carambola (forum)

Anonymous starts with ...
i bought a star fruit (carambola) about 2 weeks ago but it is looking rather sad
the leaves will not spread out can any one help me!! i live in pooraka south australia

Time: 1st March 2008 12:25pm

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Kath says...
This is how they look, the foliage droops from the branches and twigs, they have very floppy looking leaves.

Time: 1st March 2008 12:32pm

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Anonymous says...
thank you!!! i thought my plant was dying

Time: 1st March 2008 12:36pm

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Anonymous says...
do they like full sun?


Time: 1st March 2008 1:17pm

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John says...
Hello Mr Anonymous, mine has been in for 3 weeks now and is doing the same except for some burnt leaves from some 40c heat the other day. In Indo they do handle just the morning sun.

Time: 1st March 2008 3:41pm

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Anonymous says...
i also have burnt leaves!!! can too much sun kill them?

Time: 1st March 2008 11:00pm

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John says...
The leaves and branches will grow back. If your in SA give them a month coarse of pot ash and plent of water but watch out for wet feet, they dont like.

Time: 2nd March 2008 10:14am

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Kath says...
I have mine growing in the full sun and it loves it.

Time: 4th March 2008 11:11am

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Shaun says...
How long will it take a seedling to produce fruit?
Is there any particular variety of Carambola that does better than the others in Australia?


Time: 9th March 2008 8:19pm

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John says...
Hello shaun, the one thing I am quickly learning about star fruit is they need huge amounts of water daily to get them going and keep them going. unlike others these may require wet feet, and if your on sand like me. It carnt be done, with out changing some of the soil and putting some clay in the hole.

Time: 10th March 2008 9:59am

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Scott G says...
I did a lot of searching for info about Carambola before I bought mine. There seemed to be very little information out there. On the web I eventually found a partial list of what the difference in the fruits was but nothing about how the plants differed in any other way.

With so little info I felt I couldn't make an informed decision about what would do best in my area. So I bought whatever variety I came accross. It is doing well (no doubt thanks to the very wet summer we have just had here). It produced 3 fruits within a few months of putting it in the ground!

I agree with John - they like lots of water.

Time: 10th March 2008 3:49pm

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Anonymous says...
what kind of carambola did you buy? was it a seedling? did the fruit taste good?

Time: 10th March 2008 9:22pm

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Anonymous says...
will a carambola survive an adelaide winter?

Time: 28th March 2008 10:56pm

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John says...
Carambola will survive if you water it daily, fed it monthly and protect it from the frosts and excesssive heat. Other wise they will grow, as will paw paws, choco fruit trees, custard apples, mangoes, pitayas, longons, lyches, white sapotes, and many more. ps heavy mulch helps

Time: 29th March 2008 7:18pm

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Anonymous says...
will shade cloth protect a carambola from heat and frost?

Time: 30th March 2008 11:24am

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Anonymous says...
hello, so you live in adelaide. The heat is over, so you need to protect it now from the frosts for the next four years. The best and cheapest thing to use for this is the heat reflectors you place on your wind screen. Place it around the plant silver facing the tree. You dont need to worry about the shade cloth untill november now, then still keeep the frost protector. Hay try growing a bisexual paw paw. they grow to about four foot and produce fruit. Mine have flowers on it now. 5 months old.

Time: 30th March 2008 5:58pm

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Scott G says...
For the record here are details of my Carambola that is doing very well.

It is on a small mound in sloping heavy clay soil with a good layer of organic material near the top. And lots of mulch. This is one of the wettest parts of my garden.

It receives a little shade in various parts of the day due to the neighbours huge palm trees. I suspect it is also in one of the mildest temperature ranged parts of my garden. Temperature from about 7 to 37.

The planted is a grafted type "Fwang Tung". I am not sure what the rootstock is.

I planted it late spring and had 3 fruits by late summer. The fruits were tastey. It is not near any other Carambola to my knowledge so it is self polinating.

After 5 months in the ground (through a wet summer) it is about 1.4m tall by 1m wide. It has an open semi-weeping form and is covered with lush leaves and still retains many of the original leaves that it had when I bought it.

The soil has had a heavy application of gypsum and light applications of Dynamic Lifter and blood and bone.

I am very happy with this plant.


Time: 31st March 2008 7:25am

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Anonymous says...
Use some pot ash for quick growth and plant repair, not much. Mine will take four years to get to where you are. Good luck.

Time: 31st March 2008 4:07pm

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Anonymous says...
between what temperatures do carambola grow? what temperatures can they handle?

Time: 1st April 2008 12:26am

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Anonymous says...
are carambola kary seedlings polyembronic?

Time: 14th June 2008 11:38pm

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Shaun says...
Does anyone know whether Carambola Arkin variety is self-pollinationf? .....
I read that some carambola need cross-pollination.

BTW, what is "polyembronic" ??

Time: 15th June 2008 3:52am

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juanita says...
I think they don't grow or produce fruits like their parents?

Time: 15th June 2008 1:51pm

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Anonymous says...
if a seedling is polyemboric it will be the same as the parent plant

Time: 15th June 2008 10:51pm

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Dekka says...
The term "Polyembryonic" means that more than one offspring derive from the same nucleus. In other words, identical twins, triplets,etc. But they are only identical or 'true-to-type' to eachother... not the parent. The whole point of sexual reproduction in organisms is to create genetic variation and so enhance the chances of survival. Any living thing that didn't vary in some way in each generation would then be in an evolutionary cul de sac.
If this wasn't the case then every Bowen mango in the world, for example, would be identical to the first Bowen ever grown and exhibit no differences whatsoever apart from environmental influences.

Time: 16th June 2008 4:46pm

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Anonymous says...
do they lose their leaves in winter? as mine are.

