Author Topic: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.  (Read 23274 times)

starling2

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Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« on: October 29, 2015, 12:23:22 AM »

Was privileged to try a pitangatuba fruit for the first time today.

Now, I don't usually like Eugenias--at all. I looked at the fruit and thought 'This is just going to be like a big E. Uniflora and I'm going to hate  it'.

Not so. Pitangatuba is a very, very good fruit. It is the first Eugenia I have ever truly enjoyed, and I would definitely grow several trees.

I have seen videos where people describe the taste as something  like passionfruit/peach. These flavors were present ( mot prominently passionfruit)   but the fruit I tried (which was over ripe and a little damaged, to be fair) tasted strongly of mango. I actually can't believe nobody has reported this yet...it was very, very noticeable to me.
Incredibly juicy. My only criticism is that the fruit I tried  was somewhat stringy--again, this could have been because the fruit was turning. Good amount of sugar, nice level of acid.

My verdict: 8/10. A very good fruit that is absolutely worth growing--and this is coming from a confirmed non-eugenia fan.

s

Carl.D

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2015, 01:02:40 AM »
Going by that, there actually might be a jaboticaba that you like as well, some day anyway.

starling2

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2015, 01:23:12 AM »
Going by that, there actually might be a jaboticaba that you like as well, some day anyway.

I doubt I'll ever warm to jaboticaba. Just not my thing.

But I reiterate; Pitangatuba is a very, very good fruit.

Radoslav

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2015, 02:17:33 AM »
I remember when Helton Josue from Brazil sent me seeds of eugenia neonitida years ago, with a comment, that he thinks that this fruit has a big potential, after few years I tasted my first crop and I have to say that he was right. The taste is unique, I call it "tropical" taste and I think it is mainly concentrated in the skin of the fruit. Now I have 10 big plants.

Carl.D

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2015, 02:24:32 AM »
I remember when Helton Josue from Brazil sent me seeds of eugenia neonitida years ago, with a comment, that he thinks that this fruit has a big potential, after few years I tasted my first crop and I have to say that he was right. The taste is unique, I call it "tropical" taste and I think it is mainly concentrated in the skin of the fruit. Now I have 10 big plants.
Hi
How do they handle the colder weather ?

Radoslav

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2015, 03:17:10 AM »
I remember when Helton Josue from Brazil sent me seeds of eugenia neonitida years ago, with a comment, that he thinks that this fruit has a big potential, after few years I tasted my first crop and I have to say that he was right. The taste is unique, I call it "tropical" taste and I think it is mainly concentrated in the skin of the fruit. Now I have 10 big plants.
Hi
How do they handle the colder weather ?

I have them indoor during winter of course. If I remember it right, when temperature drops close to zero Cels. in spring and I have them outdoor, they turn the colour of leaves to bronze, but not damage at all.

Don

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2015, 05:12:08 AM »
Mine handled Brisbane winter no dramas hey Carl. Didn't phase them one bit.
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starling2

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2015, 05:33:08 AM »
A lot of 'tropical' species do well in Brisbane. I am growing toddy palms, coconuts, about 10 different garcinia, 4 varieties of soursop, K. Coccinea,  (not p. Mangosteen) pink/white/grimal starapples (and as of today, another special kind) and various other fruits considered tropical here in the subtropics. I have seen a fruiting marang in Brisbane. Eugenia/myrciaria are amongst the most cold tolerant tropicals and I suspect would be fine even in Sydney, it is not remarkable that they perform well in SEQ especially considering E.Reinwardtiana is an SEQ  native. Cactacea other than opuntias are difficult to cultivate  to fruiting stage with the exception of C.Jamacaru/pervianus outside of coastal areas. My Stencoereus Gummosus seems to particularly dislike anything around 90% humidity. This is not true of Dragonfruit and epi's however, they seem to really enjoy wet heat.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 05:54:09 AM by starling2 »

nelesedulis

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2015, 08:21:44 AM »
Hello,

I have two varieties of pitangatuba, one is of Helton, who is a great friend, is greater and Long fruit in the shape of a star fruit, the other is round, the flavors are more alike, they produce fruits all year round, are almost wild, and a major problem the trees are spreading the farm.
The problem with this fruit, which is the most perishable Eugenia a short time the taste is horrible as it were vinegar.






