Santosh likes to give facetime tours of our fruit garden. However, our collection is getting big (over 40) and since we are getting old, a cheat sheet of sorts would be handy. Also, from time to time, I move my plants, making it more confusing for the tour guide. So here it goes, I am going to take you for a walk through my yard. Over time, I will add details on when each tree produces fruit and how long they take to ripen.
Let’s start from the front of the house. We chose this prime spot for our grafted Rambutan tree we got from Montesso Farms on the other side of the island. This tree will look attractive and unique with clusters of spiny red rambutans. [Planted:2019, Flower to fruiting: 90 days, First crop Sept 2021]
Narrow Side Garden, Front to Back
If you open the white gate to the narrow side of the house, you will find a Guanabana tree. Also known as Sour Sop, Ram Sita or Ramfal. [Planted: 2019, Flower to fruiting: 120 days]
The Pomelo is not as happy as his neighbors but hopefully will establish himself and have a growth spurt. [Citrus maxima, Planted 2020]
The Mauritius Lychee is pink-green or pink-yellow when ripe. Lychee can grow into a large tree. My goal is to keep all my trees small by pruning, as recommended here. We provided it with wind-protection as it as very delicate new leaves. [Annona Muricata, Planted 2021, Flower to fruiting: 80 to 112 days]
I love Puerto Rican Avocados. They are so creamy and delicious. I learned that it is better to have two trees, it will result in a larger crop. As luck would have it, this is actually two trees, growing together. [Planted 2019]
I was excited to find this Sugar Apple at Home Depot. Other names are Sweet Sop/Cherimoya/Sitapalam. [Annona Squamosa, Planted 2021]
I planted three Guava trees. One died. I am hoping the two that are left are pink and white varieties. There have been several fruit on the first one, but so we have not been there to taste them.[Psidium guajava, Planted 2019] A new Guava of the red variety was added Sept 2021.
Back Garden
Passion Fruit was one of the very first plants I experimented with. I tried with seeds initially (from freshly squeezed juice) but switched to small plants in 2019. I did not expect a crop in 2020 but we had a bummer one! The flowers are beautiful!
I did not expect to have a Fig tree in Puerto Rico. But it was at a nursery, so I brought it home! I have several trees in my PA home and really enjoy the fruit. We have tasted some of our tropical figs and they are delicious. [Ficus carica, Planted 2019]
The Pomegranate tree is growing quite well. It is a delicate tree and the passion fruit vines like to attack it. There have been some flowers and fruits but none that have matured and ripened yet. The fruits are small but we discovered the seeds are white! And very sweet! [Punica granatum, Planted 2019]
I’ve been planting my Pineapple tops ever since we bought the house. It took two years before the first pineapple appeared. Cannot wait to try one! I will be planting the suckers after this pineapple is harvested. [Ananas comosus]
The Acerola or Barbados Cherry was in the garden when we bought it. It’s a bit gnarled and old and has suffered some splitting from winds and weight. I gave it a nice prune March 2019, and hopefully it will grow back healthier. This berry is tart like a cranberry and high is vitamin C. [Malpighia emarginata]
I planted a Grapevine on the fence. It is in a shady spot, so not sure what will happen, lets see. [Genus Vitis, Planted 2019]
The Starfruit has beautiful pink flowers and gorgeous fruit. It seems to fruit most of the year. [Averrhoa carambola]
The Rose Apple is the reason why Santosh agreed to buy the house. It was heavy laden with fruit when we first saw the house in Jul 2018. We’ve been keeping it pruned and enjoying it’s fruit. [Syzygium jambos]
The Gooseberry Tree (Amla) is also one of the trees we found on the property. It’s leaves started to shrivel so we lopped it, and it is growing again. [Phyllanthus acidus]
The two Coffee bushes are a gift from our friends Beulha and Raj. They have taken a while to establish themselves but they started flowering! A few beans were harvesting in 2021 [Planted:2020]
I am a little worried about the Ackee tree. It is the national fruit of Jamaica but needs to be consumed properly. The fruit bursts open and the yellow parts must be cooked. The tree is doing well and may flower soon. [Blighia sapida,Planted 2019]
This Valencia Pride Mango tree was planted in 2018 as soon as we bought the house. (I did not know we has a mature mango tree on the hill, it was buried in the jungle at that time.) This variety originated from the Haden in Florida. I cannot wait to taste the first one. Mangos take 3 to 5 months to ripen. I’ve been pruning this tree to keep it compact.
These two Curry Leaf Plants were gifts from Pam. They grew really fast. I love picking curry leaves just before I prepare an Indian dinner. [Murraya koenigii]
The Tamarind tree is a gift from our friends Mark and Heather. I’m keeping this one pruned as it can grow large. Tamarind has orchid like flowers that I am looking forward to seeing. [Tamarindus indica, Planted 2019]
I planted my first Plantain (I thought it was a banana) tree in 2019. We had out first yeild in 2021 which was shared with the neighbors. There are several pups around this tree, and I have a couple of others on the hill. I was told to move the pups as they all grow too close. I moved some next to the house to create shade for the gingers. The plantains are mostly there because they look so tropical and lush.
