lolita surinam Cherry, would prefer a grafted one if possible?  Willing to trade or buy.  This is your fault Hershell.  

You'd want the black from Zills

[QUOTE=shah8]You'd want the black from Zills[/QUOTE]

Where can I find that? 

I have two pitangas that I LOVE the flavor of. The guy I got mine from told me he preferred the black ones, but had none to sell just then.

WillsC,

You can post over at tropicalfruitforum.com, under the for sale and trade section. You should be able to find a source or have someone point you to one over there for this Surinam cherry. BTW, I usually don't like directing people off forums. However for this topic more response and information will be obtained I believe.

Nullzero,

Thank you for the information, I will do that.  Still hoping someone here grows it:)  It amazes me just what the people here as a group do have.  

WillsC,

Yeah I find usually the fig lovers also love all other types of fruit, tropical and temperate as well. As for me, I love figs, I also growing everything under the sun from Cionosicyos macranthus and Saba comorensis to Gooseberries and Sambucus peruviana. A lot of it is trial and error and experiments. I am lucky to have a zone 10a in FL now. Trialing figs now in the ground. So far squirrels and critters got all 4 of the Vista figs this year. I am expecting a bigger crop next year from in ground Vista, and perhaps having Dark portuguese and Violet Sepor produce as well.

You may want to check of species from Eugenia out as well if you like Surinam cherries. The only gripe I have with Eugenia sp. is the fruit flies like stinging the fruits. Here is some other Eugenia to check out; E. selloi aka E. neonitida, E. involucrata, and E. pyriformis.

Wills C-

Check out the web-site for a gent named Ben Poirier/Encanto Farms.....there is a listing for Eugenia/Surinam Cherry "Lolita", and other grafted varieties of tropical fruits, etc.


Frank


Also: 
Tradewinds Fruit
Govardhan Gardans

[QUOTE=BronxFigs]Wills C-

Check out the web-site for a gent named Ben Poirier/Encanto Farms.....there is a listing for Eugenia/Surinam Cherry "Lolita", and other grafted varieties of tropical fruits, etc.


Frank


Also: 
Tradewinds Fruit
Govardhan Gardans[/QUOTE]

Turns out Ben Poirier is only a couple miles from my house! Thanks for the connection.

Sorry Wills, you need to come when there ripe. They do turn almost black when dead ripe. I tried Cherry of the Rio Grand and it didn't fruit enough.

[QUOTE=BronxFigs]Wills C-

Check out the web-site for a gent named Ben Poirier/Encanto Farms.....there is a listing for Eugenia/Surinam Cherry "Lolita", and other grafted varieties of tropical fruits, etc.


Frank


Also: 
Tradewinds Fruit
Govardhan Gardans[/QUOTE]

Frank,

Thanks, i did find that one and another site...emailed two days ago still no replies......

[QUOTE=nullzero]WillsC,

Yeah I find usually the fig lovers also love all other types of fruit, tropical and temperate as well. As for me, I love figs, I also growing everything under the sun from Cionosicyos macranthus and Saba comorensis to Gooseberries and Sambucus peruviana. A lot of it is trial and error and experiments. I am lucky to have a zone 10a in FL now. Trialing figs now in the ground. So far squirrels and critters got all 4 of the Vista figs this year. I am expecting a bigger crop next year from in ground Vista, and perhaps having Dark portuguese and Violet Sepor produce as well.

You may want to check of species from Eugenia out as well if you like Surinam cherries. The only gripe I have with Eugenia sp. is the fruit flies like stinging the fruits. Here is some other Eugenia to check out; E. selloi aka E. neonitida, E. involucrata, and E. pyriformis.[/QUOTE]

Nullzero,

Thank you I will research those.  Yep you are a bit warmer than I am for sure.  I did plant two mango and lychee trees and now have to construct a greenhouse over them for the winter:)    

[QUOTE=cyberfarmer][QUOTE=BronxFigs]Wills C-

Check out the web-site for a gent named Ben Poirier/Encanto Farms.....there is a listing for Eugenia/Surinam Cherry "Lolita", and other grafted varieties of tropical fruits, etc.


Frank


Also: 
Tradewinds Fruit
Govardhan Gardans[/QUOTE]

Turns out Ben Poirier is only a couple miles from my house! Thanks for the connection.[/QUOTE]


Go knock on his door and tell him to check his email:) 

My figgy friends:

Good luck with your tropical fruit quest....I could only imagine what you guys could grow that I could never grow....and taste!



Frank

[QUOTE=WillsC][QUOTE=cyberfarmer][QUOTE=BronxFigs]Wills C-

Check out the web-site for a gent named Ben Poirier/Encanto Farms.....there is a listing for Eugenia/Surinam Cherry "Lolita", and other grafted varieties of tropical fruits, etc.


Frank


Also: 
Tradewinds Fruit
Govardhan Gardans[/QUOTE]

Turns out Ben Poirier is only a couple miles from my house! Thanks for the connection.[/QUOTE]


Go knock on his door and tell him to check his email:) [/QUOTE]

Ben just replied to my email. He's been taking some time off and will be back on the third. I sent him my shoping list (which included black pitanga) send he said he has most of the stuff on my list.

