Exotic Fruit Trees: Rare Tropical Species for Sale

Some fruit you can only taste if you grow it yourself. Jaboticaba drops its crop straight off the trunk, canistel eats like baked custard, and a cacao pod opened in your own yard smells nothing like a chocolate bar. None of it ships well, so none of it reaches a grocery shelf. That is the whole reason this collection exists.

Everglades Farm is a working nursery in Homestead, Florida, and the exotic fruit trees below are grown here in the ground and in containers before they are packed for shipping. Most are grafted or air layered rather than raised from seed, so they carry the flavor of the parent tree and start fruiting years earlier than a seedling would.

Types and Varieties of Tropical Fruit Trees

The rare species in this collection fall into a handful of families, and knowing which family a tree belongs to tells you most of what you need about its size, its cold tolerance, and how long you will wait for fruit.

Annona Trees: Sugar Apple, Atemoya, Custard Apple, and Rollinia

The Annona family is the largest group here. A Green Sugar Apple Tree and a Red Sugar Apple Tree both give segmented fruit with sweet, custard-like pulp that you eat with a spoon. The Atemoya Geffner is a cross between cherimoya and sugar apple, which gives it larger fruit and better tolerance of humid Florida summers. Red Custard Apple and Rollinia Deliciosa round out the group, the rollinia with a soft yellow skin and a flavor closer to lemon meringue than to anything else on the farm.

Jaboticaba Trees

Jaboticaba fruits on its own trunk and main limbs rather than at the branch tips, which is why a mature tree in season looks like it has been beaded in black glass. Sabara Jaboticaba is the classic, small and very sweet. Grimal Jaboticaba carries thicker skin and larger fruit, and Red Dwarf Jaboticaba stays small enough for a pot on a patio. Yellow, white, Sanford, Scarlet, and Crown selections are here as well, so a collector can build a row that ripens across a long season.

Loquat Trees, the Cold Hardy Exception

Loquat, also sold as Japanese plum, is the one group here that shrugs off cold. It flowers in late autumn and ripens in spring, which is backwards from every other tree on this page, and it holds up well outside the usual tropical range. Nine grafted selections are in stock, including Loquat Champagne, Loquat Gold Nugget, and Loquat Bradenton. If you garden north of the frost line and want one exotic tree that will stay in the ground, start here.

Cacao Trees

Six cacao selections are available, covering the three genetic groups that the chocolate trade actually argues about. Forastero is the hardy workhorse, Nacional Cacao is the aromatic heirloom, and Trinitario Cacao sits between them. Cacao wants shade, warmth, and high humidity, so outside south Florida it is a greenhouse or bright indoor tree rather than a yard tree.

Canistel, Sapodilla, and Star Apple

These three share a family and a texture that surprises people. Trompo Canistel is the egg-fruit, dense and dry like the yolk of a hard boiled egg with a sweet pumpkin flavor. Alano Sapodilla, sold across Latin America as nispero, tastes like brown sugar and pear. Purple Star Apple cuts open to a purple and white starburst and is one of the better ornamental appeal choices in the whole group.

Red Rambutan, Wax Jambu, and Other Rare Finds

The Red Rambutan Tree produces juicy fruit under a spiky red shell, close kin to lychee and just as fragrant. Red Wax Jambu is crisp and watery, more refreshing than sweet, and holds fruit heavily in a container. Beyond those sit the true oddities: Ice Cream Bean with cotton-soft white pulp inside a long pod, Peanut Butter Fruit, Blue Grape Tree, Santol, and Ackee.

Looking for the Familiar Tropicals?

This page is deliberately the uncommon end of the nursery. The species most people picture first live in collections of their own:

• Mango is our deepest collection, with more than ninety grafted selections from dwarf condo mango to full-size shade trees.
• Avocado runs from cold hardy types to grafted Hass, and avocado is the one tropical most new growers start with.
• Guava fruits fast and heavily in a container, which makes guava the shortest wait on the whole farm.
• Lychee and longan are close relatives of rambutan, and longan holds fruit longer on the tree than lychee does.
• Jackfruit produces the largest tree-borne fruit in the world, so jackfruit needs real ground space.
• Soursop, sold as guanabana, is an annona like the sugar apple above, and soursop is the one most people know from juice.
• Starfruit, or carambola, crops twice a year, and starfruit is one of the few that fruits well in a large pot.
• Mamey sapote is the sweet orange-fleshed sapote, and mamey is a different genus from the sapodilla and canistel listed above.
• Dragon fruit, or pitaya, is a climbing cactus rather than a tree and needs a post or trellis.

Benefits of Growing Exotic or Rare Species

Rare species earn their place in a yard for reasons that go past novelty.

