North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[barbbhb@aol.com]

Hi Geoffery. I will second the sentiment on the thorniness and gumminess of the p. trifoliata--but I will add that I have 2 mandarin orange trees and a lime in pots that do beautifully here in zone 6b (Northern VA). They are in pots and I bring them in the house in Nov/Dec when the temps start to get in the low 40s.  It is blooming right now and my house smells heavenly!

 

Inside, in front of a sunny window (and previously I've actually had in on the lower level by a north window and it did ok) it does not take a lot of care. I got rid of my on-the-furnance humidifier and opted for 2 large, on wheels humidifiers, keeping the house around 42% rh through the winter. Occasionally I have to spray water or insecticidal soap to control spider mites and one year I had a tiny bit of scale that I just plucked off with a findernail. Every couple of years I dump out the old soil and do a little top and root pruning. Some citrus fertilizer and epsom salts at bloom and that's it!

 

I also tried a dwarf manago in a pot this year--I have one and a friend got one. Mine died (I believe I overwatered and rotted it), but my friend's is very happy in his dining room right now!  Check out Edible Landscaping for some ideas about what grows well in zones 5-6 too.

 

Barbara Harrick

 

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:53:34 -0500
From: Geoffrey Tolle <Gtolle0709@wowway.com>
Subject: [NAFEX] Winter Hardy Tropicals
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <45E356DE.6030209@wowway.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Folks,

     I've been researching zone 5 hardy tropicals with an eye towards
trying to grow some within the next couple of years. I still have a lot
to research but I have a few questions that some of you pioneers may be
able to answer.

1) Bamboo - Does anyone know if the physical characteristics of the
Canebrake Bamboo (Arundinaria gigantiea) compare with those of, say
Phyllostachys nuda? In particular, I am thinking about both use as
structural rods and the edibility of the shoots.

2) Banana - The winter-hardy banana from Japan (Musa basjoo) is listed
everywhere as producing inedible fruit. Is this inedible inedible or is
this banana inedible but maybe plantain edible. Also, does the fruit
(even if inedible) mature in zone 5-6? I wonder in terms of possible
cross-pollination with a more edible species and selecting from
seedlings (not that I know anything about breeding bananas).

3) Oranges - Ponicirus trifoliata is listed as having fruit that is
inedible (bitter, I assume) or lemon-like. What are people's experiences
out there? Is it worth growing as a lemon substitute? Does the fruit
mature in sone 5? Does anyone have experience with any of the other
winter-hardy hybrids out there?

4) Palms - A number of palm species appear to be moderately
winter-hardy. Does anyone have any experience with the fruit? The
descriptions that I've read suggest that the flesh is thin but
potentially edible.

     I'm sure that many other questions will occur to me over the next
year or two but these are important for deciding where I want to direct
my attention. Thanks.


                                                                        
Geoffrey Tolle

---

Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.