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ACEROLA - FLORIDA SWEET

Botanical Name: Malpighia emarginata

Description

This bright red cherry-like fruit has varying tastes during different stages in maturity. When fully ripe the fruit is juicy and aromatic with its acid content giving it a sweet acid apple-like flavour. The tree can produce a number or crops each year, making for quite a long harvest season. Our selection we grow is called the acerola Florida Sweet Cherry and is a pleasant eating variety that is not too sour. The most notable feature of Acerola Cherry is its very high Vitamin C content, once grown commercially just for its Vitamin C. The acerola is well suited to pot culture where it can be kept to a smaller size, it could also be grown this way in cooler climates where it can be moved to a warmer position in the winter. A word of warning the foliage of the plant is covered in minute, irritating stinging hairs that can produce an allergic reaction, so when pruning your trees wear a long sleeved shirt and a pair of gloves.

Other Names: Barbados cherry, acerola cherry, West Indian cherry, wild crepe myrtle

Price	Avail.	Propagation	Size	Buy Options
$79.00	5	Cutting	Pot: 200mmSQR Height: 90-100cm
$27.00	0	Cutting	Pot: 165mm Height: 60-70cm	In Production
$17.90	0	Cutting	Pot: ST Height: 20-30cm	Seeking Propagation Material
$17.90	0	Cutting	Pot: MT Height: 20-30cm	In Production

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Leaf of the Acerola Cherry Florida Sweet

Acerola - Florida Sweet For Sale (Large)

Acerola - Florida Sweet For Sale (Size: Medium) (Cutting Grown)

Acerola - Florida Sweet For Sale (Size: Small) (Cutting Grown)

Acerola - Florida Sweet - Malpighia emarginata

Planting Guide

Plant Information or Specifications

Sub Categories (HashTags)

Edible Hedge Or Screen (#EdibleHedgeOrScreen), Tangy (#Tangy)

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Preferred Climate

Tropical, Subtropical
Learn About Climate Zones

Cutting
Learn About Propagation Methods

Max Height (when in the ground with good conditions)

2-5m

Plants required to Pollinate

1 (Self Pollinating)
Learn about Pollination

Can it Handle Frosts?

Sometimes

Amount of leaves in Winter?

All Leaves (Evergreen)

Suitability in Pots

Yes

Water Requirements

Moderate Watering

Is it a Dwarf Fruit Tree?

Can be pruned to 2m

Time to Fruit/Flower/Harvest

2-3 Years

Sun or Shade

Full (Sun:80%-100%)

Preferred Soil Type

Good Drainage

Soil pH

Neutral (6.6-7.3pH)

Fruiting/Harvest Months

January, February, March, April, September, October, November, December

Hashtags

Question & Answer

Hi, is this okay in big pots? we don't have huge yard. Also how many years does it take to bear fruit? From:

Yes it is perfect for growing in a pot, they are cutting grown and will fruit straight away

Hello, i live in Brisbane and would like to order a cherry tree from your on line store. which tree would suit our warmer climate? From: West End QLD

The one that comes most highly recommended is Acerola Florida Sweet for Brisbane and other subtropical - tropical cimates. It is not exactly the same as the cherries you get from cold climates but is incredibly healthy and nicknamed the vitamin c fruit and I think it is very tasty. #AcerolaFlorida1053

Customer Comments on Acerola - Florida Sweet

Tree Information on growing, planting, pruning, maintenance, ripening, taste, pick or bonsai tips. But mainly how to grow a Acerola - Florida Sweet Share Your Advice or ask questions on our Forum

Acerola Cherry

Pick early ,before the birds and fruit fly then ripen inside the house, when green has turned to yellow. | Rolf - Bankstown, NSW 07-Dec-2005

Acerola Cherry

Is World Champion in Vitamin C amounts - refer to www.nal.usda.gov... ( see below ) | Rolf - Bankstown , Sydney, NSW 22-Dec-2005

Acerola Cherry

No fruit fly problems . | R O L F - Bankstown 2200, NSW 05-Jan-2006

Acerola Cherry

Does very well espaliered. Full sun or near to. Water well and mulch heavily. Fruiting much improved by a good dose of potassium late winter and frequent additions of seasol. | David White - Newcastle, NSW 30-Jan-2006

Acerola Cherry

Vitamin C content : http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search .Has twice as much Vitamin C when unripe | Rolf - Bankstown, NSW 19-Mar-2006

Acerola Cherry

It has lived and thrived through the hottest summer with regular watering. I would recommend this for Western Queensland gardeners. As with any fruit it's hard to beat the birds. | Anna Watts - Quilpie, QLD 22-Mar-2006

Acerola Cherry

Acerola combined with orange makes a great juice. And its jam tastes fantastic. | Flora Cauchi - Kellyville, NSW 18-Dec-2006

