Question on Barbados Cherry Seeds

[LaCasaVerde]

Does anyone know how long Barbados Cherry seeds are good for? Ive been saving the seeds and some are now a little over a year. Iv just been drying them out filling up a cup. Thank you for the information.

[bsbullie]

Does anyone know how long Barbados Cherry seeds are good for? Ive been saving the seeds and some are now a little over a year. Iv just been drying them out filling up a cup. Thank you for the information.

You do know they root pretty easily from cuttings.

[LaCasaVerde]

I could but Im trying to start about one hundred and only have one potted tree. Didnt want to take too much from it.

[Finca La Isla]

I'd say that they do root from cuttings, but easily? 

[sildanani]

Are the seeds from well cross-pollinated trees? Because (from my experience) the ones that aren't cross-pollinated generally aren't viable.

[LaCasaVerde]

Non cross pollinated single tree....Thank you for the info. I appreciate the help.

[Vernmented]

I was wondering about the seed viability. They all looked aborted and out of the hundreds, if not thousands of seeds that have dropped or been spit in my yard, I have never seen a tree sprout up. Has anyone gotten viable seeds from cross pollination? I prefer to graft onto seedlings rather than cuttings or airlayers.

[bsbullie]

I was wondering about the seed viability. They all looked aborted and out of the hundreds, if not thousands of seeds that have dropped or been spit in my yard, I have never seen a tree sprout up. Has anyone gotten viable seeds from cross pollination? I prefer to graft onto seedlings rather than cuttings or airlayers.

Grafting works however one would need "rootstock " to graft onto.  Cuttings are easier with better and faster success than air layering.

[LaCasaVerde]

Interesting... looks like Ill be taking some cuttings.

 It  seems folks are making a bundle selling these seeds on ebay.

"I was wondering about the seed viability. They all looked aborted and out of the hundreds, if not thousands of seeds that have dropped or been spit in my yard, I have never seen a tree sprout up. Has anyone gotten viable seeds from cross pollination? I prefer to graft onto seedlings rather than cuttings or airlayers."

Vernmented- is your tree cross pollinated by any others you are aware of?

[achetadomestica]

I also have heard that Barbados cherries don't grow true from seed? Why not  try a couple of seeds and see how well they germinate?
I thought that if a tree produced fruit then pollination occurred and therefore the seeds should be viable. If the flowers need cross pollination to
set fruit you would not get fruit with seeds, right?
Mike

[greenman62]

I was wondering about the seed viability. They all looked aborted and out of the hundreds, if not thousands of seeds that have dropped or been spit in my yard, I have never seen a tree sprout up. Has anyone gotten viable seeds from cross pollination? I prefer to graft onto seedlings rather than cuttings or airlayers.

my tree started producing this year. its at least 7ft tall+wide
and rarely produces fruit. (i got from PIN)

i planted about 12 of the seeds, and havent seen 1 seedling pop up yet
its been at least 2 months.

i have a 2nd plant, but its very small, about 1ft tall.
it flowers a LOT more. i just put it in a larger container
i am hoping to get it large enough to replace the one larger i have
or at least to graft onto it. or topwork it.
they grow pretty fast given enough room and light.

[LaCasaVerde]

I was wondering about the seed viability. They all looked aborted and out of the hundreds, if not thousands of seeds that have dropped or been spit in my yard, I have never seen a tree sprout up. Has anyone gotten viable seeds from cross pollination? I prefer to graft onto seedlings rather than cuttings or airlayers.

my tree started producing this year. its at least 7ft tall+wide
and rarely produces fruit. (i got from PIN)

i planted about 12 of the seeds, and havent seen 1 seedling pop up yet
its been at least 2 months.

i have a 2nd plant, but its very small, about 1ft tall.
it flowers a LOT more. i just put it in a larger container
i am hoping to get it large enough to replace the one larger i have
or at least to graft onto it. or topwork it.
they grow pretty fast given enough room and light.

They do grow fast.  Heres  is a trick Ive learned as your 7 foot tree is the same size as my potted one. Starve for water for 1.5-2 weeks. Then water  profusley and more importantly - if you have a back and forth sprinkler- allow it to hit the leaves.  Im on my sixth heavy crop since May. Ive only save a fraction of the seeds.  Fellow from Puerto Rico shared this with me. Said his always fruited after dry spell.  I didnt believe it until I tried this and it does work. I had light fruiting the 2 years. before.

[tropicbreeze]

Mine flower and fruit heavily at the end of the dry season. Most of the fruit is eaten by the wildlife but I still see lots of seed dropped on the ground. However, have never seen any seedlings germinating. Jamaican Cherries on the other hand have seedlings as thick as lawn underneath.

[greenman62]

Mine flower and fruit heavily at the end of the dry season. Most of the fruit is eaten by the wildlife but I still see lots of seed dropped on the ground. However, have never seen any seedlings germinating. Jamaican Cherries on the other hand have seedlings as thick as lawn underneath.

 Jamaican Cherries - Muntingia ?
My tree has been producing about a year
ive dropped seed in a seed tray too, and i dont see any seedlings.
I have a friend here who desperately wants one. He said he tried buying a tree from several places
and everyone is out of them.

i uprooted a succer, but it want easy, and the stem portion had 1 leaf that fell off
so, im not sure if it will take.
ive tried cuttings several times, and 2 air layers... all failed.
dry seeds, whole fruits etc... all failed so far.

They do grow fast.  Heres  is a trick Ive learned as your 7 foot tree is the same size as my potted one. Starve for water for 1.5-2 weeks. Then water  profusley and more importantly - if you have a back and forth sprinkler- allow it to hit the leaves.  Im on my sixth heavy crop since May. Ive only save a fraction of the seeds.  Fellow from Puerto Rico shared this with me. Said his always fruited after dry spell.  I didnt believe it until I tried this and it does work. I had light fruiting the 2 years. before.

Well... its been dry as a bone here.
not a drop in at least 3 weeks...
but it has a lot of mulch, the roots are shaded, and ive been watering it every few days
but just a little . im sure its not getting very deep.

i guess i will find out next time it rains
thanks

[tropicbreeze]

Greenman62, The Muntingia is called Strawberry Tree here. What's called Jamaican Cherry here has several "cherry" common names when you look it up but is Eugenia uniflora.