Mango ID and ripeness

Q: As the World's Leading Authority on Tropical Plants, I hope you can help us out. We obtained a mango tree from a City giveaway, and planted it a few years ago. This is the 1st year it has produced fruit. They are almost all green color, & range from 6-7 inches in length. Attached are a few photos of the tree & its fruit. Please help to identify the type, and how to determine when they would be ready to pick. Or should we just wait until they fall off of the tree?

A: If the tree is grafted, it normally starts flowering within a year after planting. If the tree is over 6 years old and just now started fruiting - chances are, this is a seedling (possible at giveaways) without specific variety. However the fruit looks pretty good size and shape, hopefully it tastes great. You will find out soon!
Based on the pictures, there maybe a few possible choices, including varieties (or their seedlings) Keitt, Rosigold, it can be even Lancetilla if fruit grows bigger than 7" long. The next step would be, wait until the fruit get some color, then it will be easier to narrow down the variety. Also see if there is a lot of fiber or no fiber.
You may wait until at least one fruit ripens on the tree and let it fall naturally - that will be the color (can be all green, but in your case it looks like it's turning yellow blush). After that, you may pick full size fruit before they fall and let them ripen on a kitchen table. Usually once the fruit starts showing color, it is close to ripening. For all-green varieties, just wait till fruit grows to maximum full size. You may also check if the fruit gets softer to touch, then it's ready.

Musa ensete Maurelli - Red Abyssinian Banana

by Onika Amell, tropical plant expert

Q: I am looking for a colorful, tropical plant with in particular, coarser texture, to add to planting beds next to my decks and around my swimming pool. Any suggestions? I am located in St. Petersburg, FL.

A: Consider incorporating some fast growing Red Abyssinian Banana, also known as wild banana or Ethiopian banana. This is a fantastic ornamental from East Africa and an excellent choice to create a tropical feel and to add coarse-textured foliage. This plant is not a true banana and therefore does not produce any edible fruit. American gardeners were rather slow to discover this enormous perennial, but finally woke up to them over the last decade to a point where they now are considered to be one the most beautiful ornamental banana plants for the landscape and for good reason...

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Fast-fruiting trees?

Photo above: Annona reticulata - Red Custard Apple

Q: More of a question than a review, but a review regarding your catalog, it would be easier for us buyers, if we could search for plants that produce fruit in 2 years or less, I don't have the patience to wait longer than that for fruit. I'm trying to buy for a fairly good sized garden but want some fast growers and fruit produced in 2 yrs. Can you help me out?

A: Fruiting time depends on many factors (established size, growing conditions, fertilizing, and even specific variety), this is why we can not just put a simple icon "will fruit within 2 years".
However, most grafted and air-layered fruit trees, including all Mango, Avocado, Loquat, Sapote, Sapodilla, Lychee/Longan, Peaches and Nectarines - will fruit right away. If you see in our store "grafted" or "air-layered" in plant description - these trees will fruit soon. Some of them already flowering and fruiting.
Some non-grafted trees or seedlings like Annona, Artocarpus (Jackfruit), Eugenia, Guava, Banana, Dragon fruit, Mulberry, Blackberry/Raspberry - will fruit within 3-4 years from seed or even sooner (Banana, Mulberry, Dragon fruit, Blackberry-Raspberry - within a year). Usually it says in description that this plant can produce fruit soon.
Bigger size plants are more established and have more energy to produce, so try to get larger size plants if your budget permits, and especially if you can pick up bigger plants rather than shipping them - obviously, shipping has size limitations.
In addition, all spice trees like Bay Leaf, Bay Rum, Allspice and many more - they will produce spice for you right away, so you don't need to wait at all!
If you have questions about fruiting time on any specific plant you put your eye on, don't hesitate to ask!

Photo above: Pimenta dioica - Allspice

The best Loquat varieties with big, sweet fruit

Q: I'm interested in loquat and read through the varieties you offer but wanted your recommendation. I'm looking for a variety that is big, sweet (not tart) with 1 seed. Of the varieties you offer... Which variety would you recommend?

A: From our experience, the most popular Loquat variety is Christmas. It is an early ripening type hence the name Christmas. Fruits are very large for a loquat, they are bright yellow with a tangy apricot flavor.
Another good variety we recommend is Yehuda - it has a large fruit and very small seed Also, variety Oliver for many years has been considered the best loquat for South Florida. The fruiting season is March to May. It has medium to large fruit. The fruit is very sweet with only one-two seeds.
Loquats are very cold hardy tropical fruit trees, easy to grow, drought tolerant, fast growing. Fruit is great for eating fresh or making jam.

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Memory Garden: Do It Yourself Paradise

by Frank La Rosa, Del Mar, CA

...I term my garden one of memories because almost every plant in it have been given to me by some person that I cared for. The Sicilian jasmin came from a nice lady who brought it from Sicilia in her purse, and she in turn gave me a cutting from which I have propagated three more plants. The Mermaid rose came from my father-in-law a rosarian, who "bootlegged" it, actually (in his boot) in the trunk of his car as he drove from Texas where he lived. Today that rose reaches up up the second story and covers the arch out front...
I have made four stone arches in this Memory garden. One is the entrance to the Chapel of All Good Spirits. It took me two years to build it from stones I collected from many loved places...

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