36 responses |
VF starts with ... I just had the most delicious red-fleshed Grapefruit yesterday, very sweet and juicy, and good distinctive Grapefruit flavour with almost no bitterness. I now want one! The 3 x varieties I have easy access to are Rio Red, Star Ruby and Ruby Red(?pink really). Will be growing in a cooler sub-tropical area on a west facing slope. Any thoughts about which tastes the best, and may develop the sweetest for me? | About the Author VF 10th October 2013 4:31pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brain Brisbane 10th October 2013 5:37pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Boris Spasky 10th October 2013 8:56pm #UserID: 7085 Posts: 184 View All Boris Spasky's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author VF 11th October 2013 2:18am #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 11th October 2013 10:02am #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Chris Sydney 11th October 2013 11:35am #UserID: 2281 Posts: 263 View All Chris 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author VF 11th October 2013 4:14pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 11th October 2013 6:28pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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David says... Hi Mary, Glad you got a Honneffs surprise, the man behind the name Franz Honneff,used to run a terrific nursery, no it was the best tropical fruit nursery, in Brisbane at the time.I met him way back in 1991 I think, the range he carried rare stuff like Marcotts of Langsat,mammea Americana,rare mangosteens,really when I think of him fondly he was quite the pioneer in trying to make rare fruit more common. I used to visit him usually once a week to see what new goodies he would bring down from up north, I suspect Mike Fabian from Cairns was responsible for some of the really rare stuff that Franz used to get down.He is sadly missed by those that knew him. As far as im concerned the tropical fruit trade of plants went on the down hill slide after Franz nursery closed its gates. | About the Author David Brisbane 11th October 2013 8:55pm #UserID: 1961 Posts: 670 View All David's Edible Fruit Trees |
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BJ says... I had to pick up the honneffs surprise a few months back. It's struggling through the dry heat of late, but I had one a while back in the family home that I loved. More nurseries like Franz's are sorely needed, but land prices make it prohibitive. David, give me an email on didge underscore 2001 @ hotmail dot com as I'm holding some goodies for you... | About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas Brisbane 11th October 2013 9:33pm #UserID: 3270 Posts: 1552 View All Theposterformerlyknownas's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 11th October 2013 9:34pm #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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David says... Mary you could say yes you have some very rare fruit in your garden,havnt seen Honeffs surprise for years.My collection is partly down to people like Mike and BJ for there undying love of and unselfish acts of spreading around the rare and unusual, without this we would still be in the stone age so to speak. | About the Author David Brisbane 11th October 2013 10:39pm #UserID: 1961 Posts: 670 View All David's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT says... You're right David; we should all follow Mike's example and share as much as we can. I am trying to strike some Chinotto; so far have two still alive since 24 September. Will try the cinnamon again soon. Unfortunately I do not have many good hours in a day to do everything that needs to be done, let alone extras. I have even contemplated selling up. Still, I like new challenges; I believe they help keep you alive. I am also learning how to play the ukulele at my old age :) | About the Author MaryT Sydney 12th October 2013 6:30am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author David Brisbane 12th October 2013 7:55am #UserID: 1961 Posts: 670 View All David's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT says... I wish I know, David. Been looking at units, even retirement village. Too depressing. I've decided I'd be miserable without my garden but then it is a huge drain on the old energy. My place is still looking good outside but inside it's a mess. Any excuse not to do housework! Can't let the garden die, can I ? lol | About the Author MaryT Sydney 12th October 2013 8:51am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author David Brisbane 12th October 2013 9:29am #UserID: 1961 Posts: 670 View All David's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 12th October 2013 9:32am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Diego Costa del Sol 12th October 2013 9:50am #UserID: 7656 Posts: 38 View All Diego's Edible Fruit Trees |
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VF says... Mary, I have a Pommelo tree, but I know the fruit won't be as sweet as those from much further north, as they do better in tropical heat. I agree about the taste though - I had one last year from up-north and it was delicious! David, you're a font of knowledge about local rare-fruit growers (past & present). Keep sharing, makes for interesting reading. :) | About the Author VF 13th October 2013 8:06am #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 13th October 2013 10:55am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author VF 13th October 2013 10:36pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT Sydney 14th October 2013 6:38am #UserID: 5412 Posts: 2066 View All MaryT's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... Just tried my dwarf rio red from daleys, not bad colouring, redder than i anticipated. I was thinking more pink than red as brisbane isnt known for having the right climate to develop deep colours. Taste wise, a bit tart and bitter and slightly sour, but still ok to eat. Would love to hang it in the tree for longer but fruit flies are still out in force.
