A: Most grafted fruit trees, such as Mango, Avocado, and Peaches, will fruit quickly - often within the same year or the next. There are also many wonderful tropical fruits that will produce for you within a year or two, even without the need for grafting. Below are the top 10 of most popular, most rewarding and easy to grow fast fruiting tropical trees:

1. Annona - Sugar Apple, Custard Apple.

Annonas are the fastest fruiting trees: 2-3-4 years from seed to fruit, depending on species. They are the best tropical fruit trees suited for container growing, due to their small height and can be maintained within 6-8 ft tall.

2. Guava (Psidium sp.): Cattley and Tropical guava

Guava is a reliable producer, starts fruiting in a pot at small size. Some varieties, especially Cattley guavas - Psidium littorale - are relatively cold hardy and can take some frost without damage. Guavas are fast growing small trees or large bushes.

3. Eugenia - Tropical Cherries

Eugenias are favorites of Southern gardens. They are relatively cold hardy and start producing right away. Black Surinam Cherry Lolita and Grumichama are our favorites!

4. Barbados Cherry (Malpighia glabra)

Another exceptional tropical cherry is Barbados Cherry. It is super popular as a heavy producer. The plant can start fruiting when it's only a few inches tall! If you are looking for a compact, but fast growing tree with colorful fruit that starts fruiting right away - plant Barbados Cherry. It will also happily fruit in containers.

5. Eriobotrya (Eriobotrya japonica)

Loquat tree is fast-growing, drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, compact tropical fruit tree. It is a heavy producer. Fruits are juicy, aromatic, and resemble apricots. Ripen from early Spring to early Summer. Ideal for small gardens, beginner fruit tree growers.

6. Papaya (Carica papaya)

Papaya is probably the fastest fruiting tree that can start production the same year from planting a seed. Many dwarf varieties available in selection, reaching only 6-8 ft tall, but producing large crops of full size fruit - they are easy to harvest. Plant 2-3 Papaya trees of different cultivars that fruit at different times of the year and enjoy heavy crops of healthy fruit year around! Another benefit - this tree doesn't take much space in the garden, you can plant as many as you want.

7. Mulberry (Morus hybrids)

Mulberry is very cold hardy and can grow in wide range of climate zones, from USDA 5 to 10. Everyone knows this sweet, tasty, juicy fruit. The tree will produce right away, you will see fruit the next season after planting, and the tree grows fast.

8. Carambola - Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola)

Growing Carambola tree is a fun and rewarding way to enjoy this unique star-shaped delicious fruit right at home. It fruits on the 3d year from seed. The tree is easy to grow and reliable producer, providing wind protection.

9. Blackberry Jam Fruit (Randia formosa)

Blackberry Jam Fruit, Jasmin de Rosa is a curious small evergreen tree or bush that combines features of a fragrant flower and delicious dessert fruit which tastes like fresh Blackberry jam. Fragrant white flowers are similar to Gardenia.

10. Peanut Butter Tree (Bunchosia argentea)

Peanut Butter Tree, earns its name from its fleshy fruits that boast a delightful peanut butter flavor. Compact in size, small tree reaching only 10-15 ft or kept as a bush, it's a perfect choice for limited spaces. Can thrive indoors, starting to fruit within just 2-3 years from seed.

A: Spring is here and in some areas of the country, so is severe weather season. So what can you do to give your plants a fighting chance when Mother Nature shows her ugly side? Here in Florida, spring and summer thunderstorms are a normal occurance. Unfortunately, those storms often come with small tornados, high winds and sometimes hail.

The photo below was from a hail storm that came through the north side of Sebring, Florida in April of 2022.

So the question remains. What can we do to help our plants when this type of weather strikes? Well the short answer is that there is not much we can do to prevent it from happening. These storms usually strike pretty quickly and most of us, given some warning, will chose to make sure vehicles are in the garage if possible and that loose items in the yard are brought in to a safe place. If you have time to move potted plants, that would be great, but it is not worth risking your own safety to do so.

The good news is that most plants will recover on their own. Even though they may look ugly for a while, patience is the best cure for most of them. Of course, the healthier the plant, the better chance it will have when it suffers damage due to severe weather. A good fertilizer plan along with regular doses of micronutrients will help your plants to be at their best so that they can recover quickly. And here is what you can do... CONTINUE READING >>