Andrew:

With all due defference to the kind gesture by Bo to send you lychees from Washingtion, you shouldn't make a final decision on this comparison until you have had fresh lychee that is truly fresh. The lychees Bo sent were obviously not grown in Washington State and with the shipment across country to NY where you are, I am quite sure, took an additional toll on the fruit quality. Also, there are lychee varieties that have more acidity to them and others with less. While there is always discrepancy in taste preferences amongst different people, I literally know of no one that prefers spanish lime over lychee when the fruits are sampled fresh fruit against fruit. But, you may be the first. But remember, you were comapring, from memory, a fruit in Puerto Rico which was truly fresh against a fruit that was probably not at its prime after storage and delay in shipment.

Harry

Harry has a good point and lychees that are over-ripe or past their prime have an off taste. I love quinepas but don't think they taste anything like a lychee. The texture is different as well. Are you growing quinepas in zone 6? I thought the tree had to get quite tall before producing fruit.

Hi Harry,
I see your point and maybe if I tried fruits that were more fresh they may be better but as far as the quenepa, I can get them every summer at this store here and they are so good!! I just like that twang with them and I enjoy chewing on the seed. I gave a few lychee to a few Puerto ricans who agrred that they didn't like them but maybe if I got to try fresh they may be better but that will be a very hard task. It will be just about impossible to get a hold of them.
Hi Karyn,
I have some VERY small seedlings and I don't think I will ever see fruits. I am hoping that some day I may be able to keep them in a greenhouse but even at that I would have to have a male and female to get fruits. I may just have to go buy some more fruits today! All this talk is making me crave them more!
Andrew

andrew, a good lychee does not even compare to quenepa.

i was at Bobs New River Grove and they are selling beautiful fresh Mauritius lychees, they look nice but they have a definite aftertaste to them.

Mauritius are the most reliable bearing thus most popular commercial crop, but their flavor does not do Lychees justice. they are almost as bad as a turpentine mango imo.

hak ip are sweeter and have less of an aftertaste.

every other variety i tasted, brewster, sweet cliff, kaimana, bengal, had better flavor, no aftertaste. bengal seeds were too large in my opinion.

Well I guess I can't completely rule out the possibility that someday I may try one that I do like but isn't flavor subjective? I have no intentions on trying to anger the lychee fans but there has to be people who just don't like them right? I love mango fruits. They are onme of my favorite fruits but I am sure there has to be people out there that don't like them. I can respect the people who are die hard lychee fans but maybe my pallet is just not used to that flavor? I do hope to try some that are more to my liking but I pay good money to enjoy my quenepas here in New York. They have been one of my top favorite fruits for many years now and when I was in Florida last summer, I was with my Puerto Rican side of the family on a mad hunt for them. When I asked them about the lychee, they had no idea what i was talking about. They have to have them in the Tampa area. I was told that the quenepas I was getting were from Miami. I was in a Spanish store and they didn't carry the lychee fruits. I was really surprised. Maybe they just were not a popular item there?
Andrew

Andrew:

Lychees are out of their main Florida range in Tampa.....however, while lychees are not as well know to Hispanics here in Florida as is Spanish Lime (quenepa), Cubans, at least, refer to lychee as "momoncillo chino" or Chinese momoncillo (momoncillo is what they call quenepa). Of course, if you grew up eating any particular fruit, you will generally have a prejudice towards that fruit. Its like any "soul food" that reminds you of your roots and childhood. There are many examples of this. I certainly didn't mean to disparage you or anyone for liking quenepa over lychees. I just never heard of anyone or encountered anyone who did. I just think you should reserve your final judgment until you have had both under equal conditions. Quenapas store and ship much, much better than lychees. Their outside husk is thicker and therefore more protective. There is usually much less flesh in comparison to the seed size and with the higher content of ascorbic acid, there is a naturally preserving effect on the fruit. For me, in weighing what I would be growing in limited space I would have to consider that it is a whole lot easier to fruit a lychee. With lychee, there is no worry about male and female and the trees fruit at a much earlier age. Also, there is a distinct difference between the lychees that get shipped from out of the country and those grown here and eaten super fresh. Quenepa...for all of the reasons stated above holds its flavor pretty darned well and can be shipped in from out of the country and from Florida without much loss is fruit quality. That means that the fruit is readily availabale at the store and at a very reasonable price. My theory is that if I can buy it in the store and it tastes as good or better than what I can grow myself, I am better off using my space for things that I just cannot get at the store or which is not as good in quality than what I can grow. My theory has generally worked for me with my 2+ acres under cultivation. I would think that the less space you have available to grow, the more the this method of plant selection is relevant. So, if it were me living in NY with limited space and resources, I would be hesitant to try to grow quenepa. Heck, I have two trees in my yard that I have been growing for about 15 years.....these are grafted trees from Puerto Rico that were ten years old when I transplanted them from my friend's (the purchaser) home to mine. Ask me how many fruits I have enjoyed from my tree in those years???? (Hint....answer is very small) Yes, that's right....none. But, maybe you'll be the first to do it successfully, so I do wish you the best of luck and hope that you are successful.

