Question
Hi, I live in NJ not far from New York City.  I planted pomegranate seeds, mango pits, grape seeds, an avocado pit, and the top of a pineapple indoors.  I also planted carob seeds and some citrus plants including pomello, citron, grapefruit, and clementine.  I installed growing lights to help them grow.  Now I moved all of the plants outside for the summer.  I know I can't plant any of these plants outside except for the grapes.  If I plant the grapes this year, are they old enough to survive the winter?  They are about 7 months old and have about 10 leaves each.  Right now they are in pots and are tied to sticks to support them.  But they seem kind of fragile.  Also, is there any chance the other plants will be able to produce fruit if I continue to grow them indoors and move them outdoors for the summer?  How many years will it take to see fruit?  The pomegranates are about 8 months old.  The pineapple is about 1.5 years old.  The mangos and carobs are about 4 months old.  The citrus plants are about a year old.  I know I'm a bit ambitious and hopeful, but it's fun to grow tropical plants in NJ!

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Mark,
Thanx for your question.  Yes, it is fun to grow tropicals from seed.  Bear in mind that it will take 5-7 years for fruiting.  Many tropicals are not self-fertile meaning they will need another of their kind to cross-pollinate and set fruit.  I really don't know much about pineapple but I believe it will set fruit after 2 or 3 years.  Put the grapes in the ground now and they should survive the winter.  YOu might want to give them some mulch of hay or cypress mulch to help protect the roots for the first winter.  A friend of mine has  a lemon tree that has about 8 lemons on it and she brings it in every winter, so you will probably get fruit from the citrus trees just by setting them out where bees will pollinate their sweet smelling flowers.  I hope this helps.
Tom