Comments? I can't get past the fact that you are ordering telepone poles!!! How in the world are you going to get them placed??!! You must take pictures of this process. Wow!

I have a small cacao that's around 24"+ tall and lots of branches. I moved mine out of the shade house at the start of winter...in the greenhouse mind you. And it has done quite well. Granted, it is winter with fewer sunny days, decreased day lengths and decreased intensity. Hoping this will prepare it for full blast of summer sun. I was running out of room in the shade house. I could always move it around some larger plants if need be. I think they can tolerate more sun than some people think. Your placement sounds really ideal. They would be protected from the harshest periods. Again...pics pics pics!

As for your neighbor's invasives...you could always encourage other types of plants or offer to help remove them for him. Maybe a little education would go far. Then again...maybe not! Could be one of those Cool Hand Luke cases..."What we got here...is failure to communicate".

I have a neighbor in back whose very tall pines are blocking out the first rays of my prescious, winter morning sun...which translates as no gas heaters being on! My neighbor hates the trees but says her husband doesn't want to cut them down. I admit to "planting" alternative methods to ridding herself, and me, of those trees. I've even entertained undertaking the venture myself...in that darker, inner self place. I mean, afterall, I'd just be doing her a favor. Right? I'll keep working on her. She wants a garden and with those trees, a garden is impossible. Communication! Communication! Subliminal messages! Communication!

Hi Ohiojay,

The poles are easier than you think. The local feed store will deliver them and drop them where we ask. Then we dig 4-5' deep holes with post-hole diggers, tilt each pole in, add dry, bagged concrete, etc.. I'll probably use heavy cable to connect the poles at the top, to use as a support for shadecloth or plastic. The poles are 20'. I know the Breadfruit will outgrow them, but at least I can protect the majority of the tree..

My neighbors are low-lifes. We have repeatedly offered to cut down the Florida Holly that is along our fence-line, in their yard. We are highly allergic to it, so cutting it down means a month of oozing sores, no matter how bundled up we are. Over the past 15 years, we have had to remove countless seedlings from our place (from their trash trees) as well as trimming the branches that sprawl over the fence. Supposedly they are having a crew come in to clean up the place. That's what we were told 9 months ago, when we again offered to clear the trees out. The last time they had work done (8 years ago), they simply had the Castor Bean and Florida Holly pushed to the back of the property and left in a pile to rot. It is all still there, but hidden by weeds now.

I could go on, about the Harley, and the Rap music, and their poor dogs who all die from heartworms, but I'll stop(G).

Lisa

The neighbor on one side has a HUGE magnolia that constantly drops its litter and blocks early winter sun. The neighbor on the other, a GIANT avocado that aborts all its fruit, drops litter, and branches break from the soft wood. The owner of the avo wouldn't mind it gone, the magnolia might need a more covert operation.

Just from a artistic stand point, if you had a jackfruit instead of the breadfruit, all the trees would bloom and fruit on their hard wood, a uniquely strange site. Still, it would be quite a grouping with the breadfruit.

Like Jay said pics, pics, pics, please!

good luck,
-Ethan

Than, I understand what you are going through.. What a pain!

I have 2 Jackfruit trees. They are beautiful, and thriving with no winter protection. I love the Jackfruit trees-they should be used more often here since they are so attractive.

Your idea is cool! I may just have to add another variety of Jackfruit to the group. I really like your way of looking at them. I had not thought of that factor at all.

Thanks!

Lisa

Ethan...you do realize that any part of those trees that hang over your property can be lopped off?? And Lisa...I would almost consider a night time covert raid on the property line with a huge sprayer filled with uncut Roundup.

My wife is from Thailand and they have a saying over there. Having good siblings with you is like having silver. Having good neighbors is like having gold.

Well good luck with those 5' holes! Makes my back and shoulders ache thinking about it. Ought to be impressive.

