Strawberry Tree- Arbutus unedo

[Perplexed]

Anyone have information on this plant? I'm see cold hardiness scales to 7-10, 8-10, and even 9-10.

[Luisport]

Anyone have information on this plant? I'm see cold hardiness scales to 7-10, 8-10, and even 9-10.

Yes they are very hardy and the fruit is great!

[NateTheGreat]

I've foraged them, never more than one bite. In my experience they're sweet, gritty, and completely lacking in acidity. The Arbutus 'Marina' fruit I've tried were a bit better, but I only tried those once. They were orange and gooey, but not gritty, reminding me a bit of orange sherbert. If I had unedo I'd let them rot on the ground. 'Marina' would probably be worth making jam out of.

[Perplexed]

Somewhat convinced on I might try it out. Anyone know if they can actually survive up here? We have very heavy red clay.

[shiro]

It is a very nice tree but the fruit is better in jam or mix with other fruit in juice or smoothie.
It is difficult to eat several raw.
In jams with pears I think it gives a little taste of mango.
This tree should be able to survive at home, but you will need to improve the soil by making mulch or other.

[shaneatwell]

Marina is passably good. I have two small elfin kings and i eat every fruit that's ripe. Small trees though. Both are a bit seedy so i just smash the fruit on the top of my mouth with my tongue and swallow.

I'd like to have a shot at making madronho, which is nice. Had some in Spain last summer.

There are selections available in europe (i believe), but I've not seen them here or tried hard to get them.

They do fine in heavy clay in California. Marina is a beautiful tree.

[SoCal2warm]

I've seen some of them (and tasted fruits) in Olympia, WA. That's zone 8a.
I don't think they do extremely well there but they have no problem surviving.

[Florian]

I have one and I am in zone 7b/8a. It does well enough and always looks good. I was told that below -15C it can freeze back. We haven't seen such temps since it was planted, so I cannot comment on that.

It is a lovely tree, care-free and a bumblebee magnet late in the year. It tolerates pruning very well.

[Perplexed]

Thanks Florian. Do you have the hybrid 'Marina' or just the original species unedo?

[Florian]

It is the ordinary Arbutus unedo. I will snap a pic when I get around to it.

[Florian]

Photo taken on 23 February.

[Draak]

They're grown all over in northern california. All the fruit rots on the ground. I've eaten several. They're fun as a novelty at first; I think they taste a bit like apricots or peaches...but horribly gritty.

They're fun to try, but that's about it.

[pvaldes]

For a member of the Rhododentron family is surprisingly tolerant to chalk in soil and even ashes, but enjoys acid soils. Can get very big, but can be pruned also if necessary. Resents from big cuts in the main stems.

Good resource for honey bees, but gives the honey a bitter taste and pungent fragrance. Is seen as a good quality honey in any case.

[Draak]

Anyone have information on this plant? I'm see cold hardiness scales to 7-10, 8-10, and even 9-10.

If it's helpful, I've recently heard that they have been grown in seattle, zone 8b.

[CherimoyaDude]

They are planted on every other street it seems in San Francisco. The trees can get pretty big. Fruit is mediocre, if I see a ripe one I'll eat it, tastes like a gritty mushy peach/apricot. The special cultivars might be different.

[Gkight]

I also have one I got from One green world “compacta” I wanted Elvin King but couldn’t find y anywhere, but apparently these two cultivars may possibly be the same. As long as it doesn’t naturally want to get huge because I planted it near my loquat and pomegranate. Only had it for a couple months so can’t speak on the hardiness or the fruit. But their site had it hardy to zone 7? Tbh Luis (not the only time) convinced me to add one to my yard based on how much he enjoyed the fruit. I think it’s a personal preference thing but I like most fruit so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.

[Tropheus76]

I have two that have finally survived past two years. Granted I am in 10 central FL. These seem extremely hardy, not sure the cultivars as both are different. One survived an early being divided in half due to shipping breaking at the fork and I used electrical tape(I had it on hand) and taped it back together and it continued growing. Both have been mauled by deer and have grown back twice as big as they were although this did affect fruit set which is still recovering. When I did get fruit from the bigger tree, it didnt taste that bad and I did eat more than one. 

[drymifolia]

Anyone have information on this plant? I'm see cold hardiness scales to 7-10, 8-10, and even 9-10.

If it's helpful, I've recently heard that they have been grown in seattle, zone 8b.

They are not just able to survive in Seattle, they flourish and are one of the more popular landscape fruit trees here. At least one on every block in my neighborhood, and whole hedges of them planted at public parks and schools.

The mushy & gritty texture of the fruit can be off-putting, but they are still something I enjoy enough that I usually grab a handful when passing a hedge with ripe fruit. The fruit is mostly not used here, and left to the wildlife and foraging humans.

[UnicornEmily]

I've been told -- from someone who regularly forages Arbutus fruits from landscape trees -- that there are some fruits with no grittiness at all, and it seems to correlate strongly with trees that hold their fruits when ripe, rather than dropping them to the ground.  That may be something worth keeping an eye out for.