Fruit trees for Tampa bay area

13 years ago

So my lovely dear wife has finally jumped onto the 'lets produce more of our own food organically wagon' (I may get more help pulling weeds this year:)

We have a veggie plot roughly 20x60, its growing a bit annually- and citrus, sugar apple, bananas, muscadines, a nectarine, passion fruit, avocado, bees and chickens. Our neighbors have star fruit, lychee, and mango, so we trade at times.

What other fruit trees are worth getting into for this area? We were looking into varieties of peach or apple, but are having trouble locating a local nursery for good advice or trees. I saw a peach at one local place, but they wanted 150.00 for it. I can't go for that, especially after getting the nectarine tree by chance for $15.00 at HD. Also, I've never mail ordered anything bare root and had it do well, so we'd shy away from that...unless it were the only option

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loufloralcityz9

13 years ago

I'm growing Jujube, Cherry of the Rio Grande, Grumichama Cherry, Lychee, Canistel, Elderberry, Loquat, Mulberry, Avocado, Fig, Citrus, Mango, Macadamia nut, Papaya, Peach, Apple, Apricot, Nectarine, Pear, Persimmon, Plum, Pomegranate, Kiwi, Pineapple, Olive, Banana, Prune, Cocoa, Paw Paw, Star Fruit, Tamarind & Grape. Probably a few others too that I can't remember. I have a 2 to 3 acre orchard and some greenhouses.

Lou

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Comments (13)

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
13 years ago
I don't see papayas, figs or pomegranates on your list....?

Macadamias & pecans grow here as well.

& I know grapes & brambleberries/blueberries aren't trees, but they're productive & easy to grow.

IFAS & Floridata have lots of good info on dooryard fruit production.
billbrandi
13 years ago
Watch the Lowe's and Home Depot at end of season (maybe late this month). I was able to get several Florida peach trees that were 5-6 feet tall for next to nothing a few years ago. They are doing fine and have had peaches each year. I know a lot of folks don't like the big box store trees but when they sell them that cheap, well buy it.

Tell me, how are your sugar apples doing? I planted two this year in containers and, while they are growing somewhat, not much yet. How long until they fruit? The fruit looks appetizing online, which is why I planted it, having no prior experience with it.
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Ashley if you can find Dave Wilson grown trees locally get them. If not of all the online nurseries that sell Dave Wilson trees Peaceful Valley has the best prices by far. If you can't find them locally or at PV there are two other ways to get them. Heres a link to the page of online retailers that sell DWN trees. http://www.davewilson.com/br40/retailers/bymail.html If no one has what you are looking for you can order trees from DWN and have them shipped to any participating nursery. However it's to late to do it this season. November 12th was the order deadline for Jan/Feb shipment. Heres the link for next year.... Special Order Fruit Tree Program http://www.davewilson.com/br40/retailers/SOFT_dealers.html Heres an over all link with information on how to find their trees. http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/get_trees.html If anyone is wondering the answer is no. I do not work for Dave Wilson or any other nursery online or otherwise. They just have the varieties I want and a reputation I respect. You only have to buy mislabeled trees that won't fruit in your zone once from a big box store to really appreciate the quality control you get from a top of the line wholesaler like Dave Wilson. If you follow the links you will find that many of the better online nurseries buy from them. I'm not saying a nursery is no good if they don't sell DWN trees as there are many good nurseries on the Garden Watchdog that don't. I'm just saying that DWN is a known quantity and they have more low chill fruit tree varieties than any other wholesale nursery I am aware of. I live in a very low chill zone so they have most of what I want which is why I like them.
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I just wanted to add that anytime I want something out of the ordinary I use mail order nurseries. Specialty nurseries are often excellent, since they sell to those in the know. Very few retail nurseries, even those of excellent quality such as Yamagani's, can have depth as well as breadth. They can't afford to, since their market is the general gardening public. Perhaps their typical customer is more discerning than that, since they are shopping at a real nursery instead of a box store, but still they cannot specialize too much. One thing about fruit trees is that you may want to concentrate on California-based mail order businesses, if you decide to go that way. A couple of out-of-state nurseries I called were not allowed to ship the fruit trees I wanted to California. I believe that some of the really big ones (Stark) have less problem with this. Apparently there are all sorts of expensive agricultural inspection hurdles to mount for a nursery in another state to ship fruit plants to California. This is California protecting its agricultural base. Kinda surprised me, thinking how fast we are paving over the best agricultural land for expensive housing, but so it is. Rosefolly
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I'm a big fan of Yamagami's nursery in Cupertino. They are on the pricey side but their nursery people are very helpful and they carry nice quality, and a good variety. Yamagamisnursery.com They are closed this week, will reopen on the 2nd of January. Also Roger Reynolds nursery up on the peninsula are good. www.rogerreynoldsnursery.com They might be a bit of a drive for you. And are you anywhere near Central wholesale nursery? Despite their name they do sell to the public. That's worth a look - when I was there in mid-summer they didn't have too much selection in fruit trees, but their inventory is always changing. They are a great place for natives, by the way. www.centralwholesalenursery.com
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olyagrove
13 years ago
Persimmons ...yummy persimmons. I am in Tampa and after four years of having the tree, this year it is covered with fruit. It has flowered second year in the ground, and set fruit the third but none held on, and this year, I guess it was mature enough. So yeah, persimmons grow in Tampa! :)

