Eugenia stipitata (araçá-boi) in bud – Is now in bloom . . . .

[Epicatt2]

Hello All,

My Eugenia stipitata (araçá-boi) is in bud right now (Sept 1st).  It has been in a 7 gallon pot all this season and made it through the hottest part of the summer with only a bit of leaf-tip burn.  It's gotten plenty of water during our Florida rainy season.

If anyone else is growing this species I'd very much like to learn what is your experience with it?  Does yours bloom more than once a year?  Also I cannot find much detailed info on the culture of this species.  Does it seem to benefit from fertilization?  What kind?  How frequently?

This plant came from TT in Ft. Myers about a year ago.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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[Finca La Isla]

Here, araza produces off and on throughout the year.  We regard it as hardy.
We have never fertilized them.  We give some mulch and not anything else.  I planted them originally as an intercrop between large growing trees.  Hence some are still in full sun while others have been pretty much shaded out.  The ones in the shade still produce but a tad less than those in direct sun.
Peter

[Epicatt2]

As I mentioned earlier, my plant came from TT in Ft. Myers.  Got it in late August last year and by November it had some buds on it.  Then we had some chilling weather in December and all the buds blasted.  The plant at that time suffered some browning of the newest leaf tips and plant stopped growing. We never got to freezing here last year but did get down to 34ºF. one time.

SO now it has buds on it again in September so I am hoping for some fruit-set this time around.

Still not sure whether my plant would benefit from some light fertilizing or not after what Peter posted above, but he's in the tropics and 9b where I am is not.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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[Cop]

Look at it...
only translate
https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/eugenia-stipitata-2/?lang=es

[Epicatt2]

Look at it...
only translate
https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/eugenia-stipitata-2/?lang=es

Muy interesante artículo con mucha información útil. ¡ Gracias!

Paul M.
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[Epicatt2]

Just checked after several rainstorms that passed thru here this afternoon and the buds have started opening.

Hoping for the best.

Paul M.
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[Finca La Isla]

They’re quite fragrant!

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Great link, thank you! I was telling a friend the other day that I read somewhere that they can produce in around 2 years from seed and he was asking where I read it so I sent him that article. We have about 50 seeds planted right now and they just started sending out roots.

Look at it...
only translate
https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/eugenia-stipitata-2/?lang=es

[Finca La Isla]

The seeds are a little slow to germinate.
Araza produces when still small but it is not such a fast grower. Two years from what point?  Perhaps after about a year in a pot, then planted out for two years.
Peter

[shmojojojo]

Look at it...
only translate
https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/eugenia-stipitata-2/?lang=es

Informative article, but it's funny the first photo they use in the article appears to be guava and not Araza

[just.jim]

I have one that appears to be a couple of years old.  It is maybe 30" tall, tons of branches, new growth, in a 7 gallon container.  I am in socal, zone 10A.  When would this flower and how old are they typically when they start to produce fruit?

[Epicatt2]

I have one that appears to be a couple of years old.  It is maybe 30" tall, tons of branches, new growth, in a 7 gallon container.  I am in socal, zone 10A.  When would this flower and how old are they typically when they start to produce fruit?

JJim, mine that is just now in bloom is in a 7 gallon pot and is about as tall as yours or maybe a tad taller.

Incidentally I just discovered a single nearly ripe fruit on the plant which must've set about two months ago without me noticing.

I have my plant sitting where it gets mostly full sun much of the day.  We've had a very rainy summer here in Tampa so I haven't had to water it very much.

Good luck with yours.  It may surprise you and pop out some buds any time now.

Cheers!

Paul M.
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[just.jim]

fingers crossed, zero buds atm, but hopefully sooner than later.   Appreciate the response

[Epicatt2]

I have one that appears to be a couple of years old.  It is maybe 30" tall, tons of branches, new growth, in a 7 gallon container.  I am in socal, zone 10A.  When would this flower and how old are they typically when they start to produce fruit?

fingers crossed, zero buds atm, but hopefully sooner than later.   Appreciate the response

I went back and re-read your posts JJim and am wondering whether your E. stipitata maybe needs a bit more humidity to encourage it to bloom.  It surely seems large enough to do so.

My advice is to just be patient.  I kept watching and watching mine and it was making new leaves but no buds.  Then one day, seemingly randomly, when I walked past it the darned thing was full of buds.  ¡Presto – Abracadabra!

So I repeat, just be patient.

Fingers still X-ed!

