Best tasting Grapefruit (forum)

VF starts with ...
I just had the most delicious red-fleshed Grapefruit yesterday, very sweet and juicy, and good distinctive Grapefruit flavour with almost no bitterness. I now want one! The 3 x varieties I have easy access to are Rio Red, Star Ruby and Ruby Red(?pink really). Will be growing in a cooler sub-tropical area on a west facing slope. Any thoughts about which tastes the best, and may develop the sweetest for me?

Time: 10th October 2013 4:31pm

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Brain says...
isn't the redder they are, the sweeter the grapefruit potential is? if that is the case, then Star Ruby is your pick because is the reddest of them all.

Time: 10th October 2013 5:37pm

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About the Author Brain
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Boris Spasky says...
Redder they are the more lycopene, not sugars they contain.
High temperatures enhance redness and reduce acidity.

Time: 10th October 2013 8:56pm

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VF says...
Thankyou Brain and Boris.

Time: 11th October 2013 2:18am

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BJ says...
Unless you get the Honeef's one, which is a hybrid, so more orange mixed with grapefruit.

Time: 11th October 2013 10:02am

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Chris says...
Or Poorman's Orange perhaps

Time: 11th October 2013 11:35am

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VF says...
I've not seen Honneff's or Poorman's Orange for sale anywhere. Just the usuals like Marsh, Wheeny, Thompson and the reds I named above.:(

Time: 11th October 2013 4:14pm

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MaryT says...
I have a Horneff's Surprise ; it's not doing anything though it is in a big pot and towers over everything else. Volunteering for mulch duty, as Mike would say.

Time: 11th October 2013 6:28pm

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David says...
Hi Mary, Glad you got a Honneffs surprise, the man behind the name Franz Honneff,used to run a terrific nursery, no it was the best tropical fruit nursery, in Brisbane at the time.I met him way back in 1991 I think, the range he carried rare stuff like Marcotts of Langsat,mammea Americana,rare mangosteens,really when I think of him fondly he was quite the pioneer in trying to make rare fruit more common. I used to visit him usually once a week to see what new goodies he would bring down from up north, I suspect Mike Fabian from Cairns was responsible for some of the really rare stuff that Franz used to get down.He is sadly missed by those that knew him. As far as im concerned the tropical fruit trade of plants went on the down hill slide after Franz nursery closed its gates.

Time: 11th October 2013 8:55pm

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About the Author David
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BJ says...
I had to pick up the honneffs surprise a few months back. It's struggling through the dry heat of late, but I had one a while back in the family home that I loved. More nurseries like Franz's are sorely needed, but land prices make it prohibitive. David, give me an email on didge underscore 2001 @ hotmail dot com as I'm holding some goodies for you...

Time: 11th October 2013 9:33pm

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MaryT says...
Hi David, Thanks for the history. You must have quite a collection of rare fruit yourself. So is the closure of Franz Nursery the reason Horneff's Surprise is no longer available? Guess I'd better try harder with it. It looks perfectly healthy, just not flowering. :(

Time: 11th October 2013 9:34pm

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David says...
Mary you could say yes you have some very rare fruit in your garden,havnt seen Honeffs surprise for years.My collection is partly down to people like Mike and BJ for there undying love of and unselfish acts of spreading around the rare and unusual, without this we would still be in the stone age so to speak.

Time: 11th October 2013 10:39pm

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About the Author David
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MaryT says...
You're right David; we should all follow Mike's example and share as much as we can. I am trying to strike some Chinotto; so far have two still alive since 24 September. Will try the cinnamon again soon.

Unfortunately I do not have many good hours in a day to do everything that needs to be done, let alone extras. I have even contemplated selling up.

Still, I like new challenges; I believe they help keep you alive. I am also learning how to play the ukulele at my old age :)

Time: 12th October 2013 6:30am

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David says...
Selling up, where to from here Mary anywhere special.

Time: 12th October 2013 7:55am

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MaryT says...
I wish I know, David. Been looking at units, even retirement village. Too depressing. I've decided I'd be miserable without my garden but then it is a huge drain on the old energy. My place is still looking good outside but inside it's a mess. Any excuse not to do housework! Can't let the garden die, can I ? lol

Time: 12th October 2013 8:51am

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David says...
Mary I work in the personal care industry and have clients ranging in age from 16 up to 94,do all sorts of things so I can understand to some degree how you are feeling, its very bewildering sometimes when decisions need to be made.

Time: 12th October 2013 9:29am

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About the Author David
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MaryT says...
Thanks David; sorry to hi jack the thread. Back to VF's question about pink grapefruit - I tried some pink pomello in PNG and they are DELICIOUS. Better than grapefruit, I reckon.

Time: 12th October 2013 9:32am

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Diego says...
You've got your priorities right MaryT.

Time: 12th October 2013 9:50am

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VF says...
Mary, I have a Pommelo tree, but I know the fruit won't be as sweet as those from much further north, as they do better in tropical heat. I agree about the taste though - I had one last year from up-north and it was delicious!

David, you're a font of knowledge about local rare-fruit growers (past & present). Keep sharing, makes for interesting reading. :)

Time: 13th October 2013 8:06am

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MaryT says...
You're right, VF; pommelo would want more heat than we have. Didn't stop me from getting one though :)
It's been super hot in Sydney so perhaps we'll have tropical weather in time.

Time: 13th October 2013 10:55am

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VF says...
I bet you have a nice micro-climate anyway Mary, and can move your pots around to enjoy maximum heat.

