Ummm,

You should have probably left them on the counter a little longer. You eat them when they begin to give to the touch. When they are actually ripe they will taste like a creamy, sweet potato pie,,,IMHO. It sounds like you got very unripened fruit and that is why the sugars did not develop properly.

Vince

Thanks for that info, you're probably right that I got not fully ripe fruits. I still have one left so i'l let that one sit for a while till it gets soft and hopefully it taste a bit better by then.

*Update*
Just had the last one let it ripen maybe a little longer than I should have. It was sweet maybe a little too sweet. Just like a pumpkin or sweet potato pie with extra sugar. I should have taken a pic so maybe someone could've ID which cultivar it was. The flesh was more reddish than orange like many i've seen online. I'm planting the 2 seeds, which already have a little sprout growing more than half of the seed length. I don't think they come true from seed but i'm gonna try anyways. ;)

Good luck! I love them!

Where did you get yours?

I got them at my local mexican supermarket called Vallarta. There's a huge hispanic population down in the central(my area) and southern California area. So there is always something exotic and interesting to look forward to when I go shopping at the asian or hispanic store. But what I would really like is some fresh Florida tree ripen mangoes, lychee, longan, and jackfruit and try the some of the other many tropical fruit that could be grown down in south Florida.

I've never seen a sapote up here. Considering all the tomato trucks going up and down I-5, you'd think they could throw in a couple of mameys now and then.

It seems like most of our less common tropical fruit is shipped from asia. I really wonder why it is so difficult for them to drive things up farther north. If anyone knows any good sources up here please let me know. Berkeley Bowl and random asian and latino grocers are hit or miss.

ryan

Well June-July is the best time to visit for fruit. Spykes nursery sells fruit baskets. I believe they ship.

sf_rhino-
Do you have a H-Mart or 99 Ranch? As I recall when my older brother went to school in the bay area(Fremont), he said that there was one of the 2 I mention above. I don't know if they carry spaote but they will occasionally carry fresh lychee, longan,dragon fruit, jackfruit, durian, mangosteen and so on when there in season. If you don't mind sending me payment(paypal) I can get you 1 or 2 to try since my Hispanic store still carries them, but I don't know for how much longer they will carry them. I got a large one about grape fruit size and 2 smaller mango size one for around $17 @$2.99/lb. If you want I can get you what ever $20 can get you and ship at my expense. LMK if you're interested.

Thanks for the offer, that is very nice of you, but for me half the fun is hunting things down myself and I'm in no hurry at the moment. I am behind in my plantings anyway, I have a bunch of starfruit seeds that are losing viability as we speak.

We have 99/Ranch/99 (there is an ongoing debate with my co-workers as to whether the 99 goes first or last) and a place called Mi Pueblo but no H-Mart or Vallarta. We get most of the fruits you mentioned although our mangosteens aren't usually that fresh (irradiated?) and I've never been successful getting an embryo to sprout from one.

I'll make a map of those various stores and keep an eye out when I make my next trip down south.

Ya the magonsteen are always imported from Thailand, so they are always irradiated. so the seeds that you plant won't likely grow but there may be a few that get little irradiation and mange to sprout but is very week tho. The Vallarata and H-mart seems to be more down south catering to the huge asian and hispanic population. If you really want to try growing some mangosteen seeds the best chance is to get some from Puerto Rico. Or if you want an already started seedling check out the cloudforest's forum. It's a site for mostly the north western gardeners. Ethan(red_sea_me) is member here and on that site, he has quite a bit of rare seedling(some grafted plants) up for sale every year and he updates every now and then when the plants are ready. He's a nice guy and best of all is his plants are cheap compare to other peoples. Check the link at the bottom, he should have something that might spark your interest.

Here is a link that might be useful: mangosteen and the likes

Thanks for the info. I checked out our local Mi Pueblo yesterday and they had absolutely nothing interesting or that you can't find at a standard grocer. This guy Ethan does have a ton of stuff. Perhaps one day I'll have a yard...

I just made a trip down south for a wedding and picked up 7 or so sapotes from the Vallarta Supermarket in Oxnard. I almost didn't see them b/c they were off in a corner with the more perishable fruit.

Only one was ripe so I've left the others alone for the time being. The seed has cracked open and there is some growth starting to protrude. How did you plant these? Is this a tap root or a stem? I have it wrapped in wet papertowel for the moment and will probably put it in a pot soon but don't know which end should go up. Any other growing tips for the seedling?

