Harry

Good job. 12 years is an amazing amount of time to not only keep the plant alive, obviously thriving, and to have the patience for both.

Hopefully you will get some pics loaded for us today. You can't just dangle a post like this out there and not produce!!! LOL!

If you want info on growing, check out the link I added. It's pretty much the mangosteen bible as far as I'm concerned.

Specifically, I grew my plants from seeds a friend brought back from thailand. 10 germinated, not sure out of how many anymore. Since then 7 have randomly died over the years, most yellowing for no reason then eventually browning. I don't really understand why since mangosteens are reportedly all the same genetically (the seeds aren't actually 'true' seeds...just exactly clones of the mother). I had another one which looked like it was the further along but my sister generously helped me paint one day and left the window open in january to help get rid of the fumes...plant was toast.

As for lighting I've been using a 400 watt mh in the winter on half the plants, with the other half getting light from a south facing window. I've been spraying them with tap water every time I go past just to prevent mites..although I've never had a problem with them. Plus it makes me feel like I'm doing something without harming the plant lol. I'm sure everyone knows the feeling of giving too much attention to their plants. I foliar feed once a month or just, pretty lightly. Plants go outside from may to early September.

Anyway, take all this with a grain of salt, like I said I'm only 20% and to say i fruited it at this point is a great exaggeration.

Harry

The flower dried out..I touched it lightly and it flaked off...pretty sad. I still have the before and after pics though of it, I ordered a memory card reader off amazon so I can get the pics off my camera. I'm hoping against hope that it'll put out another flower in the near future...I'm not sure what went wrong, maybe it needs more humidity during the flowering? It must've liked the conditions in the first place though if it started to put out a flower...it's so frustrating with these guys because it's guess work and if you do something wrong it can set you back a lot of time because they are so slow to react. argh

greg

anyways good luck, i heard enough about these plants being finicky that i never bought one

Greg(c00rdb)…We are all still waiting for the pics...and waiting... and waiting… and waiting… and…well heck, you get the picture. Whoops! Maybe you don’t!

Has Amazon back ordered the memory card reader? Didn't think we'd let this post die did you? I want to thank a couple of my silent partners in crime, who shall remain anonymous at this time, for helping me keep this post alive and kicking. And Yellowthumb…I’m here to keep you on your toes and entertained my friend!

Look...I'm going to come right out and say some things many of us are thinking because this whole thing seems just more than a bit "off" to me. I'm sorry to be so cynical, I really am, but you've made one heck of a claim here with only empty promises to back it up.

Everyone here is happy with what they are doing in this hobby and proud of their accomplishments. I would also bet nearly everyone here would love to make the very same claim you did exactly FOUR weeks ago. I know that I sure as heck would and dream of the day I can make a claim like this! I know how difficult it is to obtain seeds and plants, let alone keep the darn things alive for very long. And to bloom?! Wow! So yeah…I’m a tad put out about your claim and you now certainly come off as trying to con all of the good people on this forum.

Digital cameras have been around for a long time now and most will pretty much just plug and play right into any computer these days. Even if you take away the claim, more than a few of us are having a difficult time understanding how someone can have a 12 year old mangosteen and has never even mentioned the plant until now! Not sharing pictures just makes it even more puzzling. This isn't your normal houseplant. This isn’t even a mango or a lychee growing indoors. This is a mangosteen…one of the holy grails of rare fruiting, even more so growing indoors! You've been a member for over a year and you've had to have seen all of the posts concerning garcinias and mangosteens in general. It's very very odd that you would not share your experiences at growing mangosteens for 12 years during these many opportunities!

Truthfully, we are all really hoping this is the real thing and that you are not yanking our chains, but you really aren't leaving us much NOT to be cynical about! If and when these pics ever appear, I will be among the first to step up and apologize for the doubt and the hard time…and sincerely congratulate you. But for now, my "steppin" shoes will be in the closet gathering dust.

P.S. Maybe you could invite Gerry from NY for a little visit. It would be just a short road trip for him. He could take some pics and then post them for you!

P.S.S. Before I hop down from the Ol’ Soapbox, I must say that there is growing doubt that this guy is even for real. So while this post was meant for him, it was also clearly for entertainment purposes! Donations accepted…and encouraged.

Jay…growing mangosteen, but it is not blooming or fruiting.

Wow, well said, I have been holding this breath for such a long time. Now you let it out. Thanks Jay.

So many late night sleeps and dreams about almighty Greg in the north with a decade old mangosteen flowered indoors. I felt the same way when I realized that my neighbour Dave has two Pandas as a pet in his basement. And that Panda girl is pregnant.

You have had broke my disbelief with Mangosteen (Is it real? Is it a man made fruit? Cos I have never seen the plant with my own eyes), I have seen hope, a shed of light through the thick darkness.
You have shamed me on my skills, even though that I have been practicing indoor container gardening for over a decade. And like Jay, I am learning every single day.
You have made me refreshing this specific post every ten minutes for the first week. All I got is disappointment.

Now you owe us something, a picture.

YT... germinating mangosteen, but they never sprouted.

Harry