Tropical Fruit Trees from Seed

[hpp4me]

There is a Pahoa company that sells seeds for many of the Big Island fruits (http://www.fruitlovers.com/seedlistUSA.html).

Have y'all had luck growing your plants from seeds? It seems like a cheaper way to go.

[allensylves]

That is Oscar Jaitt. I have grown several things from seed from him (and other sources) and had good luck generally. It may take 2 - 20 years to get the first fruit from seed, so it would be good to do some research to make sure what you want will bear within an acceptable time for you. The other thing is that many (most?)tropical fruits do not come true from seed. That can be good if you want to develop new varieties, but not good if you want the same thing as the parents.

Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP

[Hotzcatz]

It depends on the plant if it will work or not. We've had really good luck growing plants from groceries. Here's some of the ones which have worked for us.

Avocado pits (on the mainland they treat them so they won't sprout in some areas) Either start them in a jar of water or put them in a flowrpot and keep moist until they sprout.

Pineapple tops - twist the top off, pull off a few of the bottom leaves to expose the root nubs and push the top into the dirt.

Onion roots - cut the bottom off the onion before peeling it and then put it out in the garden. A new shoot will come up from the middle and you'll have another onion.

Pecan tree - push a nut into a flower pot and see if it sprouts. I don't know if it will bear nuts in this area though, since only about half the varieties will work in a low chill environment. But it will be a nice shade tree even if it doesn't make nuts.

Papaya - either bury a rotted papaya whole and thin out the seedlings when they appear or spread the papaya seeds out, let them dry, then plant them into a pot to start.

Pinto/Navy/white/kidney beans - plant like any bean seed.

Coriander (spice) - plant if they are whole seeds and you get cilantro.

Many of the spices such as dill, coriander, fennel, etc. can be planted and grown. The seeds can be gotten at a health food store from the bulk jars really inexpensively, too.

Betcha popcorn would grow, too, but I haven't tried it yet.

[hpp4me]

Any seeds that can be sowed and ignored for a few years (we're still on the mainland)? The hope would be to return to a lot with lots of maturing plants, bought for just the price of seed.

[JayJay]

I didn't do it this way but I know people who have. Avacados for sure and make sure to get a grafted type if you can. I prefer the 'Surewell'(sp.) Once established you'll have more than you can ever use. Also a good tangerine from a reputable nursery and same with any citrus. Meyers lemons produce well but there are many smaller types with hudge crops. Breadfruit would be good, and I like the Samoan. If you have a tree line on you lot you might want to start some form of passion fruit which can grow up the trees but do best with lots of humas.

JayJay