Check out http://www.tropicamango.com/welcome.html They are the local experts.

And http://desert-tropicals.com/ has a good listing of what has been grown here.

Cherries (the common varieties) don't survive the heat and dry air here. They are not a tropical fruit, they are a temperate climate fruit.

We grow surnam cherry, guava and mango. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE A MISTER! All the junk in our water will build up on the leaves and clog the pores. Our soil is junk so it needs a bit of digging. I make my own mixture to put in the ground. Location in yard and sun exposure are also important. Be cautious of asking nurserys for advice, the answers are usually slanted towards whatever they sell will grow with no work.

I am trying to grow a mango from seed, if that counts :)
From what I've researched mangoes do require slightly non compacted soil with PH of 6.5(ideal) for optimal growth. In tropics the mango tree can be anywhere from 15ft to 30 ft whereas in AZ they max out at 15-18 ft. if it is worth the effort? depends on you. fruits are also small with low yeild. Guavas do just fine. Cherries would have the same issue as the mangoes.(excessive heat and very high PH)
If you are truly wanting to grow a mango tree why not use container method( Tapia/AL's 5-1-1 mix) for 2-3 years then replace it back in soil.
As the previous posters have pointed out nursery guys would tell you almost anything to promote their product. Remember Arizona is a desert with temperatures only slightly lower than hell and the trees you are stating are all tropical trees(80'F/6.5ph).
Mister might be helpful however due to the heavy salt content in az water it might clog up the leaf pores.

I tried cherry not once but twice because I'm very hard headed and guess what? cherries won't make it. Don't have to tell me a third time lol
mango will do better if your give them a 50% shade cloth for the first two years. do not use misters but they will need frost protection
haven't tried guava

I so want to get tropical fruits growing, maybe indoors?!?

What part of town are you in?

Thanks for the feedback! I'll look at the links.

I live in South Chandler with east-west sun exposure. My goal is to plant the trees in late-September/early-October.

Has anyone here been in contact with Arizona Rare Fruit Growers? I'm planning to visit their demonstration garden that has guava, mango, banana, and other rare fruit trees, and also see if I can track down someone.

Hey, phxplantaddict...Where in San Diego do you get your trees? I was planning on taking a roadtrip to LA and visit at The Papaya Tree for my tropical trees because I want to get the "oldest" fruit producing trees that will fit in an SUV. :-)

I have a cousin who has a wholesale nursey on his 5 acre property north of the city. I also visit Ong's in town. I take a box truck so I can fill everyone's orders. Alot cheaper doing it this way than buying here in Phx. I wasted alot of money before I figured this out.

Hi, nutcr0cker
In response to your question, I killed tomatoes growing in a pot on our patio because I kept forgetting to care for it...Eeek! This is why this time around, I want to plant the trees and set up a separate water line for the fruit trees. The only worries will be fertilizer, disease/bug inspection. We now have a dog (when I had the tomato container, I didn't have the dog then) so I'll be forced to go out in the backyard everyday - and look at how the fruit trees are holding up :-)

Phxplantaddict, send me an email at kyhdepaul2002@hotmail.com telling me how much you charge for picking up and delivery of 6 to 8ft tropical trees. I'd like to avoid having to do a roadtrip in September.

Kinaz, Ill send this in an email as well. I dont charge any markup for profit, just enough to cover gas and time. Helps to keep the cost down for my plants. Of course this works when im picking up your plants at the places im going to already. If I need to make a special trip somewhere else we would need to figure that out. If you have a list of types you would like I can check out prices as well. Don

phxplantaddict,

Are those Arizona Rare Fruit Growers meetings at 7:30 am or pm?

Thanks,
Ant

Yes, Don, send me an email. Thanks!

730 pm If you have questions to ask at the meeting I would suggest writing them down so you wont forget when there. The members are very friendly and experienced and will be very helpful.

Don!!! thats a great idea for picking up everything in SD in the box truck. Too bad I've already almost maxed out my backyard from stuff from tropicamango and the azrfg plant sales, with a few home depot/lowes purchases from time to time

right now I have 2 mango (glenn and nam doc mai) unknown guava from azrfg sale, cherry of the rio grande, dragon fruit, like 7 bananas, 3 citrus (trovita, minnola, and meyer) and a fuji apple. and my homes lot size is only about 7800sq ft

2 recently plantes grapes! almost forgot

I planted a Surinam Cherry and a Cherry of the Rio Grande and 2 different guavas (along with a bunch of other stuff)this past Spring. I have them on a West side of my house and put up shade cloth on the west side of the plants for this first season. They are doing very well.

Right now I am preparing sites for mangoes and a dwarf avocado tree.

I am fortunate enough to have the new Eastside Tropica Mango Nursery not too far from my house. The man that owns it is a wealth of knowledge and is very helpful. He hasn't steered me wrong yet.

Another thing is that he stocks a low chill cherry tree and I am going to try that in another month.