My Edibles: Vine

Passionfruit - Black

Comments: - February  2012   Black ?  Thought it was, but don't think so now. Seed came  from a fruit I bought from a fruit & vegie shop. Fruit have been dropping off the vine still greenish. I leave on bench & wait until they turn a pale Yellow ? - about a week.

Just tried the first ripe fruit ...sweet & amazing passionfuit aroma, photo coming

 Taken cuttings from the parent plant for future seasons, better than the grafted one I had , it just suckered out of control.

Planted: 2010

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pitaya - Vietnam Dragon Fruit

Pitaya - Red Fleshed Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Comments: -

Autumn 2011: I like the flavour of the flesh better than the white fleshed-red. Mine are currently only teeny tiny seedlings which are going to take FOREVER to fruit but I am a patient woman. :O)

Summer 2011: Am also now the proud owner of a cutting (thank you John!). Fingers crossed that it strikes!!!

Summer 2012: Success! We already have a new shoot on the cutting! The seedlings are also coming along... they are about 3cm tall now! The yellows are growing SO MUCH faster they are all over 20 cm (except where they have snapped in half and now have heaps of little branches)!

Planted: 2011

Height 2 Centimetres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

Pollination: No

Pitaya - Vietnam Dragon Fruit

Comments: -

2011 Winter: Growing them from collected seeds. I know that they will take a million years to fruit but I don't know anyone who has a big one for me to take a cutting.

Summer 2011: Am also now the proud owner of a cutting (thank you John!). Fingers crossed that it strikes!!!

Summer 2012: I have a new shoot on John's cutting! So excited!

Planted: 2011

Height 1 Centimetres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 3

Pollination: No

Hardy Kiwifruit - 74-49F female

Comments: -

She's not old enough to have fruited yet but she is a lovely vine - smooth stems and much smaller leaves than the normal male.

WINTER 2010: dry weather had set in, I wasn't getting home early enough to water and she was regularly suffering from dehydration. Being that it was nearly time to prune her I pruned her before she lost all her leaves to stop her drying out but it got rainy a few days later and her wounds got infected with some feral slimey mould. At first I thought a kookaburra has been pooing on her. I brought her inside, cut the sick bit back and cleaned the wound with 70% EtOH which didn't work.

I tried garlic and commercial fungicides (begrudgingly) but they had no effect either. I got desperate and figured that if I had a manky wound I would use Detol on myself. I soaked a cottonball and left it on the wound for a fortnight. The ooze dried up and then when spring came she was right as rain! So pleased!

LESSON: use bitumen to seal wounds and do not assume that dry weather will hold!

Spring 2011: we have our first flower buds!!! The boy doesn't seem to be wanting to play though and has only just started getting leave let alone flowers. He has ONE PURPOSE in life so he had better get a riggle on otherwise I will get another boy for her! Grrr!

Summer 2011: Nope. He didn't perform. GR GR GR GR GRRRR!!!!

Planted: 2008

Height 2 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Pollination: Cross Pollination

Cross Pollinator Variety: Normal male kiwi

Kiwifruit - Male

Comments: -

Very vigorous! You could very nearly watch him and see him growing! Make sure that you keep him under control. He doesn't have to be enormous to get his job done.

I would like to try grafting a female to him and get double bang for my pot space but I don't know anyone with a female vine. Anyone in Newcastle willing to offer me  a piece next time they prune?

Spring 2011: No flowers this year. Very cross! I got flowers on the kiwiberry but nothing on the male. I am thinking that I will graft a piece of her onto him next year and maybe her hormones will encourage him to flower at the right time? Admitedly he might not be a dud, he might justbe too young?

Planted: 2008

Height 1 metres

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Cross Pollination

Cross Pollinator Variety: it is the pollinator

Pitaya - Red Dragon Fruit

Comments: -

These are the red skinned white fleshed variety. Very fragile and need support (mine are growing up palm trees). Strikes easily from cuttings.

Winter 2011: I recently found out that they won't branch and flower (or fruit) if you let it get too tall. Apparently you only let the main stem grow to max 2 m and then force it to turn. So I have very carefully peels the majority of it off the palm tree and carefully laid it over our patio frame.

Summer 2011: Success - I have side branches on both!

Planted: 2009

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

Pollination: No

Pest Control:

ants like to eat the growing tips = dragon's blood spray (blended garlic, habanero, and dishwashing liquid - DO NOT GET IT IN YOUR EYES!)

