Has any one grown these from seed and had them actually produce wondering how long it takes how old do they have to be?? Thanks Dana
Miracle Fruit
They are extremely hard to grow but Florida has the best climate to do it.
Look on EBAY and you can get plants grown in Florida. They are slow growers so seeds will take forever. They have a requirement for very acid soils just like Blueberries.
Synsepalum dulcificum, Miracle Fruit is slow growing, but is easy to grow
It likes partial shade, so makes a great container plant for a patio or lanai.
http://www.hear.org/starr/images/species/?q=synsepalum+dulcificum&o=plants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum
I've got mine on the deck in mostly full sun (at least mid-day) in a 2 gallon container. It does look a little sun-burned but what doesn't this year. I got about three small fruits last year and tried to germinate them with lots of bottom heat but none did.
dave
I tried for years to germinate miracle berry, to no avail. Then last year, I have about 15 of them germinate and take off. I planted them in potting soil in small pots and placed them directly beneath the mother plant. Some of them were clean seeds, others were full fruits. All of them grew for me and about half of them made it through the winter. They are VERY slow growers for the first couple of years though. They are about a year and a half old and still about 4-6" tall. I don't do anything special. They get water regularly and fertilizer about 2 x a year. Hope this helps.
Danasplants
In zone 10a I had no problems . Not sure but guess you are in 9a . They hate cold as I live in 9a now and well no miracle fruit.
Believe it or not, I read about "Miracle Fruit" 43 years ago when I was 11 years old and have wanted the plant since then. I finally purchased one from tropicalfruitnursery.com and athe plant is about 8 inches tall. I have it in a small pot with peat moss and perlite half-n-half medium since they like acidic soil. I just received the plant and hope to get some fruit sometime this year.