What’s a fruit tree that you would -NOT- recommend growing?

[tru]

be it a tree that doesn’t perform well, subpar taste, too picky over the environment, or just takes up too much space… what’s a fruit that you regret adding to your collection?

For instance I know some people say planting syzygium because of all the dropped flower materials, or hackberry trees can be messy with all the berries that drop on the ground and get walked over

[pagnr]

Many years ago a friend was trading fruit seeds with an organisation in Africa. I think they were Missionaries, maybe on a Garden of Eden type of fruit tree planting zeal ?
One day we collected a lot of Burdekin Plum seed, Pleiogynium timoriense.
https://www.australianplantsonline.com.au/pleiogynium-timoriense-burdekin-plum.html
The fruit tastes ok, a bit like weak soursop, but it is thin fleshed with a big stone.
Otherwise it is a very tough and very productive tree, quality is made up by abundance of fruit.
Sounded like a good choice for that part of Africa.
Like many of the unimproved Australian wild fruit, it is great on its own merits, but no match for Rollinia or Black sapote, for those whose tastes are so inclined.
The seeds got there to Africa and they grew it.
Some years later we saw in their Missionary Newsletter this type of announcement.

" We like getting seeds and growing all kinds of new delicious fruit, but please don't send anything like the Burdekin Plum again. "

[CarolinaZone]

Goumi

[Nick C]

not a tree but any thorned blackberry and any of its hybrids. super invasive

[Gone tropo]

Black sapote trash if eaten off the tree. Needs cream or other additives. Any fruit that is no good to eat out of hand doesn’t get planted at my place.

[brian]

I really like black sapote off the tree, and I have only had seedling types nothing special.

Bunchosia (peanut butter fruit) is pretty disappointing.  It does resemble peanut butter somewhat but not enough, it is more like green bean flavored jelly. 

I am underwhelmed by jaboticabas, too.  The flesh is good but the clingy seed and thick skin makes it hard to eat them.  They are so nice looking I will definitely keep one, but I see no reason to collect more.

Goji berry is bland, I had two types from cuttings and threw them all away after a year or two

[fruit nerd]

Black sapote with cocoa is great in a smoothie. I only eat black sapote in smoothies now, not a fan of eating it straight.

Finger lime is the only think I have planted that I'm really thinking of pulling out. So spiky and has weeds climbing over it which are hard to get rid without gloves. It's dieing back at the moment and I think I've only picked two fruits from ours.

[brian]

Yeah finger lime is kind of useless.  It has no juice so you can only get the lime taste by biting it.  I keep one as yet another novelty tree but it will be a forever bonsai like the others

All of the "foodie" citrus I think are overrated.  Meyer lemon, key lime, rangpur lime, sudachi, italian lemons.  I grew them all and prefer grocery store type lemons and limes

[CeeJey]

Noni. Smells like yak hork. I don't know why some people grow it.

All of the "foodie" citrus I think are overrated.  Meyer lemon, key lime,

Most of that list is just down to taste but key limes are way better for cooking. Mexican rice, lime pies and deserts, civiche, etc. Key lime pie with actual key limes beats a "key" lime pie with persian lime juice any day of the week.

Edit: Also, I dunno what you and I are doing different for goji berries, but mine are definitely not bland. I wouldn't describe the flavor of the kind out here as "good" per se (spicy, angry, peppery, maybe) but they're definitely not bland. Climate maybe? I think mine are mostly phoenix tears. The black ones can be bland as heck though.

[pineislander]

The only tree I gave up on was Muntingia calabura. It grew into a huge beast in just a few years and made some Ok small fruit.
The problem came when it started throwing out dozens of root suckers up to 50 feet away by year 4. It had to go.

[brian]

All of the "foodie" citrus I think are overrated.  Meyer lemon, key lime,

Most of that list is just down to taste but key limes are way better for cooking. Mexican rice, lime pies and deserts, civiche, etc. Key lime pie with actual key limes beats a "key" lime pie with persian lime juice any day of the week.

Edit: Also, I dunno what you and I are doing different for goji berries, but mine are definitely not bland. I wouldn't describe the flavor of the kind out here as "good" per se (spicy, angry, peppery, maybe) but they're definitely not bland. Climate maybe? I think mine are mostly phoenix tears. The black ones can be bland as heck though.

It certainly could be just me, but for key lime vs persian I cannot taste the difference between them at all.  I picked a bunch of both and did a taste test and it was clear that while ripeness drastically affected taste the cultivar did not, so for me key limes are just small seedy persian limes

[tru]

Are there any popular eugenias that people are underwhelmed by? What would you rate eugenia candolleana (rainforest plum)?

[Bush2Beach]

Variety is the spice of life and everyone has different likes and dislikes.
The best advice I have is don’t give up on a fruit because 1 you tried sucked.
I can see where y’all are coming from with the black sapote and finger lime, but they can be really good, so try not to close yourself off to that possibility.
Different cultivars , different flavor and texture.

[elouicious]

Variety is the spice of life and everyone has different likes and dislikes.
The best advice I have is don’t give up on a fruit because 1 you tried sucked.
I can see where y’all are coming from with the black sapote and finger lime, but they can be really good, so try not to close yourself off to that possibility.
Different cultivars , different flavor and texture.