Passionfruit - Banana

Comments: - Spring 2011: Everyone says that these are the bomb and I LOVE passionfruit so when I saw it at the nursery I thought I might try it out! :O)

Sumemr 2011:  Despite how strongly it started out my poor passionfruit died. There didn't seem to be any reason - one day a branch just died, then the next and the next. It was really weird. My grandma gave me another for Christmas so I am trying again. The tag recommends growing it in a pot so I am trying that this time. Fingers crossed!!

Planted: 2011

Height 1 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Pollination: No

Pest Control:

Nothing at all seems to have bothered it yet, despite the massive slug and snail invasion that we've had this spring.

Passionfruit - Panama Gold Grafted ^5/10

Comments: -

The fruit are actually red and not the yellow like the tag says . Bought from a local nursery (not daleys) .

Planted: 2011

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Grape - Golden Muscat (Cutting) ^8/10

Comments: -

love the taste

Planted: 2011

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Water Given in: Summer

Pruned By: 30% in Autumn, Winter, Spring

Pollination: No

Pest Control:

Hand-pick caterpillars

Organic Status:Organic

Question:

I don't like using poisonous sprays.  Can I get fruit without spraying?

Passionfruit - Panama Red

Comments: -

Vigorous and yummy. Red panama has done best out of the several varieties I have tried on the fence.

Planted: 2010

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

Pitaya - Vietnam Dragon Fruit

Comments: -

One in the front and one in back yard. Also a red dragonfruit.  Flowering December - March, but no fruit.

Planted: 2009

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: compost and worm water, blood and bone

Grape - Carolina Black Rose ^10/10

Comments: -

A fantastic shade plant, it looks beautiful. Does not go dormant until early August, and only for a month. About 15 bunches of grapes in it's first year, 30 second year, only six in its third year. I also have a Maroo seedless on an archway, which fruits about three weeks earlier than the Carolina Black Rose. Maroo seedless is sweet, Carolina Black Rose is quite sour.

Fruiting Months December

Planted: 2008

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 5 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: occasional seaweed spray

Comments

Wow Diana, fabulous picture of your grapes. I also bought one from daleys and had it in the ground...first season. Do you happen to have more pictures of it? I would like to learn how you train it onto the roof? Can you send your pics to au0rey @hotmail.com I am having a bit of headache how i can do it. It is grown against the patio support pole. Has it been disease free since you had it? The young new leaves of mine come out curling and distorted. Do you have any idea why it is like that? Thanks!

Thanks, au0rey, I have answered your questions in the passionfruit thread of the forum.

Hi Diana, this spring my vine finally put on flower clusters and loads of them. I am sure yours do as yours seem to grow very similarly to mine, on the roof beams. Do you trim off any extra shoots so that fewer clusters can have better fruit development or do you just leave them alone? Thanks!

Hi Diana, can you tell me what colour your CBR grapes are when they first appear? If green, when do they turn black? And are your grapes oval or round when young? I have a funny feeling that mine may not be carolina black rose.

Hi au0rey, I prune off excess growth of leaves and shoots during summer as it is very vigorous. The grapes start off green and go black when ripe. Mine are just starting to turn. I have a Maroo seedless (a seedless sibling of the Carolina Black Rose apparently), which is already all ripe. They are both pretty round.

Thanks Diana, hopefully mine will turn round and black and be CBR.

Pitaya - Yellow Dragon Fruit

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Passionfruit - Sweet Lilikoi (Cutting)

Comments: -

I am growing this mainly for the spicy scented utterly gorgeous flowers.  Benefit from cross pollination.  I haven't set a trellis up for it yet but may grow it over my shade house.

Planted: 2010

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Passionfruit - Grafted Black

Comments: -

It is hard to go past a black passionfruit in terms of flavour and fullness of fruit.  I need to construct a trellis for the vine though.  I do have seedling black passionfruit growing wild in the bush but I have not seen them fruit - this may be because they don't get enough sun. 

Pollination: Self Pollination

Passionfruit - Panama Red ^5/10

Planted: 2012

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Passionfruit - Grafted Black ^5/10

Planted: 2012

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Grape - Golden Muscat (Cutting) ^9/10

Comments: - I have this variety covering a pergola.  Easy to grow... nice tasting fruit.

Planted: 2008

Height 6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pruned By: 40% in Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Compost, Dynamic Lifter

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control: None  ...except for the occasional bird

Organic Status:Organic

Grape - Pink Iona ^9/10

Comments: - I have this variety covering a pergola.  Easy to grow... nice tasting fruit

Planted: 2008

Height 6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pruned By: 40% in Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Compost, Dynamic Lifter

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control: None ... except for the occasional bird

Organic Status:Organic

Grapefruit - Marshs Seedless (Grafted) ^8/10

Comments: - Tough, easy to grow tree.  Very attractive when its big yellow fruits dangle from its limbs.