Harry

Hi Harry,
I want everyone here to know that I never feel attacked her by anyone. Once a lontg time ago regarding a VERY similiar topics but that is it. You are one of my favorites here and I take your advice quite seriously. That is why I wont rule out the possibility of ever liking the fruit. I guess for me, spending the money to get fresh lychee here just doesn't seem necessary. I guess you don't miss what you have never had. I also agree with store quality of the quenepa. The only times I have had bad ones was when they were picked way to early. Then they taste like lemons and have even less fruit. I also agree with the lychee having more flesh and that being a better quality than the quenepa. That is what made me want to try them. One day I hope to make it to Florida and hit the lychee season just right. Maybe then I can eat my words! As far as growing the tree, I really never expect to get fruits from them. i just grow them for the novelty. I probobly wont even hold on to them for too long. With the addition of this mango that I have coming, I am having less and less space for plants and trees and I really don't like having trees that I can't expect to harvest fruits from. I can wait a few years but that is about my limit. I just started some champagne mango seeds, mainly because I really enjoy the fruit and I have never been able to find a grafted tree, and will probobly never will!
I appreciate your encouragement with growing the quenepa trees but honestly, once my trees really start bearing, they will end up in the garbage. My new mango should be here this Wednesday and I am VERY excited!! I also will have meyer lemons to pick here soon. My grafted cherimoyas are really growing well, I never expected them to grow so fast. My cogshall mango is putting out a lot of growth. Over all this has been a great year for my tropicals. We have had an unusually warm summer, making just about everything growlike crazy. Another tree I may be looking to get rid of is my green caimito. It has only put on a few inches of growth since last year. I really question the quality of it. I got it from Top, and to no surprise, I paid "Top" dollar for it. Overall, I am very dissapointed with it.
Andrew

Sorry to hear you didn't like the lychee fruits Andrew. I hope you're able to try some fresh ones that aren't too sweet.
Bo

Hi Bo,
I don't want you to think that I HATED them, I just thought they were really sweet. You know how much I appreciated you sending them for me to try. I am going to send your quenepas next Monday for you to try. I know you will like them.
Andrew

My two teenage nieces are in from out of state, and one doesn't like the fresh lychees I bought, and the other one ate the whole bag.

Quick...try spanish lime/quenepa/momoncillo on the one that didn't like the lychees. We'll be awaiting the results!

Harry

Just about 2 hours drive from Peace Bridge, here is the
best place to try fresh and top quality tropical fruits if you live in the great lake region. Fruits here are always at it best quality. I was told from people who work there that they get their fruits flown in from oversea almost daily. You can try Lychee and Longan from Thailand, Taiwan and Vietman at the same time. If you still do not like the Lychee, there are still lots of other types of tropical fruits available. July and Augusts is the best time to be there for fruits.

LOL, Harry! :-)

It's rare to hear of someone not liking lychees. But there isn't a single fruit in this world that will satisfy every palate. :-)

I am VERY lucky...My DH doesn't care much for lychees...he doesn't hate it mind you, but when I do have some and I offer him some he always says "NO thanks" those are for you! Very lucky indeed :o)

Mango on the other hand...I have to share, can't win them all!

I agree, that was pretty funny Harry!

Sorry you didn't like them Andrew...Bo, next time just send them to me,lol...

Hey JlGarden,
Can you tell me exactly where this is? That is still auite a ways from me, but is it into Canada or US? I don't have an enhanced license or passport so if it is Canada that is out and they have pretty srict policies with bringing in any fruits to the U.S. but I would still like to know the specifics for getting there.
Andrew

Hi Pug,
I wanted to tell ya to thank your husband for me. Now I don't feel like a freak!! BTW my mango is coming tomorrow and I will be posting pics here as soon as I get it and have it potted up. Oh, and your jades you sent me are doing great!!
Andrew

Looking forward to Pics Andrew! Glad to hear the Jades are doing well!

Andrew, don't give up on your caimito...lol. You paid top dollars on it.:) As for the lychee, I got some from Chinatown over the weekend and the skin still looks nice and red but when I open the fruit, man...it tasted like crap! I bought 5 lbs and I think I was only able to eat 10 fruits out of the whole bag. The skin was red and look fresh but inside already spoiled. I was so upset!

There are so many varieties of lychees. And some lychees doesn't taste that great. But then some are awesome! But then if you don't like sweet then you might not like sugar apple, atemoya, sapodilla, mamay, jackfruit, or longan since these are way sweeter.

What kind of mango tree are you getting and where from?

Hi Andrew, It is in Toronto Chinatown. Too bad that you can't go over there. We consumed the fruits there and never brought fruits back to the US. 3 1/2 hours drive from Rochester and we went there once a month. I don't know the address but do know how to get there. Take QEW to Toronto, exit Spadina Ave., Keep left, pass Sky Dome, 2 more main blocks, you should see Dundas west. You can't miss this intersection, because you are now in the center of Chinatown. The fruit store is few hundreds feet pass Dundas on left.

Hi Kristi,
Thanks for that list of fruits. I have tried mamey but not one of my favorite fruits. I didn't think it was too sweet but I just didn't care for the flavor in general. The atemoya and sugar apples I hope I like, if they are anything like cherimoyas then I am ok. I have that african pride atemoya that is grafted with my sabor cherimoya. For some reason, the african pride is not growing and leaves are kind of yellowish green but the sabor graft is looking decent. I still would like to try the sapodilla and jackfruit. I have a jackfruit seedling right now that I got a while back on a trade. I don't know if I will ever be able to get fruits from that but if I ever get to try the fruits and decide that they are not for me, it will be out of my tropical fruit collection. I wont go for any longans either. May give em a shot if I find fresh fruits and can try just one. The description for the sapodilla tasting like pears with brown sugar is interesting. I do like pears but not sure about the brown sugar part. Did you plant your cherimoya seeds?
Andrew