Pruning Jaboticaba!! M. cauliflora and M. cauliflora hybrid

[fruitlovers]

Oscar - you wrote "I think you're wrong about surinam cherry being the most drought tolerant and only eugenia that is drought tolerant", which is not what I wrote in the sentence "Most of the other eugenia species are less drought resistant". I agree that the claim "Most of the other ..." is based on the common cultivated types, and not on the 200 or so species which exists in total many of which I can imagine no record of drought tolerance have been made.
When it comes to what is around the corner - it will depends on who introduces what and of course the timeline. Currently, I don't know which equally (or more) drought tolerant / adaptable species are substituting E. uniflora around the world? But, even if a replacement is there, it could take a long time before it will be propagated on a scale that will make a substitution possible (and to avoid misunderstandings, I am only referring to Eugenia, not other myrtaceae).

Hi Soren, i'm glad you know about and growing 2 other species of eugenias that are drought tolerant besides surinam cherry. I think it's a safe bet that if an eugenia species originates in the cerrado it will be drought tolerant. I was wrong about there being 200+ species of eugenias. I think the correct number is more like 1000+ species of eugenias. Check the bottom of this page: http://www.theplantlist.org/browse/A/Myrtaceae/Eugenia/
Of those thousand species i would guess a large number are from cerrado, certainly more than 2. In any case, the surinam didn't become popular here where i live because of drought tolerance. We don't have any droughts, yet surinam is the most common of all eugenias, but certainly not the best tasting of all eugenias.
Oscar

[Soren]

Thanks, I am also glad. And surely there are many other more drought tolerant species than the two from my own collection - otherwise that would be some funny coincidence And I can imagine you are growing others? About the distribution of Eugenia I can read;
"It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,000 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Forest (coastal forests) of eastern Brazil. Other centers of diversity include New Caledonia and Madagascar. Many species new to science have been and are in the process of being described from these regions. For example, 37 new species of Eugenia have been described from Mesoamerica in the past few years. At least 20 new species are currently in the process of being described from New Caledonia, and approximately the same number of species new to science may occur in Madagascar"

I also agree about the taste - usually not even my kids bother to pick them after the first rush so the bulk are left for the birds.

[fruitlovers]

Just noticed there are 105 species of eugenias on the endangered species list. I doubt any of us know if any of those are good tasting, drought hardy, or will ever find out. 
Oscar

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Oscar,

how do you think the pitanga tuba would do as a replacement?  I know it handles freezes very well here in FL.  I'm surprised more arent growing this superior Eugenia.   I know it is drought tolerant and salt tolerant, and flood tolerant....I wonder if its limited native range and it's obscurity have made this tree less popular than it should be?

I think it would be a hair more sensitive to drought, and cold, but that's it...otherwise, it should do well across the world...especially in a pot!

Glad to have derailed my topic to my other favorite genus, Eugenia.

Maybe we should start a topic called Better Eugenias than Surinam cherry?

[fruitlovers]

Oscar,

how do you think the pitanga tuba would do as a replacement?  I know it handles freezes very well here in FL.  I'm surprised more arent growing this superior Eugenia.   I know it is drought tolerant and salt tolerant, and flood tolerant....I wonder if its limited native range and it's obscurity have made this tree less popular than it should be?

I think it would be a hair more sensitive to drought, and cold, but that's it...otherwise, it should do well across the world...especially in a pot!

Glad to have derailed my topic to my other favorite genus, Eugenia.

Maybe we should start a topic called Better Eugenias than Surinam cherry?

Personally i like surinam cherry, but i give it only a 7, and i think there must be 9 and 10 eugenias still to be discovered. I only got to taste pitangatuba a couple of times, but liked it better than surinam, as pitangatuba doesn't have the resinous after taste that surinam cherry does, and so many people find objectionable.. I was pleasantly surprised when i first ate pitangatube in Brazil because i'd heard it was very tart, but didn't find that to be the case. It has some acidity, but is quite pleasant. I give it an 8. Don't know how cold or draught tolerant it will prove to be, but my guess is that you might be right. It's definitely a perfect candidate for growing in pots, very attractive plant and fruit, and eating it is just an added bonus. My favorite eugenia so far, but i've only tried a few, is E. candolleana. I give that one, the rainforest plum, a 9. Has a very complex taste.
Oscar

[HMHausman]

Oscar...you need at least a 20 point scale for your fruit evaluations.  Seems you have a case of rating inflation going on.  You are not leaving enough room at the top for the really, really good fruits. In my humble and probably distorted and biased opinion anyway.

