Best tasting Eugenia for pot culture? How does aggregata rate?

[rcantor]

How do you like the Cherry of the Rio Grande, E aggregata?  Are they reliably self fertile?  Are there Eugenia species that taste a lot better that will fruit in a pot?  Thanks.

[Cassio]

Cherry of Rio Grande is in fact Eugenia Involucrata.
Agregata is Guapijuim, a similar species.
And there is Eugenia Calycina too, which is other similar species.

Involucrata can vary a lot in size, color and taste. All of the 3 species pointed above can fruit in pots. I never had an Agregata, nor a Calycina, in my hands, so, I can´t tell you the taste.
About Involucrata, you must do a good seek to be sure that you found a good var., but yeah, they can be very good fruits.

[Kevin Jones]

A lot of it is like playing the genetic lottery.
I have both COTRG and Eugenia Calycina plants -  started from seed.
California seed. Florida seed. And Eugenia Calycina seed from Portugal.
None have set fruit yet... but I am eternally optimistic as all gardeners are.

Kevin

[achetadomestica]

Good Luck limiting yourself to one Eugenia. There are so many to choose from and they
all seem to fruit well in a pot. What about Pitomba, or grumichama, and pitangatuba?
The list goes on,
I do have a COR that is pushing 8' and fruited well the first time this past Spring.
I really enjoyed the fruit! I have another smaller one that has totally different leaves that
is around 4' and two years old. I can't wait to try the fruit. I also have a calycina doing well
and hopefully next spring I will be able to try the fruit as well. I would not want to have to
limit myself to one Eugenia and I especially couldn't pick one favorite. 

[luc]

Of all the Eugenia I grow and that's quite a few , my personal favorites are E. involucrata and E. pyriformis the sweet variety .

Like Casio mentioned the Rio Grande can vary a lot in size of fruit , leaves , taste . Some of them are great producers others a zillion of flowers and poor fruit- set . I have the impression some came from a colder area .

The E. calycina is not bad at all but doesn't come close to my best Rio .

Some people may not agree , but I am very happy with my E. florida .....

Now , there are others acid and sweet ones that are absolutely worth growing . In the acid : E. stipitata ssp sororia is my favorite , fast fruiting , great producer ( several times a year ) , large fruit and very indicated for keeping in a planter . Not for eating out of hand but a delight in a milkshake with some sugar added . E. victoriana aka Sundrop is a waste of time and space .

[stuartdaly88]

Of all the Eugenia I grow and that's quite a few , my personal favorites are E. involucrata and E. pyriformis the sweet variety .

Like Casio mentioned the Rio Grande can vary a lot in size of fruit , leaves , taste . Some of them are great producers others a zillion of flowers and poor fruit- set . I have the impression some came from a colder area .

The E. calycina is not bad at all but doesn't come close to my best Rio .

Some people may not agree , but I am very happy with my E. florida .....

Now , there are others acid and sweet ones that are absolutely worth growing . In the acid : E. stipitata ssp sororia is my favorite , fast fruiting , great producer ( several times a year ) , large fruit and very indicated for keeping in a planter . Not for eating out of hand but a delight in a milkshake with some sugar added . E. victoriana aka Sundrop is a waste of time and space .

Is it poor taste that makes sundrop a waste Luc or other factors?

[druss]

Im not sure how they rate for taste but candolleana and selloi are good in pots.

[Mike T]

Selloi is a bit sour and candolleana is a bit big but tastes good. The best I have tried is in my yard and is E.lutescens and it is small. Lutescens x pyriformis is quoted by some as the best in the genus and they are quite small. I have 2 in flower now and they are very different in form from each other. I have a few Eugenias and must admit most have been below expectations.

[luc]

Of all the Eugenia I grow and that's quite a few , my personal favorites are E. involucrata and E. pyriformis the sweet variety .

Like Casio mentioned the Rio Grande can vary a lot in size of fruit , leaves , taste . Some of them are great producers others a zillion of flowers and poor fruit- set . I have the impression some came from a colder area .

The E. calycina is not bad at all but doesn't come close to my best Rio .

Some people may not agree , but I am very happy with my E. florida .....

