For the Emperor lychee, you'll need a lot of organic soil. Go very light on the fertilizer, and water it well with rainwater...preferably. Keep the soil moist at all times. I would say the mangoes could use a lot of organic material too. Check out some of the older posts on this forum for more info. Someone else will need to make recommendations on the other trees you bought. Don't forget to scour them for scales...it's best to catch the scale problem when they're young. Good luck with them!

Hi NTM - when you say organic soil, do you mean the organic topsoil found at Home Depot, or something specially mixed? Would Al's Mix be too prone to drying?

Jeff,

Are you planting these in pots? If in pot then use potting soil, peat moss, and perlite. Seem like you really like guava. I think they are good but I only liked the true asian variety. The strawberry and pineapple tense to be smaller and have lots of seeds. One tree will give you good amount of fruits. Maybe you should save room for other tasty tropical fruits?

Thanks for the advice ch3rri! Yes, they'll be in pots. Have you grown the plants in the mix you advise? That's the basic mix I've used in the past, but it seems like a lot of folks have had problems with it. Mind you, my citrus and plumies have been fine...

As for the guava, I was really intrigued by the smell and flowers. I really like my GH to smell sweet!

yes. I'm using the basic mix. All my potted tropicals seem to be doing fine. Also, i added extra peat moss to the soil so it drain better. I got some fruits from my guava and sugar apple tree last year. I'm getting more flowers from my guava and sugar apple this year as well. I'm also growing my june plum with this mix and they're doing fine. And if you want to lower the Ph you can get some sulfur at homedepot. I just got some and now sprinkled on top of the soil just to lower the ph a bit. I believe the potting soil have a neutral ph. I agree that the smell of a ripe fruit is really good. But my fruit didn't taste that great. Maybe because it was the first year. Hopefully, it will be better this year.

Sugar apple - did you find a dwarf variety??? I asked about them t PIN and they said it wouldn't work in a pot

Just regular sugar apple. I have it in the same pot for 3 years now. It will be find in pot. Sugar apple is one that you can plant in pot for sure. They have small root system. I checked the root last time and it didn't grow that much. I also got an atemoya. It is 5 ft tall and in maybe a 15 gallon pot. It's have a few flower buds now. Hopefully I can pollinate it and get some fruits this year. I also have two sapodilla and one flowered and turning into fruit now. Sugar apple is one of my favorite.

Jeff, I LOVE Pineapple Guava, I bought a 15 gallon a year and a half ago. It is now planted in the ground. It is not a real tropical guava, but absolutely delicious and its one that can take temps below freezing. I think it can take temps down to 20 degrees or a little lower. I am not even sure it will fruit here in central FL, since it might be too warm. I know they have had success with this tree in North Florida. But its okay as I just LOVE this tree, it was very pretty red flowers and the tree is very pretty. I guess I will just grow it for the flowers and shade...I have 2 young Cogshall Mangos, I think you are going to like the shape of that one also.Good luck with all your trees!

here's a pic of my Pineapple Guava:
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Here's the pretty red flowers...
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OMG - that's so pretty! I really can't wait to get these plants.

How's the frangrance on the guava? Do you have any other varieties?

Jeff-n-jessa- In China, lychees are typically planted in swampy "muck" soil on the side of bodies of water. They absolutely love organic matter and water. I don't use Al's mix at all, but that is not to say it won't work. Some of the other lychee growers use it liberally. The mix I use is compost, peat moss, dehydrated manure, wood mulch, sand, and mixed with other things to supply nutrients. I haven't had any problems at all, but it is compacting a bit. I hope that helps.

Puglvr- Nice trees, as always ;)

NTM - what's your de-scaling procedure? For my citrus, I use Fruit Tree Spray (pyrethrins and neem), and if they get an infestation I rub the bark with baby wipes/alcohol.

Would you recommend giving it a once over with the baby wipes?

Thank you NTM and Jeff!!

That is the only Guava I have, I am not a huge fan of Guavas, with the exception of the P.Guava. I love the tree and blooms more than anything. The flowers I don't think had any scent. I have read that you can eat the petals from the flower of the PG. I tasted it, wasn't bad, kind of sweet. I heard you can put it in salads.

I did not want to plant too many trees in my yard and so I had to be selective. Mangos and Lychees are my favorites. So I planted mostly those varieties. Since I have to protect my trees a couple of times a year from the occasional frost, the PG is great since that is one less I have to protect...

I have never had fruit from my tree and doubt I will? But I use to eat these when I lived in CA. It is so good and the fragrance is very strong. It smells and taste like pineapple/guava/with a hint of minty flavor. It does make an excellent Jam also.

I also have a Potted Glenn mango,Kumquat, D.Meyer Lemon tree in Al's mix and doing very well in it. Had leafminer on the citrus, but finally got rid of those. I have almost all of my container plants in them. I do water more often since it is a very fast draining mix...

JnJ- I just hand picked them off my trees, and I still have to every few months. I believe someone on these boards tried spraying with Hort oil (I think it was Hort. oil) during a growth spurt, and it devastated the new growth. If you do try one of those methods, I would spot test it first. Scales are the bane of my existence!

Jeff, its also worth noting that apparently NTM is doing a lot of things right, after all he got fruits off his Lychee and I have NOT!! There are many different soil mixes out there, I guess we have to experiment on what works best for our area and growing habits. Most of my fruit trees are in the ground., I just hope next summer I will get some fruits, can't wait for that...

Guava will do good in any type of soil. They are not hard to grow at all. They grow very fast and I have to constantly prune the new growth. I usually prune the tree before bringing it in the fall. The flowers usually grow on new growths so prune your tree if you don't want it to grow so big.

As for the scale, I just wear my gloves and star rubbing. They come off easily. Once in a while I spray my trees with Ortho Garden Disease Control...but I still have to rub those scale off with my hands. Then I spray some water over the plants so it wouldn't burn. Don't let the scale go out of control because it will kill some of the sensitive trees. I used to have another lychee tree and molix sapodilla tree. Both die because I ignored the scale. When I wanted to do something it was too late.

pug- i looooooooooooooooove your pineapple guava- absolutely stunning. wish i had room for one.
kudo on your wise choice of lychee and mango for top 2 fruit- prob my top 2 fruit as well.

jeff- al's mix has worked great for me- but clearly, NTM's mix is also working great for him.

all pug's trees look so nice!

Thanks Lycheeluva...appreciate it!! I'm with you on the Mangos and Lychees, my two favorites. I know I'm expecting a lot out of my young trees but if and when they decide to fruit, I would be a lot happier.

Hi everyone - I took your advice and got a sugar apple (the order hadn't shipped yet). They didn't have any 7 gal, so it will be a smaller plant - but hopefully I'll get some fruit next year!

Phase, thank you. Not all my trees...but I'd rather have fruit, I know there's a rain dance, is there a fruit dance?

Whoa. Zone 5 greenhouse. Multi-gallon tropical trees....

Where are you, and how do you do it?

Hi Eric - I'm in Rochester, NY. It's really not that hard - just terrifyingly expensive. I get a lot of tips on this site, and have only lost a handful of plants - various plumeria, and my prized mango and miracle fruit trees last winter. I had them in the basement with a growlight and I'm not sure why they died. Everything got absolutely infested with aphids, and I'm still trying to repair the damage.

Tropical plants (and fruit in particular) are as addictive as crack, and I suspect more expensive :)