I've read that a lot of fruit trees do not like strong direct sunlight when they are young. If you want a shorter stockier tree, I would pug it now. I don't have any Jackfruit growing however, perhaps someone with more Jackfruit growing experience can chime in:)
Simon

I don't think you will have much luck getting much growth down lower unless it gets at least a little more light. With it only getting very little light from a desk lamp it is going to have spindly growth.

I'll probably pug it then slowly introduce this jakfruit seedling into more light.

Thanks guys!

-Bo

Also, I wanted to know when can I try grafting this fella? HOw thick does it have to be?

Thanks,

-Bo

Weird... as a freshman in the dorms I kept a Jackfruit seedling in a 3gal pot in my window and it actually did very well like the one above with a new leaf about every 2" growth of the trunk... unfortunately it got way too big as Jackfruits do so yeah pug it and maybe it won't get so unwiedy like the Jackfruit I grew.

:)

Nice looking trees Bo! I never knew you had so many seedlings(until I got the email). Ask Jay about the grafting. He definetly knows.
Good luck with the seedlings and also with your grafting endevors. I am cheering you on, GO BO :)
Andrew

tropicaliste - My daughter won't admit it but I think she likes seeing it put on lots of new growth and looking very happy and healthy. So, it'll stay with her until she graduates from college. ( :

What happened to your jakfruit seedling? What other tropical fruits do you grow?

Andrew - You're my biggest cheerleader; I do very much appreciate this! Thanks for your faith and confidence cause I sure do need it!

-Bo

Bo:

Well at the end of the school year it was already almost 3ft and I got it when it was about 10" so it was growing fast,(imagine the looks from people as my moveout cart had a small tree on it!) and we decided to pot it in a huge trash bin(home) before we even realized it wasn't going to work(overwintering such a large tree) and well... it was a lesson learned.
Avoid pots so large they're not going to fit in your space, try to graft, and keep the plant very short.

After that I kept smaller pots of tropical plants such as Jasmine Sambac(that's a great air-freshner). In a high-rise city dorm, the leafy plants helped offset the 'insane-asylum-white' painted walls. lol.

p.s. Getting the trash-bin with wheels doesn't exactly mean they can handle a ton of soil and a tree. I'm a lot better at the pot culture than I used to be.

:)

Hi Bo,
Ditto to that! You have also been my biggest chear leader and my co partner in crime!! How many times have we sat up late at night on our missions searching for tropicals? Or should I say the Red Horn Tree Jade...LMAO!!!

I cannot wait to get that jack from Jay but Bo I must be crazy! I have at least 12 more trees coming my way, and that isn't including all the fig cuttings that should be here sometime next week!! Also not counting all the plumerias, plus the brug that Karen is sending me. Also I have passionflower seedlings, and dwarf poinciana aka Flamboyan that I started! I literally will be living in a mini garden of Eden! The not so funny part is I don't want to be done either. I still want a nice sugar apple tree. I am hoping that maybe someone will take interest in all the seedlings and cuttings I have and maybe we can do a trade.

Andrew

Jay's grafted jakfruit: Gold Nugget

tropicaliste - the things we do for our tropical plants (and you were in college!). For those of us who suffers from zone denial we're always searching for different techniques to overwinter our tropicals. Though, we're not always successful but we sure do learn a lot and I think our efforts and perseverance is definitely worth it! ( :

Your Jasmine Sambac, is that the same as the orange jasmine? I had a few seedlings but unfortunately they did not survive in my care : ( so i've taken to ordering larger jasmine plants.

Andrew - I like that 'partners in crime' lol and, yes, we sure have sat up many a nights online searching for those hard to find or rare items lmao!

You are gonna love that Jak from Jay! It's a very handsome and stately specimen! It's easily in my top 3 favorite tropical fruit trees. But, wow, your laundry list of incoming plants encourages me to get more lmao! Not, that I need more but my 'wants' are never ending! Though, I am picking up the violet de bordeaux fig cuttings this weekend. I am very excited and can't wait to get them started!

But in the meantime this is my wish list: nam doc mai, pickering, dwarf june plum, orinoco banana, sugar apple, murcott & gold nugget tangerine and kerr crabapple . I'm sure there are a few more plants I forgot to mention lmao!

What other trees are you getting? I can imagine what your living and bedroom looks like: heavily populated with tropical fruit trees and other plants! You definitely have me beat, hands down! lol

-Bo

p.s though, I am not good with seeds, I found a few from the murcott mandarin and have them potted up! So, hopefully, they'll sprout, nicely *crossing fingers* lol

Hello Bo!!!

You have another cheerleader...."GO BO....GO BO...."

Hi ANdrew.... thanks for the nice email... you all are great!!!

Take care everyone!!!

Laura in VB

Bo:

That's for sure! As for the following school years I can't even remember how many small pots of some various seeds I had germinating, along with that a potted ylang-ylang even at one point and my friends would joke about my "botanical garden" room.

