Good Evening,
I have a gorgeous huge plant in my yard that has been accurately identified by several different landscape architects as Natal Plum. It blooms profusely year round (or so it seems) and have a fabulous contorted root system. We've lived here 10 years and it was quite large when we moved in, so I know it is fairly old. Any idea why have I never had any fruits? The majority of our yard is landscaped with edibles and I never knew this was an edible because of the lack of fruit. I kept it around because of the lovely smelling flowers that are always present on it. Any idea or suggestions as to what I can do to get it to produce fruit? I would love any help.
Blessings,
Kelly
Natal Plum (Carissa) Question
I noticed no one had an answer. I am hoping by bumping this up someone will know more than us. I do have a small plant, mine is supposed to be low growing. Has some nasty thorns on it. I have it in a pot in the greenhouse, had it for 3 years, no flower and not much growth. I think this zone 9 may be too cold and damp for it but would love more info is anyone has these???
It might need another tree to polinate. Some a self-fruitful and some need two varieties. This is true of lots of fruits and nuts. I don't know enough about the natal plum to be sure but it's a possible explanation.
katiebear
Hi everyone ...I don't know what your heat is like there but these shrubs do best in very warm situations, they like a bit of watering in hot weather and do not enjoy frost or icy temps.They don't need crossing to set fruit.Sometimes shrubs push off the flowers when given too much fertilizer as they make a lot of green growth instead of fruit.
There are are few different Carissa's some are more ornamental than fruiting.
Good luck with your shrubs :)
My DM has one big plant, nearly 6 feet tall and around. She is near the coast, probably zone 10a. She does get occasional fruit, but says the birds really like them so they don't last more than a day!
Cathy