Cherapu update

[Finca La Isla]

We have been getting pretty good flowering and our melapona bees have been working overtime on the very fragrant g. prainiana flowers. 
Peter

[dwfl]

Awesome, Peter thanks for sharing. Have your trees fruited before or will this be the first time?

[palologrower]

i assume they're in the ground?

[Finca La Isla]

Yes, pretty much everything I have is in the ground.  Cherapu started producing for us last year and it seems to produce twice a year here.  This time it is really loading up.
One problem that has been talked about before are the large numbers of seedling males.  In the photo you can see my solution.  After cutting off fairly low the male tree sent out several new sprouts.  I cleft grafted on to the two best.  The seedlings are so slow but the top worked cherapu is developing very fast.
Peter

[EvilFruit]

Congratulation Peter, I hope you get a decent amount of fruit this year.

[SoCal2warm]

How does Cherapu taste in comparison to the standard Purple Mangosteen?
Is the flavor anything like Achachairu (if you've ever tasted that) ?

[HIfarm]

Yes, pretty much everything I have is in the ground.  Cherapu started producing for us last year and it seems to produce twice a year here.  This time it is really loading up.
One problem that has been talked about before are the large numbers of seedling males.  In the photo you can see my solution.  After cutting off fairly low the male tree sent out several new sprouts.  I cleft grafted on to the two best.  The seedlings are so slow but the top worked cherapu is developing very fast.
Peter

Thanks for posting about this, and about topworking the trees (I plan on doing the same, as necessary, with my dioiecious trees).  Have you tried topworking the trees by using scions directly to the trunk, or did you just assume a better success rate by using the new shoots, where you would have a thicker cambium layer to work with?

[Finca La Isla]

When top working I always prefer the shoots. I do the same with cacao which is the main thing I top work.
I really like the flavor of cherapu. The skin is thin like a persimmon with plenty of pulp. I'd say it has more tang than mangosteen. It's not easy to compare with either. I have commercial production of achacharu and mangosteen. Achacharu sells for me but not at all like mangosteen. I am really excited to get cherapu to market and see how the acceptance is. So far people who try it at the farm like it a lot and want the trees which are very slow but begin fruiting at a much smaller size than achacharu or mangosteen

[fruitlovers]

Peter, are you hand pollinating at all, or are the bees doing all the work for you? What is a melapona bee? I have not noticed any insects on the cherapu flowers here.

[Finca La Isla]

Hi, we don't do any hand pollinating of cherapu.  The pollinators are small stingless bees that also pollinate my salak, among other things.  There are a few different species of these bees.  They make a medicinal honey that can be harvested in small quantities if you keep them in small boxes, bamboo sections, or ceramics.
We are working on establishing several hives but have been able to rely on natural hives for pollinating so far.
Peter