Patty, yes the trees get all the measly chill hours South Florida has, since the trees are outside. My adult tree already shed all its leaves in September, and lost most of the new ones in hurricane Wilma last month.But they are coming back again. The Atemoya and Sugar Apple trees are still leafy. I have to hand pull the leaves from my Sugar Apple trees in Dec/January since they don't drop them all themselves. Same with regular Apple trees- it just doesn't get cold enough for long enough to make them shed cleanly. I don't know why the Cherimoya shed so early. Possibly the dry conditions caused it. BFreeman- the question was answered.. What makes your method the best? It takes a lot longer than the way I do it-what is the benefit? Are the seedlings healthier if they take longer to germinate? Lisa

This is an update to my 2006 list. We've added many more varities and most things are fruiting now. FRUIT & SPICE TREES Acai Palm Allspice Ambarella Apple Anna Apple Dorset Golden Atemoya Gefner Grafted Avacado Haas Avacado Fuerte Banana Bay Rum Blackberry Black Sapote Seedless Black Walnut Blueberry Blueberry Gulf Coast Blueberry Sharp Blueberry Windsor Cocao Calomondin Camellia Sinesis, Tea Cashew Apple Cercropia Cherry Black Grafted Surinam Cherry Grumichama Cherry Rio Grand Cherry Barbados Cherry Dwarf Barbados Chestnut Malibar Cinnamon Coffee Dragon Fruit Eucalyptus Eugenia Confusa Fig Brown Turkey Fig Green Isha Fig Kadota Goji Berry Grapefruit Pink Grapefruit Yellow Grapes Bunch Grapes Muscadine Guave Chattey Guava Pineaple Guava Ruby Guava Strawberry Guava Jaboticaba Joy Perfume Michelia Champaca Jujube Katok Kiwi Tomuri m&f Lemon Harvey Lemon Sambukan Lemon Varigated Pink Lime Key Lime Kaffir Lime Persian Lime Red Longan Kahola Loquat Lychee Hakip Lychee Maritius Mango Mango Carrie MANGOSTEEN Michelia Alba Michela Champaca Miracle Fruit Mombin Red Monstera Deliciosa Moringa (Horseradish Tree) Mulberry Dwarf Mulberry Shangrila Natal Plum Nectarine Sun Raycer Neem Olive Fremtoya Orange Orange Dwarf Navel Orange Red Blood Orange Ortanique Orange Tarocco Blood Papaya Passionfruit Yellow Peach Red Cylon Peach Tropic Beauty Peanut Butter Fruit Pear Pear Pineapple Persimmon Ichibe Juro Persimmon Triumph Pineapple, Golden Pistachio Plantain Plum Gulf Rose Pomegranate Dwarf Pomegranate Vietnamese Rambutan Rose Apple Spanish Lime Strawberry Strawberry Tree Sugar Cane Tamarind Tangelo Tangerine Murcott Tangerine Satsuma Wax Jambu Thai Red Sunset White Sapote Yerba Mate HERBS Allheal Alow Arnica Montana Anise hyssop Bacopa Bacopa, Lemon Basils, Greek Columnar, Lemon, Lettuce Leaf, Lime, Sweet Bay Tree Bay Rum Bergamot (Monarda) Betel Betony Borage Calendula Camelia sinesis Caper bush Cardamom Catnip Chives, Garlic & Onion Cilantro Comfrey Coriander Culantro Curry Plant Daisy Dill, Boquet & Fernleaf Echinacea Fennel, Bronze & Sweet Feverfew Fuschia Galangal True Gardenia Garlic Society Geranium, Apple, Citronella, Lemon Sculpture, Rose Ginger Ginkgo Goji Berries Gotu kola Greek mountain tea Gynura Henna Hibiscus, Edible & False Roselle Honeysuckle Horseradish Jasmine Arabian Tea & Confederate Lambs Ear Lavender Lemon balm Lemon grass Lemon verbena LionÂs tail Marjoram Marshmallow Mint, Apple, Berries & Cream, Blackberry, Chocolate, Citrus kitchen, Corsican, Costa rican Kama Sutra, Cotton candy, English, Grapefruit, Hazelnut, Italian spice, JimÂs Fruit, Lavender. Lemon sweet, Margarita, MarilynÂs Salad, Mojito, Mountain, Orange Bergamot Oregano thyme, Pennyroyal, Spearmint, Sweet pear, Wintergreen, Yerba buena Monarda Moujean tea/Bahama Berry/Pineapple Verbena Mullein Murraya koeniggi Myrtle greek Nasturtium Oregano, Cuban, Italian, Mexican Pandanus Amaryllifolius Papalo Parsley, Curled & Flat Leaf Pepper, Black Pepper Vine, Chili, Habernero, Jalapeno, Ornamental, Red Pepper Vine, Tabasco Perilla Purslane Root beer plant Rose, Bon Silene Tea, Champneys pink cluster, Climbing don juan, Double red, Moanne lombard, Red cascade, Safrano, Treasure blend hybrid Rosemary, Romero, Spice island, Victorian Sage, Common, Diviners, Grape scented, Mexican, Pineapple Savory Spice bush, Lindera Benzoin Spilanthese Spinach, Malabar & Okinawa Star anise Stevia St johns wort Sugar cane Sushini Sweet almond verbena Tarragon Tea olive Thyme, English, Lemon Tilo Tomatoes Turmeric Violet sweet Yarrow Yerba mate Zaatar Zuta levana WATER PLANTS Bacopa, lemon Cattail Celer, water Chestnut, water Mint, water I'm working on a website with photos of our property in all stages of bloom and slowly working on a book for zone 9 edible gardening. We've had luck with almost everything we've tried. I'm happy to answer any questions about growing in tropical zones. Happy growing, Kelly

