Puerto Rico has an ideal climate for growing tropical fruit. All of the tropical standards found in grocery stores can grow right here: pineapples, mangoes, bananas, avocados, and citrus. And of course there are all of the lesser known exotic fruits that are quite delicious but maybe not as suitable for long distance travel to stores all over the globe.
In our garden we have many different tropical fruits. Recently we harvested some mandarin oranges.
A handful of mandarins and the tree behind it
Puerto Rico has been hit with a variety of diseases that are harmful or deadly to citrus including citrus greening which is simply devastating to crops. When we began clearing we saw the remains of probably 5-6 other citrus trees, but these 3 mandarins were the only mature ones to survive. We have since then planted more citrus varieties (kumquats, Buddha’s hand, lemon and lime, orange, grapefruit, etc), but it will take a while until they are full-sized and producing fully. So far, it has been a little over a year in and we really haven’t lost any citrus trees, so we will continue doing what we’ve been doing.
The next thing we recently saw was a banana flower with little bitty bananas growing!
Turkey photo bombing the banana flower!
These banana flowers are so huge and beautiful. We have planted a large number of banana “hijos” or sprouts of various cultivars, but these ones over by the turkey coop really took off. We think this area may have slightly better soil than some of the other areas (and more fertilizer for sure). We are super excited to eat our own bananas from the land because bananas are something we eat every day.
Pineapple plant, banana tree and chicken
We are also super excited to grow our own pineapples. We planted probably 20 pineapple tops, but we only have about 5 remaining. Most of them succumbed to root rot. We are trying a new technique and are hopeful that it works.
Gardening in February…never ceases to amaze and delight me.
Banana flowers are really beautiful and they evolve so quickly into fruit it’s hard to keep up. If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get your lemon and lime trees? I have been looking for ages and haven’t had any luck. Was it at govardhan gardens? I thought he sold more of the more unusual items. Btw, love your blog, its definitely in my top 3. I showed my PR husband the video of you catching the iguana and he was very impressed, as well as I !
Hi Karen!
Thanks for leaving such a kind message! Lemon and lime trees are really pretty easy to find at nearly any vivero you visit. We have a large lime tree we found at the Ag Fair in Mayaguez, but Jardines Eneida in Cabo Rojo (here’s our post about it: http://www.lifetransplanet.com/2013/11/05/jardines-eneida-start-finca/) is by far our go-to place. It has an extensive assortment of citrus and avocado varieties, but also some of the unusual exotics as well. I just checked out your Tumblr page and you have some beautiful photos!
Thanks for the link and the info, the next time we have a long weekend off, we’ll have to check out those places. (we’re about 2 hours away) I’ve been really looking forward to exploring cabo rojo and the dry forest anyway, just havent made it there yet. Thanks for checkng out the tumblr, I’m on a bit of a haitus until I get a replacement puter, cant wait to get back to it. We’ll be looking forward to reading your future adventures!
DO MORE PLANTS
Love to know we’re can I get a buddha hand tree
Please let me know or email me a contact
Thx
I’m interested in the current whereabouts of wild fruit trees in the forests of Puerto Rico. Where are Common Guava, Strawberry Guava, Papaya, Passionfruit, Banana, Pineapple, Orange, Rambutan, Mangosteen, Chocolate Sapote, Vanilla Sapote found in the forests? Where is wild Mango found?
What are the ripening seasons for each of these wild fruits in Puerto Rico? What is the ripening season for wild Strawberry Guava in Puerto Rico? What is the ripening season for wild Common Guava in Puerto Rico? What is the ripening season for wild Papaya in Puerto Rico? What is the coldest temperature Puerto Rico gets in the winter from sea level to 200 feet elevation? Are there currently any wild areas or forests in Puerto Rico with abundant wild fruit for foraging? I love tropical fruits and I love tropical islands.