Anyone growing Eugenia reinwardtiana??

[fruitlovers]

Don't think leaf cuttings works on most eugenias. But you can experiment and let me know?

[siafu]

 My cedar bay cherry is OK, but the fruits also need to be picked
 well ripened, otherwise they have a "pine" taste.

 

[FlyingFoxFruits]

ate my first fruit a tad early, found no pine taste at all, or any taste I associate with Surinam.  fruit was small, size of olive

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

Hi Adam,
I am growing one Eugenia reinwardtiana...I didn't know what this seedling was, when i bought it around December last year from the nursery. They told me that this seedling is called Grumixama vermelha in English is Red grumichama, which is not correct...I tried several times to id this seedling on the net...without success . The plant then flowered about 4 months after buying the seedling from the nursery and it was properly ID as Eugenia reinwardtiana...I am very happy to have this handsome Eugenia in my collection   doesn't mind a small pot

Here's some pics  and the Eugenia that I can't ID

Old Pics









New pics






Here's the seedling that I can't ID...The fruit was small, orange, the seeds were smooth, dark brown and with a nice pattern...Has anyone germinated seeds like this before? Any help is most welcome

[Mike T]

The best ones I have tried have been wild ones rather than those in cultivation.Considering how big their natural distribution is it is maybe ironic that the Cedar Bay area in the greater Daintree has great tasting examples.Some of these wild ones have big fruit with orange flesh and small seeds are almost perfectly spherical.There are lots of animal seed dispersers that eat them in that area.

[luc]

My biggest plant ( seeds from Australia ) is 1,5 meter tall and wide , produces in abundance over several months , fruits are not bad at all when they fall by them self , not before .

[CoPlantNut]

It's been 10 months, and my leaf cuttings are still looking good but show no signs of rooting or new growth.  I've rooted multiple stem cuttings in the same time though and they seem easy but slow, taking 3-4 months to root.

After more than a year of teasing me with flowers and aborted fruits, one of my plants finally ripened a fruit:



Sorry for the weird colors; the leaves are a nice dark green but cameras just don't take good pictures under my LED lights.  The fruit was actually quite good, with a perfect sweet / tart balance and a pseudo-cherry taste with a small spherical seed; easily the best Eugenia I've had so far (but I've only tasted 2 others) and about as good as a good Bing cherry, though with a slightly different flavor.  I'd certainly give this cultivar from Logee's a thumbs-up.

Both my plants are about 2 feet tall and wide and have a lot of flowers at the moment so hopefully I'll get more fruit soon!

   Kevin

[fruitlovers]

Hi Kevin, for better color rendition under your LED lights try using your camera's forced flash setting.
I got one of those E. reintwardiana plants from Logee's but it's really struggling as it is a magnet for the fairly new introduced fungal disease, guava rust (Puccinia psidii), that  seriously affects many myrtaceaes.

[CoPlantNut]

Hi Kevin, for better color rendition under your LED lights try using your camera's forced flash setting.
I got one of those E. reintwardiana plants from Logee's but it's really struggling as it is a magnet for the fairly new introduced fungal disease, guava rust (Puccinia psidii), that  seriously affects many myrtaceaes.

I've tried forced flash; the LED lights are bright enough that you have to get quite close to the subject for the flash to make things more white-balanced, but then it tends to get completely washed out by the flash.  When getting 2 feet or more from the subject the flash isn't bright enough to get rid of the purple cast.  I'm hoping to get a filter to correct the white balance instead (none of the software settings work) but it has to be custom-made.

Luckily the plants don't care about looking purple in photos and are growing and fruiting like mad!

[FlyingFoxFruits]

hey I like the pic CoPlantNut, congrats!!!

the fruit looks bigger than I've ever seen them get by me.

My buddy has the logees variety as well.  It's been hurt pretty badly by rust this year.  The fruits and foliage look nasty...I wonder if it will rebound.

[fruitlovers]

hey I like the pic CoPlantNut, congrats!!!

the fruit looks bigger than I've ever seen them get by me.

My buddy has the logees variety as well.  It's been hurt pretty badly by rust this year.  The fruits and foliage look nasty...I wonder if it will rebound.

Problems is that rust flys in the wind and can affect many other myrtaceaes. I've put up with it so far, but not sure that is very wise. Might try dunking the plants in different fungicides and see if that helps.

[BMc]

Yep I lost mine to myrtle rust. This plant is probably hit worse than S jambos. Myrtle rust doesn't affect guava here, so we don't call it guava rust... Only native Eugenia seem to get it bad. Mostly a few asian syzygium and no natives I have noticed are affected. Ceylon hill gooseberry gets it pretty bad. Backhousia gets it cosmetically.

I still want to try a few more seedling lines of the Cedar Bay Cherry. Mine tasted better than any other Eugenia, but is gone now. If I can find another nearly as good with some resistance it would be a dream.