| About the Author Brain Brisbane 29th June 2014 11:32am #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 29th June 2014 11:32am | |||||||
| About the Author Chris Sydney 29th June 2014 6:56pm #UserID: 2281 Posts: 263 View All Chris 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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VF says... I agree with Chris, very nice color! I have to say it is redder than what I would have expected too. Is it too late to net the fruit from those pesky insects? It'll be 2-3 more years before my Grapefruit will be ready to fruit. I ended up getting a Star Ruby, hope it'll be as good looking as yours Brain. ATM though, I'm enjoying my Pummelo fruits which have turned out to be sweeter than I thought they'd be. Don't know what variety, but the flesh is a mixture of pink and yellow. | About the Author VF Wongawallan 29th June 2014 8:14pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... I haven't quite worked out an effective strategy against the fruit flies. I think I'd have to invest in some organza bags. Yes, if any of you folks have any tips on how to sweeten grapefruit, I'm all ears! :) My star ruby (SR) harvested from last year was actually less red then this rio red (RR), when star ruby is supposed to be the deepest red you can get. Not sure what happened there. Star ruby has a reputation for being hard to grow and I think that's true in my experience. So you will need to baby your SR VF. Both trees did fruit in the first year of purchase - got SR 2 yrs ago and RR 1 yr ago. So you might not need to wait for too long. But having said that, the SR never flowered since - hence no SR this year. I've read that pink pummelo are actually rare. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 29th June 2014 10:46pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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VF says... Brain, I think extra 'tree' time in the sun would sweeten your fruit. I'm pretty sure you're on top of the other citrus sweeteners ( pH between 6-7, maintain feeds with trace elements). Bar all that, some trees' fruit gets better as tree ages. Yeah, I got SR deliberately due to its' low vigour as I don't want another potentially big tree to battle with. On reflection I should probably have been more patient and waited for a RR on dwarf rootstock. Oh well, it's ok so far though. Whatever the Pummelo variety is, it seems suitable for the sub-tropics. I'd love to know the name though for curiosity sake. | About the Author VF Wongawallan 1st July 2014 3:23pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT1 says... Update on Horneff's Surprise: I did dig it up out of its 70cm pot and was going to mulch it but at the last minute decide to give it a second chance. This is what I did: prune 2/3 of it then dumped it around the back where there is no real soil (buiders' rubble underneath) then emptied a bag of soil over the roots(without digging a hole). I covered the soil with mulch and told to to live or die: choose. Anyway it obviously chose to live because it's sprouting new buds and kept all the leaves that remained. I should have told it to fruit. | About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 18th July 2014 7:46am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author TMary Neutral Bay NSW 18th July 2014 8:00am #UserID: 9334 Posts: 159 View All TMary's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author TMary Neutral Bay NSW 3rd October 2014 7:49am #UserID: 9334 Posts: 159 View All TMary's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author VF WONGAWALLAN,4210,QLD 6th October 2014 6:27pm #UserID: 6795 Posts: 736 View All VF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Markmelb , 7th October 2014 8:21am #UserID: 7785 Posts: 1192 View All Markmelb's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MaryT1 says... Mark I do have a pomelo and it's flowering/fruiting right now. They didn't hold last year (you're right, they know) but maybe I'll get one this year. The tree is still small but as I am growing in pots I don't want it big anyway. I'm excited to hear that Julie's Seville seedling is flowering; there's hope for mine then. :) | About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 7th October 2014 9:15am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Markmelb , 7th October 2014 9:28am #UserID: 7785 Posts: 1192 View All Markmelb's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Boris Spasky 7th October 2014 10:29am #UserID: 7085 Posts: 184 View All Boris Spasky's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author MaryT1 Sydney 7th October 2014 10:55am #UserID: 7655 Posts: 296 View All MaryT1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brain says... I have heard of triforte, but have not use it yet. Only because i have plenty of other stuff and triforte are not easy to get your hands on, unless you go to some specialist place. Anyway, i like the added microbs idea and there is some sound reasons for it. Good soil and good microbs feed the plant, which is why say seasol works. Anyway, the issue for citrus is they are hungry feeders and it can be tricky to get the fertiliser level right for best fruit production. Guess mark has hit a sweet spot in his regime. | About the Author Brain Brisbane 7th October 2014 1:53pm #UserID: 6289 Posts: 638 View All Brain's Edible Fruit Trees |
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