I'd give you my tree free if you were close in az. I tried dead ripe Surinam cherry and don't like the taste. Has that resinous taste even when ripe. Sweet candy beautiful fruit but not so good.

I *like* the resinous taste.  But then I'm weird that way.

By the way, the best Eugenia is probably Eugenia candolleana.  E. neonitida is also highly regarded as you see above.  Very high quality juice Eugenias are E. victoriana and stipitatas.  These are quite sour and needs sugar.  Has lots of 'tropical' taste.  Can find most of these, eventually, from http://www.fruitlovers.com/seedlistUSA.html or Jim West' place.

Depending on quite how warm you are, I'd probably tell you that you should prioritize on getting Jaboticabas.  A fast fruiting red one, and put the heavyweights like the grimal, plinia edulis, myrcaria aureana in for that day fifteen years down the road.

I think you may be definitely too cold for the obvious fig analogues such as white sapotes or sapodillas, in terms of sweet, soft, mild.

How cold does it get where you are?  Do you have any other fruit trees?

Aloha, Wills.  Just saw this thread and right off, it reminded me of this place on Lanai we stayed at when our hunting group bedded down for the weekend.  Check this out!  
Lolita Surinam Cherries...


 
 
 

This tree was amazing, as was the fruits.  Plentiful and sweet with a slight acidity on the finish.  We're supposed to go back in October.  If we're staying at the same place, I'll grab some seeds.  

I am envious that you guys could, and do, grow all these exotic fruits!

Also, PINE ISLAND NURSERY, FL also has extensive listings of 'exotic" fruits.  (Years ago I bought a "Texas Blue Giant" fig tree from them.  Not a variety that does well in cooler, short-season climates).  Nice people to deal with.

Happy hunting.


Frank

Thanks Nate:)

I tried Cherry of the Rio Grande, a South American (Brazil) native according to some of the online reviews, is quite tasty if you let them ripen to almost black. I have 2 trees and plan on buying a couple more. But nothing will be close to the real cherries, which I am buying by the ton (exaggerated) at the local grocery stores.

Thanks Nate. Those look exactly like mine.

Toptropicals.com has 1 gallon seedlings for sale of the surinam cherry named Black Star.
Love cherries of all sorts so I broke down and got one.
A few minutes ago, I spoke with the fellow named Ben who owns Encanto nursery (he didn't return my email either - I called twice before getting him) he said that he does not currently have any grafted Lolita trees only some Lolita seedlings. He said that he may have grafts in the fall.

[QUOTE=potatochips101]Toptropicals.com has 1 gallon seedlings for sale of the surinam cherry named Black Star. Love cherries of all sorts so I broke down and got one. A few minutes ago, I spoke with the fellow named Ben who owns Encanto nursery (he didn't return my email either - I called twice before getting him) he said that he does not currently have any grafted Lolita trees only some Lolita seedlings. He said that he may have grafts in the fall. [/QUOTE]

Do you happen to know how similar seedlings would be to the parent? The two pitangas that I have are both seedlings, but the trees and fruit seem to be identical to each other.

PS: Ben does not own Encanto. The host of this forum, Jon does. Jon just put a page up on the Encanto website for Ben because he is a nice guy.

Well damn.....it seems the grafted trees are hard to come by.  I don't want to invest a few years in the tree just to have the fruit be resinous due to seedling variability.  Guess the search continues.  

I started out with a Surinam Cherry ...  ended up with a Cherry of the Rio Grande, Jabodicaba, and Grumichama.  Of the four, I like he Grumichama best -- its the most "cherry-like" of the set.  The Jabodicaba is still pretty young and small but I get a few fruit off of it each year...plus its a STUNNING looking little tree...

Nativesun,

I have 2 Grumichama been in ground 2 years but no fruit yet.  

How is the taste of cherry of rio grande and grumichama? I love bing cherries and luckily they are easily available.

Of coarse everyone's taste preference are different but I found out that if you let the CotRG get really ripe, almost black in color, they are really good. People who do not let them get ripe will say they are inferior to grumichama but I prefer CotRG and plan on purchasing more. They are very inferior to Bing Cherries, nothing beats the real cherry and you will find nothing tropical that will.

I do miss cherries......well not miss exactly as I had them for lunch but the bings they bring in from Washington really pale to those from the northeast and picked at the peak.   Can't have everything I guess.  Cherries and concord grapes fresh I do miss.  The concords I get around with Nesbitt muscadines which taste identical, they are ripening now.  The cherries though are much tougher to fine a stand in. 

Like Wayne said, they are "cherry-like"  and do not compare to a "real" cherry , but IMO have a bit of a berry undertone and I find them delicious. Plus they grow pretty well here -- I do keep them potted up so I can bring them inside when we have a hard freeze.  It took between 3-5 years for any of these to fruit for me.  

Im trying to push my limits here in N. Florida with some of the tropicals .... have added Avocado, Carambola, Sugar Apple, Guava, Papaya and Lychee and the've all survived and fruited. The guava actually took the cold this year (I have 'em in-ground) the rest I have in large containers.

One thing about all of these is that they are just really, really beautiful small trees