[fruitlovers]

Yep I lost mine to myrtle rust. This plant is probably hit worse than S jambos. Myrtle rust doesn't affect guava here, so we don't call it guava rust... Only native Eugenia seem to get it bad. Mostly a few asian syzygium and no natives I have noticed are affected. Ceylon hill gooseberry gets it pretty bad. Backhousia gets it cosmetically.

I still want to try a few more seedling lines of the Cedar Bay Cherry. Mine tasted better than any other Eugenia, but is gone now. If I can find another nearly as good with some resistance it would be a dream.

Is there any approved control of this rust in Australia? Strain here also it does not affect guavas. Worst affected is S. jambos. Jaboticabas get it rarely, worse on malay apple.

[murraystevena2]

I have a big plant that produces lots of fruits, and many smaller plants from different sources that as far as I know have not fruited yet. Nice fruit but I think cherry of the rio grande taste better.

[fruitlovers]

I have a big plant that produces lots of fruits, and many smaller plants from different sources that as far as I know have not fruited yet. Nice fruit but I think cherry of the rio grande taste better.

Don't give up on cedar cherry yet because it is well known to have tremendous variation in quality.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

Yep I lost mine to myrtle rust. This plant is probably hit worse than S jambos. Myrtle rust doesn't affect guava here, so we don't call it guava rust... Only native Eugenia seem to get it bad. Mostly a few asian syzygium and no natives I have noticed are affected. Ceylon hill gooseberry gets it pretty bad. Backhousia gets it cosmetically.

I still want to try a few more seedling lines of the Cedar Bay Cherry. Mine tasted better than any other Eugenia, but is gone now. If I can find another nearly as good with some resistance it would be a dream.

Is there any approved control of this rust in Australia? Strain here also it does not affect guavas. Worst affected is S. jambos. Jaboticabas get it rarely, worse on malay apple.

I wonder if affected plants in containers can be put in quarantine, basically in a room with a dehumidifier, and some fungicide?

[Soren]

Hi BMc, yes i belive guava rust and myrtle rust are the same Puccinia psidii, but there are several different races of this same species, which can affect different set of plants.
What if anything have you used as treatment against it?

We apparently got a guava rust here in Uganda; but the strain only effect the growing tips of my strawberry guavas....

[CoPlantNut]

I wonder if affected plants in containers can be put in quarantine, basically in a room with a dehumidifier, and some fungicide?

Since the spores are likely airborne, I'd think you'd also need a UV filter on the incoming air to keep the plant from getting re-infected.

I'm hoping quarantining my plants 800 miles from the nearest frost-free zone will keep working; the fruit was delicious and they're starting to set a lot more.

   Kevin

[jabotica]

 The new leaves on my three potted beach cherrys are all affected with this curss
  I have contacted Florida state extension agents . I am wating for them to get back
to me . I have flowers and small fruit but all the new leaves look bad

[fruitlovers]

I wonder if affected plants in containers can be put in quarantine, basically in a room with a dehumidifier, and some fungicide?

Since the spores are likely airborne, I'd think you'd also need a UV filter on the incoming air to keep the plant from getting re-infected.

I'm hoping quarantining my plants 800 miles from the nearest frost-free zone will keep working; the fruit was delicious and they're starting to set a lot more.

   Kevin

Yes the rust is definitely spread by the wind, and can blow for very long distances. I think quarantine of plant is good idea to help to keep it from spreading. Or at very least have affected plants downwind from unaffected plants.
I think the rust here came in on shipment of plants from Florida. If you are ordering any myrtle family (guavas, jaboticaba, eugenias,  syzigium, etc.) plants from a zone with this disease you risk spreading it to your zone. Unfortunately it seems there is no ban of shipping plants or even inspection for this rust, at least not in Hawaii, maybe in whole USA?

[CoPlantNut]

Does anyone know if the rust can be spread on seeds?  I'd love to get some reinwardtiana seeds (from a source other than my plants to be genetically different) to try a multi-rootstock graft with a cutting of mine, but not if it's possibly going to infect my current plants.

   Kevin

[fruitlovers]

Does anyone know if the rust can be spread on seeds?  I'd love to get some reinwardtiana seeds (from a source other than my plants to be genetically different) to try a multi-rootstock graft with a cutting of mine, but not if it's possibly going to infect my current plants.

   Kevin

There is no evidence that the rust can spread on seeds. Some countries, like Ausralia do place restrictions on movement of all myrtaceae  seeds, but they are not really considered high risk. The spores can land and be moved on anything, including human hair and clothing, so yes they can land on seeds also. But much more likely mode of movement is from plant parts.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

looks like some fruits might set on one of my seedlings!

I hope theyre as good as the variety my friend got from Logees...the fruit from his tree was exceptional!

[FlyingFoxFruits]

been getting some real nice cedar bay cherriez...

i think I have at least two varieties (maybe 3?)...one has larger fruit, but the smaller seems sweeter...both are good eatin.

type one



type two

[gunnar429]

I gotta move my CBC plants into full sun....looks like they can fruit at quite a small size.  Do they taste similar to surinam cherry?