Quenepa, also known as Spanish Lime is a very popular fruit in Puerto Rico. There were many small quenepa trees on the hill, maybe growing from seeds. Right now there is one tree at the back of my property and one near the property line with the neighbors in front of the house. I think we will have some fruits from one of these trees in the future. [Melicoccus bijugatus]
This second Guanabana was found on the property and is now fruiting.
We planned a Jackfruit tree in 2021. It was grown from seed so we don’t know what it will taste like.
The Morringa must be the fasted growing tree on the property. The picture below is after six months, I was stunned. I have a tall tree and several dwarf ones. The big tree needs some serious pruning. We actually loped the main trunk in half and it grew back with a vengeance. [Moringa oleifera, Planted 2019]
On the Hill, Walking Back to Front
I did not think of the Mulberry as a tropical tree, but when we saw it in the store we bought one. I do recall enjoying them as a child in Zambia. [Morus nigra?, Planted:2020]
The Brewster Lychee becomes reddish-purple when ripe and is a bigger, sweeter & juicier fruit than the Mauritius Lychee, however it has a full size seed about half of the time. Like our other lychee, it has a wind canopy. [Litchi chinensis, Planted:2020] DEAD 5/2021
The Longan tree actually had fruit on it when we planted it. It is blooming again, not sure we will get to eat its fruit. [Dimocarpus longan, Planted 2020]
I think this tree sold to me as Corazon is actually a Bullock’s Heart which looks rather interesting. Never had it. Per the Weird Explorer it tastes like coconut yogurt. I am still figuring out this Annona family of fruit. [Annona reticulata, Planted 2019]
The Cranberry/Ketabilla/Ceylon Gooseberry is still a mystery to me. When we bought the house there was a large bush at the base of the hill which we cut to the ground. It started growing again, rather fast. I bought a Cranberry from the local nursery just because they had it. After planting it on the top of the hill, I realized they were the same plant. So far no berries have appeared. I am getting rid of the plant on the base of the hill as that is prime real estate. And maybe we will get berries like this one day. [Dovyalis hebecarpa, Planted 2019]
This is our second attempt at Mangosteen. This time we have provided a shade cover as we saw the leaves were getting burned. It seems to be doing OK – it is a slow grower. [Garcinia mangostana, Planted 2020]
The Cashew came with the house. It was one of those mystery trees, until it fruited. This year it is full of buds. [Anacardium occidentale]
This Lime was on the other side of the house but was moved here in 2021. Hopefully this spot will be better so I can have a good supply for mojitos. BTW, I am also trying to establish a mint patch for the same reason. [Planted 2019]
There are several citrus trees on the hill that were planted prior to us. These plants have not done too much since they were freed from the jungle. They do provide a nice citrusy scent. I believe one is a local Mandarin Orange, another is a grapefruit. I am trying to bring these trees back to life (ie fruiting for us)
The Valencia Orange is a new addition to the hill. They are supposed to be great juicing oranges. [Planted 2021]
I’ve planted a few Papaya trees, still waiting for fruit to appear. Apparently you have to have both male and female, which I think we do now. [Planted:2020-21]
We added a new type of Poma Rosa (known as Malay Rose Apple) to the garden – the fruit is much larger an juicier. [Planted 2021]
We need another avocado to this part of the hill called the Russell Avocado, which has a long neck. [Planted 2021]
We found a Custard Apple and planted it in 2021. Super excited to try this.
There is a second, crooked starfruit on the hill. It is deformed because we found it under a dense canopy. I’m keeping it just in case something happens to the other tree.
The second tallest tree on the property is a Tropical Almond Tree, which is very different from the commercial almonds we are familiar with. It is difficult to get to the pit and small nut within. The local shops sell a brittle made of these nuts that are as sweet as Indian mithai. [Terminalia catappa]
This mature Mango tree on the hill came with the house. It was starving for sunshine due to the other trees that engulfed it. It may be a Thai mango, Nam Doc Mai. The fruit are medium sized, long with a beak. They are sweet and fibreless and we have multiple crops a year!
We just moved a Dragon Fruit from the atrium to the wall on top of the hill. This is the red variety – we have had two fruits and they were delicious! [Cereus enneacanthus, Planted 2019]
There is another guava on the top of the hill, a gift from our neighbor.
In 2021 I added a Pana tree to this section. It’s hot and dry there, hopefully it does well and shades us below. It is said in Hawaii, a breadfruit tree is planted for each child, so they will never starve. This one might take care of everyone on the cul-de-sac. Did you know pana leaves are like velcro? And bigger than fig leaves.
Bottom of the Hill/Side Yard
This side of the house, I hope will be a wonderful space for relaxing and entertaining. I am primarily planting tropical plants and flowers. However, we do need more shade, so I have panted two Coconut trees. There are also a few Betal Nut palm trees that we found on the property. No, we don’t chew these nuts.
Bottom of the Hill/Front Yard
Again this area is for bromeliads and orchids. It does include more dragon fruit (read and yellow varieties) and also the Prickly Pear Cactus that fruits. The cactus fruits so far do not seem edible, so may need to remove this one from the list.
I think that is a full list of the fruit in our finca! Some are technically not fruit (moringa. coffee, etc.) but are edible, so are included in the list. Our property is only a quarter acre, that’s a lot of trees! I think I have space for a few more, especially if I get rid of some trees that don’t fruit or put on a spectacular show of flowers.