i know Durain and Pedalai are big trees, Marang may be a bit smaller of a tree and closer to Jackfruit trees.

we have the same wind problems here and i will also be topping to prevent damage.

these are rare trees in South Florida but i am growing a small marang in a container for the time being and looking for a pedalai specimen.

I grow all three of these species here in South Florida. Of these, the marang (A. odoratissimus) has been the hardest to keep to a manageable size; one of my specimens is in a 25 gallon container and well over nine feet tall now, having grown about three feet in the last year. I have no doubt that topping it right now would kill the tree. The pedalai might be a better bet for the simple reason that it appears to branch earlier and more profusely. Durian is much slower growing than either of the Artocarpus species and I've had no trouble at all keeping my durians at manageable heights, although I can't imagine getting fruit from a 2m tall durian tree.

good to know eldys, im always interested in people growing artocrapus down here. do you have pics?

now that i remember you are correct, i had it backwards.

natively Marang is taller than Pedalai. Durian is supposedly larger than Marang as well but i wouldnt be surprised if they varied greatly with new cultivation.

also Marang seems to be easier to grow in sub-Tropical climates than Durian, which is ultra-tropical. maybe that is the reason for the discrepencies in growth?

Thanks for the replies.
Read an article which I think was from the Cape Tribulation Exotic fruit farm up north of here which discussed survival rates of their many types of fruit trees in one of the recent cyclones. Of all the species the jackfruit were the least affected and survived best. Am I right in assuming that other Artocarpus species would have similar characteristics.
The Durians did very badly and an associate at work lost all of hers (all mature trees)- she attributes this to the root system which is very susceptible to being shaken about causing damage to all the micro roots/filaments.
Very interested to know anyones experience with topping durians.
Plan to leave all til about 4-5m before topping.
Currently have 4 marang ( the guy who grew them reckons only 1 out of 4 or 5 end up fruiting well), 2 pedalai which both neglected seedlings and are already quite deformed (can't find anyone selling here) and then 6 durians spread around the garden. All in a clay soil which is not ideal but on a slope so should hopefully avoid them getting too wet in the rainy season.

why would only one out of four marang trees fruit properly?

is there known issues with them? they are very rare to find in cultivation around here and little on the internet.
TT says Pedalai is larger, getting 125 feet, and that marang is similar to jackfruit.

Sadhu says the opposite though, marang is larger than pedalai