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growing fruit pits and stones

Hi All,

Firstly, I am now at a new E-mail address:
Liz_Bradbury@full-house.demon.co.uk
I am still subscribed to Compuserve for the time being - it's good to have
a safety net when you are as incompetent as me!!

I was following the thread of growing things from fruit pits and stones
with interest, and would like to add my experiences...Last autumn I pushed
a few  pits from Cherimoya (custard apple) and Mangosteen into one of the
pots in the sun lounge.  Of course, come the spring, I had forgotten all
about them, and was so surprised when strange seedlings started appearing! 
In all, 5 mangosteen and 6 custard apple appeared - took me a while to
identify them, but my mother remembered growing both in Hong Kong, so was
able to help.  All plants are looking very healthy, although I don't think
I have enough room to grow them to fruiting stage - unless I get lucky in
the lottery:-)  

I am tempted to try some Guava pips and maybe some Papya and pomegranate; 
Avocado also grows well if the fruit is good and ripe.  I usually root it
by propping the stone over a jar with just its base in the water.  

Has anyone ever managed to root a Mango stone?   Mum never had any luck in
Hong Kong, in fact I have heard that they are impossible to grow this way -
anyone?

I also have a root of Tumeric (from the local supermarket) - it is a
relative of  ginger, and I have grown it the same way as a root of ginger,
just by pushing it into the soil.  It is 3 years old now and if we get a
good long growing season next summer, I am hoping it will flower.

I am always on the lookout for unusual things to push into pots, if any
friends travel abroad, I usually persuade them to bring me back any seeds
they find!  I have a palm of some sort that has grown from a seed that my
husband brought back from Vietnam 4 years ago - the only one to survive the
germination process.  I find I get much better germination and survival
rates if I just stick these seeds into any old pot.  If I do things by the
book, I often have no success at all, I think I get over zealous in caring
for pots full of seeds, not to mention impatient - maybe shaking the seeds
out to see if they have rooted has something to do with it!  Much better to
push them in any old pot and forget about them...

Oh Yes, my first seedling Abultion has flowered for me, it is a smallish
flower of the A. x Kentish Belle type, the sepals are a browny pink, while
the flower is a delicate peach with darker veins.  I'm very proud of my
first attempt at hybridising - can't wait for the other couple of dozen
seedlings to show me their colours too.
My young Fremontedendron has given me the gift of a seed pod with its last
flower.  Does anyone know how long the pod (about the size of a small
passion fruit) will take to ripen, and what sort of seeds it will contain? 
If it has a lot, perhaps I could share them if any one is interested?

Liz Bradbury in Scotland.  Where they are forecasting snow for the hills at
the weekend... and there we were, enjoying an indian summer too.
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