Rose apple and wax Jambu questions

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Yesterday I found some green Wax Jambu at the farmers market, the first couple I ate had seeds but most of them didn't. I saved them and have them in a germinating tray right now. Has anyone grown these from seed and if so about how long will they take to flower and fruit?

Also yesterday a friend of my wife gave us some rose apple and I'd like to either do an air layer or take a cutting from it to grow myself. Which way would be better? I saw somewhere that a person took a cutting of wax Jambu and it rooted easily and quickly but I imagine an air layer could get me a bigger piece of the tree and most likely have it producing quicker than a cutting.

[W.]

Some rose apple (Syzygium jambos) information from Julia F. Morton's Fruits of Warm Climates, accessed from the Center for New Crops & Plant Products at Purdue University (https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/rose_apple.html).

"Most rose apple trees are grown from seeds, which are polyembryonic (producing 1 to 3 sprouts), but the seedlings are not uniform in character nor behavior. In India, vegetative propagation has been undertaken with a view to standardizing the crop and also to select and perpetuate dwarf types. Using cuttings, it was found that hardwood does not root even with chemical growth promoters. Treated semihard wood gave 20% success. Air-layers taken in the spring and treated with 1,000 ppm NAA gave 60% success. Air-layers did not root in the rainy season. In budding experiments, neither chip nor "T" buds would take. Veneer grafting in July of spring-flush scions on 1-year-old rootstocks was satisfactory in 31% of the plants. In West Bengal, air-layering is commonly performed in July and the layers are planted in October and November. Fruiting can be expected within 4 years. Sometimes the rose apple is inarched onto its own seedlings."

I personally have never grown rose apples in any way other than from seed.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Great information, thank you! When you grow them from seed how long do they take to flower and fruit? The tree this lady has she described to me as dwarf. It certainly wasn't small, maybe 10-14 feet but she says it has been that size for as long as she can remember. That's one of the reasons I thought of air layering or taking a cutting. I have plenty of seeds from that tree too, also in the germinating tray right now. We're in the middle of the dry season here now so it would be good to get it done soon if that's the case that they don't take in the rainy season.

[Galatians522]

I have a Wax Jambu (Syzygium samarangense) that I propigated via air layering. I have never eaten one with seeds. Maybe it was a Malay Apple (Syzygium malaccense) that you ate. I only know of one place where there is a Rose Apple (Syzygium jambos) around my "neck of the woods" and it is about the size you mentioned. I don't think they get very big. I would definitely try air layering.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Here's a picture of what I got, I could certainly be wrong. Here in Costa Rica the guy called it chinese water apple, manzana de agua china.



The fruit in question had a very light flavor and was almost like a woody cinnamon flavor. Not spicy cinnamon, just that kind of flavor that you get from chewing on a cinnamon stick, but not strong at all.

[Chandramohan]

I have airlayered Rose apple with 75% to 80% success rate and they have fruited in 3 to 4 yrs. I used a rooting powder.

[Mike T]

S.jambos has been a vary common street tree in my home town with thousands of them around.The grow fast and are prolific and have an unusual musk taste. They are not highly rated here. The other fruit you have is nor a Malay apple obviously.S.samarangense is probably the best eating member of the genus and that especially applies to the best of the Taiwanese and Thai varieties. Some poorer quality closer to the wild type examples almost look like S.aqueum, especially some of the larger improved S.aqueums. The second fruit pictured is not a good variety of was apple and I think most likely a water cherry but possible a wax apple more like the wild type.

[Nyuu]

I love Rose apple as long you get a good quality fruit have a like rose water flavor with a nice sweetness  . I'm being experimenting graft them I try one veneer graft but seem to take really fast and multiples cleft grafting I have one I know is a success a few others that might work but taking there time .
 I'm also thinking of grafting other Syzygium On to s.jambos because i know s.jambos is more drought tolerant and some other varieties .

[Galatians522]

The top fruits do look like Wax Jambu to me. Occationally there is an unfertilized seed the size of a pepper corn or smaller. Maybe the type we have here in Florida is a purely seedless form or needs cross polination to set fruit. I have often wondered if other Syzygiums could be grafted to Jambolan (Syzygium Cumini). They grow like weeds here in wet and dry soil. They are almost as tollerent of soils as Brazilian Pepper.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

The second fruit pictured is not a good variety of was apple and I think most likely a water cherry but possible a wax apple more like the wild type.

Mike are you talking here about the round fruit in the bottom? It's definitely a rose apple. It's a small fruit, probably a tree grown from seed and nothing selected for any trait, but very very sweet with the strong, distinct flavor of the rose apple. I've tried a couple others and nothing has come close to how sweet this one is.