Time: 17th June 2008 1:29am

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Anonymous says...
no. they are evergreen in nature. but they should come back quick. use some aquasol and then some pot ash.

Time: 17th June 2008 4:12pm

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Dekka says...
To clarify my last post about polyembryonic seed, there is a tendency for these to be true-to-type but no guarantee as one embryo in the seed is often a true sexual embryo having genetic characteristics of the parents. These are often less vigorous than the asexual seedlings but in some species the reverse is the case.
On the subject of Carambola from seed, I saw a study done by a group called Echo where they planted seven seeds from a very sweet Carambola 'Arkin' and ended up with only one sweet variety. The rest were very sour and all had undesirable fruit-shape characteristics.

Time: 18th June 2008 8:30am

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Anonymous says...
are you garanteed a good sweet plant if you get a grafted plant?

Time: 20th June 2008 1:44am

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Shaun says...
I got an Arkin Carambolas from Joe @ Tass-1-tree (WA) ....
do I need to buy another variety to cross pollinate so that I get fruits ?
Has anyone got any info on this subject?
Thnx

Time: 29th June 2008 12:44am

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Yong says...
Shaun,
I'm from Perth too, had a tree bought some 5-6 years ago from a nursery, don't recall the variety. Tree growing well to about 2M high in full sun position, and flowered but we have yet to see a fruit formed. The flowers are very small, just wondering if I need to manually pollinate myself. In fact the tree flowered early June(Perth winter is mild), may be a bit cold for bees to hang around.
Appreciate anyone who may have the answers.
Thanks

Time: 7th July 2008 2:20pm

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Shaun says...
Thanks for your response, Yong.
Which area of Perth are you located?
If Carambola/Star-fruit plants need cross-pollination, then manual pollination may not work if you only have 1 plant or 1 variety.

My plant is still very small (approx 1m tall) and I intend to keep it planted in a pot (kind of like a 'bonsai') as I only got a very small court yard.

Hope to have comments from others who had experience with Carambola.

Time: 3rd August 2008 10:32pm

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Correy says...
The varieties that daleys sell on the carambola page are self pollinating but do benefit from cross pollination.

My Kembangan Star Fruit Had one carambola in the first year without another variety that I know of.

Time: 4th August 2008 9:34am

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Tran says...
Like Yong's tree. mine is about the same age in a big pot under veranda. When the tree first arrived it had some little fruits but has been flowered ever seen. This year I don't cover up the soil and give it a bucket of water a week and it is still flowering in the cold Melbourne weather. I was told Kary type does not need polination and one book said so but I am still waiting.

Time: 4th August 2008 9:38am

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Shaun says...
My Arkin Carambola plant was doing OK, and sprouting away until this recent cold spell in July ......
now all the young shoots have turned yellow and start to drop its leaves ....
will it die from the recent wet & cold weather?

Time: 19th August 2008 8:24pm

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Yong says...
Shaun, I live in Willetton on a 700m2 block. Met up with another fellow member of the Sub-tropical Fruit Club in Perth, who also has a star fruit tree and suggested that we swap plant material and have 2 varieties on 1 tree hopefully solve this cross pollination problem.

Time: 1st September 2008 10:05am

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alex says...
Hi everbody
1st time in this message board i'm a buyer in fruit and veg industry looking for carambola (star fruit)for last two weeks can anyone help me out.

Time: 13th September 2008 10:35am

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Shaun says...
Hi Yong,
Thnx for responding to my post.

1) How do I contact the Sub-tropical Fruit Club in Perth, please?

2) What variety have you got? ... and how do I get "2 varieties on 1 tree".

3) May I get in touch with you, please ?

Cheers !!

Time: 13th September 2008 2:30pm

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Anonymous says...
My seedling kary carambola sadly died. it seems that the people in perth are having better luck than us in adelaide. would you say that we have similar weather? im going to try again as the fruit tastes quite nice and is hard to find in the shops. can anyone give me any tips? hope fully some one else in adelaide has had sucess!!!

Time: 14th September 2008 12:40am

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peter says...
the rare fruit society of adelaide
have a whats fruited in s.a. section
and say that the carambola has not
fruited here.
your only hope is probably to build
a poly house around it.


Time: 14th September 2008 10:01pm

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Anonymous says...
peter what do you think my odds are even with the poly house?

Time: 14th September 2008 11:47pm

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peter says...
no poly house 0
with poly house 50/50
im trying some pawpaw and other
stuff in a glasshouse which are
doing ok. pawpaws have little fruits.

Time: 15th September 2008 6:31pm

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Yong says...
Shaun, ring my number at work 9348 3808 during business hours. The Sub-tropical Fruit Club is actually a Queensland based club. When I bought my carambola tree, I was very naieve then not knowing that there are many varieties.


Time: 16th September 2008 10:51am

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Anonymous says...
peter will it grow without fruiting in adelaide?

Time: 1st October 2008 9:25pm

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peter says...
the rare friut society say they have
surveyed 4 trees growing in the adelaide
plains but none have fruited.

there address is www.rarefruit-sa.org.au

then click the fruited tab.


Time: 1st October 2008 9:51pm

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Anonymous says...
i am interested that they will grow in adelaide?i do not care if they fruit or not.

Time: 2nd October 2008 7:42am

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Anonymous says...
i heard that you need 2 plants to get fruit do they have to be the same kind for example kary with a kary, kembangan with a kembadgan?

Time: 24th October 2008 12:53pm

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HappyEarth says...
I dont think thats true. Ive seen a few single, isolated carambolas that have been loaded with fruits.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Time: 24th October 2008 2:55pm

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Shaun says...
Thanks for the telephone conversation, Yong.
Yore willingness to share your experience and expertise are very much appreciated.
Will call on you again the next time I am in Perth.
Cheers !!!

