Mangosteen 'Lemon Drop' at LCG March 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Mangosteen 'Lemon Drop'
Garcinia intermedia
Clusiaceae family
Seedling
The Mangosteen 'Lemon Drop' is a fast-growing Garcinia (compared to other Garcinias, which can be painfully slow, particularly when young) with delicious fruit and high ornamental value. It is a more cold-hardy relative of the strictly tropical popular Asian purple Mangosteen.
The tree can produce its first crop when as young as two years. It also has a long fruiting season and can produce more than one crop per year.
The small round fruit generally reach 2-3cm diameter, when ripe it has a thin yellow rind and juicy sweet-tart pump reminiscent of pineapple and citrus. It is great for snacking in the garden and so delicious it is hard to stop eating! The fruit can be too acidic if harvested prematurely. The longer you can leave them on the tree, the sweeter they become. So pick the fruit more orange in colour than light yellow.
It is not winter hardy, so at LCG it was sheltered by sugar cane plants when young to give protection from cold southerly winter winds. Like all Garcinia species and Jaboticabas (Plinia species), this tree likes plenty of water. The location within LCG was chosen because of the high water table in this area.
Tree Provenance
Grant Jenkins propagated this by seed from fruit picked at Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery in Kyogle, NSW.
Tree Maintenance
Garcinia intermedia
Clusiaceae family
Seedling
The Mangosteen 'Lemon Drop' is a fast-growing Garcinia (compared to other Garcinias, which can be painfully slow, particularly when young) with delicious fruit and high ornamental value. It is a more cold-hardy relative of the strictly tropical popular Asian purple Mangosteen.
The tree can produce its first crop when as young as two years. It also has a long fruiting season and can produce more than one crop per year.
The small round fruit generally reach 2-3cm diameter, when ripe it has a thin yellow rind and juicy sweet-tart pump reminiscent of pineapple and citrus. It is great for snacking in the garden and so delicious it is hard to stop eating! The fruit can be too acidic if harvested prematurely. The longer you can leave them on the tree, the sweeter they become. So pick the fruit more orange in colour than light yellow.
It is not winter hardy, so at LCG it was sheltered by sugar cane plants when young to give protection from cold southerly winter winds. Like all Garcinia species and Jaboticabas (Plinia species), this tree likes plenty of water. The location within LCG was chosen because of the high water table in this area.
Tree Provenance
Grant Jenkins propagated this by seed from fruit picked at Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery in Kyogle, NSW.
Tree Maintenance
- Prune to size as needed - keep to about 2m height.
- It is not nutrient-demanding: fertilise sparingly twice per year with an organic fertiliser such as chicken manure pellets or 'blood & bone'.
- Keep soil well composted and mulched, leaving a gap around the trunk to avoid collar rot.
- Apply seaweed emulsion as a foliar spray up to four times per year.
- Once established, water deeply during dry periods. Younger trees should not be allowed to dry out. Will handle flooding conditions well.
Mangosteen 'Lemon Drop' at LCG March 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