Nevermind, I see you're talking about the top fruit. I will say that it is most likely something grown from seed and probably not selected for any trait in particular. So saying it's more like a wild type is spot on. I see people here in town plant a lot of their fruit trees from seed. I have a friend with an avocado they planted from seed and it's pretty good, and another friend with another avocado from seed and it's pretty watery and tasteless. I think other than citrus, grafting fruit trees to known varieties instead of growing from seed is something that's just catching on recently.

[Reafs]

Yesterday I found some green Wax Jambu at the farmers market, the first couple I ate had seeds but most of them didn't. I saved them and have them in a germinating tray right now. Has anyone grown these from seed and if so about how long will they take to flower and fruit?

Also yesterday a friend of my wife gave us some rose apple and I'd like to either do an air layer or take a cutting from it to grow myself. Which way would be better? I saw somewhere that a person took a cutting of wax Jambu and it rooted easily and quickly but I imagine an air layer could get me a bigger piece of the tree and most likely have it producing quicker than a cutting.

Wax Jambu grown by seeds will usually give you fruit around 6-8 years. But you can be lucky to have it fruit earlier.

Wax Jambu and rose apple are doing best with air layering, they can give you fruits in a year if you grow them in container. Cuttings can be done also because they grow a very strong root system.

Be aware that growing through seeds can give a very good fruit or poor fruit, DNA Russian roulette.

I am growing many species from South/east Asia: Jambu air Made deli, Jambu air Dalhari, Jambu air Citra, Jambu air Super Green Kapas, Jambu air Bajang Leang, Jambu air Thongsamsie. Enjoy your fruits.

[Nyuu]

Picture of my grafted (s.jaboms) tree I try different Syzygium fruit only one I put up to part and flavor would be the White wax jambu but I'm going try to collect as many as I can get of the Genus syzygium

[Mike T]

S.jambos at the bottom yes rose apple. As I said 1000's in my home town with rose water and musk tones and hollow inside with one or two seeds. It was the second one I was referring to as potentially being a water cherry rather than a wax apple.

[Nyuu]

S.jambos at the bottom yes rose apple. As I said 1000's in my home town with rose water and musk tones and hollow inside with one or two seeds. It was the second one I was referring to as potentially being a water cherry rather than a wax apple.

I don't taste musk tones on s.jambos and about S.aqueums is very rare in the US I never seen one yet . same with s.wilsonii / Lilly pilly Powerpuff i just added onto my collection that is extremely rare in the US I know the fruit are edible but to sour to be eating out of hand

[Mike T]

 Yjere are dozens of native Syzygiums in my district and S.wilsoni is one of them. S.aqueum is commonly grown in my area also....mostly red varieties and always seedless except the native type on Cape York.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

S.jambos at the bottom yes rose apple. As I said 1000's in my home town with rose water and musk tones and hollow inside with one or two seeds. It was the second one I was referring to as potentially being a water cherry rather than a wax apple.

Ah ok, I got it now. The rose apple I tried is very floral, perfume-y and very sweet. I didn't get any musk flavors at all. And it has the loose seed inside, you can hear it shaking around. I think in one I may have gotten 2 seeds but the rest all had just one big seed.

One of the wax Jambu seeds that I put in a germinating tray is already starting to send out a little root, and it's the smallest seed I got. I'll post a picture later when I get home.

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Nyuu, what species did you graft the scions onto?




Picture of my grafted (s.jaboms) tree I try different Syzygium fruit only one I put up to part and flavor would be the White wax jambu but I'm going try to collect as many as I can get of the Genus syzygium

[Nyuu]

Nyuu, what species did you graft the scions onto?




Picture of my grafted (s.jaboms) tree I try different Syzygium fruit only one I put up to part and flavor would be the White wax jambu but I'm going try to collect as many as I can get of the Genus syzygium

It on a s.jambos . I have a big Rose Apple and a lot seeding under the tree but it hard get some of the fruit and the squirrels most if not all the fruit .
Planning on making a little army of s.jambos so I can eat lots of fruits plus the addition of rootstock for s.malaccense and s.samarangense and in the future anything else I might be able to find .
Planning experimenting with s.gratum but it a seeding so maybe 4 or more years but hoping it'll be a good alternative rootstock because produces a lot of fruits .
Thinking about used s.wilsonii to see dwarfing rootstock but that's experimental the nice things is at my little small plant is flowering so I'll get some fruits soon .
S.jambos supposed to be a good rootstock for syzygium .
Wax Jambu grow by cutting but I'm planning to graft them because wax Jambu  and malay apple aren't very drought tolerant .
I have s.jambos in pot dry out completely and the tree and be happy as nothing ever happened .
My wax Jambu and  malay apple can't get even close of drying out and the leaves are burning and drying up .
Hopefully it helps you out .