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venturabananas
02-27-2012, 06:03 PM
Anyone growing Capulin cherry (Prunus salicifolia), or even just tried some? I found an old thread by a now inactive member, but I was hoping for something up to date. I saw a Capulin cherry plant yesterday for the first time and was taken by it. It's a nice looking plant and sounds like it doesn't have all the disease problems that afflict sweet cherries and doesn't need much if any chill to produce fruit. If the fruit are any good, sounds like it would be an attractive, care free, productive, fast growing plant. On the other hand, reviews of the fruit seem very mixed -- some people find it completely inedible, others really enjoy it.

Richard
02-27-2012, 06:43 PM
I have one mature plant and several others as nursery stock. If there are ripe fruits on the plants when I'm outdoors I'll eat them. The flavor is similar to a cherry-size wild plum. It has more sugars if you provide the plant with pit-fruit type range of nutrients. In my opinion the hybrid Cherry Plums have a better flavor, and so does the CA native Hollyleaf Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) (http://www.bananas.org/f8/catalina-hollyleaf-cherry-prunus-ilicifolia-15026.html#post187250). On the other hand it has a very nice semi-weeping growth habit and the over-ripe fruits are loved by native wildlife here. Most pests leave it alone although I have notice minor amounts of rust which I believe is hosted by the native chaparral. It is deciduous and water frugal -- but at the sacrifice of fruit flavor. I'd plant it instead of a pepper tree any day.

Nicolas Naranja
02-27-2012, 07:21 PM
I've eaten some that were at ECHO. Good stuff

Nicolas Naranja
02-27-2012, 09:52 PM
I've actually looked into it a little more, and based on taste I think I actually had fruit from Muntingia calubra also known as the Strawberry Tree or Jamaica Cherry.

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venturabananas
02-27-2012, 10:35 PM
I've actually looked into it a little more, and based on taste I think I actually had fruit from Muntingia calubra also known as the Strawberry Tree or Jamaica Cherry.

Yeah, I'd noticed somewhere on the web the name Capulin cherry being used for Muntinga calubra. I have a small one of those and it made lots of flowers last year but never set fruit. It looks terrible now -- didn't like the winter weather. I think my climate may just be too cool for the Strawberry Tree.

Richard
02-27-2012, 10:50 PM
I think my climate may just be too cool for the Strawberry Tree.

Yes, they look ratty in the winter here also -- but spring through fall they are happy campers.

Nicolas Naranja
02-27-2012, 11:13 PM
I'd love to grow stuff like that, but we have an enormous population of caribbean fruit fly here. I had guavas, loquats and surinam cherries at another house and they were always full of maggots.