Growing Ugni molinae in Central Florida – Posslble?

[Epicatt2]

Hi All,

I was recently able to get several plants of Ugni molinae (Chilean Guava) from a nursery in NC.  Plants arrived in good condition, about 14- to 16-inches tall and are still healthy-lookng but seem to be quite slow growing.

I have them in about 60% shade under a pergola that's covered over with Petrea volubilis (Queen's Wreath) in 1 gal pots and they are growing but rather slowly.  Maybe that is too much shade but not sure how much of our strong summer sunshine they wlll tolerate here in Florida.

Not sure if they tolerate wet feet, either, but also I have a number of tropicals (ferns & orchids) under the pergola and those get misted frequently and watered some about every other day –or sometimes daily when it's hot and no rain is forecast.

Does the above sound like a suitable situation for these U. molinae?  I know they grow in a temperate to coolish situation in S. America where it can often be damp.

Hoping that someone else here in FL/9b might be succeeding with this species and can remark on their own experiences growing them.

TIA

Paul M.
=

[SeaWalnut]

They like acid soil and rain water.
Heavy feed them and they grow verry fast.

[Epicatt2]

They like acid soil and rain water.
Heavy feed them and they grow verry fast.

Thanks for the suggestion to feed them.  I have fed them but so far only lightly once or twice while they have been getting established in their pots.

So....  How about while they are in pots....  Do they seem to need a lot of room for their roots?  Or do they like to be pot-bound?

I'm still unsure how well they will tolerate our central Florida 90ΊF.-plus heat in the summertime which is why I've kept them shaded while they establish.

Cheers!

Paul M.
==

[SeaWalnut]

I kept them in a verry big pot for their size,60 litters.
90 f is just 32C and here we get about 35 and even 40 C wich didnt affected my Ugni Molinae.
The secret in growing them is slightly acidic soil and fertile.
They dont like alkaline soil .

[Epicatt2]

Thanks for the advice, SeaW. 

Temps sound okay. 

And we've got acid soild where I am, but I'm thinking that maybe they will prefer a bit more sunlight.

So now it sould like they will want more fertilizer.

Paul M.
==

[palingkecil]

My Ugni Molinae grew fine in the pot for 3 years. It was just about 5" when I received them from an online shop. I gave it fish/kelp emulsion and slow release fertilizer. It reached 3 ft tall and 2 ft wide in 3 years. The pot was 15 gallon and it received 8 hours of direct sunlight here in Southern California. As long as you keep the soil moist, they will grow happilly. The tricky part is to make them bear fruit. Mine was so healthy and kept growing but never had any fruit/ flower.
I accidentally kill it by cut the root too much when I was trying to move it.

[Epicatt2]

Thank you for this extra info, Palingkecil.  Much appreciated.

I'll try the fish emulsion.  I have a blottle of it around here somewhere.

Your experience with them shows that they ought to be okay with more sun as long as they don't dry out.

Paul M.
==

[SeaWalnut]

Ive kept them in full sun all day long in the middle of the summer ,but with a shade cloth( i think 45%) and they did just fine.
Here we have verry long days in the summer,Sunrise at 4:30 in the morning and Sunsets at 21:00.
I alao kept them in 100% indirect light ( shadow) and they  did well but the growth was slightly slower.
Be carefull with the roots as they are indeed sensitive and you will be tempted to split them to make more plants.

[achetadomestica]

Hi All,

I was recently able to get several plants of Ugni molinae (Chilean Guava) from a nursery in NC.  Plants arrived in good condition, about 14- to 16-inches tall and are still healthy-lookng but seem to be quite slow growing.

I have them in about 60% shade under a pergola that's covered over with Petrea volubilis (Queen's Wreath) in 1 gal pots and they are growing but rather slowly.  Maybe that is too much shade but not sure how much of our strong summer sunshine they wlll tolerate here in Florida.

Not sure if they tolerate wet feet, either, but also I have a number of tropicals (ferns & orchids) under the pergola and those get misted frequently and watered some about every other day –or sometimes daily when it's hot and no rain is forecast.