As for the sambac it's the sweet smelling white jasmine that really just produces flowers, "maid of orleans" I believe.

That's a seriously leafy healthy jackfruit in the picture above... appears to be a plumeria next to it.

:)

Hey Laura!

Good to see you in these parts ( : you have been incredibly kind and generous! Also, your comment brought a big smile to my face and makes me feel like I, too, can grow or root just about anything ( : Thank you!

Cheers !

-Bo

tropicaliste - you had a ylang ylang in collge, too? Wow! They are very temperamental beings. I have one that I just recently purchased from a nursery in Florida, suffice, to say it's not looking the happiest. So, I chopped all the leaves off and sort of pugged it lol

Also, I, too, have the maid of orleans (I thought the name sounded familiar). My daughter is babysitting this one as well lol

Yep, you're right that's a plumeria sitting next to it. Do you have plumerias? If so, then what variety? And if you do have plumeria-fever then you're in good company! Because Laura, Andrew and myself are big fans of these admittedly fragrant tropical beauties. ( :

Jay's grafted jakfruit has already put on half a dozen leaves (and in winter too!). I've only had it for a few months. It grows super fast!!

What other tropical fruits do you grow? Do you have mango-fever as well? lol

-Bo

Hi Bo,

Okay from Jay I am getting the Wax Jambu(he is also grafting this but not sure what variety it will be.), the 'Bell' Carambola, and ofcourse the 'Gold Nugget' Jackfruit. I am also going to get 2 Ghost Chili plants from him and maybe another cherimoya but not sure yet.

From Four Winds I get any citrus of my choice and it will be the 2-3 yr size, from Mimi 2 Dwarf apple banana trees, from Jacob, the 'Violette de bordeaux' fig(if he can get it too root) and also an atemoya seedling.

Then from my new friend from the fig forum I am getting rooted Violette de Bordeaux fig cuttings along with Chicago Hardy, and then she is sending me 20 fig cuttings. 10 each of 2 varieties. They should have been mailed today but I cannot remember the name of the variety.

Andrew

Yes at one point even an ylang ylang lol and it was healthy too but then they would get too big for my dorm and then like a few other casualties I thought "oh my family will water and care for it"... and it just kind of got overlooked because i'm the only tropical zone-denying/defying plant fiend in the family... :)

the sambacs are fantastic plants that are easy to care for in a small pot and just keep blooming, so that is a great plant for your daughter.

(Plumeria)Just a single kind I'm not exactly sure of the name, but it's peach/yellow colored with a little bit of gradation with pink towards the center and smells like a combination of sweet peaches, strawberries, banana, and pineapple that I got from a certain auction site years ago and is now humongous and we've had to break the branches off and plant them to keep it manageable.

At the moment, Guavas which at the end of last summer flowered and fruited but unfortunately dropped fruit... they are grown from seed and germinated in late 2002 and lots of Syzygium Cuminii seedlings, a Manilkara Zapota seedling, Miracle Fruit, Yuzu seedlings, Loquat, Sweetsop, a Soursop seedling, and a couple airlayers of Lychee are on their way soon that I ordered. I'd like to grow mangoes and quite a few other things though this summer.

:)

Andrew - That's quite a list! We are forever collecting more plants and trees lol It's a never ending process! Now, we just need to buy a very large greenhouse or move somewhere that's warmer and sunnier. I prefer the latter !

Now, I have about 20 Violette de Bordeaux fig cuttings. I am thrilled but also nervous cause I've never rooted fig cuttings. But they can't be more difficult than rooting a plumeria? Right? LOL

tropicaliste - Did your ylang ylang bloom? That would be quite a fantastic site and not to mention very fragrant too!

The smell on your plumeria sounds divine and delicious, too! LOL I was admittedly disappointed with my dwarf singapore. It had a very light and barely noticeable fragrance. Though, I am hoping my aimhorn and kauka wilder will put bloom this summer. I'd love to see a pic of your plumeria.

Where did you order you air layered lychee from? What variety? I have a Brewster and Pink Ohia (for about a year now). The squirrels like chewing on the bark and breaking their branches, which makes me quite upset! Though, I did bring them inside in the fall and noticed some new growth. It appeared darker so I thought it was fungus and snipped all of it off. Well, come to find out (after going through the tropical fruit forum) that these were flower blooms. I sure could kick myself for not knowing better! oh well... lesson learned. Though, I don't think it would've fruited or anything but it would've been nice to let the tree decide instead of me lol

Since, seedlings don't have a very high survival rate (in my care) I am always impressed with people who have the patience and knowledge on how to nurse their seedlings along.

What mango variety are you thinking about? There are so many varieties to choose from! I won't be surprised if you end up with half a dozen lol

-Bo

Unfortunately no it didn't but that is because it really only got a little under 2' when I had to bring it home on a visit rather than leave it until Winter Moveout...

Yes the plumeria is fantastic and every time you pass by it you want to stick your nose in the bloom and just inhale lol but I didn't have a digital camera the last time it bloomed and I guess it was too stressed last summer to bloom but fingers crossed it will bloom this Summer and I can take some.

