That's an interesting article. It seems to be a bit complicated to get fruit. I've got half a Lychee I started from seed last summer, though it will take a while before they are old enough to flower. But, having the plants in a pot, should give us a better chance to keep them under 68 at the right time. For me, that would probably mean pruning around the start of November, if I shifted the calendar to have a late April bloom (when I could have it outside and under 68, without freezing). I wonder if it would work to prune around the start of April, hoping to get a flush in late April (3 weeks later)?

I have have had a few Ca. Minneolas that were from small growers that were sweet and had good flavor. Just about all commercially sold Minneolas these days are tart and not sweet at all. I have trouble calling that good. Florida used to have a few good Minneolas shipped here but that was long ago. Page grown in coastal Texas is full complex flavored and sweet. I have three trees. One on citrange and two on trifoliate rootstock. The tree on citrange was badly damaged in the 19 to 23 deg freeze in Dec '09, the other two were undamaged. The damaged tree took 23 to 26 deg several times with no harm. One Page was sold as a Lee. Page has the ability to give good yields, year after year, while many mandarin hybrids have alternate bearing crops. Page makes a nice sized tree, not too small or too large. Some citrus experts consider Page the standard for citrus flavor with balance of complexity, richness and sweetness. I tend to agree. Some line up in favor of Minneola. I have never seen a Page that was not of good quality from a healthy tree in season. I cannot be say that of Minneola. Much has been said of Page being too small. Most of the fruit on the Pages I have seen are as large or larger than the Dancy's, and Sunbursts in the markets. Only 1/4 to 1/3 of the fruit is small and that is still larger than the "Cuties" that they are selling in today's markets. Yes the small fruit is hard to peel. I juice them and blend that with other juice that needs upgrading. Minneola ripens late in winter here and the trees are generally larger than can be covered to prevent crop loss during a hard freeze. Page holds well on the tree after ripening in early December, before fruit damage is a problem. A big old Minneola full of ripening fruit in late Dec. is an awsome sight. And it is also one I don't want to worry about. I have some Clem. x Orlando tan-tangelos that give such good fruit that it was an easy decision for me to plant them instead either of the two Minneolas I had on hand. These were Nova, Fairchild, and F-6-9-10. On a given year one of them is likely to be as good or slightly better than Page. I have a Fortune that on some years is as good a sweet Minneola but some years is just like a tart Minneola.

I think I have everbearing. They are sweet yet tart with good flavor. I grow them in a raised bed, which was well mixed with manure and clay to begin with. Since then we've added some soil conditioner (to keep it a bit acidic) and mulched with leaves and then regular straw. The bed is narrow and on it's own, so it is fairly easy to maintain this way, I will eventually plant other beds as well, probably using the same method. The organic matter does attract a lot of bugs, so I sprinkle around and under the berries with diamotaceous earth and wash well before eating. I think berries are something you could manage to play around with the soil and the acidity and get a good flavor from. The Yahoo group is like all of them - you can look online if you are registered, you may get a daily digest or get the emails as they come - which is usually how most of us are getting them. There are only a handful of folks on the list, and it's not overly (not annoyingly) active but active enough.

Jay, I found the announcement under the post of New Garden Galleries posted by GWtamara. RE: See the New Garden Galleries! Posted by gwtamara (My Page) on Wed, Jul 26, 06 at 15:48 Tropical Fruit forum is coming -- should be built and launched within the next few weeks. Minibim, you've seen the many discussions of the copyright issue. GW has never said they own the photos -- but, when you post a picture, you are allowing us to use it. You will always retain the ownership of the picture