Sale for exotic fruit and plant aficionados

The Tropical Fruit Tree & Edible Plant Sale on May 14 in West Palm Beach features thousands of unusual specimens of the world’s most edible and exotic fruit trees, including dragon fruit, black sapote, jackfruit, lychee, sugar apple, guava, peach, tamarind, herbs and more.

The sale, from9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Florida Fairgrounds, is sponsored by the Palm Beach Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council International, established in 1970.

Fruit trees are a commitment-freeway to get growing. Just plant, water and harvest bushels of fruit.

“You can get better quality fruit fromyour own backyard than fromthe grocery store, especially mangoes,” says Mark Young, a council vice president and sale organizer.

“We will have at least eight vendors and anticipate hundreds of varieties of mangoes and other tropical fruits trees and specialty fertilizers. We will also have experts present to answer questions.” Admission and parking is free. Info: The sale will be held at South Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach (Agriplex Building at Gate 5), 855-732-7273, PBRareFruitCouncil.org.

Native plant auction

The 11th Annual Rare& Unique Native Plant Auction at Mounts Botanical Gardens will feature unusual and hard-to-find plants at 7 p.m. onMay17. The live auction, hosted by the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, will feature rare, dioecious natives such as Key Biscayne prickly ash, inkwood and Daho on Holly.

“We will auction mated pairs of these plants because we want to feed not just butterflies, but the bird aswell,” says Susan Lerner, society president and auction organizer. “Male and female plants cross pollinate and produce berries.” Proceeds will fund the nonprofit’s mission to promote preservation of native plants in Florida.

Info: The plant auction will be held at Mounts Botanical Garden auditorium, 513N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, 561-247-3677, PalmBeach.fnpschapters.org.