I remember when Helton Josue from Brazil sent me seeds of eugenia neonitida years ago, with a comment, that he thinks that this fruit has a big potential, after few years I tasted my first crop and I have to say that he was right. The taste is unique, I call it "tropical" taste and I think it is mainly concentrated in the skin of the fruit. Now I have 10 big plants.
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raimeiken

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2015, 10:27:24 AM »
I got a few small seedlings from Adam. I can't wait to try them. How many years before they bear fruit from seed?

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2015, 12:00:15 PM »
let me be the one to bring up all the negative aspects now  ;D

-fruit must be picked at perfect time for optimum flavor (too early or too late can be bad)
-fruit is extremely fragile, near impossible to ship
-fruit is too tart for some to eat out of hand (but many people do enjoy them out of hand)
-fruit has a latex that can stick to your teeth (some have more than others)


other than that...it's probably my favorite plant to grow for fruits.

-super tolerant of heat
-tolerant of temps below 32 F briefly (a few large trees survived 27F for a few hours, with zero damage)
-somewhat tolerant of periodic flooding, and drought (not so much drought over the long term)
-tolerant of salt spray (if I'm not mistaken?)
-fruits for 6 months of the year or more
-precocious, fruiting from seed in about 3yrs
-only need one plant (but having more helps I'm sure)
-high in vitamin C and beta-carotene (compared to suriname cherry in a recent study was shown to be more nutritious)
-deep dark leaves, orange/reddish bark, and white flowers, with large yellow fruits...it's an ornamental plant for sure
-easy to keep small and fruiting in a pot for years, they seem to stay under 10ft tall, and turn into a large bush.
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JFranco

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2015, 02:01:43 PM »
Hi!

I am anxious to try it! I have a couple of small plants.

Joćo Franco

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2015, 02:12:03 PM »
Hi!

I am anxious to try it! I have a couple of small plants.

Joćo Franco
This fruit is amazing for my taste. I tried some fruits from Miguel and it's really great!  :P

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2015, 02:12:18 PM »
I was fortunate to try this fruit at Adam's Rancho this summer and was pleasantly surprise. I can wait for mine to fruit if I can ever get them to grow.
Adam, can you give us a few pointers and how to grow the tree and what they like and don't ?

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2015, 02:36:46 PM »

Adam
this is the pitangatuba i got from you
is the leaf color normal ?

i thought the yellow wan not, so i added a bit of iron
some worm castings, fish fertilizer,. epsom,  and a 1/4 dose of 10-10-10
(over a few weeks_)
it hasnt really changed.
it seems pretty happy, its put out new growth at least twice.
i did see about 6 or 7 leaves burned a bit, but that may be from
us having a month-long drought, and me forgetting to water it for a week or so.'



palologrower

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2015, 03:46:24 PM »
-only need one plant (but having more helps I'm sure)


I'm sure you only need one.  but when I bought my original plant (3ft tall) from Frankie's there were 4-6 trees and all had fruits.  so I took one home and the flowers remaining flowers that did open up never turned into fruit.  so I ended up buying another pitangatuba as well as placing the seedlings from adam's all together. so now I got 4 plants all within 2 ft of each other.  I should be having tons of these fruits in no time! :)

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2015, 05:27:12 PM »
There is a tremendous variation, in my experience.  Some will fruit by itself, and some will not. That's why I recommend at least two plants for cross pollination. I gave one plant to two different friends. Both of them reported that they got tons of flowers and zero fruits!

palologrower

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2015, 05:43:45 PM »
There is a tremendous variation, in my experience.  Some will fruit by itself, and some will not. That's why I recommend at least two plants for cross pollination. I gave one plant to two different friends. Both of them reported that they got tons of flowers and zero fruits!

dammit.  well, soon enough will have 8 potted trees so I should have something pop out soon!