Lisa, it seems we'll both be planting breadfruit in ground this year - mine is going in either this weekend or next. I'll actually have a little Artocarpus row at that point, with the breadfruit situated between a two-year old jackfruit (13 feet high when I measured it last week) and a pedalai (my latest acquisition, actually). I just pulled up a seedling jackfruit that was about 7 feet tall to make room (don't worry, I pruned it back severely and potted it instead of composting it - I'm actually planning on grafting it to either Golden Nugget or Borneo Red and seeing how long it will stand life in a 15 gallon container). I agree about jackfruit being lovely, by the way - the entire genus seems to have beautiful foliage. I've tried to keep closely related species together in my plantings, since it creates a fun little forest effect - my Annonaceous trees are all in a row (atemoya, guanabana, biriba) and my Sapindaceous trees are paired up as well (lychee and rambutan). I'll be putting up some removable galvanized steel pipes for cold-protection frames to shield some of the more tender trees (breadfruit, pedalai, rambutan) later in the year (I'm only planning on having them up during the winter, on account of the perils of hurricane season). All in all, it should be an exciting year for planting!

Oh, and cacao can take full sun by the time they are about 3 or 4 feet high, although they are perfectly happy to grow in filtered light for their entire lives.

Hey Lisa,

Take heart, you're cacao should do well outside! I saw the one planted at Mounts Botanical in West Palm Beach last week-it was surviving pretty well despite the spate of cooler weather we've had recently. And it wasn't even protected, except that it was planted under a pretty extensive tree canopy. Though they are both ultratropicals, I believe cacao is marginally hardier than breadfruit.

BTW, if you can resist the urge, Excalibur is selling multiple varieties of sapodilla right now for $2.99/lb (thanks to you that I finally found a place that sold them, and at a reasonable price)! I was able to get at least 5 lbs. Ditto black sapotes-they had quite a number for sale too.

Marcelo

Eldys, I hope you hold off planting untill after this cold spell Friday! Are you in Florida? If so, I'd love to see your collection, or have you visit my measly plantings(G).

My Cacao is at least 9' tall, and is holding onto the fruit, so I have high hopes.. My Breadfruit is being attacked by soft, fuzzy white insects, which I sprayed for. It should be fine. The tender plants will be covered or brought indoors Friday night, when a freeze is expected here.

Marcelo, I'll be at Excalibur tomorrow, for a new Ae Ae and another Sanbokan Sweet Lemon. I will be sure to get Sapodilla and B. Sapote fruit too. YUM!!! They have groupings of Cacaos grown outside. They looked pretty bad after the hurricanes, and last cold season, but recovered.
The prettiest ones I've seen here are at a nursery in Loxahatchee, grown under shadecloth. Those are lovely, with nearly perfect foliage/flowers/fruit.

I brought home lots of quilts/blankets to cover up my delicates. The Peaches/Pears/Apples/Nectarines will be LOVIN' the cold! Finally, some chill hours!!!!

Lisa

Lisa, my house isn't really worth visiting yet - I don't expect most of the interesting trees to be bearing for another three years or so (although one of my rambutans flowered in its pot this year!). You're more than welcome to visit my meager 1/4 acre lot once everything has established itself a bit more, though. I live in Cutler Ridge, which is in the extreme southeast of Miami (I'm actually closer to the Keys than I am to the center of the city). My little suburban home is about two miles from the bay, which is close enough for the water to keep temperatures relatively warm even during the worst Florida freezes, but far enough that I never have to worry about salt spray! I've actually never seen frost here, although we did experience some freezing temperatures once in 1989. I'm expecting temperatures in the mid-to-low 40s on Friday night, although I suspect that the south side of the house will probably be closer to 50 F. Still, I never take chances with the plants, so I'll be sheltering them in the garage and postponing my tender tropical planting until next weekend; besides, this delay will give me more time to tunnel through all of that cursed limestone. I may have a favorable climate, but I have just about the worst possible soil for what I want to grow. I guess you really can't have it all...