I have a question: does anybody know what is the best place (in the world) to grow the most varieties of fruit? It should be tropical climate I suppose?
This question was recently posted in the “World Frugivore Tribe” group on Facebook. It is a great question that people often ask when they first start to explore the idea of starting a fruit forest. So, I set out to answer this difficult question – difficult because there are so many different tropical climate zones, and many fruits will grow well in somes zones but poorly or not at all in others.
Black mulberry: Mulberries generally grow in subtropical and some temperate climates. The everbearing black mulberry grows well in the tropics as well, which is surprising to some people. At Fruit Haven our black mulberries are prolific and taste great, but other varieties of mulberry that we have tried do not produce sweet fruits; the white mulberry fruits grow on the tree but do not mature to sweetness. This is a climactic limitation.
Cherimoya: Many people think of the cherimoya as an exotic tropical fruit. However, it will not produce fruit in most tropical climates, preferring the cooler and dryer subtropics. The tree will grow but will never give fruits. It is produced in subtropical regions of southern California, but not in South Florida. In Ecuador, its minimum elevation is around 1300 meters, and it grows well in the climate of the Andes (think Vilcabamba and Cuenca) where the elevation above sea level is around 2500 meters. Fortunately at Fruit Haven we have many other annona species planted such as spanish cherimoya, rollinia, atemoya, and soursop.
In Conclusion
Being in a zone that “is not good for” a certain fruit, is not such a bad thing. It just means you have to accept your limitations and work with them.
For example, being in a climate zone where the dry season is not long enough for mangoes, does not necessarily mean that you can’t grow mangos or coconuts. It just means that if you do grow them, they will produce much less than they would in a dryer climate. Trying to grow durian in a dry climate could be achieved by installing misters around the foliage of the tree.
You can also look for varieties of fruits that do better in certain regions. Trying to grow durian at a high elevation? Look for durio graveolens or graveolens x zibethinus hybrid, or other high elevation durian varieties. If you are not in prime mango-growing country, you can look for mangifera odorata, maha chanook, or nam dok mai mangos, which can do better in your wetter region. If you are not in a cool enough area for white sapote to grow well, you can get the redlands variety of white sapote which does well in warmer climates. If you really want to grow raspberries but you are not in a subtropical climate, you can still grow mysore raspberry, the only raspberry variety that fruits well in the tropics. Planting dry-loving trees on steep hillsides or adding sand to the soil will help them do better in wet climates.
There are some hard limitations (like cherimoya growing in USDA zone 11) but many climate limitations are soft and you can work around them to some degree. Happy planting!
My question is, where can we find a list of places in the world where fruit is already growing in abundance? Where can people go and just forage a 100% fruit diet year round? I’m told west Africa, and maybe Borneo. Anywhere else that you know of?
Thanks,
Bret
The best places I had were farms areas, they will have an abundance right at the source.
Did you find it?
In kenya places like meru is the best for growing most variety of fruits
I love to reach out to you following the email from pruta fruits that there is need to join. Yes am from Sondu, Kenya.
I am a little confused by reading this. I am a grower of many exotic fruits in Southwest Florida. Here it is always humid. We are Subtropical in zone 10b on the Gulf side. We grow some of the best mangoes in the World without a doubt. Yes mangoes can can grow in drier climates but do best in more humid conditions.