Time: 26th October 2008 11:22pm

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Anonymous says...
john from SA How old are your trees?

Time: 8th November 2008 10:18pm

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Shaun says...
The weather in Perth is warming up .... but my Star fruit tree still has not come out of dormancy .....
It has very sparse leaves (less than 3-5) and most branches (it only has a few small branch) are bare.
Is this normal for Carambola trees to be in this state at this time of the year in Perth ?

Time: 18th November 2008 2:10pm

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John says...
My Boabs have not sprouted yet, so its not hot enough !

Time: 20th November 2008 9:53am

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Anonymous says...
Thnx for the info, John.
The weather this Nov has been pretty unusual ..... still having 'cold' nights in Perth ...... well, have to hope that my Carambola plant will break out from dormancy soon.

Time: 1st December 2008 7:26pm

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peter says...
what variety carambola would grow the best in adelaide? i have a grafted kary at the moment and would like to buy another but do not want to waste my money on something that will die any advice would be helpful

Time: 2nd December 2008 1:14am

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Yong says...
Peter, if you look back to 14 Sept & 1 Oct of this same forum posted by Peter from Adelaide, he mentioned about the website below by the Sth Aust Rare Fruit Society:
http://www.rarefruit-sa.org.au/Fruited.htm , that mentioned 4 star fruit trees surveyed but none fruited. You can draw your own conclusion, but may be with lots of TLC you may be lucky.

Grafts from an unknown variety done about 2 months ago onto my also unknown variety, has taken off. It's going to take a few months to grow into a strong branch and hopefully will help in cross pollination. My other fellow member also has got bud wood from my tree grafted onto his. I guess given time I can make a report to this forum if we have succeeded or failed.

Time: 4th December 2008 11:47pm

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RolFlor a says...
CALORIE-DEFICIENT CARAMBOLA : Low calorie and low taste fruit.
Great for losing weight.
All-you-can-eat, weight/fat loss food.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 3rd January 2009 8:23pm

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Ellen says...
RolFlor a Ovahere


That's why a lot of S.E Asians are using in salads . But it's so expensive down here in Sydney $20/kg

Time: 25th January 2009 12:19am

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Shaun says...
My Arkin Carambola had spring back to live during these hot spell, and has lots of leaves now ....
it was in a rather sorry state in late winter to mid-spring.

Yong, if you are reading this post, I'll try to contact you the next time I get a day off in Perth, to visit your garden/orchard.
I only have your work telephone .... have you got a mobile number, pls email it to me as you got my email address.

Cheers !!

Time: 12th February 2009 8:57pm

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Ellen says...
Can a Carambola survive outdoor throughout Winter in Sydney? Does anyone know?

Time: 13th February 2009 5:28am

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Yong says...
Shaun, tried emailed you but getting 'UNDELIVERED' error. My mobile is 0403 157 233.

Time: 13th February 2009 11:53am

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Shaun says...
Thanks for your response, Yong.
Had just checked my emaol .... all seems OK n nuthing wrong.

Time: 15th February 2009 2:34am

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denise says...
Outsides of the tropics the carambola requires more shade and shelter than in the tropics. This has to be balanced with winter warmth,If it is under a shelter tree it will get summer shade and low winter sun. In Auckland I have seen young ones fruiting happily in a commercial glasshouse but they wouldnt fruit in my humid plastic tunnelhouse, It is also common that in cooler climates tropical fruit trees take thier time to grow, become hardy and also to fruit.

Time: 28th February 2009 2:22pm

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denise says...
Outsides of the tropics the carambola requires more shade and shelter than in the tropics. This has to be balanced with winter warmth,If it is under a shelter tree it will get summer shade and low winter sun. In Auckland I have seen young ones fruiting happily in a commercial glasshouse but they wouldnt fruit in my humid plastic tunnelhouse, It is also common that in cooler climates tropical fruit trees take thier time to grow, become hardy and also to fruit.

Time: 28th February 2009 2:24pm

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denise says...
Outsides of the tropics the carambola requires more shade and shelter than in the tropics. This has to be balanced with winter warmth,If it is under a shelter tree it will get summer shade and low winter sun. In Auckland I have seen young ones fruiting happily in a commercial glasshouse but they wouldnt fruit in my humid plastic tunnelhouse, It is also common that in cooler climates tropical fruit trees take thier time to grow, become hardy and also to fruit.

Time: 28th February 2009 2:26pm

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David says...
Used to live in Auckland many years ago, used to know a chap that lived in mangere, used to be part of the tree nut society.He had a block of land out by the airport ,about1/4 acre.He grew things out there which were well outside there comfort zone.Also at the airport there used to be a cherimoya tree and a giant passionfriut vine,passiflora quadrangularis, used to be covered in fruit,both were in a sunny corner next to a building, l myself grew lychees ,carambola, babaco,giant passionfruit,even attempted mango, but got transferred back to aussie,brisbane so now have no problems

Time: 28th February 2009 6:06pm

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denise says...
Hi David, I believe you are refering to the late Loui Trap, a dutch fella I think. He also planted at the airport an Oyster nut vine that I gave him. All the plants there were casualties of development and the small trial block is overgrown with little left. Also the 1980's govt. trial collection at the DSIR Mt Albert was liquidated. There is a small group of us left but with recent warmer weather and asian immigrants There is a good outlook for the interest in tropical fruit growing.

Time: 3rd March 2009 10:34am

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denise says...
Hi David, I believe you are refering to the late Loui Trap, a dutch fella I think. He also planted at the airport an Oyster nut vine that I gave him. All the plants there were casualties of development and the small trial block is overgrown with little left. Also the 1980's govt. trial collection at the DSIR Mt Albert was liquidated. There is a small group of us left but with recent warmer weather and asian immigrants There is a good outlook for the interest in tropical fruit growing.

