Hunt for the best Surinam Cherry

[Epicatt2]

It's often possible to salvage some resinous-tasting pitangas (Eugenia uniflora).  The trick is to let them get full ripe so that if you just touch them they fall off the bush right into your hand, and then collect them in a bowl and leave them, covered, in the 'fridge overnight.  This has the effect of helping to dissapate the resinousness aspect of the fruit.

This will work on some but not all pitangas (Eugenia uniflora), depending, of course, upon how strong the resinousness in a particular cultivar may be.  This is primarily useful for the red-fruited ones. It can be less so for the dark/black-fruited ones which can tend to be less (or not) resinous tasting than the red-fruited ones.

Might be worth a try for our TFF members to see whether their red-fruited variety loses the resinous taste by allowing them to sit in the 'fridge overnight.

[Now this has me wondering whether giving them an overnighting in the 'fridge would work with pitangatubas (Eugenia selloi) which have fairly tart fruit but which might sweeten up slightly after chilling them.]

OK — HTH

Paul M.
==

[FMfruitforest]

I have tasted that increased irrigation during ripening reduces resinous flavor also.

[Satya]

I personally can't stand them and I'd have rather eaten a few puke flavored papaya. That was BEFORE my neighbor grabbed a few deep black samples from his yard and asked me to try them. I gotta say at least from HIS bush, I'd rather eat his Surinam cherry than a puke  flavored papaya :-)

It's not saying much but the possibility of a dessert Surinam is still a dim possibility.

Gary, my wife discovered a papaya that doesn't taste pukey; like you, she doesn't appreciate strong papaya flavor, so she kept propagating this one that has less sweetness but definitive floral fragrance, fresh "clean" taste, almost like a honeydew. I like very sweet (don't mind musky) papayas and don't care for "her" variety but she really loves it. Next time we see each other I can share seeds if you want.

[fliptop]

This seedling Zill's Dark fruited for the first time a couple months ago and is now loaded with flowers. Fruit were dark and in line with the parent, but what excites me most is that this seedling stands at only 3 1/2' tall.

[Reedo]

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to obtain scions or grafted plants of some of the improved selections (Zill's Dark, Black Star, etc.)? I'm not having any luck finding grafted/rooted plants for sale. Thank you!

[brian]

User achetadomestica has zills dark scion for sale in the buy sell trade section right now. 

[achetadomestica]

something new!
Has a milder Suriname cherry taste with no after taste.

[mikesid]

something new!
Has a milder Suriname cherry taste with no after taste.

  mine fruited for first time too. They seem to keep improving in brix. The last one was a brix of 18 and good flavor. I picked it early too, at least I thought i did...


 

[mikesid]

 'Dwarf Orange'

[mikesid]

'Chica Negra'

A couple people that tried this both thought it had a grape flavor to it. Small fruit like var Dasyblasta and smoother ribs.

[K-Rimes]

Interestingly the cold and rainy winter really worked for me. I usually have issues with pitanga leafing and flowering too early and getting destroyed by frost or rain. They are not so happy but are coming back. My big vermillion lived in greenhouse as did the Regina. You can probably tell which those are.

[Reedo]

something new!
Has a milder Suriname cherry taste with no after taste.

PM sent.

[Midwestfruitjungle]

I got my first 2 flowers on my black Surinam cherry in 2018 as a small seedling from 9waters. The tree is only about 1 foot tall and was holding a fruit but it got knocked off while moving outside . The leaves have no resinous smell which is a good sign. Hopefully it flowers again soon

[brian]

My 9waters black-surinam produced a dozen or so fruit last year but has put out almost no flowers this year and no fruits appeared.  Meanwhile, the red type I got at the same time has produced thousands of fruit.  Both trees are same similar size and very healthy, I wonder if this is a fluke or if red is much more productive than black?