Now , there are others acid and sweet ones that are absolutely worth growing . In the acid : E. stipitata ssp sororia is my favorite , fast fruiting , great producer ( several times a year ) , large fruit and very indicated for keeping in a planter . Not for eating out of hand but a delight in a milkshake with some sugar added . E. victoriana aka Sundrop is a waste of time and space .

Is it poor taste that makes sundrop a waste Luc or other factors?

Just skin and seeds Stuart.....

[rcantor]

Thanks for all the replies.  If I were to post branch and leaf photos could anyone identify what I have?  I got it from Top Tropicls and it says Eugenia aggregata - Cherry of the Rio Grande.  So I don't know which half of the label is correct.     Has anyone bought their CotRG and tasted the fruit?

Any good sources in the USA for the best ones mentioned? 

[stuartdaly88]

Of all the Eugenia I grow and that's quite a few , my personal favorites are E. involucrata and E. pyriformis the sweet variety .

Like Casio mentioned the Rio Grande can vary a lot in size of fruit , leaves , taste . Some of them are great producers others a zillion of flowers and poor fruit- set . I have the impression some came from a colder area .

The E. calycina is not bad at all but doesn't come close to my best Rio .

Some people may not agree , but I am very happy with my E. florida .....

Now , there are others acid and sweet ones that are absolutely worth growing . In the acid : E. stipitata ssp sororia is my favorite , fast fruiting , great producer ( several times a year ) , large fruit and very indicated for keeping in a planter . Not for eating out of hand but a delight in a milkshake with some sugar added . E. victoriana aka Sundrop is a waste of time and space .

Is it poor taste that makes sundrop a waste Luc or other factors?

Just skin and seeds Stuart.....

Oh ok thanks Luc!
Too many fruits Iv tried have been like that and they always look pretty good until you try ha ha

[Kevin Jones]

Selloi is definitely sour.
Really too sour to eat out of hand.
Unless you enjoy eating lemons... some people do.
But it is very fragrant.

Kevin

[fsanchez2002]

From best to worst based on my tastings and preference:
1. Black Eugenia Uniflora is a top fruit IMO (don't confuse with RED EUniflora which tastes like bitter diesel): perfect balance of sweet/acid, full and nuanced flavor, no astringency..
2. Eugenia luschnathiana Pitomba: full apricot-flavor, good balance sweet/tart, no astringency
3. Eugenia involucrate Cherry of the RGrande: good sweet/tart, tropical cherry flavor, no astringency
4. Eugenia brasiliensis Grumichama: sweet, not astringent, can be single-note-boring flavor sometimes 
5. ECandolleana: some astringency and sometimes not sweet enough, but good fruit.
Eugenia selloi too tart and not enough interesting flavor IMO
EReinwardtiana: astingent, no pulp, not worth it
Probably all can grow in containers and pruned continuously. Grumichama gets big fast.

[Kevin Jones]

My wife says the red Unifloras taste like pine sap...
but she actually likes them.

Kevin

[huertasurbanas]

Hi, I grow something like 10 eugenia especies but tasted 4 of them, I will do a top four then, but they say e. candolleana is one of the best

1 e. pyriformis sweet
2 e. uniflora black
3 e. uniflora red
4 e. repanda

This is a very personal opinion, many people around me would like e. repanda more than those others (as it is similar to a normal cherry, something they know), and many others would like e. uniflora more than e. pyriformis (e. uniflora is sweeter), they are all very good fruits IF YOU HAVE A GOOD VARIETY.

All of them fruit in a pot...

[Kevin Jones]

Glad to hear so many people giving high marks to Eugenia Uniflora.
I was very impressed by the flavor of my grafted "Black Star" this summer.
It just finished blooming again... must have set hundreds of fruit this time.
It's growing in an 11 gallon pot and doing very well.
Nate came through last night and did no harm to them. Just needed rain!

My Selloi are starting to bloom again... and other than the novelty of it I can't say I'm very excited about them.
Too sour!

Kevin

[roblack]

Any updates on this topic? Growing a few, but haven't tasted many.

Wondering about pyriformis, pisiformis, caipora, pirula, arribadae, cribata, squamiflora, burkartinana, etc. Who has fruited these and others?

[brian]

I have a ton of them growing, but most are still too small to fruit.   Meanwhile, another twenty+ varieties have appeared for sale.   At this point I am mostly giving up on "try and catch them all" and waiting to see which of dozen+ types I have actually taste good.

