The Jaboticaba – what is it?

Fruit of the Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora), a member of the myrtle family

In our long running saga of the ‘Jostaberry – is it worth growing?’ – a reader from Australia wrote that he preferred the Jaboticaba. And what is the Jaboticaba? John Allen our contributor from Australia now provides some answers, but it’s a fruit for warm climates.

Jaboticaba is native to Brazil. In South Australia I keep mine in a shade house because summer temperatures can be over 40 degrees and winter night temperatures only get down to low single figures. In this location I have had 5 and 6 crops per year. The fruit is approximately large grape size. The skin is black when they are ripe but must be used within 4 or 5 days or they ferment in the skin. From the time of flowering to picking is approximately 1 month. The health benefits are very promising and I don’t know why more research has not been done. My wife has used them as an antibiotic with great success. They have many more applications that have not been verified as far as I know.The flesh is pleasant to eat, the skins are tough but edible and the seeds likewise.

There are different varieties and the different climates have an effect on total growth. Some varieties grow into large trees others are more like shrubs. I keep trimming mine to stop it pushing through the roof of the shade house and it doesn’t object. If you prune a larger branch a whole cluster of flowers form around the edge of the cut. The flowers form anywhere on the tree. They form on new growth, older branches and even on the main trunk. The flowers form in clusters and in the right climate the fruit clusters growing up the trunk look quite unusual and dramatic.

John Allen

Jaboticaba fruit growing on the main branches of the tree

Fruit from the Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora), reproduced with permission from Morton, J. 1987. ‘Jaboticabas’. p. 371-374, in: Fruits of Warm Climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, Florida and taken from the Center for New Crops and Plant Products, Purdue University. The full text from Morton’s book is reproduced here.

Jaboticaba fruits growing on the tree trunk reproduced with permission from Ken Love and hawaiifruit.net

Fruit Survivors in Nottinghamshire

Concorde Pear

Re-reading an article called ‘Awful April 2012’, which I wrote for Fruit Forum last May I posed the question ‘We have had an awful April, now what about Marvellous May?’ Well ‘Marvellous May” did not materialise nor did marvellous anything else. On Friday the 23rd of March 2013, the forecast for the next seven days indicated that temperatures may not rise above freezing, which takes us into April. Together with the eternal wet, these appalling gardening conditions will have been around for a year bar a few days and they still continued through April.

Such prolonged horticultural agony should not go without some comment. All my peaches, apricots, most figs and most cherries were wiped out, as were thirty six varieties of pears. Substantial varieties of apple were also lost. But there were survivors in 2012 - varieties with enough blossom hardiness to produce a crop in sub-zero north easterly winds in Nottinghamshire.

Pear survivors:
Concorde, which took the brunt of the Siberian winds, produced a good crop on pyramids and oblique cordons.
Doyenne du Comice grafted on pear seedling rootstock, an espalier against a panel fence and an espalier on quince root-stock were not so lucky.
Beurré Six as an oblique cordon produced a good crop which we ate at Christmas with Stilton cheese and a nice port.
Pierre Corneille produced a moderate crop on an oblique cordon and a pyramid.
Marie-Louise d’ Uccle was worthless grown in the open.
Beurré Hardy produced a moderate crop.

Apple survivors:
Ingrid Marie, a Danish dessert apple, growing at the top of the orchard like Concorde took the brunt of the icy winds yet produced a good crop.
Howgate Wonder, a cooking apple from the Isle of Wight, produced full crops on a pyramid and on cordons.
Red Ellison, a dessert apple, gave a good crop on a pyramid.
Alfriston, a cooking apple from Sussex, gave a good crop on a pyramid.
Aroma, a very coarse Swedish dessert apple, grown as a pyramid produced fruit.
Saturn, a dessert apple from East Malling, usually low in flavour, last year was brilliant as a pyramid.
Meridian gave a small crop and was affected by the frost; I grow it as a pyramid.
Red Devil produced a moderate crop and was affected by the frost; I also grow it as a pyramid.
Lord Lambourne produced a good crop on oblique cordons.
Lord Derby gave excellent crops as oblique cordons and a pyramid.
Rev. W. Wilks, an attractive cooking apple, produced good crops on a bush tree and oblique cordons.
Discovery gave very prolific crops on oblique cordons.

The stars were Concorde, Ingrid Marie and Howgate Wonder -  all growing in the most exposed position at the top of the orchard.

Some More Observations

A word about Bramley seedling, I don’t grow it – yes I know it’s the most famous cooking apple in the world and the original tree is a few miles away – but I did plant one in 2010. Last year I only came across one tree with a crop and what a crop -  the tree was sandwiched between two very large agricultural buildings, which shielded the tree from the icy blasts.

Scab – there was tons of it last year due to the never ending rain. The  scab free pears were Concorde and  Beurré Six; Doyenné Comice was mostly scab free. Scab free apples were Blenheim Orange, Charles Ross (very limited amount of fruit), Ingrid Marie, Lord Lambourne, Discovery and Dabinett (cyder apple). Lord Derby had minimal scab and this was mostly cosmetic.

Any one who grows Rev. W. Wilks knows that a crop one year means not a single apple the following year. Yet last year I had plentiful crops of Rev. Wilks, in fact I won the prize ‘Best in Show’ at the Royal Horticultural Society Autumn Fruit and  Vegetable Competition at the Lindley Hall, Westminster, London with samples of it, so I was amazed to observe lots of blossom buds on the tree this year. I have grown this variety for years and this is the first time this has ever happened. Alfriston and Red Ellison are also biennial, these too also have lots of blossom buds.