Not trees, but what about blackberries? I just got Natches Thornless on clearance at Lowes in South Tampa - they had blueberries (Emerald and Southern Belle) and Natches for 3 dollars a gallon!
Lowes also had grapes - Muscadines in large (me thinks, 5 gal?) pots. On sale where raspberries (with thorns), figs, and concord grapes, 5 each.

I have a few pomegranates in the ground. This year one fruit set and dropped , but the tree is still young.

I had one Natches blackberry fruit this year, huge tasty berries.

And of course, blueberries...tasty tasty blueberries.
captstinky
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, we have three papayas, and one fig- I couldn't see them out the window I was typing near, LOL. Also a sea grape, but not sure that counts... :)

Blueberries keep dying, we've tried them twice. I got a load of chipped pine, about 5 or 6 yards worth this summer, letting it break down, and may try planting in that next year, our soil wants to be naturally about 7 pH, so the pine might help with the blueberries. If I can get one more load of clean pine, I will certainly go for them again. We did a you pick em and what we didn't eat we made into wine....

The sugar apples are SOOOO good. Fortunately, I am the only one that has the patience to eat them!!! It froze to the ground this past year, but has come back two fold. I have not seen any buds/fruit, and this is year two for us. It might be a regrowth year, and next year produce...I will certainly wrap the trunk if we get a comparable winter. They do grow from seed, and I did not have great success from cuttings. We got the plant from the USF plant show.

I am familiar with floridata and ifas, but sometimes - well locals can give good advice.

My wife volunteered today to start transplanting a large beg of 4 o'clocks, to increase the garden-I'm in awe. So happy she's got the garden bug...I want to see her face after she starts diggin those tubers, and they come back up in the spring though :)
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
13 years ago
OK here's my 'local' tip: Every year I wait to buy @ the Green Thumb Festival in St. Pete - it's @ the end of April & my favorite vendor is J.A.Dodson Citrus & Tropicals. They're online, but their inventory & prices are much better @ the festival. Everything I've bought from them has done beautifully: Rio Red grapefruit, Daytona grapes, Misty & Oneal blueberries, Ponkan tangerines & this year, a blood orange I can't recall the name of right now.

I never spend more than $10 - $15 per item (often way, way less) @ the festival & have gotten figs, blackberries, herbs & lots of other things from the various vendors there - best deals around!

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Thumb info
saldut
13 years ago
Did anyone mention MULBERRIES ? once they grow a bit they propagate themselves, maybe because the birds love them.... and I love them also, I tie the whips down so I can reach the berries..... yes, the Green Thumb is a great place to get most anything growing, for this area... I took my little red-wagon, and my granddaughter, and we filled it full plus what we could carry..... this area of Fla. is great, we can grow stuff from further south also things from further north, we are sort of a middle-ground for horticulture.... sally
franktank232
13 years ago
Pineapples ... Buy them at the store, take off the top and shove it in the ground. Eat the fruit :)
bitki07
10 years ago
I`m growing Fig,Papaya,Kiwi Gold,Peach,Pomegranate,
Pineapple,Mulberry,Banana,Grape,Passion Fruit.
I need 3-4 acre land.
c9pilot
10 years ago
I also recommend Green Thumb, but my favorite nursery is Jene's Tropicals on Central in St Pete. Jene has a tropical fruit tasting usually in July that is fabulous!
Boukmn
10 years ago
bitki07;

I got your email about the thousand finger banana. But your email address is still hidden to the system so I cant reply to you. Please update your settings. I am still looking to get thousand finger banana.
bitki07
10 years ago
I have extra 4-5 mulberry cuts already putting out roots.I am in Tampa if anyone need.
Boukmn
10 years ago
bitki07;

any luck on the 1000 finger banana?

Fruit trees for Tampa bay area

loufloralcityz9

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Fruit trees for Tampa bay area

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