So far I've only tasted pitanga/suriname-cherry and pitangatuba/star-cherry

[roblack]

Agreed, the market is crazy, with many new players.

I've got tons of Surinam cherries. They all suck so far. But no fruits of the dark variety yet, so hopeful. The hedges have that nasty petrol taste.

Involcruta was good. Reinwardtiana was nice, but quite mild. Had one araza, tasty and sour.

Waiting on several others.

[Nick C]

I have a ton of them growing, but most are still too small to fruit.   Meanwhile, another twenty+ varieties have appeared for sale.   At this point I am mostly giving up on "try and catch them all" and waiting to see which of dozen+ types I have actually taste good.

So far I've only tasted pitanga/suriname-cherry and pitangatuba/star-cherry

I can't keep up with all these new species. Its like 5 every week lol

[elouicious]

Agreed, the market is crazy, with many new players.

I've got tons of Surinam cherries. They all suck so far. But no fruits of the dark variety yet, so hopeful. The hedges have that nasty petrol taste.

Involcruta was good. Acerola good too, but a little mild. Reinwardtiana was nice, but quite mild. Had one araza, tasty and sour.

Waiting on several others.

put them in the fridge overnight

[brian]

I've got tons of Surinam cherries. They all suck so far. But no fruits of the dark variety yet, so hopeful. The hedges have that nasty petrol taste.

I have both a red and a dark seedling Surinam, not named varieties.  Both taste the same to me.  However, if I pick them when they come loose at the slightest touch or have already just fallen the resinous taste is far less.  They are very fragile at this point though

[K-Rimes]

I have bunch of the newly available species but none even close to fruiting, I think that will be the same story for most collectors on here. We just recently have gained (affordable and easy) access to so many new ones as a community. It's been great for me to experience this renaissance.

In my yard the best eugenias (and most are in pots):

1. Cherry of Rio Grande - CORG has now taken top spot eugenia in my collection. Dead nuts easy to grow, VERY robust, takes frost like a champ, and makes a LOT of fruit. My experience is you will need a couple different genetic examples flowering at the same time for great fruit set. They are super easy to cleft graft so just get a scion from someone else and graft up if you only have one plant.

2. Pitanga - probably my favorite flavor wise, but I've battled mites and fungal issues and my climate is just barely too cold for them. I wish I could say they grow well for me, but they just don't. Fruit set is always dependent on my weather and I get that one last snap frost or rain that dusts the flowers.

3. Cedar Bay - I can't say I love the fruit, but it's good enough to keep a few of them and it grows pretty well. It's far more edible than others.

4. Pitangatuba - I eat them out of hand just fine and I think they're worth having in the collection. Another really easy grower. I have some outside in the soil now and look forward to seeing them grow.

5. Calycina - I have these beside my CORGs and I believe the pollen from CORG works with it. Didn't get good production till it was beside my CORGs and now it fruits readily. I also grafted some other calycina scions on to ensure set but the scions haven't flowered yet.

6. Grumichama - I liked the flavor of those that I've tried but I just can't them to grow and fruit for me, even in my greenhouse. I think they're sensitive to PH and I'm on the wrong end. Anyways, worth growing if you can pull it off.

7. Repanda - VERY PRODUCTIVE. Fruits almost year round for me. They are just small and flesh clings to seed so not a lot to work with, but nice to just stand there and graze for awhile. Pretty tree and the blooms are insane.

I have also: octocostata, multicostata, beaurepariana, copacabensis, vericillata, black joinville, sellowiana, langsdorfii, anthropophaga, caipora, and a bunch of others I can't recall. Give me 3-4 years and I'll let you know.

[roblack]

Great info everyone!

I'm a little behind ya K-Rimes, but not too far.

Really hoping e. pisiformis does not actually taste like piss.

[K-Rimes]

Great info everyone!

I'm a little behind ya K-Rimes, but not too far.

Really hoping e. pisiformis does not actually taste like piss.

I haven't met a eugenia I don't like, so I'm sure it'll be fine even if a bit pissy. I am really curious about all these new varieties that are coming out now. Something tells me there are going to be a lot of duds, but it's still a fun journey to fruition.