Here's some shots of things over here. Lots of blooms, unusual things, and buzzing here. Albino banana. Pretty to look at but it burns to a crisp in direct sunlight. And its also useless. Cherimoya blooms. Looks like a good year for cherimoya. I got three new seedlings blooming this year. Longan blooms. WTH...yeah its crested. unusual. Emperor lychee. New planting this year after the kuini in this spot died from the cold snap. New guanabana plantings. New plantings, the two large ones here didn't make it through the cold snap either. Guavas. Begining to bloom. Its alive!!!! Its a Nam Doc Mai mango. The cold snap left all the limbs burn and dead, a few survived and is begginning to push new growth. Bananas. Beginning to push out a bloom. Persimmons. Lots of bloom this year. Almost all the blooms looks to be on new growth, a little unusual as we usually get blooms by themselves or vegetative growth and not so much together. Pummelos. 3 and a half years!!! Since I grafted over an old citrus tree in the yard with pummelos. Finally the grafts are begginning to bloom. Usually doesn't take this long but who knows why this one pummelo did. Grapes, not very tropical but I'm hoping to get some fruits this year And a swarm of bees under the cherimoya tree. =) Also lots and lots of cherry tomatoes beginning to sprout up. I spent 15 bucks on seeds!

shaneatwell Papaya dont really like clay soil and manure as an amendment isnt really the best pick neither has good drainage which papaya need desperately. i have 1 spot in my yard that is 90% sand they grew faster and stronger in that soil, than in any other area in my yard. (the other 10% was about 1/2 made of old coffee grounds, and 1/2 silt - naturally occurring in the soil) they LOVE coffee grounds, especially if composted, aged, or, sun-dried. LOOSE soil with large particle size, like coarse sand, seems to be the optimal medium to grow them. for container medium, i had great results with the following... %30 perlite %30 coarse sand %30 aged (or composted) coffee grounds %5 pine bark fines also good... %25 coarse sand %25 fine sand %25 compost %25 potting soil cactus potting soil, pumice, and coir should work well, but i have never used them. IN GROUND The best place to grow papaya is on a slight slope so it drains rapidly. Or, build a mound. good drainage is essential. best organic material... worm castings chicken manure (well composted) fish emulsion coffee grounds about Peat Moss... papaya like peat moss, but only in small quantities. it holds water, but can help cause root-rot if you use too much %10 tops adding fish heads is great if you put it about 1ft under the seedling, so the roots can grow into it later. chemical fertilizers do work, but will build up salt around the roots. Papaya are more susceptible to this than other plants. IMO, this is the reason people re-plant after 3 to 4 years. (also, the heavy fruit means wind is an issue) the fruit tastes just as good on an older tree, and it will continue to fruit if the roots have organic matter. rain water is best. papaya dont like chlorine, it can build up on the roots over time. they grow in a wide PH range, but i find slight acid is best. ---------------- soaht flower to fruit is usually about 4-5 months if i remember right. from seed to first flower is about the same so, 8 to 10 months minimum from seed to harvesting fruit is best-case scenario ive never seen the leaves go from yellow back to green perhaps thats because mine always loose all the leaves every winter, or, it could be the variety ive also never seen actual red leaves on a papaya... do you have pics of red leaves ?