 Small, hard shelled fruit with dark black pulp tasting like
blackberry jam.
Description: Small bushy shrub, usually only 4-6ft tall. The
blackberry jam fruit is related to the gardenia and produces fairly
large, fragrant and ornate white flowers.
Hardiness: It is hardy to 28-29F.
Growing Environment: It enjoys full or partial sun, and acidic
soil. Generally, the plant is fairly easy to grown and can make a
container specimen in colder areas.
Propagation: By seeds.
Uses: Fruits are eaten fresh or used to make jams, jellies, and
preserves.
Native Range: Native to Central and South America.
You don't have to make a preserve with this fruit - the fresh
pulp tastes exactly like Blackberry Jam. Yet it's not too sweet and
actually tastes even better than any preserve. When you see the
shrub all covered by yellow fruit, you are anxious to pick, crack
open all of them, and suck out the sweet and tasty exotic pulp...
This is one of those fun rare fruits than one never gets tired of!
Randia formosa is a rare tropical to subtropical fruit, growing
as a small evergreen bushy shrub, usually only 4-5 ft tall in the
ground and 3-4 ft in container. It can be also trained into a
miniature tree. The plant is closely related to gardenia and
produces 1.5-2" star shaped, very fragrant, tubular white flowers
that attract nocturnal moths. Olive-shaped yellow fruits are woody
shelled, about 1" size and look like small loquats. They can be
easily crushed between teeth. The fruit contains two cells with
small flat seeds surrounded by sweet black soft pulp tasting like
"blackberry jam", beloved of children and adults.
Besides tasty fruit, the plant has many other GREAT FEATURES.
Slow and compact grower. For years, it can be grown in 3-5 gal
container, reaching 3-4 ft in height.
Branching habit and a dense pretty foliage.
Tolerates shade and will flower and fruit in filtered light, which
is appreciated by container gardeners who grow these plants indoors
or in a crowded greenhouse.
Flowers are gardenia-like and have pleasant sweet fragrance,
although not as strong as gardenias. When in bloom, the bush is all
covered with star-shaped flowers.
Starts fruiting in young age - 1-1.5 year from seed. 1-3 gallon
container plants start blooming and fruiting when reach about 2 ft
tall.
Heavy producer. A small 3 ft plant in 3 gal container can bear as
many as 25-30 fruit at a time. Blooming/fruiting period continues
for a few months, new flowers appear while the first fruit start to
ripen.
Fall/winter bloomer. Enjoy fragrance and fruit when other plants are
off-season!
Likes container culture. It requires acidic soil and will feel happy
in a well-drained potting mix. |
