well, one route to go would be mail order -- willis and just fruits. i've found the quality to be better with the latter, but the selection and prices MUCH better with willis.

if you want to SEE the plants, then the only option in our area is edible nursery in holly hill. it's got a pretty good selection of all the fruits you mentioned, except pecans, which i've never seen for sale around here. i have seen things there for sale which don't really do well in this area, but by and large she has a well-selected variety of apples, peaches, persimmons, figs, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: edible nursery

A little out of your way, but not too bad a drive: Kerby's on the east side of Tampa (Seffner area) has the best selection of fruit and nut trees I've seen in Florida. You will love it! I used to work just about 1/4 mile from the place and often went there on lunch breaks.

If you go, check out Exotic Plumeria. They are very close and worth a stop too.
Exotic Plumeria Website
453 W Dr Martin Luther King Jr
Seffner, FL 33584
(813) 653-2496

Kerby's Nursery
Kerby's Website
2311 S. Parsons Avenue
Seffner, Florida 33584
813-685-3265

Depending on how much you want to drive, or whether you want to go mail-order, you can use either Jene's Tropicals, in St Pete, or Just Fruits and Exotics, in north Florida.

Jene's is http://www.tropicalfruit.com/

Just Fruits is at http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/

I have ordered mail order from both, and have gone to both and bought...and I was pleased either way.

Thanks for the tips. Kerby looks like the place, for sure! Unfortunately I don't have the time to drive there for this season, nor to wait for mail-order, so I'll have to content myself with brown turkey fig trees for now.

Pnbrown,
I have a very big Brown Turkey Fig tree and it produces allot
of good size tasty figs.I have bought Persimmons,Avocados,plums peach,nectarine at local big box stores. Pecan I got mail order.

Good to know that brown turkey does well in central fla - thanks. When do the figs come in? We have a persimmon orchard, but of course I'm not around during that season. We have grapes, and also they are not the right season for snow-birds. How has your pecan tree done?

My fig tree is starting to bud now and starts producing the fruits right away. The summer months is when they are ripe.
The pecans are doing great.I got them as little sticks from
Ty Ty in Georgia worse people to order. The trees are now about 7 feet. Of course no nuts yet. I have two trees.
I also bought two Chinese Chestnut trees they're also doing
great. I have two Hazelnut and two Hickory nut trees. all doing well. The Almond and Walnut trees all died. aparently
they need more chilling hours then what Central Florida can offer.
Felix

Check out your Rare Fruit Council Chapters. Here is a link to the Tampa one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rare Fruits

Forgot to add.... clink on the "links" on the left.

So what do you think happened yesterday? I decided to stop and check out the little local plant place a mile down the road - which I had been ignoring because in years past only had ornamentals but finally noticed that the new owner had a little sign that says "fruit trees" - and found: one fig, four dwarf orinico bananas in huge pots, one loquat, and three blackberry vines! That's lots better than nothing, I figure. He also has a bunch of peach, pear and apple trees, but I'm not sure if I want to get into such pedestrianly northern stuff here.......

>He also has a bunch of peach, pear and apple trees, but I'm not sure if I want to get into such pedestrianly northern stuff here.......

Hey, to those of us who grew up in FL those are major exotics. :-)

I am one of those who grew up in florida, as it happens. If I hadn't spent the last twenty-five years in the land of pears and apples I'm sure I'd feel differently about it. Anyhoo, I certainly want fruit trees that are little or no trouble. I've heard that apples and peaches are trouble-prone in fla. I know of some pear trees that have been reliable and trouble-free in the gainesville area, but they are in heavy clayey soil. My ground is pure sand.