[fruitlovers]

Oscar...you need at least a 20 point scale for your fruit evaluations.  Seems you have a case of rating inflation going on.  You are not leaving enough room at the top for the really, really good fruits. In my humble and probably distorted and biased opinion anyway.

Nah, basing on your comments about persimmon and other fruits i think i'm more of a general fruit lover than you. I like mangos, but man does not live by mango alone! 

[HMHausman]

Nah, basing on your comments about persimmon and other fruits i think i'm more of a general fruit lover than you. I like mangos, but man does not live by mango alone! 

You are absolutely correct sir about your being more of a general fruit lover (ergo your Forum handle) than I am...at least tropical fruit wise, anyway.  My tastes are decidedly North American and I am very happy with many, what might be considered mundane temperate fruits over many of the tropical fruits that I grow.  But.......... man does not live on mangoes alone?? Well this man could and during about 3 or 4 months out of the year I do....with some lychess sprinkled into the mix liberally, of course.

Harry

[Berto]

Eugenia candolleana and eugenia nonitida/nitida are fantastic fruits.  I grow both of them and my taste is definitely the taste of someony that grew up eating fantastic tropical and sub-tropical fruits. I also grow eugenia stipitata, eugenia calycina, eugenia klotzchiana, eugenia itaguahiensis, eugenia involucrata, eugenia brasiliensis, eugenia luschnathiana, eugenia pitanga, eugenia uniflora, and eugenia pyriformis.  Eugenias, plinias, and myrciarias!  I love them!

[fruitlovers]

Nah, basing on your comments about persimmon and other fruits i think i'm more of a general fruit lover than you. I like mangos, but man does not live by mango alone! 

You are absolutely correct sir about your being more of a general fruit lover (ergo your Forum handle) than I am...at least tropical fruit wise, anyway.  My tastes are decidedly North American and I am very happy with many, what might be considered mundane temperate fruits over many of the tropical fruits that I grow.  But.......... man does not live on mangoes alone?? Well this man could and during about 3 or 4 months out of the year I do....with some lychess sprinkled into the mix liberally, of course.

Harry

You must be on quite a sugar high for about 3-4 months!  But since you sprinkle lychees on top you aren't literally living on mangos alone! HAHA
Oscar

[lkailburn]

Great Post! I have two very young jobas that have never been pruned but maybe i'll post up some photos and take suggestiongs. They are getting rather unruly/bushy. They flush out all time, i love seeing them grow

-Luke

[murahilin]

Great Post! I have two very young jobas that have never been pruned but maybe i'll post up some photos and take suggestiongs. They are getting rather unruly/bushy. They flush out all time, i love seeing them grow

-Luke

Why do you call them jobas? I have not seen it referred as that before. Is that a common name for the fruit somewhere?

[lkailburn]

Great Post! I have two very young jobas that have never been pruned but maybe i'll post up some photos and take suggestiongs. They are getting rather unruly/bushy. They flush out all time, i love seeing them grow

-Luke

Why do you call them jobas? I have not seen it referred as that before. Is that a common name for the fruit somewhere?

No No. I was too lazy to type out jaboticaba.  Sorry!

-Luke

[fruitlovers]

Jaboticabas often abbreviated as jabos, not jobas.

[Tim]

no pruning tips for me? 

I am sure someone will pipe up with some tips.  I, for one, have never found the need to prune my jaboticbas.  They grow so slow and take forever to get any size.
 
Harry

Thanks for your input Harry - i think i'll be leaving mine alone for the time being.    There's a lot of new leaves but my trees are nowhere near as dense as pics i've seen so i'll give them a little bit more time - after all, there's certainly no risk of the inner branches not getting enough sun at the moment. 

Kimi - has your tree put on any new growth since?

[lkailburn]

Jaboticabas often abbreviated as jabos, not jobas.