[MasonG31]

Interestingly the cold and rainy winter really worked for me. I usually have issues with pitanga leafing and flowering too early and getting destroyed by frost or rain. They are not so happy but are coming back. My big vermillion lived in greenhouse as did the Regina. You can probably tell which those are.

Great pics.  Thanks.  None of my pitanga trees are flowering, but they are pushing new leaf growth.  Is it the same with you? 

[seng]

dark fruit. Fruits are big, dark, and sweet (when it is really ripe) with high acidity.    Not much gasoline smell.

Red fruit. It was grafted last year.  Fruits are even bigger, red, and sweet.  Not much gasoline smell.

[Bush2Beach]

I grafted Marta's red Surinam that has no ridges & is low resin and delicious.
I like a little resin flavor with my Surinam , but this one is highly agreeable and top notch.
It's maybe a Lolita descendent. I think that red with no ridges kind has been in CA for 50+ years.

[MasonG31]

Zill Dark harvested just this morning. Lots of resin, lots of sweetness, a little acidity to give it some balance. I just wished my tree would produce more. I only have about 7 more on the tree.  Seems to be a shy bearer at least for me.

[MasonG31]

dark fruit. Fruits are big, dark, and sweet (when it is really ripe) with high acidity.    Not much gasoline smell.

Red fruit. It was grafted last year.  Fruits are even bigger, red, and sweet.  Not much gasoline smell.

Is your red fruit a named variety? Where did you find it?  That’s a good looking fruit. Nice size.

[seng]

dark fruit. Fruits are big, dark, and sweet (when it is really ripe) with high acidity.    Not much gasoline smell.

Red fruit. It was grafted last year.  Fruits are even bigger, red, and sweet.  Not much gasoline smell.

Is your red fruit a named variety? Where did you find it?  That’s a good looking fruit. Nice size.

Unknown variety. I got it from exchanging java plum plant for cutting.  The ripe ones are just sweet , a lot of flesh, and jucy.  It is the size of a cherry.

[mikesid]

 I fruited a couple 'Regina' seedlings. I got seeds from MiguelPt several years ago. They are best uniflora I've had. No resinous flavor at all and sweet. Mine hasnt had a lot of flowers but I just popped it in the ground so maybe it will improve flowering. I'll try to remember to get a brix on next fruit.

 I planted the seed from these first 'Regina' fruits and fruited the first one this week and it produced a very beautiful red fruit, good flavor with no resin and a brix of 16.

[seng]

My other dark one started fruited last year.  It is sweet, acidic, juicy, large, and no resin taste.

[Mike T]

My Zill black seedling turned out red and it was alright and better than most varieties. My lolita seedlings all turned out red and volunteered for mulch patrol. My brazilian orange seedling turned out kinda red and very ordinary. My grafted black beauty thankfully has dark fruit and is better than the rest in low resin taste, sweetness and flesh yield but still doesnt keep me awake at night in thankful awe.

[yoski]

Any good source for Surinam Cherries in Florida? Most fruit tree nurseries don't carry them at all and the few that do don't have any varieties, just whatever grown from seed.

[gnappi]

I personally can't stand them and I'd have rather eaten a few puke flavored papaya. That was BEFORE my neighbor grabbed a few deep black samples from his yard and asked me to try them. I gotta say at least from HIS bush, I'd rather eat his Surinam cherry than a puke  flavored papaya :-)

It's not saying much but the possibility of a dessert Surinam is still a dim possibility.

Gary, my wife discovered a papaya that doesn't taste pukey; like you, she doesn't appreciate strong papaya flavor, so she kept propagating this one that has less sweetness but definitive floral fragrance, fresh "clean" taste, almost like a honeydew. I like very sweet (don't mind musky) papayas and don't care for "her" variety but she really loves it. Next time we see each other I can share seeds if you want.

Thx, I would appreciate it.

I have grown several that were quite good but the plant is short lived and my limited experience with them is the seeds from their fruit has been variable as to flavor.

I'm always willing to try again