Time: 3rd March 2009 10:35am

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David says...
Thanks Denise ,yes that was his name i used to work for Sanitarium in pah rd,royal oak Knew Loui and his wife very well nice chap sorry to here of his passing,he and i would talk at length about rare fruit he had so many things growing at his home,like star fruit ,star apples,sapodilla and many more, we used to live on richardson rd mt albert from 86 to 90, when i got transfered back here .The lychee tree i got was from a nursery in remuera, good sized tree. gave that to Loui before i left not sure if it did any good.Tell me more about your interest in fruit growing.Regards David

Time: 3rd March 2009 9:02pm

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denise says...
Hi David, I have been growing them since the 80s, specially the tropical ones. Between 1998 and 2001 I had a catalog for sending rare fruit plants by courier throughout nz. A missionary lady came and bought my entire stock for a village restoration project in Uganda.I let them go at rock bottom price. It is difficult to make a big nursery these days if relying on imported seeds cos of import charges and risks. So I have a small nursery to supply to special people and for my own garden. --mamey mango carambola etc.

Time: 4th March 2009 6:15am

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Yong says...
Just an update on the successful grafting back in early December '08, the pruning back of some of the more dominant branches to allow for better taking off of the grafted wood, must have triggered its survival instincts and started flowering profusely on branches below where I pruned. Mind you the grafted wood is not matured enough to start flowering yet.
But I'm delighted to see a single tiny fruit actually formed slightly bigger than the size of a pea seed.
I guessed the dry summer could have killed off most of the flowers or even formed fruit. I remember someone in the forum said starfruit needs fair bit of watering.

Time: 20th March 2009 8:49pm

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Shaun says...
Congrats, Yong .....
I'll come around to learn from you when I get a chance.

Time: 24th March 2009 7:02pm

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Shaun says...
My carambola tree in a pot will be going through its 2nd winter this year ....
it survived last year, and I hope it will survive this winter too, now that it is bigger.

Time: 15th June 2009 9:44pm

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Michael says...
Hello All,
I came across two carambola trees being sold at a local nursery which are about 1.5 metres tall at $50 each which was a bargain I thought. The only problem was which one to choose as one was marked "Fwang Tung " and the other "Wheeler ". I checked the varieties Daley's is selling but these two were not included. Can people tell me the difference between the 2 variety in terms of taste and texture and which one would be more ideal for growing in suburbian Sydney ?

Time: 27th June 2009 7:09pm

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kim says...
Hi Michael,
I am in Brisbane and have a Fwang Tung growing for the last 3 years. It has produced fruits the last two years and this year, we had more than 30 fruits. The fruits are large (15cm long) very sweet and no fibres.

Time: 28th June 2009 9:28pm

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Michael says...
Hi Kim,
Thanks for the information. After reading on the internet I decided to go with the Fwang Tung given that it's sweeter than the Wheeler . I bought it this morning and it now stands proudly in my garden. Given that it's 1.85cm tall I'm hoping that it will fruit soon for me.


Time: 28th June 2009 10:21pm

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Shaun says...
My Carambola Arkin did survive this winter .... has new leaf-shoots sprouting out !!!

Just 1 question .... my Carambola is a grafted plant ( I could see the graft joint) ....
however, the rootstock is NOT growing as fast as the actual plant (rootstock seems skinnier than the actual plant) ......
so, it is now 'top-heavy' --> is there anything I cold do to make the rootstock grow so that the plant is more proportional ??

Time: 5th November 2009 3:08pm

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Ellen says...
Yes Shaun you can.....

GIVE IT TIME!

Time: 5th November 2009 4:41pm

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Yong says...
Just an update, last season I had 3 fruits but very small. One was about 70mm long but partly chewed by some insects or birds, and other 2 were only 30mm long, hardly a mouthful. Fruits were disposed of.

I've modified watering scheme to one which has 4 drip outlets around the root zone and buried by heavy mulch to preserve moisture in the soil and save water. I'll see if this will make a difference.

I also noticed the flowers are also very small, not attracting enough bees to help pollinate.

At the moment, the tree is full of young buds waiting to take off with the warmer weather.


Time: 11th November 2009 5:21pm

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Shaun says...
Hi Yong, will you be home this Sunday?
I am in Perth, and would like to visit you to learn some grafting techniques ....
pls email or sms me.
Thanks.

Time: 11th November 2009 8:40pm

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Shaun says...
thanks for showing me how to do grafting, Yong.
I must say your yard is a mini tropical fruit orchard !!!
Your Starfruit tree is sure growing well, even though you have not got much fruit from it.

From what I could see, it mau have been grown from seed, as there is not much evidence of any graft, and the branches start off very low on the tree trunk near the ground.
Usually grafted plants would have a rootstock that is approx 2 feet from the base of the trunk, and the grafted variety would have approx 1 foot of stalk above the graft scar.

Hope you get better results when the grafted branches start to flower next season.

Time: 24th November 2009 12:28am

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Yong says...
it's been a pleasure Shaun...

Time: 2nd December 2009 10:47pm

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. says...
sorry to move the 2 posts below ..... there is already a thread on "carambola"
========================================
Peter starts with ...
Our tree is a grafted specimen and has been in the ground for about 12 months. It has grown strongly and we have had a prolific first flowering. Many fruit have developed, however they are now dropping. We have had around 150 mm of rain in the past two weeks, but no wind. Anyone have any ideas on how I can hold the fruit? Should I be using trace elements or fertlizer of some kind? Thanks. Peter

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Brisbane
2nd January 2010 10:04am
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HappyEarth says...
Just give the tree some time Peter ... it is only young and this is quite normal. Maybe next year you will have a good crop of fruit.