As for Lychee those are an auction find and I'm excited to receive them soon. Brewster and Sweetheart. :)
I walked out back like a few years ago to see my seed grown Longan seedling missing from the pot and scattered about the yard! Squirrels...evil so evil. I pressed the leaves/minibranch in a frame though like an antique print and it looks nice.

That's so irritating about cutting your blooms... did you have any old pots to smash... haha, seems like something that I would've done, like putting fruiting fertilizer in my grown Calamansi and having it die to 2" above the root.

I'd like two(are you buying that? lol) mangoes preferably a condo Mango and a Carabao Mango like the juicy natural candy we eat in the Philippines. Suggestions?

p.s.
I can't eat too many though as my lips are allergic to the sap so taste is most important.

:)

When it comes to squirrels causing havoc, I feel your pain and frustration! I remember one summer I had at least 15 jakfruit seedlings sprouting to a good size. And it was my intention to transfer them to pots but sure enough this was not to happen! The squirrels got to them, again!! So, I am very hesitant when it comes to taking my graham mango outside, especially when she's blooming.

As for recommending a mango that's similar to what you had in the Philippines I'm not too familiar with what varieties would be good. Though, on the condo mango, I do like the pickering and nam doc mai. Though, nam doc mai is not really a condo mango. But, I suppose any mango tree could be if you kept it pruned to a manageable size.

-Bo

Yep they're wretched, very similar to the sproutings I had of lychees.. it's like they see the seed and can't help themselves but then leave the scatterings on the yard for entertainment.
I'd like to get one of the grafted Philippine mango from Nipa but I dunno whether they are out for the season or just out of business. Have ya tried dried mangoes that are from the Philippines? They're like that but obviously very fresh and soft with no fiber and melting on the tongue...

Nam Doc Mai? Got to remember that.

:)

Hi Bo,
I neverheard that the Nam Doc Mai wasn't a condo type. I know jay grows it and Kristi hasone growing in a pot. One good thing about the nam Doc mai is its ability to produce multiple crops in a year. I had that from someone here but cannot remember now. I was also told that when I was shopping for my mango tree in Florida 2 years ago.

By the way guess what! I can see tiny pea sized fruits on my Carrie mango tree. Too bad to hear that your having such a hard time with the squirells though!
You really do need to grow all your tropicals outdoors though. A cheap inexpensive solution would be chicken wire. I have seen people here use it. I bet they wouldn't like the smell of moth balls either but you wouldn't be able to keep the moth balls any where in the soil or pot. I would worry that if you did, the tree could die from the chemicals in the moth balls. No matter what you do, I canno stress how important it is too keep the tree outdoors, especially when it is blooming. you don;t have any strong supplemental light therefore, the inflos may not even grow, they may just abort.

Do you have a dog? I would chain that dog outside around your fruit trees. I bet the animals will stay clear of your tree! I only had problems teice and they were both with my citrus. Once was with a nice small ponderosa lemon my parents brought me from Myrtle beach. I put it out one day and the next morning, all I had was a stumo. I wonder what the insides of there stomach looked like. That was a spiny fruit tree! The dam squirells also loved running up and down my Meyer lemon last year but there wasn't any damage done.

Andrew

tropicaliste - There's a lot of yellow mangoes at the Asian store. I think they're Alphonso?

I have tried dried mangoes from the Philippines but I always found them to be too sweet. Though, I do like the dried mangoes at Trader Joe's. I find the taste to be more agreeable.

Nipa Hut must be going through some transition, so if you're looking to purchase mango trees, I'd check out a few other places, like Pine Island or Plantogram.

Andrew - you're right about the nam doc mai being a condo mango.

I have my graham on the south facing window so it does get quite a bit of light. But, I do want to take it outside, so I am gonna do as you suggest and get some chicken wires and research other deterring agents.

Unfortunately, I do not have a dog. Though, my neighbor has one and he's a very good gatekeeper!

Good to hear your Carrie mango has pea-sized fruit forming! This is very exciting cause I see the same fruit forming on my graham. I keep a close eye on it, though, it doesn't seem to change much lol

-Bo

Andrew: That's so true regarding using a chicken wire or better yet your dog, usually my technique is now to use that bird mesh stuff wrapped around my pots. Need to wrap my Guaves especially as they fruit and the numbers of tiny green fruit dwindle(lastsummer).

Bo: The Alphonso are about the closest you can get here on the East Coast and are very good, but they are just slightly off in comparison, it's a bit hard to explain the difference but it has to do with a slightly more "bright" flavor in the Philippines and a melting texture.
Hence my mention of Nipa as the site says they have the Super Mango so that is the only source that I know of for this and "NipaHut" is Tagalog so I believe they have what I'm looking for. Hopefully they return...

The "fresh" isn't as sugary... and you would love it I'm sure.

Keeping my eyes peeled for"NamDocMai". Thanks for the information Bo, and Andrew.

:)