Agree 100%- took me a long time to get a good cherimoya, still not sure I have had a good star apple, etc.

also many trees the fruit quality will improve with age, so if the first batch isn't to your liking, wait a bit

I think a lot of people end up getting disappointed with Eugenia- particularly Surinam cherry, due to the turpentyne flavor that can be in some cultivars. If you get a good one though, or even let a mediocre one sit in the fridge overnight, they taste like spicy maraschino cherries

[CeeJey]

It certainly could be just me, but for key lime vs persian I cannot taste the difference between them at all.  I picked a bunch of both and did a taste test and it was clear that while ripeness drastically affected taste the cultivar did not, so for me key limes are just small seedy persian limes

That's really interesting! I can definitely taste the difference between key limes and persian limes and it's similar for me to the difference between meyer lemons and store eurekas actually. Key limes have more of a lemon tartness to me (meanwhile meyers have less than eureka, people in Cali used to sell them as "lemonade lemons" because they were sweeter). Could just be a tastebud thing, although I do think key lime juice flavor is more heat-stable having cooked pretty extensively with both key lime and persian.

Although, if you don't cook a ton of Sonora-region Mexican food, and/or you're not part of a social group that's addicted to seasonal key lime pies where you're the only baker, the cooking distinction may not come up as often I admit 

[brian]

Are there any popular eugenias that people are underwhelmed by? What would you rate eugenia candolleana (rainforest plum)?

Pitangatuba for me.  I have only gotten a few fruit so far but they are very stringy.  It makes a good bonsai plant so I will keep them for the long haul I think and see if they improve over time.  I have some other eugenias fruiting for the first time this year, rainforest plum I think is one.  Looking forward to trying it.  I love surinam cherry so I am hopeful for other eugenias.

[Tropicaltoba]

What are peoples opinion on ambarella? Precocious and little but to me tastes like a bad cheesy mango. I am wondering if I just haven’t had good ones.

[0hip]

I am underwhelmed by jaboticabas, too.  The flesh is good but the clingy seed and thick skin makes it hard to eat them.  They are so nice looking I will definitely keep one, but I see no reason to collect more.

I like jabuticabas becasue they looks so cool when fruiting. also theres so many varieties and can be grown in pots

i dont like any of the sapotes really other than the sapodilla. Black, yellow, green, white, mamey. mostly because i only have a small suburban block, if i had a larger area i would grow them but they are not good enough to go over other better tasting fruits and they are more of a novelty not a fruit you would sit down and eat every day

[AndrewAZ]

I wouldn't plant a Kei Apple unless you have a large property and can tuck it away to avoid those thorns.

[Vegan Potato Man]

Noni. Smells like yak hork. I don't know why some people grow it.

The leaves are supposed to be pretty nutritious 

[K-Rimes]

Are there any popular eugenias that people are underwhelmed by? What would you rate eugenia candolleana (rainforest plum)?

A lot of the more rare eugenia I've tried are underwhelming and more experienced collectors say the same. Rain forest plum is not one of those, it's very tasty.

The usual eugenia suspects:

Pitanga
Pitangatuba
Cherry of the Rio Grande
Calycina
Candolleana
Grumichama

Are all worth a spot if you get good ones. Bad ones, oh well, top work them they all graft readily.

I like the black repanda I have taste wise, but fruit is super small. Underwhelming imo but I'll keep it.
Pitangatuba is very productive but you have to LOVE sour fruit (I eat them out of hand)
Stipitata is inedible out of hand but apparently makes good drinks - frost sensitive too which is a big negative for me in 9b
Some caylcina I've had can be metallic in a gross way but meh, I still eat em

There area a bajillion other eugenia I am growing but have not yet sampled

[greenerpasteur]

I am underwhelmed by jaboticabas, too.  The flesh is good but the clingy seed and thick skin makes it hard to eat them.  They are so nice looking I will definitely keep one, but I see no reason to collect more.

I tried jaboticaba twice and both time I'm disappointed. It's one of the most expensive tree to buy. A fruit tree can cost $1000 or more in SoCal. It's nice have it as a collection but I don't know if I want to spend that kind of cash on something I'm indifferent about. I prefer cherimoya/atemoya over jaboticaba any day.

[Abirkett2]

Canistel is one I've only eaten once, but that was enough for me to realize I'd likely not grow it personally. It would need protection in my ag zone and it's not worth protecting fruit I don't love.

[fruit nerd]

Canistel is one I've only eaten once, but that was enough for me to realize I'd likely not grow it personally. It would need protection in my ag zone and it's not worth protecting fruit I don't love.

Some varieties are quite dry but some varieties are moist and great to eat fresh. It's one of my favourite fruits, obviously though taste is subjective.

[Bush2Beach]

Just had my first delicious Starapple last winter, purple, low latex and great flavor.
Had my first delicious Black Sapote last fall that was right on.
I had tried both of these in various places and not liked them at all until these recent experiences.
Keeping an open mind you can keep learning, tasting  and experiencing new awesome things.

Variety is the spice of life and everyone has different likes and dislikes.
The best advice I have is don’t give up on a fruit because 1 you tried sucked.
I can see where y’all are coming from with the black sapote and finger lime, but they can be really good, so try not to close yourself off to that possibility.
Different cultivars , different flavor and texture.

Agree 100%- took me a long time to get a good cherimoya, still not sure I have had a good star apple, etc.

also many trees the fruit quality will improve with age, so if the first batch isn't to your liking, wait a bit

I think a lot of people end up getting disappointed with Eugenia- particularly Surinam cherry, due to the turpentyne flavor that can be in some cultivars. If you get a good one though, or even let a mediocre one sit in the fridge overnight, they taste like spicy maraschino cherries