Surprisingly both pears and apples had more flavour last season, but this is surely irreconcilable with the poor summer.

My observations in 2013 confirm much canker and wood scab on the apple trees. It also follows that leaf litter will carry an unprecedented amount of over wintering scab spores.

Surprisingly there was a fruit set on some varieties of plums in 2012. This was due to the sunny days in late March and very early April, since it only takes two or three days of sunshine and no frosts to produce a crop. However, endless rain cracked just about all the fruit which then went rotten. Exceptions were the Canadian plum Valor which seldom ever cracks, and also Edwards and Blue Tit. There was also a crop of damsons.

I have found lots of suckers around my fruit trees, particularly around the plums and damsons, presumely due to the one metre rainfall.

The only soft fruit to totally fail were the blackberries which were not pollinated due to the rain. The star was undoubtedly the Silvanberry, with its vicious thorns, which cropped for in excess of five weeks. I ate some out of the freezer recently and they were well worth the pain in growing it.

Adrian Baggaley

Fruit Blossom 2013

Beurré d’ Anjou pear blossom

Fruit blossom is appearing about three weeks later than last year due to the  very cold weather throughout the month, but at last the fruit trees are coming into flower. We will follow their progress through the trees in the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent, courtesy of Mary Pennell who has kindly agreed to give us a weekly update.

Last week with the lovely sunshine and warm temperatures things were finally moving on in the orchards. Bud development is looking to be at least 3 weeks later than the average this year due to the very cold and extended winter.

The apricots are disappointing having very light and patchy blossom. It has made recording the flowering periods impossible as the growth stages ranged from white bud to petal fall within the same variety. Some early plums were in flower last week – about 20 days later than last year – but 2013 is by no means the latest ever recorded at Brogdale certainly for plum blossom. One or two years in the early 1960s, mid 1970s and in particular 1986 were as late if not later.

Most of the plums are now at full flower with the exception of the very early and very late varieties – many seem to have flowered at the same time this year. Most of the cherries have moved on since last week with some now at  the white bud stage with a few flowers opening on some varieties. Many of the pears are at 10% open with a few coming up to full flower. Apples have advanced with most now at  green cluster stage with a few at early pink bud.

Flowering Dates at National Fruit Collection Brogdale Kent 2013
Stages at 29 April 2013
PLUM
Cambridge Gage: 26 April (10% open); 28 April (full flower)
Czar: 25 April (10% open); 28 April (full flower)
Denniston’ Superb/ Imperial Gage: 23 April (10% open); 25 April (full flower)
Farleigh Damson: 26 April (10% open); 28 April (full flower)
Majorie’s Seedling: 29 April (10% open);
Ouillons Gage: 24 April (10% open); 26 April (full flower)
Pershore Yellow Egg: 27 April (10% open); 29 April (full flower)
Victoria: 26 April (10% open); 28 April (full flower)

CHERRY
Lapins: 28 April (10% open)

Funding a Wiltshire Orchard?

I’m hoping to find information regarding planting a new orchard within Wiltshire containing both local heritage trees and cider apples. I would really appreciate any advice on potential grants that may be available for such a project. My current route of enquiry with Natural England and the council have so far yielding no options.

Wayne O’Farrell

Saskatoon Berries for the Dragon’s Den

Saskatoon berries

I am trying to get a hold of Saskatoon berries/small plant and/or seeds for my primary school class to use as a ‘pitch’ for an inter-schools version of Dragons’ Den.  I need to get these before 15th March.  If you could help me with this I would be most grateful.

The Dragons’ Den type competition is being run for primary school children for the first time although it has been done in secondary before.  Our children researched healthy Scottish produce and came across this plant recently introduced to Scotland.  They came up with a proposal for a new produce.  This is an exercise in innovative thinking, presenting an idea whilst learning about healthy eating choices involving Scottish products.

I thought it would be good for the children to have some berries for the ‘dragons’ to sample as part of their pitch.  Anything else you could send to support us in this would be very helpful.  The competition is on 20th March.

Ingrid Morris

Fruit Forum: There is an article  about Saskatoons on our main web-site and the name of a supplier – John Stoa.

Photograph reproduced with kind permission from John Stoa.

Goji Berries – has anyone succeeded in getting a crop?

Goji berries

Has anyone tried growing the Goji berry? I have a six year old straggly bush which so far has failed to produce a single berry despite all possible care and attention. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Colin Carmichael

Photograph reproduced with kind permission from Sutton Seeds

Fruit, plants and flowers of Duke of Argyll’s Tea Tree growing wild in Lincolnshire – see comment below by Clive Simms

The Five Most Common Apple Diseases in Britain?

Apple Scab

I am currently undertaking a pest and disease module as part of my degree at Myerscough College in Lancashire and would like to know what your readers would rate as the five most common or most damaging apple diseases?

Ben Clansey

See Fruit Forum main web-site for an article on scab on apples and pears: ‘Closing Down the Scab Factories’ by Adrian Baggaley.

Photograph courtesy John R. Hartman. Reproduced with permission from Vaillancourt, L. J. and J. R. Hartman. 2000. ‘Apple scab.’ The Plant Health Instructor. DOI: 10.1094/PHI-I-2000-1005-01. Updated 2005.