Author Topic: Tropical cherry fruit?  (Read 2137 times)

Homeby5

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Tropical cherry fruit?
« on: September 02, 2020, 09:03:58 PM »
Is there a cherry tree that grows well in the Keys? I heard about one but don't know if it is true?
Thanks

Satya

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2020, 09:23:34 PM »
Barbados cherry, Jamaican cherry and Surinam cherry all should do good in the Keys.

AndrewAZ

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2020, 01:22:19 AM »
None of those will taste like a cherry.  I actually think Jamaican cherry tastes better than.a real cherry, but, the fruit is small and birds love them. 
There are 3 true cherry types that are low chill.  I am not sure how many hours a year you get under 45 in the keys, but Minnie royal, royal Lee pollinate each other and need 2,-300 chill hours.  Royal crimson is ds self fruitful and needs about the same in chill hours.  You can buy them from Dave Wilson.
Also, in northern South America, they are currently trying to make a cherry produce under tropical conditions.  So, maybe oneday we can all have a true cherry.

FMfruitforest

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2020, 04:38:11 AM »
I think Barbados cherry does a great job resembling a Northwestern Cherry, especially when they turn a dark red
Id start with one these

Mike T

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2020, 04:42:35 AM »
Good luck finding a Prunus sp. that likes it hot. Red is easy to get in tropical berries and so is a single seeds in the middle. The flavour and texture of a cherry now that is a different story.

Tropheus76

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2020, 09:49:05 AM »
I would add Cherry of Rio Grand as well as the Barbados and Surinam. But as others have said, these are common name cherries and in no relation at all to Prunus species. Out of them Barbados is my favorite and very tasty and very prolific with multiple blooms a year.

Satya

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2020, 10:14:55 AM »
I would add Cherry of Rio Grand as well as the Barbados and Surinam. But as others have said, these are common name cherries and in no relation at all to Prunus species. Out of them Barbados is my favorite and very tasty and very prolific with multiple blooms a year.

Yes Barbados cherry has the sweet n tart mix when it is ripe-dark maroon color, not bright red. Otherwise it is sour. Some Eugenias also have good taste, have heard good things about Eugenia calycina"Nelita" but i have not tried it myself, may be some forum members who have tried can chime in.

CherimoyaDude

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2020, 11:00:07 AM »
Isn't Capulin supposed to do OK in tropics?

roblack

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2020, 11:12:49 AM »
Barbados cherry is quite nice and refreshing to me. A little sweet, and a bit sour.

Way better than Surinam cherries, but yet to try the better varieties.

Since real cherries don't fruit here, loaded up on a bunch of the tropical ones (grumi, pintangatuba, zills dark, nelita, cotrg, victoriana, araza, and of course, mucho jabos). Feels like a good trade off.


Bush2Beach

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2020, 12:16:42 PM »
Capulin cherry.

Kevin Jones

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2020, 01:30:38 PM »
Just walked out into my backyard and picked and ate a ripe Black Star Suriname Cherry... DELICIOUS!
Tastes nothing like a temperate cherry... has a sort of grape-ish flavor. Really juicy too.

Kevin jones


roblack

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2020, 02:17:28 PM »
pitomba too!

Homeby5

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2020, 05:36:00 PM »
Just walked out into my backyard and picked and ate a ripe Black Star Suriname Cherry... DELICIOUS!
Tastes nothing like a temperate cherry... has a sort of grape-ish flavor. Really juicy too.

Kevin jones
My friend told me they were good. I wonder if they would grow easily in the Keys?

Kevin Jones

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2020, 05:49:39 PM »
I don't see why not... they are a tropical plant:








Kevin Jones



Mike T

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #14 on: September 04, 2020, 03:00:39 AM »
The difference between a good and bad 'brazil' cherry is wide. Blacker types are usually better especially if you are not a fan of a hydrocarbon taint.

Kevin Jones

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #15 on: September 04, 2020, 08:24:46 AM »
More of a hint of Turpentine after-taste... not unlike Pine Nuts or Citrus fruit.
I have a few really nice tasting individuals... Black Star (Black), Crimson Tide (Red) and a Zill Dark seedling that for now I call Zillion (Black) and a Lolita Seedling (Black).
The Crimson Tide is especially good... tastes like a Satsuma mandarine!
And these CTs graft easily too!

Kevin Jones



Mike T

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #16 on: September 04, 2020, 08:37:22 AM »
My 2 lolitas threw back to red and were ordinary, I shared some black star seedlings and a couple turned out good and my Brazilian orange is alright. I have tried  very large fruited blacks from 2 different trees of unknown varieties that have been pretty good. There are some bad reds around.

Mike T

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #17 on: September 04, 2020, 08:40:49 AM »
Not quite like citrus or pine nuts as it is more 'chemical' in nature in a strong pitangatuba style. Bad yellow papaya grown in cold climates can have a nasturtium quality with a metallic taint that is perhaps more comparable.

bsbullie

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #18 on: September 04, 2020, 09:44:08 AM »
A top specimen Suriname will be your best bet.  As stated, the better blacks are really good and can lack the petrol nuance.  I have a couple grafted reds that was ironically purchased at ZHPP as a Zill Dark that has turned out to be a red and has no petrol characteristics.
- Rob

Epicatt2

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #19 on: September 04, 2020, 10:35:17 AM »
Mike T & All,

What's this about black-fruited pitangas 'throwing back to red' that I've heard about before? 

Is it genetic on the same plant and due to some loose allele, or maybe could it be cultural, or is it sporting activity on the part of a particular plant?

Are there black fruited pitanga cultivars that are proven to stay black out there?  Any particular named cultivars?

Inquiring minds and all that rot . . . .

Paul M.
==

bsbullie

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #20 on: September 04, 2020, 11:39:42 AM »
More of a hint of Turpentine after-taste... not unlike Pine Nuts or Citrus fruit.
I have a few really nice tasting individuals... Black Star (Black), Crimson Tide (Red) and a Zill Dark seedling that for now I call Zillion (Black) and a Lolita Seedling (Black).
The Crimson Tide is especially good... tastes like a Satsuma mandarine!
And these CTs graft easily too!

Kevin Jones

Have you grafted your seedlings and have the grafted trees proven over multiple years to fruit true to their seedling?
- Rob

AndrewAZ

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #21 on: September 05, 2020, 01:36:05 AM »
I tried capulin cherry.  It is a cherry, but i think it is an acquired taste.  Tried some from a friend that was an improved variety, but to me it tasted horrible, much to my dismay.
Supposedly Catalina Island cherries do well and i am sure they would grow there, but i hear they are mostly all seed.
Would be nice if someone could select them for more flesh and good flavor.

CGameProgrammer

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #22 on: September 05, 2020, 08:06:37 PM »
Australian beach cherry, aka cedar bay cherry, is a eugenia with a very cherry-like texture (very crisp) which is very salt-tolerant (hence the "beach") and a sweet but subtle flavor. Some are kind of bland but others have a subtle flavor on top of the sweetness. (No sourness though.) The fruits are bright red.

Acerola / barbados cherry, specifically the very common "Manoa sweet" variety, is very good. Seeds are a bit annoying, I tend to just eat the perimeter of the fruit, but the plants fruit prolifically and the bright red shiny fruits are very nice-looking.

Ghost

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #23 on: September 06, 2020, 03:23:32 AM »
Prunus ssp?

Mike T

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Re: Tropical cherry fruit?
« Reply #24 on: September 06, 2020, 05:13:25 AM »
Cherries,capilin cherries, plums peaches etc are in the genus Prunus.