The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: KarenRei on April 26, 2013, 04:54:53 AM
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So, as written elsewhere, my barbados cherry has recently begun flowering (indoors); howerver, as of yet there hasn't been any apparent fruit set. Is it self-fertile or will I need to do hand pollination?
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Hi,
Several years ago, I received a acerola/barbados cherry cutting from the Canary Islands that would bloom continuously but not set fruit. Very frustrating....
I found online that spraying with tomato fruit set hormones would also work on acerola.
It sure did.
After a couple of applications and massive fruit set, the plant started to produce on its own. Now its very reliable.
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Awesome, great tip!
i'll give mine a couple weeks and if not, I'll look into fruit set hormones. Come to think of it, that's something I should probably keep on hand anyway.
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Hmm... do you know which hormone your spray included? Perhaps auxin, or maybe kinetin? Want to make sure I get the right one!
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As i recall acerola is one of those trees that tends to flower for a couple of years before it starts to set fruit, like with rollinia, and abiu.
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My barbados cherry (florida sweet variety) is probably about 3 yrs old, and has been producing a decent amount of fruit for the past year.
It is self pollinating.
Brad
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Mine is only about a year and a half old (but wow did that thing grow fast), so maybe it's too soon. Thanks. :)
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Is there anyway you can move the plant outside to let the insect pollinators do their thing?
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Is there anyway you can move the plant outside to let the insect pollinators do their thing?
Haha, if I want to kill it. ;) I live in Iceland. It snowed yesterday.
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I would try hand pollinating then. Use a small paint brush, collect the pollen and spread the best you can!
I just checked my b.cherry tree and its almost ready to bust out in flower.
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" Pollination and Fruit Set
In Florida, bees visit Barbados cherry flowers in great numbers and are the principal pollinators. Maintenance of hives near Barbados cherry trees substantially improves fruit set. In Hawaii, there was found to be very little transport of pollen by wind, and insect pollination is inadequate. Consequently, fruits are often seedless. Investigations have shown that growth regulators (IBA at 100 ppm; PCA at 50 ppm) induce much higher fruit set but these chemicals may be too costly to buy and apply."
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/barbados_cherry.html (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/barbados_cherry.html)
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I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Dave :)
(On that note, I think it might not be amiss to leave a window a crack open in my new place (can't in my current place) to let the bees in :) )
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As i recall acerola is one of those trees that tends to flower for a couple of years before it starts to set fruit, like with rollinia, and abiu.
That was certainly my experience-- no amount of hand-pollination resulted in fruit for the first year of flowering. After about a year of flowering, almost all the flowers set fruit with hand pollination.
I got lazy a few times over the winter and didn't hand-pollinate the flowers-- and it still set fruit with no access to any pollinators of any kind, so it seems once it is ready to hold fruit it doesn't even need a pollinator.
Kevin
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My barbados cherry also bloomed sometimes but did not set fruit while it had some fruits when i bought it.
The tree is outside and there are enough pollinators flying around it.
I think i gave it to much N so it only grows at the moment, this tree also is a good drinker.
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Great news! Just today I was cleaning up near my plants and found a tiny green fruit on the ground. Some work on the net id'ed it as an immature acerola. Great - a real fruit, even if it fell off! Then right when I was about to go to bed, I happened to look at the plant and notice... a full sized fruit, starting to turn red. Yeay! That didn't take long, and great to see it's pollinating itself sufficiently indoors. :) Can't wait to try it!
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Hmm, question. The "cherry" fell off while I was moving plants. It's 90-95% red - it's still a bit yellow around the stem. And it's still pretty firm, although I don't know how firm they're supposed to be when eaten.
Is this the sort of plant that I should leave on the counter for a week or so, or maybe to put in a paper bag with an apple? Or is it the type that doesn't ripen at all off the tree, wherein I might as well just eat as-is?
It's probably going to be my last cherry for a couple months, as all of my plants are going through moving stress right now (I have to move them to new locations twice in a row).
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it might be a bit tart, just eat it, the shelf life is very short, which is why you never see one in a store. Co-workers tell me they would pick them green and eat them during school when they lived in Jamacia growing up. Also there is more vitamin C when green, less when red. Better luck next time.
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it might be a bit tart, just eat it, the shelf life is very short, which is why you never see one in a store. Co-workers tell me they would pick them green and eat them during school when they lived in Jamacia growing up. Also there is more vitamin C when green, less when red. Better luck next time.
I always eat them a bit early...if they're dark purple and super ripe, they take on a new flavor that I don't like as much. I notice they fall off the tree all the time when they're only about 90% red.
one of the best items to pair with miracle fruit! Yes they can be enjoyed totally green...and are loaded with vitamin c at this stage.
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Thanks - I'll try it this evening! :)
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I enjoy them when they are green because you can eat the seed as well. The riper it gets, the harder it is to eat the seed. Same goes for june plum. I think the best stage of ripeness for the barbados cherry is probably when it's "half-ripe" and looks like this: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/21987/#b (http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/21987/#b)
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Once I had a cocktail with acerola that was really yummy. The street vendor in Salvador da Bahia muddled them with pinga (cachacaca).
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I'm not sure how to describe the fully-green and the 90% ripe one that I had, apart from "needs sugar" ;) It had some strong, persistent floral-grassy notes (not sure what it was more like, flowers or grasses... but it wasn't like eating grass) that stuck with me for a while after I ate it. That particular flavor was familiar somehow but I can't exactly place it. But the berries had no sweetness, and not much tartness.
Next time I try to see how it tastes in something sweet. And also try eating it right off the plant instead of delaying for a day and a half, like the last time. :)
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Hi Karen,
Could that lingering grassy taste remind you of Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis)?