Thanks,
ryan

Hi Ryan,

What I did with my seeds was just lay it flat on it's side and let it root naturally that way. If the seed is already crack, lay the part that shows the white part of the seed flat and leave the other side with the shiny seed coat up. But, if the whole shell came off, just plant the side with the roots forming along the side down against the soil. The roots will naturally root it self down towards dirt. Oh, that's a tap root and not stem. The stem will not form until it has rooted, but shouldn't be long after rooting, you'll see the stem forming. They grow fast as young plants, but drags on the maturity(grows very slowly after a point of seedling stage) side and won't likely fruit, if ever in our conditions in the 5-7+ years(but there are always exception of fruiting sooner). If you can ever find green sapote(taste similar to mamey, some say even better and smaller portions for a single serving), are more cold hardy than mamey. also lucoma is hardier than the two mention, one member in Arroyo Grande, Ca(z8 or 9?), has a fruiting mature tree.

So, on it's side with the root forming down.

Good luck and will love to see when it sprouts or future updates. BTW, I gave mine away, so I can't show you how it looked like. But it was 8" after 3 weeks of stem emerging from the soil line.

thanks!

Congrats on the baby T-Rex ;) Mine grew fast as well, but I think they grow quite slow after about a foot. But, I wouldn't know, as I traded mine to a member, in a more ideal location, when it was about 10+ inches tall. But, good news is, my local Vallarta supermarket is selling them again, but about a $1 cheaper now.

They were $1.99/lb when I got them, but since half went bad on me that increases their effective price. I almost didn't see them b/c they were in a corner. I am wondering now it they have them up here at the local markets and I just didn't see them there. Will need to go check if I get a chance.

r

Yeah, mine were in the corner as well in the fridge section. Yes, check when you get a chance to, they might even have other fruits of interest. My local Hispanic stores are selling Tunas verde(prickly pear cactus fruit) and they are very juicy, but full of crunchy seeds. Like guava size and larger, but they are also very sweet btw(one of the sweetest tasting tunas, I had in a long time). Cherimoya season is almost upon us. If you would like to order some at a reasonable price of $65(includes shipping for 10+lbs of name variety), let me know in email, as I'm not sure the guy want me to share his email online w/o his permission. He told me, he should have some by this December, since his trees are being lazy this season. Some other forum member on the other site, already has his first ready to pick cherimoya of the season.

This post was edited by soaht on Thu, Oct 10, 13 at 1:33

Here are some photos of the larger of the two seedlings. This one is in an 8" pot near the window. The smaller one I need to put in a bigger pot, but so far also looks like it is doing okay.

8-weeks, about 10 inches:

Same one 11-weeks, about 11 inches:

Nice and healthy looking mamey seedlings. Would be great for updates every now and then too. Especially like to see it in the spring, when the weather warm up a bit, of how much it has grown since. You know I got a lucoma(Pouteria lucuma), which is a hardier family member of the Pouteria family. After I got rid of the my mamey seedlings. That is said to be hardy to zone 9b, which is, me luckily. It's not from seeds though, it's actually from a cutting, the nursery had rooted. It was kinda pricey for such a small plant, but it was also on sale, so that's why I got it. It's in a fabric pot that is said to be 1 quart size, but looks about half that size. The plant it self is maybe 6"-8". You know those fabric pots do make in difference in the plants growth and it's root structure. Those that I got that were 1 quart size was only .30 each, they have other sizes too, email me if your interested in getting some too. Since, I think you can't mention most other site on this forum anymore?

Oh, ya, the smaller the leaves of a plant, the more cold tolerant it seems to be. That's why mamy is better to 10A+, it's more tropical than a lucoma. Green sapote is also hardier than mamey, but it's harder to find seeds or plant of it though.

{{!gwi}}

The picture didn't show some how, well here it is again.

Interesting, maybe in the future when I have a yard. I haven't heard of lucoma before. How much did you pay for the plant?

Let me know how yours turns out. Are you going to plant it in the ground?

The plant was originally price at $24.99, but on sale for $19.99( I know it's still very pricey, but that's what we get for living in CA) Lucoma has healthy benefits as well, but i'm not aware of them, as I haven't research it up yet. It's mainly found in health food stores in a dry powder form and used mainly in smoothies, but you can find lucoma pills as well.

Nope this plant will never see the ground, as I don't own a house, are only tenants. So don't know when is the next time for moving. It will be permanently be pot bound for it's life. Just up grade the size of the pots/bags, as it grows. No problem, will update it in spring and every now then again too.

TK
Seng

Yeah, you’vd got to wait until its super super soft but not moldy. It will be super creamy and delicious!