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #18 on: October 29, 2015, 06:48:43 PM »
Brad,

the pitangatuba in your photo is suffering from Iron deficiency, try drenching with chelated Fe, it should fix the problem, but it may take a while for those leaves to green up...i notice they can stay yellow, but the new growth comes out almost black or green...which is a sign of being very healthy.

I wonder what's the pH of the water you are using for irrigation?  if it's city water, it can cause such deficiencies, but they are easily corrected, and once the plant gets older, you won't have these issues as much.

they appreciate an acid pH (but I have seen them survive neutral or slightly alkaline conditions if given chelated Fe drenches)

give them full sun for max fruit quality and production....fruit doesn't develop a full flavor if plants are grown in too much shade, and productivity will be hindered.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 06:50:19 PM by FlyingFoxFruits »
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Radoslav

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #19 on: October 30, 2015, 08:17:07 AM »
I have never got fruit from isolated plant, this is why I have 2 or 3 seedlings in one pot.

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #20 on: October 30, 2015, 08:53:53 AM »
I have never got fruit from isolated plant, this is why I have 2 or 3 seedlings in one pot.

It just depends on the seedling, I have had many that set fruit as isolated specimens.  I only have  a few that refuse to set fruit, even when cross pollinated (or hand pollinated)...and those specimens came from some of the oldest plants that had already been introduced into the USA (15-20 yr ago?)...I notice they are inferior to the newer seedlings I've been growing (in terms of fruit quality and productivity)
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 08:58:21 AM by FlyingFoxFruits »
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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #21 on: October 30, 2015, 10:11:19 AM »
thanks Adam
its possible i didnt add enough iron
i always tend to under-fertilize,,
especially with isolated nutes, in fear of damaging the plant

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #22 on: October 30, 2015, 10:25:53 AM »
thanks Adam
its possible i didnt add enough iron
i always tend to under-fertilize,,
especially with isolated nutes, in fear of damaging the plant

Lol I'm the same way!  Better starve the trees and play catch up, than to over feed them and kill them outright.

I've killed a few this way, now I'm hesitant to feed them!

I bet your tree will perk right up...even with just a little regular fert.

But If you apply iron, make sure the iron is chelated, regular iron won't help!
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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #23 on: October 30, 2015, 12:39:09 PM »
Hello,

I have two varieties of pitangatuba, one is of Helton, who is a great friend, is greater and Long fruit in the shape of a star fruit, the other is round, the flavors are more alike, they produce fruits all year round, are almost wild, and a major problem the trees are spreading the farm.
The problem with this fruit, which is the most perishable Eugenia a short time the taste is horrible as it were vinegar.

Alexandre and Adam, I have 03 pitangatubas in my collection, being two of them the rounded var and the other the elongated var. The elongated has a flavor that makes me to remember the uvaia, while the rounded var is more acid. But the rounded var is more resistant after harvested. The elongated var oxydises very fast!
For the last, the elongated var has a smaller seed.

In my experience, one thing that permits to identify which is the var that you have, is the new foliage. The rounded var has brownish young leafs, while the elongated has light-green young leafs. ;)
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 12:58:33 PM by Cassio »

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Re: Pitangatuba; Believe the hype.
« Reply #24 on: October 30, 2015, 05:36:28 PM »
I have 4 in the ground with 3 fruiting at the moment and the fruit are pretty large.The came from 3 different sources originally.The fruit are too sour for me but there is a good underlying flavour.
The nutrient definitely plant post by green is either iron or manganese deficient but the reason for the deficiency will be the key to overcoming it.Over watering and excess calcium or phosphorous are more likely than a straight iron deficiency in the soil.Over fertilizing causes more deficiencies than anything else and nutrient antagonisms of what you apply should be understood so you know what to look for with induced deficiencies.PH that is unsuitable can also cause multiple deficiencies.