Fruiting Months May

Planted: 2008

Height 1.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 1 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Hosre manure, worm castings and dynamic lifter

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control: Vegetable oil in autumn for leaf miner, scale and aphids

Organic Status:Organic

Grape - Pink Iona ^9/10

Comments: - I have this variety covering a pergola.  Easy to grow... nice tasting fruit

Planted: 2008

Height 6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 1

Passionfruit - Grafted Black

Grape - Maroo Seedless

Comments: -

This plant is designed to screen the fence (between my orange and lemon) and hopefully provide me with some tasty table grapes. It is supported by some special purpose wires spaced about 40cm apart (against the fence). When it was first planted (early 2010) it was just a stick, but it is already covering the fence quicker than I had hoped. It is quite a bushy plant and I imagine I'll need to give it a decent prune to ensure good shape for years to come. There are even baby grapes on it already (October 2010)!

In Jan 2011 the grape started wilting so I've removed the baby bunches and pruned the branches that are not where I want. It has since re-shoot and I imagine I'll need to prune again in autumn

2011-2012 has been a bad year for grapes - a late rain split the entire crop and there seems to be a 'disease' attacking the plant (leaves go yellow and fall off). But the plant is growing very fast. A second flowering resulted in a few more bunches that were split by rains just after Christmas!

Planted: 2010

Height 1.2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Shade

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control:

None required at this time

grape - thomuscat

Comments: -

The thomuscat is supposed to be a white, seedless grape which is a cross between a sultana and white muscat, but with a strong muscat flavour (yummy ... I hope). It is supposed to mature early to mid-season. I planted it to screen the fence between my lime and orange. It appears to be more interested in growing up rather than out (which is fine). It was just a little stick when I planted it in early 2010. It is planted so that it is near a limestone retaining wall - which seems to keep it happy despite my attempts to acidify the soil in the bed (as there is a lime tree about 1.5 metres from the grape).

the 2011-2012 crop was split by a late rain. The plant otherwise seems very happy and growing like a weed

Planted: 2012

Height 1.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control:

Not required at this time

Kiwifruit (Seedling)

Comments: -

Plants almost died in full sun position. Moved to a more sheltered position with free draining soil, and they have picked up considerably.

Requires male and female plant. Only the female produces fruit.

Jan 2012 - No fruit or flowers as yet.

Planted: 1998

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Zante Currant (small red grape)

Comments: -

Very vigorous. Needs a sturdy trellis (or in my case a gum tree) to climb. Deciduous. Dried fruit makes currant-like fruit.

Summer 2010: First fruit set! Yum yum yummers!!!! Can't wait til I get more next year! Make sure that you keep the water up to them though, because without enough water they will just turn to currants on the vine!

Spring 2011: have about 10 little bunches of grapes just starting to form! I am so excited!

Summer 2011: Worst weather EVER for my grape. I was away for a week and the insane winds and heavy rain destroyed my entire crop (even though he was in a sheltered position). Devastated! I have also noticed that the wet is attracting a lot of mealy bugs which is not nice.

Being that I hadn't intended to stay where I am for as long as I have I hadn't put him in an ideal spot (under a tree). While he has still been prollific I don't think that it is the best location for him so this summer I cut him back and moved him onto a trellis agains a big brick wall. I think that he will like it much better here as there is much more sun and hopefully it will also keep the damned mealy bugs down! Plus I have used the prunings to try striking some cuttings. Fingers crossed!

I have read that they like the lime too so I am going to have him a shot and see how he likes it.

Fruiting Months January, February, December

Planted: 2008

Height 2 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Charlie Carp, Seasol, worm juice, Blood and Bone, Dnamic Lifter (all in rotation)

Pest Control: Caterpillars seem to like the leaves but not enough to have decimated it. This year I am trying Dipel to see how that goes.

Passionfruit - Sweet Lilikoi

Passionfruit - Sweet Lilikoi

Pitaya - Red Dragon Fruit ^7/10

Comments: -

Have grown this one before successfully in northern NSW, a much warmer climate..It's growing surprisngly well after planting these cuttings (30cm) in Feb of this year. Had lots of buds 5wks after potting up.Survived Winter in tunnel , no water through this period. Just sprayed with liquid fish & seaweed sparingly  to create more humidty during growing period.

Lots of new buds in Spring at the moment.

Brilliant Flowers & fruit....will see how it goes here.

Photo 2 January 2012, growing well but more horizontally with a couple of vertical leaders...could prune extras off for cuttings or just wait & see how it progresses...

Planted: 2011

Height 0.5 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pest Control:

A few snail holes (easily squashed) but recovers ok.

Organic Status:Organic