I was curious if anyone has tried to grow these? I have read quite a bit about them and it seems getting seeds is difficult much less a plant. All responses appreciated---
Has anyone tried to grow miracle fruit?
I am on my 2nd one. They are a bit fussy. At least for me.
That being said, if i killed this one I would still buy another one. My kids really enjoy the fruit. (Eating something sour and it tasting sweet.)
I keep mine in a pot. Under one of my bananas trees in the shade. So far it seems happy there.
Did you grow yours from seed or buy a seedling? Where did you get it? Thanks for the reply--
I found a place on the net that sells them.
http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_m.htm#miracle
I got mine at a nursery in south florida.
Th website that Cynthiawilliams put a link for is a great nursery. I know some other gardeners that order from them and absolutley love them!
just got an email from Logee's and they're offering it now:
http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R1622-2
I love this plant. I've had mine for about 3 or 4 years. It is so much fun to have unsuspecting people suck on one of our key limes and then eat a miracle berry. After eating the berry, the lime tastes like the best limeade in the world. Everyone who tries it ends up saving the seed to plant themselves. I have it in a nice pot and keep it in partial shade around my bananas and papayas. It blooms and fruits prolifically. It ALWAYS has fruit on it and the new flushes are unbelievable. My husband and I just moved it close to the house this evening because of Ernesto. I bought it from Jene's Tropicals in Clearwater, FL. They had some available when we were at the tropical fruit tasting there last month. If your climate is compatible, I highly recommend it as a novelty!
They are somewhat easy to grow if the climate is warm. They like VERY acid soil, I grow mine in a 50/50 perlite peat mix. Will grow & fruit well in full sun. Do not like it dry.
This plant is next to impossible to find in Europe. Seed merchants in the US don't want to send outside of US because the seed is so short lived. So I would if I could, but I can't!!!!!
If anyone with their own tree wants to trade something from Spain I would be interested in risking a fresh seed shipment (packed in moist vermiculite or some such). It's probably the only way to keep the seed viable over that distance.
Please DM me if you are interested. My list is quite comrehensive and has some unusual chile species.
Lizzy
I have a miracle fruit in a pot since I got it (about 3ft tall) in 1992. I use almost 100% canadian peat, which is kept wet at all times.
It makes fruit nearly year round as long as the weather is reasonably warm.
It has been trouble free and has not had a problem out of doors down to 30F or so.
Alan
Alan - would you be interested in doing a trade with me? It would be fairly straightforward to send some fresh seeds if packed in vermiculite.....please D-mail me if you are.
I've asked a few folks before about this so I'll throw it out to this group as well. I have a plant as well and it is consistently in bloom. I got the plant from Pine Island Nursery last year. However, every single bloom turns brown, dries up, and falls off. I was always under the impression that they are self-fertile. I've had the tree outdoors all summer and is now in the greenhouse. Soil is acidic and always kept moist, humid conditions. Anyone have any ideas? I've tried to hand pollinate and no success with that either. As you all mentioned, it produces new flowers constantly. I've not gotten one fruit yet! Help!
Ohiojay - I don't know if you have tried this as you seem to have tried everything ---misting the blooms themselves - it works for tomatoes and peppers...hope you get an answer that works for you.
Still not had any success in entering into a trade with anyone...don't want to push it but if any of you bush owners have any spare seeds and are interested in trading please d-mail me. Hoping...
J, nice to see you over here!
I have absolutely no idea about your Miracle Fruit, but I intend to get one in the spring and we can experiment.
SB
Yeah, I check it out every so often but then forget about it. I'm desperate concerning the miracle fruit. To constantly see all these blooms and never get one fruit is killing me! The humidity in the greenhouse is so high that I can't see where misting would make much difference. But I'll try anything! Heck...If running around in the back yard naked, painted in glow in the dark paint under a full moon in the snow would make the thing fruit, I'd do it!
You don't need an excuse to do that Ohiojay!!!!!!! If it floats your boat...*grinning*
I see that Logee's ships outside the US, but it would be costly with the inspection certificates. I just got my plant from Logee's and It was a nice size for the price. I have seen some of the stores sell this size for a pricey sum. I found this seller in Thailand, maybe they can direct you to a locale seller.
http://www.wanapluk.com/other-tropical-plants/miracle-fruit-plant.html