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

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Wollongong
2nd January 2010 11:01am
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Time: 2nd January 2010 1:03pm

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SHMOOLOU says...
WE HAVE A GLORIUS STARFRUIT TREEHERE IN PERTH HILLS, BUT YES IT STARTED ITS FIRST YEAR OF LIFE VERY VERY SADLY. IT SEEMED TO STRUGGLE BUT THEN IT MUST HAVE FOUND THE WATER TABLE BECAUSE THERES NO STOPPING IT NOW! ITS ABOUT 18 YRS OLD AND FRUITS LIKE A MANIAC! STAYING AT ABOUT 5-6M TALL AND 3M WIDE. IT LIVES RIGHT NEAR OUR LAUNDRY OUTLET.ALL THE GREY WATER ONCE A WEEK BESIDE THE MANGO

Time: 17th August 2010 1:14pm

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Grace says...
Hi guys, I have bought a Carambola Starfruit - Arkin this July.I'm wondering it's that compulsory for me to get another one for cross pollination purpose? Can I get the fruit with the only one tree?I look forward to your reply.

Time: 2nd November 2010 11:39pm

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Shaun says...
Starfruits are suppose to be self-fertile. However, like all fruit trees, you get better yeild if you got 2 different varieties to pollinate each other.
Hi Grace,
I got an Arkin Starfruit growing in a pot ..... the warm season in Perth is too short for it to set fruit properly.
The flowers are very small and insignificant, and you need to plant other bee-attracting shrubs (e.g.lavendar) nearby to attract pollinating insects to the tree to get fruits.
One of the members in this forum hand-pollinate his Starfruit to get a yeild.

Time: 6th November 2010 2:26am

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Yong says...
Hi SHMOOLOU
I'm in Willetton, love to have a look at your thriving star fruit tree if you do not mind.

Time: 6th November 2010 7:09pm

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denise says...
There is more to having two varieties together for pollenating.There are two different flower types. Shortstyle and longstyle. One of these pollenates itself and the other cannot pollenate itself. Kary is one that pollenates itself. There are some lists on a website and maybe someone can look it all up and add them below.

Time: 3rd February 2011 1:07pm

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auckland nz
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BJ says...
The document is here:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg269


Time: 3rd February 2011 2:20pm

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Yong says...
Thank you Denise, and BJ for sharing the info. I'll have a good read.

Time: 18th February 2011 1:03am

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denise says...
I have been looking at the nice carambola plants in daleys catalog.Is there a kind person out there with a 'KARY' carambola with seeds to spare please.They give excellent fruit after 3 years from seed. Any quantity appreciated.

Time: 30th March 2011 7:07am

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John Mc says...
hi denise,
Louis Glowinski suggests buying grafted plants because seedlings almost always turn out bitter and sour. I have several seedlings of Kary grafted trees and I'm in the process of testing his theory. If they give excellent fruit after 3 years, I have two years to go.

Time: 30th March 2011 9:37am

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. says...
I am cutting and pasting the posts from another thread of the forum (discussing the same topic) below before that thread got lost or got deleted.
https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/carambola/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anonymous starts with ...
i recently purchased a carambola kary seedling and was woundering if they can be grown in a half wine barrel? also i live in south australia where it is extremly hot with hot winds. can i grow it in part shade?

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18th February 2008 6:19pm
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========================================
John says...
Hello Mr Anonymous. May I say that name is very popular. hehehe I to am from the west coast. I just bought my star fruit to. In Indo, these trees grow very big and I wouldnt reconmend the barrel but depending where in SA you are, yes go for it. Sugest you keep plenty of water to eat and constant but small amounts of complete fertilizer. Add some extra pot ash and trace elements aswell. Perhaps try some stress releif spray.

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SB South Australia
18th February 2008 7:35pm
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Anonymous says...
i live in the suburb pooraka in S.A will my tree handle full sun in the ground?

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19th February 2008 7:55am
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John says...
pooraka will grow most of these types of friut trees. Low wind, frosts, and good water. I believe you have sandy soils there so keep the food up to them, and the water. Just use those heat shields for car windows to protect it for the first couple of years, then it will be safe. I grow these things at the moment successfully at Streaky so its possible.

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SB South Australia
19th February 2008 11:27am
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Time: 29th August 2011 11:52pm

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. says...
Another obscure thread discussing the same topic.
https://www.daleysfruit.com.au/forum/carambola2/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
pauline starts with ...
had a very healthy fruiting carambola,about7 years old.
last fruiting period fruit dropped off, leaves were a bit yellow & dropped off. now it is bare & dead. what happened? can i plant another tree there?
thanks
pauline

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uki
29th June 2009 1:13pm
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Carlos says...
It may have been some type of borer or rot in the unseasonal wet weather. You should be ok to plant another in the same spot.

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Kunghur
4th July 2009 4:55pm
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Time: 30th August 2011 1:15am

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Mike says...
Alot of people grow seedlings and most turn out sweet.Sour types and green ones are used in asian cooking much like bilimbis in sweet and sour and curries.While even grafted trees get as big as mango trees trees they can be kept very small with pruning and need lots of fertiliser and water.A giant siam of mine is less than 1m at 6 years old and produces many fruit.I keep a B10 at 2m high.Before you eat the fruit chop 1cm off eith end and run a potato peeler along the wings and there will be much less oleic acid.Most of the common 8 or named varieties are pretty good but fwang tung is a little divergent.It has softer wings,is less acidic and can be eaten greener but it has less colour when ripe.I reckon it is the best one.I have tried seedlings of wheeler and B10 that been excellent.

