The King of Fruits, and it earns both the title and the reputation.
The Basics
Durian, Durio zibethinus, is a large tropical tree in the mallow family, Malvaceae (in older classifications it was placed in its own family, Bombacaceae).
Origin and Habitat
Native to Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia, where it grows into a genuinely massive forest tree, over 100 feet tall at full size. Somewhere down the line, this part of our food forest is going to look completely different once these trees catch up to that.
What It Looks Like
A big, tall tree bearing large, spiky, football-sized fruit that grows directly off thick branches. We’ve got a Monthong in the ground, which means “golden pillow” in Thai and is the most widely grown variety in Thailand.
Uses and Flavor
The smell is the whole barrier to entry — wilted green onion, old socks, with a little rotten egg thrown in. I’ve watched people physically run from it. But once it clicks, you get this sweet, custardy flavor with banana, coconut, and lilikoi all happening at once, and there’s no going back after that.
Growing It Here
The first one I planted, I wasn’t even sure what variety it was, I just figured it was one of the good ones. I also planted one at night once, the first tree I’ve ever put in the ground after dark. Since then the collection has grown a lot, we’re up to over 20 durian trees now, most of them seedlings rather than grafted stock. The oldest is over 25 feet tall with a trunk about 5 inches in diameter, and it could flower any day now, which has me genuinely excited. Our neighbor Adam’s durian trees, planted a bit before ours, are already flowering, but his are grafted varieties, which dramatically cuts down the wait compared to a seedling. Most seedling durians can take 10 to 15 years or more before they start producing, so patience is really the whole game with this species. It’s in interesting company on the farm too, related in spirit if not botany to trunk-flowering trees like candle tree, and often mentioned in the same breath as almirajo and aguaí guaçú, both rumored to taste something like it.
Pests and Diseases to Watch For
No specific pest or disease issues to report from ours yet, since these trees still have a long way to go before fruiting.
Kenta’s Take
This is a fruit that demands patience twice over — once to get past the smell, and once to wait out the many years it’ll take one of these giants to actually fruit. With the oldest one possibly flowering any day now, that patience might finally be paying off.