Jim, that Jaboticaba is incredible. I absolutely love it. Can you share more pics? It is such an interesting tree, and so under-utilized it seems. The berries grow right on the beautiful red trunk and it's really strange! How does the fruit taste? I almost bought one from a nursery in Myakka but I couldn't find a good answer about salt tolerance. So, I bought a black sapote instead.

Jaboticaba trees are not fond of salty sea air but I like the taste of the fruit better than sapote. The big negative about jaboticaba trees is that they are so slow to mature. Mine was in the ground and pampered for 12 years before I saw the first fruit. Now at 15 years old I have a good crop but the fruit is small, about the size of seeded globe grapes. Plant your sapote away from sidewalks as the roots will do a number on them. Did you know they use the sap to make chicle gum?

Jim

Chionodoxa and Scillas are in full bloom right now in my borders. And finally it is warm enough to garden.


And the Bletillas are starting to pop up too.

Jim, the sapote sap is used in chicle gum? Interesting!

And the nursery told me this particular grafted sapote doesn't get taller than 20 feet or so....however, I'm concerned after reading your caveat because I've planted it near our new concrete sea wall in the back yard!!! Am I in trouble??

I don't think it would bother a sea wall but they do have a reputation for uplifting sidewalks and driveways. Have you had a chance to taste the fruit?

Jim

My Encore azaleas have started to pop as well as several NOID irises. I just had to show you my garlic. The last few days of off-and-on rain has jump-started everything. I have 3 or 4 different irises. It is funny how only one variety has bloomed and they are all blooming. There is not even an inflorescence on the other varieties.

Beautiful colors and those Garlic look great!

The garlic is looking good so far, and you know what they say: "A good-looking garlic is a good-tasting garlic".

The first bird of paradise flower of the season:


Jim

Ohhh, I love that!!

You need to live in Florida, Ursula. At least come to visit!

Jim

Yes, Jim...I had Black Sapote at a fruit farm in Australia. It was SO good. Maybe I thought it was so good because I was on a fruit farm in Australia.

I had some at the state fair from the Rare Fruit Society, International (RFCI). I didn't care much for it. Maybe it was because I was at the State Fair in Florida.

Jim

Bahhhahahah!!!

Some people are put off by the consistency and the color...the one I had tasted like mild chocolate pudding.

I don't know what cultivar you had in Australia nor how long the fruit had been picked before you ate it. Both of those things can make a difference in the flavor. You should read this from UF: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg331. I don't grow it because it grows into a huge tree (50 feet) and it is very cold sensitive. I'd feel better about trying one if I lived in Miami. You most likely have a 'Pantin' or a 'Magana' as those two cultivars are about all you can find in Florida. If I remember right, it takes a year or more from the bloom to a mature fruit and a frost of freeze would most likely ruin that process. If I'm still around when your tree produces fruit, I hope you invite me down to see it and to try the chocolate pudding.

Jim

Kate's place is out on the islands, Jim, so she's at least a zone warmer than I am. There's a chance she will get fruit from her tree. There's a tree at Selby, too, and I think and I've seen fruit on it before but I don't know if it ever made it to ripening.

As with a lot of other plants, the timing is everything I'd imagine. This year I have no lychees at all, and only a very few mangoes all because of the timing of that one really cold night we had towards the end of February when all the blooms were at their most vulnerable. arg.

Hmm. Sounds like my Avocado tree. I'm seeing a few pea sized fruits on it, but expecting winds tomorrow. This also requires almost a year from bloom to harvest.

I have a 3 year old birds of paradise but I have not seen a single bloom.

Maybe this year, Gigi. Birds really like to grow into a big, mature clump before they start blooming.

I bought mine, in bloom, in a 5g.a. pot. It took a couple of years after planting before it bloomed, but it made up for it last year.