Time: 30th August 2011 4:19pm

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Shaun says...
Most home gardeners in Asia, especially in the rural villages, grow their Starfruit from seeds, and generally the seedlings gave sweet fruit when ripen on the tree.
The 'commercial' varieties of Starfruit are picked unripe and when ripen 'off the tree', tend to yeild less sour fruits than those from unknown seedlings.

The last Spring/Summer weather in Perth had been rather eratic. As a result, my 3 year old Arkin Starfruit that is grown on a pot got 2 flushes of flowering sessions - once in Spring and once in early Autumn.
In previous years, the tree only had a few flowers, but this season, the flowers were plentiful.
The Spring flowers were few and did not set many fruits .... the small unripe fruits dropped off when the Summer weather suddenly turned windy & cold (similar to previous years).
However, to my surprise, the Autumn flowers were plentiful, and many set fruits. I thought the fruits would also dropped off the tree when the weather turn cold in winter ..... and again I was proven wrong. This winter is not as cold as last year, and the cold spells were shorter. Most of the fruits are still on the tree, and a few had ripened, although most of the fruits are very small (range from 3 cm to 6 cm in size)

I have enclosed photos of my Starfruit tree planted in a pot in my backyard:
Picture 1 & Picture 2: The unripe Starfruits on the tree in early / mid July 2011 (you can see the fruits are still green -- I tasted 1 fruit and it was acidic and sour).
Picture 3, Picture 4 & Picture 5: The Starfruits begin to ripen as the weather gets warmer in mid / late August 2011 (you can see the fruits had turned yellow, and I tasted 1 fruit and it was rather sweet .... reckon it will become sweeter in 1 to 2 weeks time)
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2
Picture: 3
Picture: 4
Picture: 5

Time: 31st August 2011 12:41am

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Brad says...
hi Shaun, can you get in touch via my first name at anize dot org please

Time: 31st August 2011 12:51pm

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Gledy says...
Hi Shaun, Great job on your star fruit, I have one growing in a pot right now, bought from daleys last spring, it is approx 1 metre high atm. I can't wait till mine actually starts bearing fruit like yours. Quick question...Did you keep your star fruit out in the garden all winter?

Time: 31st August 2011 3:19pm

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Shaun says...
OK Brad,
I am sending an email to you right now. My email is via yahoo.co.uk.
Please reply if my email reaches you.

Hello Gledy,
My Arkin Starfruit is grown in a pot. It is now about 1.8 - 2.0 m tall.
Yes, I leave my Starfruit tree outdoor in its pot at the backyard (as you see in the pictures) all year round.
When it was a little tree, the Frangipani provides it shade from the 40 deg Celcius direct afternoon sunlight in the Summer. During Winter, the Frangipani drops its leaves, snd the Starfruit tree gets the morning, afternoon (and evening too now that it has grown taller) sunlight.
Remember to give your tree plenty of compost, slow release fertiliser, Seasol and constant water during the hot mid summer months.
Hope you get a bumper crop soon .... Good Luck !!

Time: 1st September 2011 2:26am

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Gledy says...
Thanks for the info Shaun....very much appreciated thanks

Time: 1st September 2011 10:12am

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amanda says...
Ok Mike - I have ended up with an Arkin, Honey Sweet and a B17...lets hope they do ok down here in Leschenault...so far all my sub-trop's seem very happy with the lovely rain - despite the much colder temps.
Fingers crossed :)

Time: 31st August 2012 11:23pm

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Mike says...
Amanda arkin and B17 are great well coloured types and arkin is supposed to be just about the most cold hardy type and have the highest brix.Fwang tung and giant siam are the other 2 outstanding types in my opinion.

Time: 1st September 2012 6:08pm

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amanda says...
Thanks Mike...I am pretty excited! The B17 is an advanced plant so I hope I don't have to wait too long :)
I remembered you mentioning the B17 b4 - thanks :) (couldn't find the others tho..)

The small Tommy Atkins mangoe I also got is flowering already - it's only around a metre tall - are they precocious?



Time: 1st September 2012 7:20pm

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Mike says...
B17 is an absolute champ alright amanda and I hope it shows its true colours in your climate.Arkin is the american favourite and ranked highest in all american assesmments.

TA mango is a comon commercial yank type that is not common here.They are precocious,colourful and heavy bearers.The flavour is not typical of the polys and most would prefer KP.

Time: 1st September 2012 9:23pm

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amanda says...
Ah..that's interesting Mike - lucky I picked up an R2E2 as well then - as I like them at least :)
Maybe the TA can be used for my famous mango chilli sauce (great with chicken nachos..hmmmmnn) ?

Time: 3rd September 2012 9:15am

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LoveFruits says...
Does anybody taste the "honey sweet" variety? Will it fruit in suburban Sydney?

Time: 10th November 2012 4:49pm

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nsw
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amanda says...
Need to ask our tropical "brains-trust" growers for help please?! I am new to starfruit and I am trying to work out how much water they like..?

If my blueberries and jaboticabas are my highest users - would they come anywhere near these do you think?
Are they comparable to maybe the longons and wampees instead?

I water my blueberries and jaboticabas nearly everyday...

Time: 10th December 2012 6:29pm

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Leschenault (160kms south of Perth)
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VF says...
With the examples you've given above, mine has about same thirst as Wampi - they also don't like water-logging (guess that's probably not a problem with your soil) or hot-dry winds. They're reasonably resilient though, and with a bit of water will bounce back after a short period of being drought stressed.

Time: 11th December 2012 5:35pm

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amanda says...
Thanks VF, they have an odd leaf..? (like the first post here mentioned..) I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing or not..

