Date: 26 Aug 2024
Top ten fast-fruiting trees
Q: I would like to plant several fruit trees... I am 85 years old and hope to see them fruiting soon. What fruit trees can you recommend that will fruit quickly?
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.
Date: 28 Sep 2025
Guava Tree Plant Care
Tips from Top Tropicals Plant Expert - Tatiana Anderson
Where to Plant Outdoors
Guavas love full sun — aim for 6–8 hours of direct light. They’re adaptable to many soils but do best in well-drained, organic-enriched mixes. Plant them in a spot where you can water easily; guavas are thirsty trees during fruiting.
Container & Indoor Growing
Don’t have space or live in a cooler climate? Guavas thrive in large pots. Use well-drained potting mix. LINK TO OUR SOIL Keep them on a sunny patio during warm months and bring them indoors when nights dip below freezing. Compact varieties like Dwarf Hawaiian Rainbow or Tikal are especially good for pots.
Winter Care
Mature guavas can handle a light frost (down into the high 20s F), but young plants need protection. If planted outdoors, cover them with frost cloth on cold nights. Container guavas can be wheeled into a garage, greenhouse, or bright indoor window until the weather warms.
Watering and Fertilizing
Water deeply once or twice a week, more often in hot weather or when fruit is developing. They don’t like soggy soil, but they won’t complain about short floods either. Fertilize 3–4 times a year during the growing season with a balanced fruit tree fertilizer. Guavas especially love potassium and phosphorus for strong flowering and heavy crops. We recommend liquid crop booster Sunshine C-Cibus and balanced controlled release fertilizer Green Magic.
Pruning
Prune after fruiting to keep them compact and open up airflow. Remove crossing or dead branches. In containers, trim back vigorous shoots regularly to manage size and encourage more fruiting wood.
Pests and Problems
Guavas are generally tough and pest-resistant. The main thing to watch for in humid or rainy climates is mealybugs - those cottony white clusters on leaves or stems. They're easy to manage with neem oil or a quick spray of horticultural soap.
Fruit time
Guavas fruit young - often within a year or two.
Pollination
Guavas are self-pollinating, so you'll get fruit even with a single tree. Planting more than one tree, however, often boosts harvests and gives you a longer fruiting season.
If you've ever wanted instant gratification from a fruit tree, guava is it.
🍴 Guava Recipes
With all that fruit, the next question is always: "What do I do with it?" Here are our favorites:
Cas Guava: Make Agua de Cas
Boil halved Cas Guava fruits with sugar, simmer, strain, and bottle. Dilute with water when serving. The concentrate keeps for months in the fridge.
Check out the recipe.-
Hawaiian Gold: Make Drinks
Perfect for Mojitos or Margaritas. Sweet, tangy juice pairs beautifully with lime and mint. Learn more
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Araca Pera: Guava Wine
Famous in Brazil, where the fruit is turned into a vibrant rosу wine. Locals say it’s the taste of summer in a glass — and yes, you can make it at home too. Learn more...
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Quick snack: Guava Grilled Cheese
Spread guava paste or fresh mashed fruit with cheese, grill until golden. Sweet and savory heaven. Learn more...
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Simple Guava Juice
Blend ripe guavas with water, ice, and a little sugar if you like. Instant refreshment.
✅Ready to Grow? Whether you want fresh juice, sweet fruit, or even your own guava wine, we’ve got the best varieties in stock right now. Your future self, sipping guava juice on a hot summer afternoon, will thank you.
Date: 5 May 2023
⛈
Severe weather:
How to help your plants survive
By Ed Jones, the Booster Guy
Q: A horrible hailstorm hit last night, damaging the majority of plants and trees on my property (piles of hail left like snow - crazy!). Do you have any advice on how to give plants some extra TLC while they recover? Any tips are appreciated.
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 >>
Date: 5 Jul 2024
Like the sweet, deep colors of tropical flowers, the fruits of the earth inspire and enrich our lives
Exotic tropical fruit on a tray
📸 Bael Fruit, Mangosteen, Sapodilla, Rambutan, Mango, Maprang - from Thailand fruit market
🛒 Shop rare tropical fruit trees
#Edible_Forest #Quotes
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Date: 18 Aug 2024
What fruit tree is full of fruit year around
DWARF June plum, Ambarella (Spondias cytherea)
Our Dwarf June Plum that we mentioned earlier is full of fruit again! Looks like this tree is fruiting year around. We always see either fruit on it, or both flowers and fruit. It is probably the heaviest producer we've ever seen!
- ✳️ This exciting fruit tree will amaze you with its ability to fruit abundantly at a young age and small size. This is a DWARF variety of June plum, or Ambarella (Spondias cytherea).
- ✳️ Compact 6-7 ft tree. Perfect container fruit tree.
- ✳️ Very aromatic fruit, resembling that of a Mango (it's Mango's close relative) but with completely different, fragrant flavor.
✳️ Expect heavy fruit production!
🛒Order Dwarf June Plum
#Food_Forest #Container_Garden
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