Sorry yes. i mean jabos but 99 times my fingers type faster and i just type jobas. Darn lazyness lol

-Luke

[kimi]

Hi Tim

My jabos are always pushing new leaves - not in any great numbers, so my trees are still rather scraggly looking.  I'm sure it'll be a while yet before my trees develop the lush healthy look.

[huertasurbanas]

Eugenia candolleana and eugenia nonitida/nitida are fantastic fruits.  I grow both of them and my taste is definitely the taste of someony that grew up eating fantastic tropical and sub-tropical fruits. I also grow eugenia stipitata, eugenia calycina, eugenia klotzchiana, eugenia itaguahiensis, eugenia involucrata, eugenia brasiliensis, eugenia luschnathiana, eugenia pitanga, eugenia uniflora, and eugenia pyriformis.  Eugenias, plinias, and myrciarias!  I love them!

is there a difference between eugenia uniflora and eugenia pitanga?

[FlyingFoxFruits]

ya they are different species....E. pitanga is harder to find...I have several.

[huertasurbanas]

ya they are different species....E. pitanga is harder to find...I have several.

very rare... in the spanish speaking world, almost nobody knows about eugenia pitanga

now I can see:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38938362@N05/4106667709/#in/photostream/

is there some serious document about eugenia pitanga?

[huertasurbanas]

Another derail...

There is a similar situation with eugenias BL and AL. In USA we mostly know surinam cherry, cherry of rio grande, and brazilian cherry (grumichama). But there are over 200 species of eugenias! I think many of these could be lots better than surinam cherry, and some may be as good or better than brazilian cherry.
Oscar

Here in Uganda Eugenia uniflora is very common and all other eugenia species unknown (even the indigenous), and it is solely used as a hedge; the beautiful foliage and drought resistance is considered more important than the fruit(taste). Most of the other eugenia species are less drought resistant, and I therefore don't believe they will be grown here.

I think you're wrong about surinam cherry being the most drought tolerant and only eugenia that is drought tolerant. There are species of eugenias that originate in the Brazilian cerrado, where they have very long dry spells. Remember this is a very large genus. I don't really know why the surinam cherry became the most popular from this huge collection of plants.
Oscar

Right

I have very little experience growing eugenia uniflora and other Myrtaceae, but I can assure you that during this current drought of 2 months, the eugenia uniflora resisted much less than eugenia pyriformis

Uvaia better resisted the lack of water than pitanga.

[Soren]

Another derail...

There is a similar situation with eugenias BL and AL. In USA we mostly know surinam cherry, cherry of rio grande, and brazilian cherry (grumichama). But there are over 200 species of eugenias! I think many of these could be lots better than surinam cherry, and some may be as good or better than brazilian cherry.
Oscar

Here in Uganda Eugenia uniflora is very common and all other eugenia species unknown (even the indigenous), and it is solely used as a hedge; the beautiful foliage and drought resistance is considered more important than the fruit(taste). Most of the other eugenia species are less drought resistant, and I therefore don't believe they will be grown here.

I think you're wrong about surinam cherry being the most drought tolerant and only eugenia that is drought tolerant. There are species of eugenias that originate in the Brazilian cerrado, where they have very long dry spells. Remember this is a very large genus. I don't really know why the surinam cherry became the most popular from this huge collection of plants.
Oscar

Right

I have very little experience growing eugenia uniflora and other Myrtaceae, but I can assure you that during this current drought of 2 months, the eugenia uniflora resisted much less than eugenia pyriformis

Uvaia better resisted the lack of water than pitanga.

Not my experience; but my Eugenia pitanga can get completely dry in the pots and survive with no sweat - not the case for E. uniflora.

[Bush2Beach]

Prince of Plinia , how am I looking?
BEFORE:


AFTER:

[FlyingFoxFruits]

I still see some branches that I would remove(like the lowest 5 branches...)...but it looks great!

[Mike T]

Jabos or Jabs sounds like a reasonable shortening of the name to me.I call them jabs as they are real knockouts. We might have to take it to a higher authority.......the master of Myrciaria,the prince of Plinia,the cauliflorus king,the Myrtaceae man himself,the coronata of jabs himself,the sultan of sabara.....Adam.

But seriously...I planted a red hybrid ( and 8 other small brazilians) 9 inches high in the yard yesterday and last night it deluged 6 inches of rain in about 3 hours.I haven't checked the damage yet.