Paul M.
==

[shmojojojo]

I've had a 3 gal Araza for little over a year. It's been in a few different environments. Inside by a window for about 6 months. Wasn't too happy. Outside at the beginning of spring for about a month and it started to show small signs of recovery. Then finally inside a greenhouse for the last 6 months with 50% shade cloth cover, 70-95F with 50-90% humidity and it's very happy. Lots of new growth and now has buds forming. Could be just age and season, but I really think humidity is the big factor here. Obviously you could say the same with all tropical fruit trees

[just.jim]

The same thing I went through with my pitangatuba.  Nothing, no new growth, no signs of life, appeared to be an artificial plant with zero changes over 5 months.  Then one day I go out early AM and there are tons of new blossoms starting.  They all bloomed within 5 days or so and have maybe 18 or 20 fruit growing on it now.  Hoping the same happens with this.

I do believe humidity is a big deal for the plants.  We have had a lot of humidity here, for our area, the last several weeks and some plants just exploded.  Unfortunately, the Santa Anas will hit in the next 3 or 4 weeks and they bring 0% humidity here.  I have everything in containers so I jackass them in and out of the house or garage when they hit. 

I have one that appears to be a couple of years old.  It is maybe 30" tall, tons of branches, new growth, in a 7 gallon container.  I am in socal, zone 10A.  When would this flower and how old are they typically when they start to produce fruit?

fingers crossed, zero buds atm, but hopefully sooner than later.   Appreciate the response

I went back and re-read your posts JJim and am wondering whether your E. stipitata maybe needs a bit more humidity to encourage it to bloom.  It surely seems large enough to do so.

My advice is to just be patient.  I kept watching and watching mine and it was making new leaves but no buds.  Then one day, seemingly randomly, when I walked past it the darned thing was full of buds.  ¡Presto – Abracadabra!

So I repeat, just be patient.

Fingers still X-ed!

Paul M.
==

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

The seeds are a little slow to germinate.
Araza produces when still small but it is not such a fast grower. Two years from what point?  Perhaps after about a year in a pot, then planted out for two years.
Peter

Peter, I'm just coming back to this thread. In the article linked it says this:

 El tiempo de germinación va de los 2 a los 8 meses, aunque puede ser acortado mediante escarificación de la semilla, y la primera fructificación, bajo las mejores condiciones de cultivo, se da tras alrededor de 2 años.

Under the best conditions, it produces in around 2 years. I take it to mean from germination to fruit. I've read it elsewhere too. Obviously people with direct experience sowing seeds and getting them to fruit know they may take longer but like I said, I had read it one place and it also says it in this article...but another thing is, a lot of articles are just copy/pasted so there's that too.

I'll take direct experience advice over an article any day

[Finca La Isla]

Originally, we germinated araza seeds in plastic bags like with pejibaye.  Now we look for germinated seeds under the trees. I’ve never tried scaring.
I haven’t really timed them carefully to fruit but I have a fruit tree nursery and they grow slowly in the nursery initially. It helps to sell fruit trees when you claim that they will fruit very quickly. Personally I would not suggest that an araza tree could fruit within two years of germination.
Saludos
Peter

[kalan]

My trees took about 5 years from seed in 10b in pots. I get multiple blooms (2-3 ) in the summer. Trees seem to be monoecious.
Keith

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Thanks Peter! One day I'll get myself over to that side of the country and visit you!

Originally, we germinated araza seeds in plastic bags like with pejibaye.  Now we look for germinated seeds under the trees. I’ve never tried scaring.
I haven’t really timed them carefully to fruit but I have a fruit tree nursery and they grow slowly in the nursery initially. It helps to sell fruit trees when you claim that they will fruit very quickly. Personally I would not suggest that an araza tree could fruit within two years of germination.
Saludos
Peter

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Just to bring this back up, I had the guy from the garden center in town pick me up an arazá-boi a couple weeks ago and I just saw it has buds on it yesterday. It's not more than 30 inches tall, probably less and 2 branches have some flowers on it. I don't know if it's a seedling or grown from cuttings but it doesn't look to be grafted since it has a lot of low branches. Here are some pictures, the last one is to show size, it's to the right of a Sundrop that's about 4 feet tall.

[Finca La Isla]

Probably grown from a seedling.  They produce at that size, just takes a while to get there.

[Epicatt2]

Just an update ref my araçá-boi here in Tampa with all the buds/flowers it had on it this past month....  Didn't set any fruit during that time though.  Wondering whether that might be due to the 95+ºF. temps we were having at that time.  It was getting ample water.

Maybe it needs feeding to have enough strength to set/hold fruit, but what kind of fertilizer, how often, and how much?  Maybe some citrus fertilizer with minors???

Cheers!

Paul M.
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