Time: 11th December 2012 7:41pm

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VF says...
Their leaves are sensitive to anything really - they sort of close (and look droopy) with any stimulus, whether it's wind, rain, being overcast or lack of water, so they're not a great indicator of problems in that regard. As long as they're a deep green and you have lots of growth you know they're fine. I've also found that they have a mini deciduous moment in spring; lots of leaves start yellowing, but at their base you'll see the new growth already pushing through.

Time: 12th December 2012 8:24am

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amanda says...
I feel better now thanks VF :) The B17 is 2m tall and was expensive! We had a bad storm recently which took out all the small new growth on all 3 trees - so you are right - they are pretty sensitive!? All my other trees fine.

I have never seen one growing, in the flesh, b4. Just hoping I have 3 types that pollinate ok together now...never knew about the long and short stylus issues...sigh! ;-)

Time: 12th December 2012 10:53am

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About the Author amanda19
Leschenault (160kms south of Perth)
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VF says...
Sorry Amanda, can't help you much on pollination issue with varieties, except Arkin (what I have), which self-pollinates very well and can be an excellent producer once it starts setting fruit. So wow, with 3 plants you should have them coming out your ears.

Anyway, once your plants recover, pick a day when leaves are relatively spread out, then stroke them - you'll actually see within a few seconds the leaves fold themselves.(Good party trick to show kids.)

Hope that B17 fruits for you soon - size wise it's big enough.

Time: 13th December 2012 11:41am

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About the Author VF
Wongawallan
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amanda says...
I wanted to make sure I had a good one VF ;-) I am not a huge fan of starfruit but Mike convinced me to have another go with a decent variety...
I also had a rare beauty from the shop - that made me realise there are good ones out there...!?

I have Honey Sweet, Arkin and B17 - so I am thinking pollination shouldn't be a problem...just not sure about the Honey one - as there is not much info around...
Anyway - should have enough to share with the possums and birds also...hehe.

Time: 14th December 2012 10:24am

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About the Author amanda19
Leschenault (160kms south of Perth)
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Mike says...
Amanda they are great types and x-pollination should be no problem.If they get enough water in summer and survive the chill of winter you should be rollin' in bathtubs of sweet delightful fruit.They are on par with jaboticaba for water needs.My ones have been chewing on dist for 6 months and still look ok.
They love mulch,a pH of 5 to 6 and regular mild fertilizer and handle heavy pruning well.

Time: 14th December 2012 11:12am

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Cairns
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VF says...
Maybe I should water mine more Mike and watch it go nuts? I guess it may be happier with more, but it's growing nicely as is - it'd definitely more dry tolerant than the Jab's though, as this past very dry winter/spring I had to hand water many plants but Jab was still doing so poorly I dug it up and potted it, Carambola was ok.

Amanda, Mike knows his fruit so I'm pleased you got the good 'uns.

Time: 15th December 2012 6:49am

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About the Author VF
Wongawallan
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amanda says...
Cheers Mike - at least I know I am not over-watering them then! It's tempting to go overboard here now that I'm not paying a fortune for it.. ;-)

Getting things up and running here is a whole new ball game - with the bore water (never used it before) and the climate change from Geraldton...the longon went crazy with 2 weeks of planting it out..!?

So much milder down here...it's really lovely...best move ever :)




Time: 15th December 2012 12:49pm

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About the Author amanda19
Leschenault (160kms south of Perth)
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Jenny says...
I was starting to think my young Kembangan needed a pollinator as it has been a mass of blooms for a while with no result but finally I found one little fruitlet!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 2nd May 2014 1:01pm

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About the Author Jenny
Brisbane
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sternus1 says...
Don't be surprised if your tree drops the fruit jenny. Mine did this the first couple of blooms, its now on its third and has set 6 or so large fruit and dropped probably 100 or so smaller fruit. They set way more than they could ever possibly hold.

Time: 2nd May 2014 1:43pm

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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BJ says...
Mine has been dropping fruit this week when full-sized but yellow-green, when they should be yellow-orange. Anyone else have this problem?

Time: 2nd May 2014 3:58pm

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
Brisbane
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sternus1 says...
I'm going to say its owing to the weather. Cold and drizzly switching from warm and sunny. Had buckets today, the sky still looks pretty ominous. My Kary has near fully developed fruit which don't look like they're going to drop, chances are it is peculiar to kembangan. I can't really comment on mine, the fruit aren't to the point that they'd start to change colour yet, but I can say they haven't dropped--yet.

Time: 2nd May 2014 5:19pm

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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denise1 says...
I have had trouble with carambola plants that I havent read about anywhere else. Upon putting out plants from a greenhouse, and into sunny positions, the leaves fold completely back on themselves and become locked there. Then the undersides of the leaves are exposed to more sun and start to burn or dry. They cannot easily reset the leaves. It is a matter of fine tuning the hardening up of the plants before outdoor exposure.

Time: 2nd May 2014 6:18pm

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About the Author denise1
auckland NZ
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sternus1 says...
you need to acclimate them. My method is to just gradually expose them to outdoor conditions over a period of a fortnight, gradually ramping up the amount if exposure over this time. I find this necessary for most species grown in greenhouses, it is especially true of figs, and the plant will suffer greater shock proportionate to the temperature drop; that is, the hotter the the greenhouse, the worse the shock.

