Is There Anything More Delicate Than Breadfruit

[Rick Santos]

Is there any type of vegetation that is more delicate and cold sensitive than breadfruit?

[The Silent Seed]

I don't know about breadfruit, but I have a "pet" Jackfruit (same genus) and they are not all that sensitive. They have had 50 degree temps from time to time.

[Steve the palmreader]

Jakfruit can handle temps in low30s with little or no problem

I don't know about breadfruit, but I have a "pet" Jackfruit (same genus) and they are not all that sensitive. They have had 50 degree temps from time to time.

[SubTropicRay]

Mangosteen maybe. Manicaria palms for sure. The latter is toast at or just before 50-55F.

[Cindy Adair]

Maybe Theobroma cacao or Clove trees?

[Eric in Orlando]

Warszewiczia coccinea is very sensitive.

[stygiana]

Maybe Theobroma cacao or Clove trees?

I have Theobroma cacao (which is not a rare sight around here, a low to medium altitude) and it's much hardier than Artocarpus altilis. Just like Gardenia taitensis, it seems to prefer winter here, as both are growing like crazy at this time of the year (and it's not the first time this happens, it has been like that during every winter apparently). I actually quite like the pink colour of the Theobroma's new leaves. I think the moisture & humidity, which are much higher at this season, are the reason of their growth, compared to summer.

Of course, Jackfruit is far much hardier than Breadfruit.

I also noticed that there is some variation of hardiness within the different varieties of Breadfruit. I've got one which comes from Thailand and grows well right now, with no sign at all of suffering (brown marks, etc). Its leaves are a nice, homogeneous deep green. While I've got another variety, possibly A. camansii, which is much more tender to cold. It's already showing signs of unhappiness and it's just the beginning of the cool season... Last year it lost all its leaves but came back in august.

Now, here are a few species I consider way more sensitive and that I would not even dare trying here. I know someone has success with some of them at lower altitude (on leeward side), but my nights are too cool for them. Sure.

Durio zebethinus

Garcinia mangostana (mangosteen)

Nephelium ramboutan (though it's slightly hardier, but I gave up with plant torture)

Syzygium aromaticum (clove)

In the palm family, I'd say the following have no chance here in my garden (while breadfruit grows):

Pigafetta filaris

Surely there are many others but I don't have enough experience with Equatorial species.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Sebastian Bano

[Alan_Tampa]

Pedalai. Had one, it overheard the weather forecast for a fifty degree low and promptly died. Also, as for jakfruit compared to breadfruit, like comparing airplanes to hummingbirds.

Alan

[aussiearoids]

Breadfruit wins hands down in tenderness .. Mangosteen thrive here as do Pedali and Lowey has a Manacaria seeding just up the road ... My Breadfruit is coming back .. but looks like carp.

[Alan_Tampa]

Really Pedalai did better for you than breadfruit? Did you try A. camansi. (Seeded breadfruit)? I had a few in pots for a while, did good till I got lazy. Mangosteen was tougher for me than most people give it credit for. I think this year I'm gonna do a few more ultra tropicals.

Alan

[ariscott]

My breadfruit does better than pedalai. I think my pedalai is almost dead. I think I might need to try another one at different location, more protection... The local nursery has marang for sale hopefully soon. I will try that one too.....

Mangosteen grows much better here....

[Tingtongthai]

I Just love breadfruit for the foliage, here in Thailand no seeds in it.

Sake (สาเก) Thai name

[siafu]

Noni (Moringa citrifolia) is very very cold sensitive.

In my personal experience, it melts well above freezing.

Wikipedia entry for Noni

Edited January 5, 2012 by siafu

[Manolitus]

I think this thread is in the wrong place, but far be it from me to say anything......

Anyway, here in Miami, I knew of a fruiting breadfruit, seeing it with my own eyes. Breadfruit are very cold sensitive no doubt, but what I discovered after having one myself, and tracking a few known ones around town, is that it has to be real cold for a long period to kill the plant. A bad cold front will beat it back quite a bit, but more times than not, they come back. I imagine that it was after a few successive mild winters that allowed that one I saw to fruit.

Palms like Red sealing wax are black flag dead once it drops below 50 F. Pigafetta's by and large are very sensitive too and I don't think they come back, i.e. when its starts going down hill, they're done and they don't come back in the spring. They either die after a few days, or eventually die a couple of months later.

