Growing Maqui berry in the desert

[Fygee]

One of my experimental Vegas grows is a Maqui Berry, aka Chilean Wineberry. Since acai palms are completely impossible, I figured this would be a good alternative.

Four of them died, but this one is doing fantastic. Gets morning and a little afternoon sun, and handled last summer and winter like a champ (much to my surprise). It's a full year old in the ground and has pushed out a lot of growth since it's days as a tiny stick. Also got some flowers a few weeks back.

I have a question though. What are the conditions it needs to set fruit in terms of maturity, temps, and humidity? It's (supposedly) a self-fertile variety that produces both male and female flowers. No fruit set with the flowers it produced, so I'm assuming, and hoping, that the plant just needs another year under it's belt to start producing.

[elouicious]

where did you source the plants?

I was not aware of a hermaphrodite clone

[Fygee]

This one I got from Restoring Eden. They're out of stock at the moment.

https://restoringeden.co/product-category/fruiting-shrubs/maqui-chilean-wineberry/

I have another in a pot that's also doing well that I got from Wanderlust Nursery. Also sold out there at the moment.

https://www.wanderlustnursery.com/shop/products/p/chilean-wine-berry?rq=maqui

Both claim to be hermaphroditic.

[elouicious]

Interesting that they both claim hermaphroditic clone but don't name it-

Did you get grafted trees or seedlings?

[Fygee]

Bumping this up from the dead.

One of the two plants died after I attempted to relocate it. Even with gentle handling of the roots, it just didn't like it at all. Good to know for the future.

The other is going gangbusters. It's exploded with growth and is completely covered in flowers and set fruit. It lost no leaves during the winter, and while it looked really ratty last summer, it recovered very well once fall hit.

Being that it's the only plant, that confirms the one I got is indeed self fertile. It also appears that the first time it flowers, it's all for show. None of them set any fruit last year.

Pics to come soon.

@Elouicious they were rooted cuttings.

[roblack]

Great job! Can't wait to get a taste report! Tried seeds a few years ago, none sprouted.

[Pokeweed]

I tried some a few years ago and they died in Summer, even with filtered light.

[CeeJey]

Congrats and good job!! I tried these last year down here in the low desert but the seeds I got were not great quality, I think. Will be interested to hear about how this goes.

[Fygee]

Thanks much!

I tried with seeds before these cuttings and they always ended up faltering after a few months. Plus there's the whole issue of needing male and female plants from seeds, and having to wait years to see what you get. I'm totally convinced that cuttings are the way to go.

Lessons I've learned are they definitely have sensitive root systems, and the main trunks/branches need sun protection the first year or two. They need to be in the ground, and in their permanent home when you plant them. The main trunks will get heavily sunburned when young in the summer if they're not protected with a whitewash or SurroundWP. Not needed later on once they have enough foliage to protect themselves with and adapt to the intense sun and heat.

It also helps to have a good micro-climate. I planted mine near some in-ground citrus and potted avocados that are bunched together (small yard), where there's plenty of woodchip mulch, good irrigation, and afternoon shade. Because of that, it gets some additional protection, slightly cooler ambient temps, and the soil stays consistently moist and cool.

Once it finishes fruiting, I plan on taking some cuttings and selling them unrooted and rooted. I'll let folks here know when they're ready.

[Fygee]

Color on the berries is starting to change.

[Tropical Sunshine]

Congrats on getting the maqui plant to fruit in the desert!!

Like many have said, I can’t seem to get maqui seeds to germinate either...

Thanks for wanting to offer the cuttings since we know your plant is a hermaphrodite...But you are also welcome to sell us the seeds if you don’t mind! 😉😌

[Fygee]

For sure. The seeds may still be gendered, but only one way to find out, right?

[Tropical Sunshine]

Yup, and I wouldn’t mind trying out both cuttings and seeds...As a zone pusher, it’s good to promote a certain level of genetic diversity! For example, I am growing seaberry seedlings under shade. So far, they are doing okay and need lots of TLC like frequent watering. But it’s nice to know I’m growing a plant that the naysayers say can only grow in the upper North such as Michigan or Norway, lol...😄

[Fygee]

Coincidentally seaberries are another experiment I'm also trying. I've totally fallen in love with the sweeter varieties.

I have four different ones in my front yard that will get some shade (Sirola, Orange Glow, Golden Sweet, and a male), and am manually watering them until they get established. From my understanding, full shade is bad for them and they need "full sun" with at least eight hours a day of direct sunlight regardless of how hot or cold it is.

I had one a few years back in a pot in my backyard that handled our summer fine with enough watering (that sadly died when I over-watered it in the winter), so I'm hopeful these will do the same in ground. Time will tell.

I've taking a few of the small suckers from the bottom of them and am keeping them in a different place as insurance. Those plants were not easy to get.

Keen to know how yours do!

I'll have cuttings available once the fruit ripen and I can collect seeds for the maqui to offer both. Should be pretty soon.

