Hey everyone,

I'm starting a search for some fun/easy (sub) tropicals to grow.
What I am looking for are plants (with edible fruits) that can go outside during summer times but can easily be kept inside at room temperature during winter. Citrus is a bit more sensitive when it comes to winter storage so I want to give some other species a go too.
Also I would like slow growers because of logical benefits .

What I've heard here on the forum was coffee. Coffea Arabica and Coffea canephora I already found on this website:
http://www.onszaden.nl/nl/c-28329/eetbaar?o=0

Though a dutch site, the names are in latin. 2 pages of edible plant seeds and so my question is: does anyone here have any experience or information on the other plants i.e. are there any plants that are comparable to coffee and thus match the my needs I mentionned at the top of this post?

I know I could look up all of the plants but internet always gives very diverse opinions so it would be better if someone could tell me for sure.

Any help will be very much appreciated

How about pineapple? You can grow it from the crown of an actual fruit!

Hmm must check it out! Though it seems not so easy to grow at first thought.

Grows easily. Fruiting is a different matter...

I continually grow 20-30 pineapple plants inside a greenhouse. Pineapple are the easiest plants I grow, or have ever grown in the greenhouse. Other then watering and fertilizing, not much else is required. They are almost bug free (a little mealy bug sometimes, but rarely). It takes approximately 2 years from rooting to picking the fruit. However, after the first plant is grown, new starts can be made from its side shoots, called suckers, which reduces the time frame. Pineapples do require a location that supplies high light levels. The plant can grow to 3-4 feet in width when mature. - Millet

Millet, do your pineapple compare at all to what pineapple taste like in Hawaii?
Unreal how much better pineapple taste in Hawaii than when they are picked green and shipped over here.

Tom your exactly correct. I let my pineapples mature to a full golden yellow color before I pick them. When a pineapple is left growing to maturity they produce so much more sweetness then commercial fruit, which are picked and shipped green. The reason commercial pineapples are not cut and shipped fully mature (golden yellow) is they don't ship as well as tougher green fruit. - Millet

Below is an old post written by Dr. Malcolm Manners on starting a pineapple plant.

"The ideal way to use a crown is to twist (as opposed to cutting) it from the fruit -- then it will break at exactly the right spot. Pluck off some leaves from the bottom, and let it sit out in the air to dry for a few days. No hurry here -- we once left one on a desk, in that condition, for 18 months, and it was still just fine.

Pineapples produce 4 kinds of planting pieces:

1. Ratoons. These come from underground rhizomes, next to the mother plant. They are the fastest growing, and will produce fruit in the least time.

2. Suckers. These come from within the crown of the mother plant, down among the leaves. They are the second best planting piece.

3. Slips. These come from the flowering stem, below the fruit. They are the third best choice (needing more time to fruit).

4. Crowns. From the top of the fruit. Slowest to bear, and no matter what you do, the fruit they produce will be smaller than the other pieces would have produced.

The one reason to avoid ratoons is if you have nematodes in your soil (we do, here in Florida), in which case, you should use one of the other parts.

Millet is spot on about pineapples. I had one flower in about 18 months then another 6 for it to ripen. they do get big in diameter but we had no ill effect from cutting the leaves off about half way. I have 3 or 4 going now but because of the time and space required they may not get prime locations in the greenhouse.

Bananas are incredibly easy to overwinter. You can put them in a cool dark spot and wait until spring. They will go dormant. Only issue is if your flowers late in the season. The bananas take a few months to ripen and I am not sure how well they will ripen when stored dormant.


mike

I can recommend eugenia neonitida - pitangatuba. It grows easy from seeds, blooms in the third year. No problem outdoor in summer and indoor in the winter. Ornamental. Very good fruits.

I would suggest some passifloras, for example passiflora edulis which gives you beautiful flowers and delicious fruits

I have pineapples, guava, avocados, and bananas. All grown outside in zone 8 and produced fruit this yr. Will be trying mangos when I graft a seedling with the one that darkman has.

I do put the pineapples inside when it gets cold---they grow in surprisingly small pots. The guava is in a pot, but has gotten it's roots into the ground and is now anchored underneath a citrus tree--the citrus gets covered in cold. the rest make it without protection.

I'm not sure about the EASY part but a Cacao will grow in small pot and many people grow them as house plants. Temps above 50F and bright light. Outdoors in Summer. Yes I do have one that was given to me today so I'll know more about it in a few years!