Durian Trees in South Florida

I don’t see a reason they wouldn’t do well here in Zone 11 – and yes, the Keys ARE in SFL, and in the US/North America, despite how many people seem to think Monroe County does not exist in FL – if they had their own soil, protection from wind, and protection from salt water flooding, the same as mangosteen.

Now, whether you can get a huge old tree with delicious fruit, maybe not. But the more people try, the more likely you’ll find a strain that can handle the conditions, and even survive some contact with alkaline soil, etc. It’s just that subjecting a plant to high winds, high PH soil, low temps, low water, etc. all at the same time if they like the opposite is too much for the plant. But a plant may be able to survive some of ONE of those conditions, especially if it’s only partially or occasionally. It’s important to remember, too, that the soil composition changes from the Lower Keys to the Upper Keys, so here in the Upper Keys I might have better luck possibly than Grimal Grove, although that is very questionable because it’s still high PH soil. The Keys have EXCELLENT drainage, so flooding is not an issue if you plant in the right place unless you are dealing with a major hurricane, in which case you have bigger problems than whether your durian survives…

I have not tried because I don’t know about Durian yet, having never had the opportunity to taste one. But I have already done well with mangosteen in a pot, and am going in the future to plant one in ground here – maybe this year now that hurricane season is about over. So it might make the most sense to plant a durian in the same spot, since they seem to like very similar conditions. I have a spot ready for the mangosteen with what should be pretty great conditions, and really the mangosteen I already grew in a pot was not finicky at all. I haven’t worked too hard on that issue though, because to me, it’s a hell of a lot of money and time spend waiting, for a fruit that the several times I’ve tried it so far, only had a so-so flavor. Perhaps a homegrown one would be better, perhaps not. But the same worry goes for Durian, I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars and a lot of effort only to find it doesn’t make fruit that I enjoy eating as much as plants that were a million times easier and cheaper.

But I don’t know if it’s considered impressive to fruit Durian in Zone 11, really. Temps rarely get below 55F here, and it’s always humid. People should distinguish zone in this “contest” – not region. “SFL” doesn’t get any more SFL than Monroe County, and we are Zone 11, but it seems like people writing here were not referring to us at all. So if you mean fruiting Durian in Zone 10, that’s what the “contest” should be. Just because no one has fruited Durian in the Keys – assuming that is even true, who knows what individual homeowners here, many of whom are international, have done? – does not mean it can’t be done. Just that this is a small county population-wise, with few people who live here year-round and are young enough to want to bother digging holes in the yard and waiting for fruit to arrive perhaps a decade later. And the younger people who live here, usually don’t have the money to own their own land, and knowledge of exotic international fruits. But I don’t think lack of evidence should be taken to mean it’s impossible. How many people in the US even know what a Durian is, much less have a desire to grow it?

I would think one should do some strategic planning before growing plants like this. Someone in a borderline zone for such plants, could try selecting a site safe from flooding issues, dig a hole and fill with good soil, plant bananas and some kind of soil fixing plant like Ice Cream Bean in a circle around it, and put the durian or whatever similar fruit in the center. That way, whenever you have compost or parts of the bananas to add, dump them on and it keeps enriching and mulching the soil, all while the soil amending plants are also working it from underneath. The circle of plants keeps the plant in the center protected from wind, and keeps humidity high. It’s more efficient too if you have to do any supplemental watering to do it all in the one spot. If you live in an area that gets a few days of really cold temps, the concentrated protected area might make it easy to cover the plant with a bag and some outdoor decorative lights or whatever to keep the heat on. Plus, with all the bananas the soil will probably already be moist which should help prevent freeze.

Doing something of this nature would probably work in a place like the Keys, but since I have no emotional attachment to durian, and not much attachment to mangosteen, it’s not worth the effort, expense, and yard space to set up yet. But I do have a few good places in the yard where it would be possible, so I’ll keep it as an option for the future, if I feel like putting all that work in and paying $100+ per plant just for an experiment which might fail. I wish a neighbor were very interested though, because I’d be very happy to lend my yard for such an experiment if they did all the work and paid for it. But alas, I doubt such a fortuitous arrangement will come along.