Does the above sound like a suitable situation for these U. molinae?  I know they grow in a temperate to coolish situation in S. America where it can often be damp.

Hoping that someone else here in FL/9b might be succeeding with this species and can remark on their own experiences growing them.

TIA

Paul M.
=

I was tempted to try them here in Florida as well. Please keep us posted if you are successful.
It makes you wonder why you don't see them available here? It seems like if it thrived here
it would be available at the local nurseries. I have been unsuccessful growing Chinese jujube. The plants didn't die
but they did not thrive and never set fruit. Now I have a che tree and it is not holding fruit.
If you notice no one in Florida is responding?

[Jaboticaba45]

I am pretty sure that although che and jujube can be grown in south FL, they are temperate fruits so they like some cold in the winter.

[achetadomestica]

I am pretty sure that although che and jujube can be grown in south FL, they are temperate fruits so they like some cold in the winter.

Exactly
If they fruited here then they would be at the nurseries and common.
The Chinese jujube is grown in the temperate zones of China not the subtropical
areas. The Che tree I got came from a Kentucky nursery another temperate zone.
I dug up the jujubes does anyone want to buy a che tree?

[SeaWalnut]

I am pretty sure that although che and jujube can be grown in south FL, they are temperate fruits so they like some cold in the winter.

Exactly
If they fruited here then they would be at the nurseries and common.
The Chinese jujube is grown in the temperate zones of China not the subtropical
areas. The Che tree I got came from a Kentucky nursery another temperate zone.
I dug up the jujubes does anyone want to buy a che tree?

The che trees are either male or female and you need both to set fruit.
Grafted che trees are the most expensive trees here but you need to be really knowing what your doing to graft them both female and male and on osage orange rootstock.
Jujube grow wild here in zone 6 but they are not high quality selected varietyes like the chinese ones and nobody eats them here( the wild ones).
There are also indian jujube or chinese jujube from subtropical or tropical climate and you will find them even in Borneo where they grow jujube because they can not grow apples there so that they can eat a crisp fruit.

[Epicatt2]

[snip]
The Che tree I got came from a Kentucky nursery another temperate zone.
(snip)

Likewise with the several U. molinae I got, Achetadomestica!  Found them offered at a NC nursery and ordered several.  They were sent bareroot and were potted up immediately upon receipt.  They were 14- to 16-inches tall and did not seem to mind having been shipped barerooted.

(BTW, I had earlier gotten some smaller ones in 4-inch pots from a Cal. nursery but those reacted badly to Florida's heat and just sat there and dried up and died within two weeks of having arrrived here.)

Paul M.
==

[PDXIan]

What nursery in NC did you get them from?

[Epicatt2]

What nursery in NC did you get them from?

They came from WOODLANDERS:

https://www.woodlanders.net

info@woodlanders.net

Alas they were out when I tried to reorder some more last year.

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

[HibachiDrama]

I recently read a scientific paper on google that they stop photosynthesizing in strong full sun, so they're probably better as an understory plant or morning sun only.

Anecdotally, I have had several in Jacksonville, and they all died in the middle of the summer in basically full sun. I've got some seedlings and cuttings growing now, and will trial them in multiple conditions next year once they're bigger.

[AndrewAZ]

Mine all croaked in AZ they day it hit 100.  I am not sure if that was the sole cause or not.

[simon_grow]

I’ve grown and fruited Ugni Molinae in SanDiego and I agree with SeaWalnut regarding acidic soil and good water such as rainwater or RO water. When small, they grow super slow but with fertilizer applications, they begin to grow much faster as they gain some size.

I killed my large fruiting bush by keeping it in a relatively small pot and under watering it during a Summer heat spell. My plants don’t like very hot weather and I have some sunburn on my current plant and temps have not been above 90F yet this year.

My bush is probably 2-3 feet tall and wide right now but this particular bush has not fruited yet. I’m hoping it will have a late bloom this year or sometime next year.

Ugni Molinae is one of the best tasting small berries I have eaten. My only problem with them is their small size. They’re great as a substitute in a blueberry muffin recipe.

Simon