• Unique flavors you cannot buy. Jaboticaba, canistel, and rollinia bruise or ferment within days of picking, so commercial fruit production never bothers with them. Growing the tree is the only reliable way to taste them.
• Ornamental appeal in a small footprint. Glossy leaves, cauliflorous flowers set close to the main limbs, and colorful fruit make these trees carry a garden visually even out of season.
• Container-friendly varieties. Dwarf jaboticaba, wax jambu, and miracle fruit all crop well in pots, which puts them within reach of a patio or a balcony.
• Year-round fruiting across a mixed planting. Loquat ripens in spring, sugar apple in late summer, and jaboticaba flushes several times a season, so a few compatible species stretch the harvest instead of stacking it into one week.
• A layered food forest. Tall cacao and ackee, mid-story annonas, and low container stock occupy different heights, which is the same logic a food forest uses.
• Cold hardy varieties for marginal sites. Loquat, olive, pomegranate, fig, and mulberry tolerate far more cold than the tropicals around them, so gardeners outside USDA zones 9–11 still have real options.

Grafted rootstock also removes most of the guesswork. A grafted tree fruits true to its parent, and well-draining soil plus reasonable siting is usually all it asks. Where a species needs a partner for cross-pollination, planting two selections of the same type is the simple fix.

Grafting and Propagation Methods

Nearly every tree in this collection is labeled grafted, air layered, or from seedling, and the difference decides how long you wait and what you get.

Grafting joins a scion, a cutting taken from a proven parent tree, onto a separate rootstock. The scion grows into a clone of the parent plant, so fruit size, color, and flavor are known before the first crop. The rootstock brings its own contribution: vigor, tolerance of local soil, and in many cases disease resistance and pest resistance that the scion variety does not have on its own. Disease-resistant rootstocks are the reason a grafted tree often outlives a seedling of the same variety planted beside it.

Air layering takes a different route to the same place. A strip of bark is removed from a living branch, the wound is packed with moist medium, and the branch roots while still attached to the parent. Once rooted it is cut free as a complete plant. Because it is vegetative propagation, it is also a clone of the parent plant, and it tends to produce a bushier, lower tree. Our tamarind, longan, and several jaboticaba selections are propagated this way.

Seedling trees are grown from seed, which means genetic variation. Fruit may differ from the parent, and the tree usually needs several more years before it flowers. Seedlings are worth buying when the species comes reasonably true from seed or when you want the vigor of an untouched taproot.

The practical payoff of grafting and air layering is earlier fruiting, often by three to five years, plus a dwarfing effect that keeps a tree at a size you can actually harvest and prune from the ground.

Which method is used here. Annona selections such as atemoya and sugar apple are grafted, because seedling annonas are notoriously variable. Jaboticaba is grown both ways: seedling trees are cheaper and eventually excellent, while grafted and air layered stock cuts a decade off the wait. Tamarind and longan are air layered. Loquat is grafted onto loquat rootstock. Where a label says from seedling, that is a deliberate choice rather than a shortcut, usually because the species comes true enough from seed that grafting adds cost without adding certainty.

What to check on arrival. On a grafted tree the graft union shows as a slight swelling or an angled scar low on the trunk. Keep it above the soil line when you plant. Any shoot that appears below that union is rootstock growth, not your variety, and it should be removed as soon as you see it or it will outcompete the scion. Air layered trees have no union to protect, but they start with a shallower root system and need staking through their first windy season.

Cultivation and Growing Tips

What follows covers growing, caring for, and maintaining tropical fruit trees, including container growing and adaptation to local climates.

Container growing. Most of our plants can be grown in containers, and pots are the default answer anywhere winter drops below freezing. Common sizes run 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 15, 20, and 25 gallons. Plastic, clay, ceramic, metal, and wood all work as long as the container has enough drainage holes at the bottom. Dwarf varieties suit pots best: citrus, jaboticaba, and miracle fruit tend to stay under 8 to 10 feet, while mango, avocado, and guava run 12 to 18 feet unless you trim the top.

Soil and water. Most commercial potting mixes work. A good blend is one part sand, one part peat, and one part bark or perlite for well-draining soil. Our own mix is 40 percent Florida peat, 35 percent pine bark, and 25 percent wood pines. Keep it loose enough to drain freely without letting it dry to dust. Deep irrigation during spring and summer beats frequent shallow watering, and standing water at the roots will kill a tropical tree faster than drought will.

Feeding. Apply balanced fertilizer through the growing season rather than one heavy dose. Container stock exhausts its media faster than ground-planted trees and needs feeding more often.

Light and humidity. Full sun for six to eight hours suits most species, though cacao and a few understory trees prefer bright shade and high humidity. Indoors, a south-facing window plus a humidity tray covers most of the gap.

Adapting to local climates. Tropical fruit trees can go in the ground in USDA zones 9 to 11 and will not survive below 32°F. Young trees suffer once temperatures drop under 50°F, so plant during warmer months and keep sensitive species in containers for the first few winters. In every other USDA zone they need to be grown in pots and moved under cover, or kept in a greenhouse. Cold-hardy species such as loquat, olive, pomegranate, and fig are the exception and can stay outside well north of that line.

Pruning and insect control. Prune to control height and shape, to encourage earlier flowering and fruiting, to keep production in the lower canopy, and to remove dead or damaged wood. Regular pruning also reduces the risk of a tree breaking or blowing over in a storm. Excessive pruning at the wrong time stresses the tree, so take less than you think you need. For insect control, check new growth for aphids and scale before they build up.

