When to fertilize and prune tropical fruit trees?

Q: Can tropical fruit trees (Soursop, Mango, Star fruit, etc) be given plant food any time of year? Also can they be trimmed this time of year/summer?

A: True tropical plants (including fruit trees) need plant food most of the year in real Tropics, where temperatures have very little fluctuations, and active growth season is close to 12 months a year. In subtropical areas when temperatures in winter drop below 65F, plant metabolism slows down, so it is recommended to fertilize only during the warmest period (March through November). So yes, Summer is the perfect time for fertilizing your trees; their metabolism is at the highest point and they can use more food!

Trim your fruit trees right after harvesting. Obviously, you don't want to prune branches before or during flowering or fruiting. The specific time of the year for pruning depends on the plant - every tree has its own flowering/fruiting season. However, avoid pruning right before winter: young shoots promoted by pruning are tender and can be cold damaged.

Recommended fertilizers for fruit trees:

Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - for sweeter fruit
SUNSHINE SuperFood - microelement supplement

How to grow Soursop in a pot

Q: Is it possible to grow soursop in a large pot for life?

A: Soursop, or Guanabana - Annona muricata - is actually one of those tropicals fruit trees that can be easily cultivated in a container. Most plants of genus Annona have compact nature, and these fruit trees usually start production at a young age, as early as 3 years from seed. Annona muricata seedlings take a little longer to fruit, this is why we offer grafted trees, which can start producing right away.
We have a very interesting article about growing Soursop in an apartment. The article was written by an indoor gardener who lives in a very small apartment in Moscow, Russia. He grew this tree from seed and after years of cultivation fun, he finally got several large delicious fruit! It is an amazing story. We have it published in our Tropical Treasures magazine, download the whole issue #7, get a hard copy, or you may download PDF file of the single article.

Recommended fertilizers and supplements:

Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster

Dwarf and Condo mangoes - easy mangoes

Q: We leave in zone 6a, could you tell us what is the list of different types of mango plants that could be planted indoor and that they can bear fruits?

A:There is a large group of mangoes called "Condo Mango" - they literally can be grown in your apartment! Those are dwarf varieties that can remain compact in containers with minimal pruning and successfully bear fruit providing bright light and proper care, including plant food.

The best dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are: Carrie, Cogshall, Cushman, Fairchild, Graham, Ice Cream, Julie, Mallika, Nam Doc Mai, Pickering, Irwin, Jahangir, Juliette, Lancetilla, Little Gem, Manilita, Sia Tong, Torbert, Pim Seng Mun, Super Julie.

They produce juicy, fiberless sweet fruit. Julie is also a very popular dwarf variety, however, it is very cold sensitive and not the easiest to grow. If you get a 3 gal size mango, step it up to 7 gal when the plant reaches 4 ft; you may use a bigger container as the root system grows, up to 15 gal or even 25 gal, space permitting. Trim the tree under 6-8 ft after production season is over (summer-fall).

See more information on growing condo mangoes

RECOMMENDED FERTILIZERS:

Mango-Food - Smart Release Fruit Tree Booster
Fruit Festival Plant Food - Super Crop Booster
For sweeter fruit, use SUNSHINE-Honey - sugar booster