Time: 2nd May 2014 7:08pm

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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ivepeters says...
Picking my king thai fruit, rest are normal but this one pictured.
Anyone know what happened? Fungus ?
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 15th March 2015 8:26pm

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CARINDALE,4152,QLD
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Thien Yagoona NSW says...
@ Ellen: my starfruit tree lives well for last 5-6 winters in Yagoona, NSW, but I have not seen any flowers. Disappointed. It is healthy, green, 1.7m now. Many times I did trim to make it short as 1.7m, the height I prefer. It has water regular but not much. After reading some posts above, I think may be my star fruit tree need more & more water. Hope some one have same situation like me & finally got fruits after 5-6 years planting

Time: 26th May 2016 9:26pm

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About the Author Thien Yagoona NSW
Yagoona
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Colinas says...
Starfruit trees will fruit in Sydney but need plenty of water. They also like the protection of other subtropical plants. Our seedling tree, now nearly five years old, has fruited for the past two years. The beautiful flowers come along in February and we pick our fruit in late April, May and June. As soon as the fruits show a little bit of yellow, we pick them and ripen them indoors... our starfruits are not as sweet as Asian starfruits but they make wonderful juice.
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Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 14th June 2016 2:39pm

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About the Author Colinas
Hills
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Luke :) says...
So I have seen 1 conformation that it is possible to grow Carambola Star-fruit in Adelaide SA specifically Streaky Bay :)

So it isn't impossible, awesome! But....
down in Adelaide it seems we are working against nature.

I am going to give it a shot in Hope Valley SA.

Time: 2nd September 2016 3:47pm

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Hope Valley
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fatice says...
Yong

I stay in Willetton too. May I contact you to come around learning some experience for growing carambola? I have about 20+ fruits in my garden. The carambola has lots of flowers for 4 years but not fruiting. Last year, I spotted a fruit like a size of peanut, but it fell off after a week.

Time: 7th March 2017 11:09am

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Willetton
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denise1 says...
Message to JohnMc1, How did you get on with the KARY seedlings you mention above on 30 March 2011

Time: 8th March 2017 8:55am

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auckland NZ
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Markmelb says...
Does anyone know if the Dwarf Hawaiian or the Dwarf Maher are available in Australia? - they are growing these successfully in Connecticut USA

Possibly they use a greenhouse for winter?

http://www.logees.com/star-fruit-dwarf-hawaiian-averrhoa-carambola.html

Time: 8th March 2017 9:30am

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Original Post was last edited: 9th March 2017 6:50pm

About the Author Markmelb
MOUNT WAVERLEY,3149,VIC
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Yong says...
Yes, no problem at all

Time: 10th March 2017 1:06am

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About the Author Yong
Willetton
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Yong says...
Sorry, I was talking to Fatice.

Time: 10th March 2017 1:18am

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About the Author Yong
Willetton
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fatice says...
Hi

Do you know where can I buy a fwang tung starfruit in Perth?

Maybe I put it in the pot next to my 3 meters starfruit tree.

Time: 10th March 2017 11:16am

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About the Author fatice
Willetton
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Yong says...
Not sure if Tass 1 Trees has them, it used to operate from 1072 Gt Nthn Hwy, Baskerville. http://www.tass1trees.com.au

Time: 12th March 2017 11:23pm

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About the Author Yong
Willetton
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Yong says...
I am sure you can pot it and leave it next to your other mature tree.

Time: 12th March 2017 11:25pm

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About the Author Yong
Willetton
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fatice says...
Thanks for the info. Just called Tass 1 trees, they have no Starfruit trees atm.

Time: 14th March 2017 2:49pm

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About the Author fatice
Willetton
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Markmelb says...
Putting this up again as got lost with a conversation -----------

Does anyone know if the Dwarf Hawaiian or the Dwarf Maher are available in Australia? - they are growing these successfully in Connecticut USA

Possibly they use a greenhouse for winter?

http://www.logees.com/star-fruit-dwarf-hawaiian-averrhoa-carambola.html
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 15th March 2017 8:52am

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MOUNT WAVERLEY,3149,VIC
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Goldy says...
My local nursery (on the Gold Coast) is selling the &quote;honey sweet&quote; variety'. Does anyone know if that really is a sweet variety? It would be my first carambola tree.

Time: 19th March 2017 5:08pm

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About the Author Goldy
Gold Coast
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fatice says...
Hi Goldy

I have a &quote;Honey sweet&quote; for more than 4 years. After the second year, it started to flower. But there is no fruit as all. The tree is more than 3M tall and full of flower now.

Maybe it needs cross pollination.

Time: 20th March 2017 10:21am

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About the Author fatice
Willetton
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Goldy says...
Thanks Fatice. That's disappointing that your Honey Sweet hasn't produced fruit yet. As you say, perhaps it's not a self pollinator, or another reason is that it might be grown from seed and not from grafted rootstock. I've read that seedlings can take up to 6 years to fruit, while grafted trees usually around 2 years. I'll keep researching and calling nurseries to find the right tree for my suburban yard.

Time: 24th March 2017 10:42am

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About the Author Goldy
Gold Coast
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Linton says...
What is the Carambola cultivar 'B6'?

The local nursery is selling grafted B6 Starfruit trees but I can find very little information about it. I would like to know it's characteristics and how it compares to other varieties like Fwang Tung which is also readily available here. Thank you.

Time: 5th May 2017 1:45pm

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About the Author Linton
NOBLE PARK,3174,VIC
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lionel_llc says...
Hi Yong,

I am new to this forum and with Carambola/starfruit. Was reading this thread and followed your discussion between yourself and Shaun. You had updated earlier in this thread that your fruits were small and adjusted your watering pattern. How did that go? Fruiting bigger with more watering? I have bought my carambola (Arkin) a year ago and have not flower yet. I had it in shade in winter and have just brought outdoors to get more sun and warm. Any tips on flowering and fruiting?

Hi Shaun,

Your Carambola is the same type as mine. Did you graft another type on your tree to help it fruit or eventually it started flowering and self polinate and fruit?

Both your advice is appreciated.

Time: 20th August 2023 7:10pm

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About the Author lionel_llc
ST JAMES 6102 WA Australia
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