[Tropical Sunshine]

Hmmm that’s interesting to note...I’ve heard it a little differently for folks who live in a less than ideal climate for seaberry, especially in areas that can receive high temperature with high humidity. I’m growing mine in the Deep South. Perhaps they seem to fare better in the high heat but low humidity environment of Vegas, so can handle more sunlight? It’s suggested that they be given indirect sunlight in hot regions, and by following that mantra my seaberry seedlings seem to be faring quite well.They’re getting some new leaf growths so that’s a good sign to note, but I also feel like you really need to baby them along way, especially in the heat of the summer. By the way, it’s a similar strategy with lettuce. In the North like Maine you can grow lettuce in full sun in May, June, and July. The temperature is mild so lettuce do not seem to mind being in full sun. Summer in Maine is almost equivalent to late Winter to mid Spring down here...In our summer, we need to give lettuce some shade and protection from the intense heat in order to give them a chance to give us a small but decent harvest, lol.😉

[Tropical Sunshine]

Ironically I came to a rather different conclusion: Several years ago, I tried to grow them in full sun. Unfortunately, they croaked, probably due to the relentless heat and humidity of the summer we had at the time. There are many variables in gardening that I think it’s difficult to determine why some people can succeed with marginal plants while others do the same and utterly fail at it...I think you should continue to learn in gardening, because you can learn some more as you grow more !

P.S. Let us know when you decide to offer cuttings of the monoecious plant and seeds, thanks !

[CeeJey]

Hey congrats on this and great job!! Super excited to see this developing, as yet another person who's not managed to get these to germinate.

Coincidentally seaberries are another experiment I'm also trying. I've totally fallen in love with the sweeter varieties.

I have four different ones in my front yard that will get some shade (Sirola, Orange Glow, Golden Sweet, and a male), and am manually watering them until they get established. From my understanding, full shade is bad for them and they need "full sun" with at least eight hours a day of direct sunlight regardless of how hot or cold it is.

I'm also working on this as well, I have a ton of seedlings from multiple sources that I'm winnowing out (some over-summered and overwintered successfully outdoors) along with an Orange Energy and a Male I snagged from Planting Justice this year.

I don't know about the light source thing, I keep hearing that too but "full sun" NEVER means the same thing in Phoenix that it means everywhere else and my small ones are doing better currently under dappled shade/ 30% cloth. The big ones are getting about 4-6 hours a day of direct sun but I'm keeping a close eye on them. I suspect this may be yet another "does better with a moringa on the west side" tree for me if I can keep them alive, we'll see. Hope we can compare notes later.

It’s suggested that they be given indirect sunlight in hot regions, and by following that mantra my seaberry seedlings seem to be faring quite well.They’re getting some new leaf growths so that’s a good sign to note, but I also feel like you really need to baby them along way, especially in the heat of the summer.

That was my experience last year. All seedlings spent the summer under near-complete full shade except for two hours in the AM or so, and the ones that didn't died. They grew almost not at all until this spring but they survived.

[Fygee]

Maqui berries appear to have ripened and...they taste like dry soap. The flesh was very firm without the slightest hint of juice, and the seeds inside were still oddly green. Despite the berries being very dark purple for a couple weeks now, I'm wondering if they're still not ripe somehow? Seems unlikely...

I'm hoping this is just a first year thing and they'll be better next year.

Anyone here with experience growing them that can compare their mature, ripened fruit?

Hmmm that’s interesting to note...I’ve heard it a little differently for folks who live in a less than ideal climate for seaberry, especially in areas that can receive high temperature with high humidity. I’m growing mine in the Deep South. Perhaps they seem to fare better in the high heat but low humidity environment of Vegas, so can handle more sunlight? It’s suggested that they be given indirect sunlight in hot regions, and by following that mantra my seaberry seedlings seem to be faring quite well.They’re getting some new leaf growths so that’s a good sign to note, but I also feel like you really need to baby them along way, especially in the heat of the summer. By the way, it’s a similar strategy with lettuce. In the North like Maine you can grow lettuce in full sun in May, June, and July. The temperature is mild so lettuce do not seem to mind being in full sun. Summer in Maine is almost equivalent to late Winter to mid Spring down here...In our summer, we need to give lettuce some shade and protection from the intense heat in order to give them a chance to give us a small but decent harvest, lol.😉

They definitely seem to be very tender plants when they're young and not established. Vegas sun tolerance, I think, depends on if you properly harden them off and give them some afternoon shade. That said, the one I have that's getting the most shade seems to be the healthiest, which I didn't expect based on the other one I had a couple years ago that loved the summer sun.

Lettuce is strictly a late fall/winter/mid-spring crop here. Plant them once the temps get over 90 and they'll bolt as soon as they sprout. Lol.

@CeeJay That's great! Glad to have someone else to bounce off of on how to get seaberries to succeed in the desert.

You're 100% right on how full sun here and in AZ means something very different in other locations. Moreso here since your elevation is a little more forgiving than ours. I'm hopeful afternoon sun will be sufficient to keep them happy. Also mulched and well watered until they can get established.

