ACEROLA - FLORIDA SWEET

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^10/10

Comments: -

Very easy to look after, the more water it gets, the more flowers it gives. Lot of Cute pink flowers appear in Summer. Red fruits ready to eat out of hand in about a month or adding to fruit punch. This fruit has very high vitamin C content.  Fruits are used to make Vitamin C pills in USA.

I lime once a year with just a teaspoon. I get  about 50 fruits a year for a tree in pot, I recon it is very good. However, netting is a must because birds love them. You cannot buy this fruit in melbourne so it is a good tree to have in the backyard. I have recently repot to 105 litre pot from 55 litre pot.

Woke up very late in Spring, had lots of flowers but no fruit set so far this year

Fruiting Months January, February, March, April, November, December

Planted: 2002

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 50 Fruit Per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pruned By: 5% in

Pollination: No

When I Fertilise: When Fruiting and Spring

Pest Control:

Netting to deter birds

Organic Status:Organic

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^10/10

Comments: -

Bumper crop this year (2010) flowered in two big flushes thru summer and the fruit delicious. Tastes like a cross between apple and raspberry, is firm and juicy. Birds like it too. I like it best when it turns quite dark red.

It's a very undemanding plant - although it needs pruning - the branches get quite heavy and britttle in the wind.

Nov 2010: Eating first flush now - I just love this plant. The fruit is so refreshing to pluck when working in the garden, it's a hardy bush/tree, nothing eats it here and it never complains in the heat and wind. A wonderful grazing plant. Everyone who has tried it (so far) has liked it.

Probably not very sculptural for some - looks a bit scraggly. Would be wonderful if someone could breed one with a larger fruit!

Fruiting Months January, February, March, April

Planted: 2007

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Fruit Harvest: 5 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: The usual mix!

Pest Control:

None needed as yet.

Organic Status:Organic

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^10/10

Comments: -

This little tree flowers and fruits non stop through spring, summer and autumn. Lots of fruit! My child loves it and eats some every day.

Fruit has to be eaten straight after picking as it does not keep too well.

Grows very fast, fruited a few months after planting.

We have prunned the tree a little too hard last winter (2011). It is recovering, but slowly. It responds well to prunning, but we just went too far.

It has some fruit now (March 2012), but not many.

September 2012 - the tree does not look good. We pretty much killed it with the very heavy prunning. Branches are dying one by one. Just bought another plant from Daley's to replace it as we really like the fruit.

Fruiting Months January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December

Planted: 2007

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 10 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 4 Months from Purchase in Pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer

Pruned By: 30% in After Fruiting

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Never

Organic Status:Organic

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^7/10

Comments: -

I prefer to call it the Barbados cherry and there's lots of good and some ordinary points about this large shrub.

Firstly the ordinary: The plant itself is rather fickle and prone to stem breakage at the base of the shrub which isn't too bad due to it's bushy growth but it can leave the plant vulnerable to disease and may look unsightly until it grows out naturally.    

The fruit isn't liked by everyone and some people can't stand the sour taste especially freshly picked.

In a fruit fly area it will get stung and whilst the larva may not develop in the fruit it still distorts growth.

Our large shrub/tree is showing signs of age at about 5-6 years but I'm not sure how long it lives - pruning does rejuvenate growth a little.

Now the good: We love the fruit freshly off the plant and there's usually lots of it with sometimes several flowerings a year. The flowers are small pretty pink things making it a nice addition to a garden or orchard.

An awesome jam or syrup (especially for ice-cream) can be made by simmering the fruit, straining, and adding a little sugar to taste to make a vibrant red topping - it tastes amazing!

It doesn't seem to be troubled by pests other than fruit fly and we don't lose too much fruit to birds or other animals really.

Growth is fast - particularly early on as it establishes which is good because it isn't long before the shrub will be fruiting.

I fertilise with a little citrus fertiliser in spring.       

