Yellow Strawberry Tree (Muntingia calabura)

[fruitlovers]

Just read in The Encyclopedia of Fruits and Nuts, that this fruit germinates extremely well after going through a bird or a bat....plus for germinating seeds, high light is required.... so Oscar is dead on.

Maybe soaking seeds in an acid to simulate animal digestive system would help? Might be good to experiment soaking in vinegar or lemon juice? Or what type of acid would most closely simulate digestive tract?

[barath]

The problem I've had hasn't been germination -- if just smear the pulp of the fruit on the soil, they germinate just fine.  The problem I had is that after surviving for a few weeks, the tiny little seedlings all wilted and died.

I'm having decent luck with cuttings right now -- about 1 of every 2 seems to produce roots when placed in water, and half of those handle being potted in soil.

[greenman62]

aint dat my luck...
i got one from PIN several months ago, it is doing great,
buit its a red. I am in New Orleans 9b, and am hoping we dont get a bad freeze this year.
i will likely cut it back a bit and cover it,, but it would have been nice
to have a more cold-hardy type.

i really like the taste of these. ive never had a yellow, but this red is pretty darn good.
i dont mind the skins at all. they are pretty tasteless if you ask me.
i just chew and swallow. i figure its high in vitamins anyway.

i would love to get cuttings of yellow if anyone has them.

i have 2 air-layers going now...

Brad

Ed, to me the reds tasted like cotton candy on the inside and popcorn jelly belly on the outside.  The yellow tastes like sugar cube and skin is more mild.

Adam, I do have hopes of grafting a multicolor tree but I'd have to make plants from cuttings to have root stocks to graft.  I have 0 luck with sprouting seeds (so far).

Another plus about the yellow, it appears more cold tolerant than the red.  Years ago during the "big freeze" of '07, Exotica had a red and yellow right next to each other, the red was fried but recoverable, the yellow still held fruits and leaves.  There might be other factors involved but by appearance, yellow is hardier by degrees.

As for sprouting seeds, I believe Tim showed pictures of how he did it on one of the threads. 

[achetadomestica]

Does  anyone have the yellow/white M. calabura? Right now I would even like a few cuttings from the red colored plant. I live in zone 9b and want to try the more cold hardy one in the ground eventually but meanwhile I can keep a red one in a pot. Please pm if anyone has cuttings I could purchase THANKS