Mangosteen has fruited here in Miami, but it may have been only once ( Bill Whitman ). I am currently trying my hand with a Mangosteen and I just had to protect it like there was no tomorrow because we had lows in the low 40 's. Did not want to "experiment" and see if it would survive.

So bottom line, although BF are very cold sensitive, there are plants out there that are more and not as feisty as these tropical beauties; I love their foliage too. So tropical

Manny

[stygiana]

Noni (Moringa citrifolia) is very very cold sensitive.

In my personal experience, it melts well above freezing.

Wikipedia entry for Noni

This is interesting how experiences can differ from a place to another.

Here, Moringa citrifolia is almost a weed. They are tough, easy and vigorous and look great all year round.

I think that in fact we are talking about two very different kinds of "hardiness" and "cold".

In Florida, apart from exceptional winters (where cold temps may last), the problem comes from the few very cold night temperature which happen every winter, including freezing in many places (and the few frost-free spots still go well below 51°F). This is just Arctic cold. However, it usually doesn't last and warm or even hot springtime helps many species to recover quickly. On the other hand, these cold snaps seem to be enough to kill or damage seriously some other species (like the Noni mentioned by Siafu, or Theobroma, etc).

Here in the Canary, it is exactly the opposite. So it must be why we have apparently contradictory experiences. We don't have cold nights (at least at low altitude), I had to wait until January to have a night minimum temp reaching 59°F (15°C). On the other hand, we have long long cool Springs, with low average temperatures compared to Florida. This is so bad for mangosteen and similar species, which would explain why Alan Tampa had success with it, while there is no hope away from the coast here. But Noni, Breadfruit and Theobroma all accept it up here.

Finally, some species like Pigafetta filaris are surely equally as difficult (or better said, almost impossible) in both cases. Werther it is a short bitterly cold few nights or a long cool season, it's all too bad! Constant heat and moisture. And nothing else!

Edited January 5, 2012 by Sebastian Bano

[fastfeat]

Noni (Moringa citrifolia) is very very cold sensitive.

In my personal experience, it melts well above freezing.

Wikipedia entry for Noni

I've seen noni pretty commonly in Hialeah/Miami area, and knew of a 25' breadfruit at Homestead park. Not sure if the latter survived the last few cold SoFla winters though.

[Mandrew968]

I killed a rosemary bush once--will never try it again.

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

Breadfruit arent all that difficult. I'd say that they are one of the easiest trees to grow.

Except.... at 50f the leaves chill and dry up. 51f and they are ok.

I grew this 3 year old breadfruit tree in full sun and it survived temps of 110f no problem.

So when it was forcast to drop to below 50f, I wheel the thing into my den, where it stayed untill it stayed above 50f.

One day I forgot my BF tree in the middle of my yard... the morning hit 46f.... toasted most leaves. I put it indoors under a small flouresant light, it grewback in weeks.

Jeff

Modesto, Ca

[SubTropicRay]

Not sure about Bruce's seedlings but Manicaria die when exposed to temps below 50F (10C). Thanks to Jeff Marcus' cheap plants, I was able to run the experiment. Do Breadfruit die at 10C or just look shabby?

[fastfeat]

Breadfruit arent all that difficult. I'd say that they are one of the easiest trees to grow.

Except.... at 50f the leaves chill and dry up. 51f and they are ok.

I grew this 3 year old breadfruit tree in full sun and it survived temps of 110f no problem.

So when it was forcast to drop to below 50f, I wheel the thing into my den, where it stayed untill it stayed above 50f.

One day I forgot my BF tree in the middle of my yard... the morning hit 46f.... toasted most leaves. I put it indoors under a small flouresant light, it grewback in weeks.

Jeff

Modesto, Ca

Very nice, Jeff!

[chinandega81]

On 1/6/2012 at 12:17 PM, fastfeat said:

 

I've seen noni pretty commonly in Hialeah/Miami area, and knew of a 25' breadfruit at Homestead park. Not sure if the latter survived the last few cold SoFla winters though.

It survived and is thriving, I posted current pics in another thread towards the end: Fruiting breadfruit in Key West - TROPICAL LOOKING PLANTS - Other Than Palms - PalmTalk