I found the info about the need to defoliate while googling sugar apple and custard apple, it says it's necessary to defoliate in order to have a good crop, I don't and I haven't so right now I'm thinking if it's not broke don't fix it. I was just curious to know if anyone does it or even finds it necessary? As I recall (and thats not easy for me anymoore ) my tree loses 80% of it's leafs anyway.

The only references I could find is that it naturally defoliates in the fall and that the leaves are pungent up close.

I've tried several of the Annonas and had no luck with any of them. Too bad as I love cherimoya.

I picked and ate a couple of jaboticabas today. Very tasty.

Jim

I thought I lost mine the first year because we had a slight frost the winter b-4, I was about to dig it out when I noticed 1 little bit of green, it turns out that if you can get it through the first winter;then it becomes strong enough to take our mild Florida frosts. I have a black sapote that has it's first fruit buds on it now;can hardly wait to taste them. From what I read I don't think the fruit will mature till January. I gotta wonder if the fruit itself will make it through the winter. Oh, and I found a way to eat the Cherimoya without all the seeds. I found some thing called a fruit press and just put all the pulp in it and press, I get lots of great pulp without the seeds;I think a kid would have fun sucking on the seeds and cleaning them off and spitting them out, just glad I no longer have to do that.

In Peru there is a popular dish similar to a Bavarian cream that is made with cherimoya. It's wonderful.

Jim

I'm just back from a two week cruise in the Mediterranean and picked the last of my Brogdan avocados today. It looks like a good year for the Fuyu persimmons.

Jim

How was the cruise? What ports did you hit?

The cruise was great. It was a Holland America ship, MS Ryndam, that departed out of Barcelona. We flew in a couple of days early as we love Barcelona. The ports were Messina,Sicily, Italy, where we visited Greco Roman theater in the town of Taormina and saw Mt. Etna; Argostoli, one of the Greek Islands where we visited the town of Cephalonia; Brindisi, Italy, where we visited the beautiful little town of Lecca; Kotor, Montenegro where we fell in love with the old city; Rome, Italy, and the Vatican City, where we saw all of the ruins and museums; Florence and Pisa where we saw the statue of David and the leaning tower; and finally Marseille, France, where we were mostly ignored and snubbed. We won't be going back there. I ate too much but then that's not hard to do on a cruise. Great food and lots of it. Here is a picture of the open air fruit market in Barcelona.

Jim

Wow, sounds great. Bet you were in fruit heaven in Barcelona. I would like to do an abroad cruise some time. Any security problems? I did a 2 week cruise to New England and Canada last year and the year before a week in from Seattle to Alaska. Enjoyed them both but the 2 week was really long. Probably would have been better if there were more exciting things to do except guided tours. We did have 2 days in Quebec so were were able to explore on our own.

We had calm seas, no rain and no security issues. The hardest thing was coming back through customs at JFK in New York. I got the trifecta: shoe search, full body scan and the pat down. They found things even I didn't know I had.

Jim

Too funny. No search or anything. Of course, I think it's routine to have to remove your shoes and go through the scanner when embarking/disembarking anywhere these days.

I had none of that silliness in Barcelona.

Jim

I think it's more of a US thing. I know alot of people consider it an invasion of their privacy and all but I don't mind if it helps keep me a bit safer when traveling. Unfortunately, nothing is 100% these days.

I would agree if I thought it kept me safer. I think we could learn a lot from Israel.

Jim

Good Morning every one, I need help;this is the first time I've ever had a problem with bananas, I checked on mine yesterday and found that quite a few on the stalk have what looks like black rot on the tips? I suppose any answer will be too late for this years crop, but would sure like to have a solution b-4 next years crop. I might mention that we have had a prolong period of constant rain (about a week) and I think that may be the problem. Any thoughts or ideas? Right now I'm going to google banana tree problems and see what comes up.

Banana trees are very sensitive to moisture; either too much or too little. I think you have found the problem.

Jim

hey everyone i only have navel orange, ruby red grapefruit and blood orange tree. I had a key lime but 2 years in a row freeze killed it.I have mine planted real close to my septic so i have never fertilized them and the do great. only problem im a sucker for plants almost dieing so I did not think where to plant things my grand father hated his sago palms small suckers so i just stuck them in the ground and now there crowding the citrus out i get colder then orlando im almost as cold as ocala. id love to have more trees


mike

I planted a carambola tree in an area of the back yard that I have been ignoring for a couple of years but had to repair a couple of pickets that had come loose. I was out working there and noticed a movement and saw the neighbor's rottweiler standing with his head through the fence eyeing my 2 chickens. Anyway, I went back to renail the boards and noticed a rotten star fruit in the ground. I checked the rest of the tree and there was a huge ripe one still on the tree. Well I brought it in and had it for dessert. Glad to know it is starting to produce. I cleared away some of the area to allow some more sun back there also. I decided to take down my large plant tent for now and let the plants fend for themselves this winter. As far as bananas, mine are always hit or miss. They seem to fruit either justs before a big wind storm or just before a freeze. Out of 4 fruiting trees this summer, only 1 bunch of dwarf namwahs matured to eating size. Of course, Pinellas banned fertilizer sale which I didn't know until I went to get some for the nanners and couldn't. I will stock up now that it is available again till spring.

Mike, many folks in Tampa grow key lime in pots so they can set them in the garage on cold nights. They are a small tree and seem to do well in containers. You may also want to try cattley guava, black Surinam cherry, Frances pomegranate or jaboticaba. All handle the cold pretty well.

Jim

I'm a bitter warmer over here but my neighbor has had a key lime in the ground that hangs over my fence for at least 20 yrs. It produces a couple of times a year. I just picked a bag full for my neice this weekend. He doesn't do anything for it but it is getting older now and a bit thin. I will probably fertilize it next spring. He was going to take it out but I asked if he would leave it in and he said sure as long as I picked all the fruit so he didn't have to clean it up. LOL