Planted: 2008

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 3 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control: No sprays

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^8/10

Comments: -

When I first received this it lost all its leaves within a few weeks and I thought it wouldn't make it, but then it regrew more leaves and since then it's been growing very quickly.  It's now winter and it has lost a few leaves, and quite a few leaves and going brown, but I think it'll be ok once the weather warms up again. 

Seems to love lots of water, although you would think from the small leaves that it would be drought-tolerant.  I'm hardly watering it at all in winter though.

UPDATE: I neglected it a bit in winter and it died.

Planted: 2008

Height 1 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Blood and Bone and liquid fish emulsion seaweed

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pest Control:

Seems to be very pest resistant, but I have noticed the occassional black scale which I just scrape off.

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^8/10

Comments: -

Produces a profusion of small pink flowers followed by tasty soft red fruit. Some leaf loss in late winter, early spring due to cold Sydney winter. Very shallow rooted, so will benefit from staking to avoid toppling over. Requires good watering in dry spells.

Produced a large crop in 2010, but suddenly died, probably due to insuficient watering.

Planted: 2007

Height 2 metres

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Autumn and Spring

Pruned By: 20% in Summer and Spring

Pollination: No

Pest Control:

none

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^1/10

Comments: -

Not frost hardy!. killed at -3 even with protection

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^1/10

Comments: -

Grew well during warmer months but could never get it past August.  We get no frost

Pollination: No

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^7/10

Comments: - Moderate grower, straggly looking but tough tree.  Fruits a few times throughout the year.

Fruiting Months February, March, April, May, October, November, December

Height 1.5 metres

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 1 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pruned By: 20% in

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Hosre manure, worm castings and dynamic lifter

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control: None

Organic Status:Organic

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Comments: -

I remember eating these fruits back in Vietnam, the mild sweet/sour taste of the fruit is nothing to rave about, but after finding out that it has one of the highest Vitamin C level compared to any other fruits I had to get hold of at least one plant.  Planted in a 40cm pot.

Planted: 2010

Height 40 Centimetres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Pollination: Self Pollination

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling)

Comments: -

Had first fruit in February - not really for raw eating.

Planted: 2010

Height 1 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 2010 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^5/10

Comments: - Hopefull this year the fruit will set. I have had a few small pink flowers but they haven't set yet. I think it is a good looking plant. The leaves are quite small and it seems to really like the pot it is growing in.

Planted: 2007

Height 1 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Pollination: No

Pest Control:

None needed so far.

Organic Status:Organic

Question:

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^7/10

Comments: -

Tropcial cherry. Needed a lot of watering when first planted, always wilting, but I think that is way it is meant to look. It is also attacked by possum.

Height 1 metres

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: mulch

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Comments: -

Autumn 2011: I loved the fruit so collected the seed. I am hoping that at least some of them will be fertile. I will be so excited to have my own source of this gorgeous fruit.

Spring 2011: The seed cases were empty so we didn't get any plants but I was lucky enough to buy one on the weekend! :O) Looking forward to the fruit! It had hardly any new leaves but there is potential.

Summer 2011: Very happy. New leaves everywhere. They are quite a bright green so you have to be careful not to get confused and think that it is malnourished.

Planted: 2011

Height 1 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Pollination: No

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^6/10

Comments: -

High hopes for this plant. I tried it in Vietnam and it was a nice treat.

Planted: 2008

Height 1 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Comments: -

just planted Dec 09

Pollination: No

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^10/10

Comments: - Very tough tree. Can be fairly easily pruned to a smaller size. Very pretty masses of flowers throughout the warmer months and multiple crops of fruit.

Fruiting Months January, February, September, October

Planted: 2010

Height 1.8 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 5 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Acerola - Florida Sweet ^8/10

Comments: - Cherries are delicious, but our winters aren't cold enough. I'd like to try and grow this as an alternative

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Comments: -

This is a most fanatstic tree/bush for Warners Bay

Has yet to produce fruit, but it does flower

Pollination: No

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Comments: -

I

Fruiting Months March and October

First Fruited: 4 Months from Purchase in Pot