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- From: "Candyce" <clgunderson@bellsouth.net>
- To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: [NAFEX] Fw: pineapple question
- Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2007 11:37:49 -0400
Thank you for the wonderful info, Donna
&/or Kieran. Of the 200 pineapple plants, I have about 70 full-sized
pineapples that should ripen about Sept. I learned the importance of
"when" to fertilize the hard way. I had to struggle with mounds of
comforters to protect a half-dozen or so pineapples that ripened long after the
freezes came & left; all because I threw some left-over fertilizer around
them early autumn. I have 2 semi-dwarf papayas that I roll into the
garage (12' doors), so they've made it through 2 winters. The avocado is a
semi-dwarf, too (Monroe), and it's doing fine. The fruit cocktail tree is
staying semi-dwarfed because of the garbage can. Ditto on the Key Limes,
Meyer Lemons, Barbados Cherry, Guava, Meiwa, etc. I haven't been doing
this for very long, so I don't know how to graft (swingle/kinkoji). I have
"air grafted" some blueberries and roses with success, but I think "air
grafting" was made for dummies like me. When I moved here from Hlwd,
I missed my southern fruits so much, but I learned that there are so many more
fruits to replace my "old" friends. Now I have a blueberry orchard(?),
peaches, nectarines, pecans, apples, and some cherries, too. I don't think
very many (if any) of my semi-tropicals will make it in E.TN, though, but
I'll find more fruit trees to replace these. Has your
mother had a topless pineapple? http://home.att.net/~clgunderson/pineapple.jpg
----- Original Message -----
From: Donna &/or
Kieran
Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 10:19 AM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] pineapple question Candyce,
My mom has no trouble growing pineapples in
central Fla. I think so long as you keep them from freezing that you
should have fruit eventually, they may just take longer than usual. I am
really impressed with the notion of growing them as far north as you are, I
think you are really clever. See, the trouble is that true tropicals are
dead with the first whiff of frost, yet they have to get pretty big to make any
fruit and so that means either a greenhouse of some size or dragging the pots in
and out as you are doing. But with something down on the ground like
pinapples, you are operating on the same kind of system I use in TN to grow
greens all winter. You use the heat of the ground and a cover to protect
them, very cheap and really quite reliable, even if you have a terrible cold
spell and have to drag out extra blankets.
I think it's merely a matter of time
waiting for the fruits on top to grow. It's all vegetative propagation, no
flowers involved. The only problem you'll have is if they don't
ripen before your winter arrives, as they will be sticking up further when
bigger. On the subject of your frost protection, when in a cold spell
there's no need at all to roll up your cloth, it actually helps warm the ground
more to leave it on. If it was plastic, you'd be in big trouble, but
anything that breathes is safe. I keep nylon curtains on my greens all
winter long, adding old sheets on top when it gets too cold. I
think this will save you lots of trouble.
Also, the subtropicals are going to do a
lot better for you I think than the true tropicals like mangoes and
papayas. I'd actually like to hear how they perform long
term. Any of the citrus except limes and true lemons aren't
going to mind a bit of frost, they are pretty much good down to 28 if they've
had cool weather to harden them off. This might save you some dragging in
and out. Actually Chris Inhulsen has some citrus in Montezuma GA, he goes
through a lot of trouble to protect from cold spells, but his trees are in the
ground so they are bigger than what you can grow in pots. If you will
select carefully, in fact, you'll have to take up budding to do it, you can grow
some pretty nice citrus where you are. Choose Swingle rootstock and graft
on Kinkoji aka Kimkoji and all the satsumas the budwood station
has. Also of course Meiwa kumquat and probably Hirado Buntan
pummelo. Donna
P.S. I remember some NAFEXer who was growing a peach
tree horizontally in some northern state, the snow would cover the tree and keep
it reasonably warm. Maybe you could figure out some way to simply lay your
potted trees on their side and cover them, then heave them back into place when
the cold passed.
|
-
[NAFEX] Fw: pineapple question,
Candyce, 07/06/2007
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
- [NAFEX] Fw: pineapple question, Candyce, 07/07/2007
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