The real test hasn't come yet as our summer has been unusually mild so far. It's 83 degrees right now, and has stayed in the 80s and 90s for highs for the past few weeks. Totally unheard of for all 41 years I've lived here. Not complaining though. Lol.

Shade cloth will happen if they start to decline.

[CeeJey]

@CeeJay That's great! Glad to have someone else to bounce off of on how to get seaberries to succeed in the desert.

Unfortunately I've already lost one (I think), however I think that was due to a disease issue complicated by the heat and bad drainage. It may yet sprout back though, so right now I'm just keeping an eye on it. Meanwhile the male is doing great, other variety is doing okay, seedlings doing okay. We'll see how it goes.

[Tropical Sunshine]

Yeah I just bought some seaberry plants online, so they are essentially like first year seedlings trying to adapt to the sweltering heat and humidity of the Deep South, lol!
I hope to get a few of the resilient plants through our harsh summer and hopefully by next year they will become a little better adapted to this climate...

[Tropical Sunshine]

One thing I notice about growing seaberry in our oppressive summer—You better treat them with as much TLC as you can reasonably provide because let me tell you, once a seaberry plant begins to lose its leaves in the heat, it is pretty much a goner. High temperature/humidity combined with a soggy soil is not good for its root system...

[FloridaManDan]

Maqui berries appear to have ripened and...they taste like dry soap. The flesh was very firm without the slightest hint of juice, and the seeds inside were still oddly green. Despite the berries being very dark purple for a couple weeks now, I'm wondering if they're still not ripe somehow? Seems unlikely...

I'm hoping this is just a first year thing and they'll be better next year.

While I can't offer direct advice on maqui, no doubt that a first crop fighting that heat isn't going to be ideal, so I wouldn't be discouraged. Whats the drought tolerance on maqui? I see conflicting information online.
Ive read a lot about the similar Grewia asiatica (Sherbet berry), is that something youve considered Fygee? I've read it grows well in dry conditions, where as maqui prefers moist soils, but they have a similar flavor.

[roblack]

Now you can tell the kids, "Gonna wash your mouth out with maqui berries!" if they are using foul language.

[Fygee]

While I can't offer direct advice on maqui, no doubt that a first crop fighting that heat isn't going to be ideal, so I wouldn't be discouraged. Whats the drought tolerance on maqui? I see conflicting information online.
Ive read a lot about the similar Grewia asiatica (Sherbet berry), is that something youve considered Fygee? I've read it grows well in dry conditions, where as maqui prefers moist soils, but they have a similar flavor.

Oddly enough, it hasn't had to fight the heat yet this year. Grew like nuts over the fall, winter, and spring. Temps have rarely gone over the 90s for the high, and mostly hovered in the 70s and 80s while they formed and ripened. Extremely unusual for us here, but I'll take it.

Drought isn't an issue with it as it gets watered pretty well with a thick layer of woodchip mulch. So I'm going to chalk it up to "first year" fruit issues.

I'm definitely going to look up that Sherbet berry. Thanks for the tip! The more berries, the merrier.

One thing I notice about growing seaberry in our oppressive summer—You better treat them with as much TLC as you can reasonably provide because let me tell you, once a seaberry plant begins to lose its leaves in the heat, it is pretty much a goner. High temperature/humidity combined with a soggy soil is not good for its root system...

One of them has defoliated a bit, but not too heavily. Fingers crossed it's not toast. Been trying to keep them watered enough without bogging them down. With our clay soils (even amended with organic matter) and generally poor drainage (these are on a slope thankfully), getting the right balance of soil moisture is always a challenge.

Now you can tell the kids, "Gonna wash your mouth out with maqui berries!" if they are using foul language.

Lol.

[CeeJey]

One thing I notice about growing seaberry in our oppressive summer—You better treat them with as much TLC as you can reasonably provide because let me tell you, once a seaberry plant begins to lose its leaves in the heat, it is pretty much a goner. High temperature/humidity combined with a soggy soil is not good for its root system...

Yeah agreed, root issues (some kind of rot, or inability to take up enough water fast enough in 104+ days) seems to be the main challenge out here so far, for the seedlings and the one I purchased online that died. The corner of the lot I'm planting these in, I've been trading out a lot of the soil for sand a ways down to improve drainage; they can grow into the clay at their own rate but hopefully the root ball will stay un-waterlogged. It seems to be at least heavily cultivar dependent as some seedlings and one of the adults do just fine regardless of anything and some of them can't get their business together even when babied. That's true even out of the same seedlings in a batch (I've done four batches so far from different parents). Highly variable heat tolerance.

Meanwhile I've been acclimating seedlings by raising them from the get-go in a mix that includes some native clay so that they don't freak out over a ph or composition change.

I see I'm definitely going to look up that Sherbet berry.

Tangential to the main topic but I cannot for the life of me get grewia to set fruit down here in the low desert. They certainly flower though. It's been weirding me out because I can't find any info that they're dioecious or anything. Might be a local issue of some kind, the grewia occidentalis back in the bay area certainly don't have an issue setting berries...