Purchasing and Sourcing Tropical Fruit Trees

Everything on this page is available for online ordering and ships from our nursery in Homestead, Florida.

Sizes. Stock runs from starter trees in 1 gallon containers up to mature fruit trees in 15 and 25 gallon pots. A 7 gallon tree is sold at 4 feet. Starter sizes travel better and cost less; larger field-grown specimens cut two or three years off the wait to first harvest. Both are the same fruiting varieties, so the choice is about patience and budget rather than quality.

Shipping. Orders take 2 to 3 business days to process, and transit runs 1 to 7 days with most arriving in 2 to 5. Shipping is free within Florida above a minimum order, and discounted rates apply elsewhere through UPS, FedEx, and USPS. Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories require express shipping because of transit time. Some international destinations are possible, subject to the certified shipping and inspection rules of the destination country.

Climate compatibility. We do not ground ship to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or Montana, because the trees do not survive the long transit from Florida. If you are outside south Florida, order when average temperatures are above 50°F to avoid cold damage in transit.

What arrives. Every tree is guaranteed to arrive alive and in fair condition. If transit damage occurs, email photos within 48 hours for a replacement or a gift card equal to the purchase value. Rare varieties are grown in limited numbers, so stock on the harder-to-find selections moves in and out through the season.

Nursery and Supplier Services

Everglades Farm is a growing nursery and a supplier. We propagate, grow, and ship trees. We are not a landscape contractor, and being clear about where that line sits saves everyone a phone call.

Consultations and ongoing care advice. Call 305-704-8828 or email csr@everglades.farm with a photo and a question, and you get an answer from people who grow these species every day. Growers ask about leaf drop, pests, and repotting timing more than anything else. What we do not offer is on-site consultations. We cannot walk your property, and we do not draw planting plans or take on site planning, so if your project needs that level of design work, a local landscape designer should hold it and we will supply the trees to their specification.

Landscape installations. We sell to landscapers rather than compete with them. Installation services, irrigation, and the actual digging on residential and commercial projects belong to your installer or crew. Our part is upstream: we hold the varieties, we grow them to a usable size, and we release them when the planting schedule calls for them. Landscapers who work with tropical material regularly tend to order early in the season, because rare varieties in larger containers sell out first.

Commercial grove support. Growers planting a block buy mature fruit trees from us in volume, and we can hold stock while a site is prepared. Commercial grove installations themselves are carried out by the grower or their contractor. What we contribute is variety selection, grafted stock that fruits true, and consistent sizing across a whole order, which matters more in a grove than in a backyard because uneven stock produces an uneven canopy for a decade.

Soil prep guidance. We publish the exact media we use, 40 percent Florida peat, 35 percent pine bark, and 25 percent wood pines, so you can match it or adapt it to what is available locally. For in-ground planting, soil prep matters less than drainage: a raised bed or mound beats amended clay every time.

Aftercare and local delivery. Aftercare instructions ship with every order, and the first two weeks are covered in detail because that is when most losses happen. Local delivery within Florida is free above the minimum order, and the nursery itself is in Homestead.

Frequently Asked Questions and Support

The questions below come up most often and cover cultivation, purchasing, and care.

What soil should I use, and how much soil prep does a new tree need?

Most commercial potting mixes are fine. Aim for one part sand, one part peat, and one part bark or perlite. Our own blend is 40 percent Florida peat, 35 percent pine bark, and 25 percent wood pines. The one rule that matters is drainage: loose enough that water runs through, not so light that it dries out in a day.

What pests should I watch for, and what do I treat them with?

Aphids on new growth, scale on stems and leaf undersides, and fruit flies around ripening fruit account for nearly all of it. Check new flushes weekly, since aphids and scale are easy to wipe out early and stubborn once established. Neem oil handles aphids and soft scale, and horticultural or organic sprays work for the rest. Treat in the evening rather than in full sun, and repeat after seven to ten days to catch the next hatch.

How often should I be pruning?

Prune to hold size and shape, to bring on earlier flowering and fruiting, to keep the lower canopy productive, and to take out unhealthy wood. It also lowers storm risk. Do it after harvest rather than during a growth flush, and stop short of heavy cuts, because over-pruning at the wrong time sets a tree back a full season.

My tree just arrived. What is the aftercare for the first two weeks?

Inspect it for damage, then leave it in the container it shipped in for two weeks so it can acclimate. Water when the top of the media dries, keep it above 60°F, and give it good light without moving it straight into all-day sun. Report transit damage with photos within 48 hours. Repot or plant out only after those two weeks.

Can I get care advice after I buy?

Yes. Call 305-704-8828 or email csr@everglades.farm. Send a photo with the question, since most diagnoses come down to something visible on the leaf.

Can you ship to my state?

Most of the country, yes. We do not ground ship to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, or Montana. Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories need express service. Wherever you are, order when local averages are above 50°F.

Which tree should I start with?

If you have frost, start with loquat. If you have a patio and no yard, start with a dwarf jaboticaba or miracle fruit. If you have ground in zone 10 and want the fastest reward, start with a grafted sugar apple or atemoya.