Good for you. I hope the fruit is delicious for you. Congrats.

Nice. Eldys, where are you at that you have a Rambutan and it appears to be outside unprotected?

Thank you very much! I'm actually in the very south of Miami (almost in Homestead), about two miles from the Atlantic Ocean. My neighborhood is warm even for Miami - I think the low this winter has been 50 degrees F (although most years we do have two or three nights where the temperature drops to the low forties for a couple of hours). Still, while the tree is this small I'll be bringing it indoors anytime the temperature drops below 60...

May I ask where that lovely specimen was acquired? Thanks :)

Congratulations! I get a kick out of seeing little trees trying so hard!

I was watching Jeff Corwin on TV the other day, a segment about Flying Foxes (fruit bats) and he visited an Australian(?, I may have a faulty memory) grower who had many mature Rambutan trees in his orchard. The name was pronounced differently than I had imagined it, so I didn't recognize the trees until they showed the fruits. The trees were HUGE! He had to cover them with nets to try to stop damage from the bats. He lost 100% of his crop one year, so now covers the trees. The clever bats chew holes in the netting. Must be as frustrating as Florida Squirrels!

His trees looked to be at least 30' tall, and very wide.
How big can they get here?

Lisa

tropicaliste, that particular specimen came from Govardhan Gardens in Puerto Rico. I also have a 'Rongrien' rambutan from Montoso Gardens, also in Puerto Rico. I believe Montoso Gardens currently has a number of varieties available, and they ship to the states (they do a great packing job too!).

Lisa, I saw the same show! It was a great show for the information alone, but the rambutan groves were a definite bonus. All of the fruiting specimens in south florida that I have heard of have been fairly small, none topping the 20 foot mark; I plan on maintaining mine at a manageable 15 feet so as not to complicate cold protection.

I wonder how rambutan would behave under my dry climate, I mean 20-40% most of the time (except during rainy season).

Lychee does bear fruit in here (although seems I got the only sterile lychee tree in the whole city) so I wonder what are my odds with rambutan. I had fresh rambutan fruit past January and it was superb, it´s even better than lychee!!. The seeds rotten.

Beautiful photo , congrats on the little guy.

Patusho, I live in a dry climate now also. Zone 10 but not at all tropical (unfortunately). I really want one of these too- but heard the lychee would fare better here. Ha, of course that just makes me want rambutan more lol. Let me know if you try one and what it does. I guess we could always create microclimates. I use a misting system for my gingers, bananas and other large leaf tropicals and afternoon shade of course...
~SJN

Does anyone know where to buy Rambutan in south florida?

fruitslover, the Rare Fruit and Vegetable Council is having a sale on Oct 20 in Davie. Griffin Road west to around 200 Ave. Look for signs.
They have everything. Rambutan, mangosteen several varieties mangoes etc.

Do you know if the rambutans they have are grafted or seedlings? The only grafted trees I've seen for sale in the US have been at absurd prices. Regardless, I'll probably be stopping by.

Did you get any fruit?
My tree is now blooming and it also is only about 3 ft tall.
Any advice on what I should do if it does set a fruit-keep it or cut it off?

I never did get any fruit, which is probably best since the energy was better spent producing vegetative growth. I wouldn't suggest letting more than just one or two fruits mature when your tree is that small.

eldys - Do you have an updated picture of your rambutan? Is your planted from seed or grafted? I'm getting a rambutan and it would be great if you could share your experience.

Thanks

Mine is in flower again, I hope for some fruit this time, but again, it may still be too small

rayandgwenn

How old is your tree and how tall is your tree? Are you planting in the ground or pot? I'm ordering a 1 yr seedling. Seller say it's the true Asian variety. Where did you get your tree? Is your a seed grown too? Heard that some tree have only male or female flowers. Does your tree have two flowers?

Thanks

I have an R162 or R167 (I forget which one now). It has both sexes of flowers. It is about 3.5 ft tall now, but I can't say how old it is (I have had it about 8 months). It is in the ground. It got it from a local seller (I don't think he ships, but you can call and ask- Edwin- 787-207-8917).
How large is the seedling you are buying? I also have seedlings and they are a little difficult to keep happy. I bought 2 larger seedlings, one died, one looks good now. Any I have tried to grow from seed myself, fail to thrive.
I believe any rambutan grown from seed will only have one sex flowers, so you need more than one seedling.

Maybe someone a little more advanced in tropical fruit growing will explain the differences between seed grown and grafted.

Thanks so much for the discussion of growing Rambutan seedlings. I just finished off a bag of fresh rambutans and have planted the seeds. I'll know now to keep several babies if they do come up, since they do not produce bisexual flowers. Thanks again!

I did a lot of reading and research on the rambutan. It's a 50/50 percent chances to get both sex flowers. But the guy told me it was a true asian and imported from Philippines and a very good chance that this have both sex flowers. I told my mother to smuggle some rambutan seeds from Vietnam and I'm now planting them in my mini portable greenhouse. I believe the fruits are from Thailand. The best variety in Vietnam.

The one I purchased was told to be 12-15 inches. Very pricey. How much did you got your grafted rambutan? I want a grafted rambutan but was told it could cost up to $300. Not sure how much it would cost to ship from Puerto Rico...might be super expensive. I guess I'll have to wait a few years to find out.

Thanks

I almost hate to say what I get my trees for, I think I am spoiled here..... The grafted 3 ft tall rambutan was on the "expensive side" at about $35 bucks...., seedlings go for about $6-8 bucks.... My beautiful 3ft mangosteen was $45!
But these are from local growers/nurseries (little guys) and the internet and worldwide selling is not something they do. For those that do, such as Montoso, the problem is I hear now PR requires a Phyto certificate for each tree sent out- increasing the expense.

Don't feel bad because my 12-15 inches seedling is $40. And you got a grafted tree! I wish I can get that. I didn't get it from Montoso since I don't know how much it cost for their grafted rambutan, and they are ship them bare root. Mangosteen for $45, not bad. I think you can't even find it in the top nurseries here. Thanks for sharing.

Ch3rri,
Try Montoso, Sadhu, and Frankies. All sell grafted rambutan. Won't be ANYWHERE near $300. PR does now require a phyto cert but there are states that are excluded from that...which includes Ohio!!

Any update on how your tree is doing eldys? I am thinking of picking one up next week and am wondering if you had any luck keeping it alive down there?

how many trees do you have?

Rambutan is dioecious.

My grafted 2 yr old R162 and R167 haven't shown any sign of flowering yet. I have two photos of their first fruits. Not looking at the tag, I don't remember which is R162 and which is R167, but they were both very delicious.

Any update, it's been long time now.