Acerola Cherry - Florida Sweet

We live 1km from ocean in a horrifically hot and windy climate - ours doing really well - not many flowers or fruit though (>2yrs old and 2m high) wind has broken a large branch - but it's still happy (gets irrigated) | Amanda Sunley - Geraldton, WA 10-May-2009

Acerola Cherry - Florida Sweet

Very easy to grow, looks after itself. Fruits most of the year, with just 2-3 months break over winter. Has enough fruit for our family of three, our dog and fruit bats. We pruned it very heavily last winter and now it started to flower again. | Dorota - Brisbane, QLD 16-Nov-2011

Acerola Cherry - Florida Sweet

3 years Plant looking very good in pot lots of flowers but, not fruit yet hopping soon. | Romyna - Mount-druitt, NSW 06-Feb-2014

Acerola Cherry - Florida Sweet

Survived one day around 47 deg and two weeks of temps over 38 deg. never looked back. Probably does make a nice drink and jam - if the fruit ever got to the kitchen, the amount picked seems to diminish rapidly on the walk down to the house. | Wendy - Bundamba, QLD 13-Mar-2014

Acerola Cherry - Florida Sweet

Lovely sweet fruit but leaves look a bit sparse. Have had lots of grasshoppers this year maybe it's them. | Janet Catesby - Toormina, NSW 09-Apr-2014

Acerola - Florida Sweet

I have three. Always good, repeat crops summer in Dry tropics Seldom water in winter. I use bore water, medium sodicity. Green ants live in trees - no pests or disease. Bought one Florida sweet 20 yrs ago. Other 2 are cuttings.Tolerant of alkalinity. | Clive Halliday - Majors Creek, QLD 16-Jan-2015

Acerola - Florida Sweet

I have had an Acerola - Florida Sweet for about four years now. Made some Jam the other day and it is very, very nice! | Sandra - Lismore, NSW 24-Jan-2015

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Tree 4 years old, masses cherries, crops 5 times year! Loves downpours & flowers immediately. delicious juicy fruit. 3kg each crop!!! | Mary Janke - Mansfield, QLD 23-Mar-2015

Acerola - Florida Sweet

Prune lightly 1week after planting to get vigorous growth,feed with any Nik and blood n bone at same time ,when planting put 10 lt of coconut coir in bottom of hole,mulch heavy and water well .i planted several in the middle of summer itt loves the heat | Daniel Topp - Mt Isa, QLD 13-Feb-2018

Acerola - Florida Sweet

In South East QLD near the sea, in a raised bed of soil and compost with the occasional handful of chook poo pellets thrown in, very healthy plant, but the fruit fly hit every cherry multiple times, birds pinch em too, we don't get any... :-( | Paul Harris - Steiglitz, QLD 22-Apr-2019

Customer Feedback
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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^10/10

JUJUBEFORSALEINMELBOURNE1's Edible Fruits
Update: 3148 days 1hrs

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

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20 of 22 people found this review useful* You need your own My Edibles Page to contribute ^{Quick & Easy}

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^10/10

Amanda19's Edible Fruits
Update: 3186 days 19hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^10/10

Dory's Edible Fruits
Update: 2460 days 1hrs

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

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9 of 10 people found this review useful* You need your own My Edibles Page to contribute ^{Quick & Easy}

Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^8/10

Edward3's Edible Fruits
Update: 194 days 0hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^8/10

Justin1's Edible Fruits
Update: 1446 days 24hrs

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.

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^1/10

Rev 's Edible Fruits
Update: 3676 days 5hrs

Comments: -

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^1/10

JasonRutkowski1's Edible Fruits
Update: 3656 days 3hrs

Comments: -

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

Pollination: No

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^7/10

HappyEarth's Edible Fruits
Update: 3416 days 5hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling) ^7/10

Selfsufficientme's Edible Fruits
Update: 2113 days 17hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet

Cam's Edible Fruits
Update: 3166 days 17hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^5/10

Correy's Edible Fruits
Update: 1536 days 19hrs

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:

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^7/10

Emma1's Edible Fruits
Update: 3275 days 21hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet

Kathy2's Edible Fruits
Update: 2750 days 22hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^6/10

Michael's Edible Fruits
Update: 3477 days 2hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Seedling)

Tabs's Edible Fruits
Update: 373 days 18hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet

Chris4's Edible Fruits
Update: 3442 days 21hrs

Comments: -

just planted Dec 09

Pollination: No

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Acerola - Florida Sweet (Cutting) ^10/10

BJ's Edible Fruits
Update: 2798 days 20hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet ^8/10

Evtilda1's Edible Fruits
Update: 251 days 20hrs

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

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Acerola - Florida Sweet

PaulWarnersBay1's Edible Fruits
Update: 3657 days 3hrs

Comments: -

This is a most fanatstic tree/bush for Warners Bay

Has yet to produce fruit, but it does flower

Pollination: No

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Acerola - Florida Sweet

Ellen's Edible Fruits
Update: 3605 days 8hrs

Comments: -

Fruiting Months March and October

First Fruited: 4 Months from Purchase in Pot

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