocky/stronger banana types to plant. My mom who is from Mexico recommends the Manzano banana or the finger banana, or the red one. Not sure of their real names or if they would do well here in the Tampa Florida area.
I know nothing about mango except that I love eating it.
And I was told Lychee trees grow well here and if I don't like them I can sell them for a good price to the oriental markets.
I had a PAW-PAW tree up in Indiana that I loved eating, but not sure if it would grow here.
Thanks to ANY advicse you can give me. I just do not want to go through planting trees (again) and then finding I made a mistake. I want fruit next summer!!
Need Edible Fruit Tree Suggestions Zone 9B Tampa Florida
Here are my 101 lesson on Papaya- if it helps. I've grown all mine from seed, and indeed they are rapid growers.
http://davesgarden.com/community/blogs/t/rjuddharrison/1993/
Not sure if you like kumquot or Loquot, but they are particularly well suited for our zones, attractive trees and produce generously. Come to think of it, I've not seen squirrels around the local trees...hmmm- I have a lot of squirrel snackers, and never do I taste a pear on my tree. They take one bite and discard it....
This message was edited Nov 24, 2009 4:49 PM
Loquat is also my suggestion. And Kumquats are very nice also
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg050
http://www.floridata.com/ref/F/fort_mar.cfm
The red banana, is Cubanos or Red Spanish, they do have a tendency to get tall.
A good small banana is Dwarf Cavendish.
I would suggest a star fruit tree, mine had fruit the second year after I planted it, it fruits severel times a year. Mine right now are only three years old and so loaded with star fruit that I give them to the neighbors. It's one of the reasons why I can't understand why star fruit sells at$2.00 each, you couldn't find a fruit tree that produces such an abundance as the star fruit.
How about a cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale), very exotic and juicy. Also a a Guava tree (Psidium guajava). You can make a very good jelly from its fruits.
I planted a breadfruit tree about 6 months ago. My new baby. The tree itself, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful of fruit trees. The leaves are magnificent. The trees do get quite large so you must have space to accommodate it. . The green fruit (unripe) is starchy and can be used as a potato. I love breadfruit french frys. The ripe fruit can be baked like a cake. The really cool thing about the breadfruit is it is a staple food and can used as a vegetable rather then a fruit. . If the world comes to an end tomorrow you can survive on breadfruit.
There are breadfruit cookbooks out there. Below are some websites with breadfruit information.
http://ulucookbook.com/
http://ulucookbook.com/breadfruit_cookbook_photo_slide.html
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?foodid=18192
http://www.congocookbook.com/vegetable_and_side_dish_recipes/breadfruit.html
You should probably go check with a nursery to see if papayas grow there or not. The nice thing about Papayas is they are small and not true trees. In other words, if you do not like the location of the tree or it is not doing well you can just wop (i.e. we use machete to chop papaya trees) it down and plant another one some place else. Therefore, they are not quite the commitment of larger trees. Also if the tree gets to tall you can chop it in the middle and it will grow new arms. I have three strawberry (pink flesh) watermelon papaya trees and , some of the fruit are 10 pounds. They keep me in fruit up to my eyeballs. My freezer is so full of papayas i will be making papaya jam for everyone i know for Christmas.
I start mine from seeds.
They are also lovely trees. They look other worldly like some Venusian came down and planted them.
I second the star fruit tree - just be sure you get a sweet one as there is quite a difference in types. We have had five crops from our tree so far this year - quite a little workhorse for us. Its a pretty little tree too. We wait until they are golden colored before we pick them but I can't ever remember seeing anything but green fruit in the supermarkets on the mainland.
WIth the exception of the rapidly growing papaya, I am wondering if fall planting (even this late) of any trees would not be better than waiting until spring. Because your soil does not freeze the roots would have a chance to get established without being under the stress of the intense heat that will hit next spring.