Time: 13th October 2013 10:36pm

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MaryT says...
True, VF. The trees play musical chairs constantly but the old back is complaining. :(

Time: 14th October 2013 6:38am

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Brain says...
Just tried my dwarf rio red from daleys, not bad colouring, redder than i anticipated. I was thinking more pink than red as brisbane isnt known for having the right climate to develop deep colours.

Taste wise, a bit tart and bitter and slightly sour, but still ok to eat. Would love to hang it in the tree for longer but fruit flies are still out in force.

Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 29th June 2014 11:32am

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Original Post was last edited: 29th June 2014 11:32am

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Chris says...
Nice colour Brain. I don't pick mine until mid-July but they seldom get close to your colour, though they sweeten up nicely.

Time: 29th June 2014 6:56pm

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VF says...
I agree with Chris, very nice color! I have to say it is redder than what I would have expected too. Is it too late to net the fruit from those pesky insects?

It'll be 2-3 more years before my Grapefruit will be ready to fruit. I ended up getting a Star Ruby, hope it'll be as good looking as yours Brain. ATM though, I'm enjoying my Pummelo fruits which have turned out to be sweeter than I thought they'd be. Don't know what variety, but the flesh is a mixture of pink and yellow.

Time: 29th June 2014 8:14pm

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Brain says...
I haven't quite worked out an effective strategy against the fruit flies. I think I'd have to invest in some organza bags.

Yes, if any of you folks have any tips on how to sweeten grapefruit, I'm all ears! :)

My star ruby (SR) harvested from last year was actually less red then this rio red (RR), when star ruby is supposed to be the deepest red you can get. Not sure what happened there.

Star ruby has a reputation for being hard to grow and I think that's true in my experience. So you will need to baby your SR VF. Both trees did fruit in the first year of purchase - got SR 2 yrs ago and RR 1 yr ago. So you might not need to wait for too long. But having said that, the SR never flowered since - hence no SR this year.

I've read that pink pummelo are actually rare.



Time: 29th June 2014 10:46pm

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About the Author Brain
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VF says...
Brain, I think extra 'tree' time in the sun would sweeten your fruit. I'm pretty sure you're on top of the other citrus sweeteners ( pH between 6-7, maintain feeds with trace elements). Bar all that, some trees' fruit gets better as tree ages.

Yeah, I got SR deliberately due to its' low vigour as I don't want another potentially big tree to battle with. On reflection I should probably have been more patient and waited for a RR on dwarf rootstock. Oh well, it's ok so far though.

Whatever the Pummelo variety is, it seems suitable for the sub-tropics. I'd love to know the name though for curiosity sake.

Time: 1st July 2014 3:23pm

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MaryT1 says...
Update on Horneff's Surprise: I did dig it up out of its 70cm pot and was going to mulch it but at the last minute decide to give it a second chance. This is what I did: prune 2/3 of it then dumped it around the back where there is no real soil (buiders' rubble underneath) then emptied a bag of soil over the roots(without digging a hole). I covered the soil with mulch and told to to live or die: choose. Anyway it obviously chose to live because it's sprouting new buds and kept all the leaves that remained. I should have told it to fruit.

Time: 18th July 2014 7:46am

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TMary says...
Horneff's surprise trying to grow above ground
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 18th July 2014 8:00am

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TMary says...
The Horneff's Surprise as of yesterday.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 3rd October 2014 7:49am

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VF says...
Nice surprise. ☺

Time: 6th October 2014 6:27pm

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Markmelb says...
Why dont you try growing a Pomello - supa sweet and hint of grapefruit - my flicks yellow i tried first fruit this year was really nice and a friends that grows in full sun all day was even better :)

Time: 7th October 2014 8:21am

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MaryT1 says...
Mark I do have a pomelo and it's flowering/fruiting right now. They didn't hold last year (you're right, they know) but maybe I'll get one this year. The tree is still small but as I am growing in pots I don't want it big anyway. I'm excited to hear that Julie's Seville seedling is flowering; there's hope for mine then. :)

Time: 7th October 2014 9:15am

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Markmelb says...
Mary - give that Troforte citrus a go - I get no royalties just plants holding fruit - lol - im amazed that it really does cause better flowering and fruit holding - dont know where u can get your way - ask around

Time: 7th October 2014 9:28am

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Boris Spasky says...
Mark, I hadn't heard of the product you mentioned. But looking past the spin at the analysis, P is a bit on the low side, but notably Zinc which is very critical to citrus and often deficient in citrus trees in this country is missing at 0.18 ppm.


Time: 7th October 2014 10:29am

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MaryT1 says...
Mark I read up on the product and it sounds good but I am trialling my own formula at the moment so will hold off all other stuff this season. If I don't get absolutely fabulous results from my FFF Formula (free fertiliser factory formula lol) I will go back to buying products. :)

Time: 7th October 2014 10:55am

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Brain says...
I have heard of triforte, but have not use it yet. Only because i have plenty of other stuff and triforte are not easy to get your hands on, unless you go to some specialist place. Anyway, i like the added microbs idea and there is some sound reasons for it. Good soil and good microbs feed the plant, which is why say seasol works.

Anyway, the issue for citrus is they are hungry feeders and it can be tricky to get the fertiliser level right for best fruit production. Guess mark has hit a sweet spot in his regime.



Time: 7th October 2014 1:53pm

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