Overview

Discover the joy of growing your own delicious fruit with our Surinam Cherry live plant, also known as Pitanga. This beautiful and productive shrub, scientifically named Eugenia uniflora, is celebrated for its attractive foliage, fragrant white flowers, and distinctive ribbed, cherry-like fruits. Originating from tropical South America, the Surinam Cherry live plant is a versatile addition to any garden, offering both ornamental appeal and a bountiful harvest of tart-sweet berries. It’s an excellent choice for gardeners looking for an exotic, low-maintenance fruit producer that can be grown as a bush, small tree, or even a fruiting hedge.

Our Surinam Cherry live plant comes carefully nurtured in a 4 inch pot, ensuring it arrives healthy and ready to establish in your landscape. These young plants are an ideal starting point for cultivating your own fresh Pitanga fruit, perfect for eating fresh, making jams, jellies, or beverages. Its evergreen nature provides year-round beauty, while its ability to withstand pruning makes it adaptable to various garden designs. Experience the unique flavor and tropical charm this plant brings to your outdoor space.

Key Benefits

The Surinam Cherry live plant offers a multitude of benefits for both the avid gardener and the culinary enthusiast. Its unique characteristics make it a standout choice for diverse landscapes.

• Delicious Edible Fruit: Enjoy a continuous supply of fresh, vitamin C-rich Surinam Cherries directly from your garden. The fruit can range from red to deep purple, offering a unique tart-sweet flavor perfect for snacks, desserts, or preserves.
• Attractive Ornamental Value: Beyond its fruit, the Surinam Cherry live plant boasts glossy, dark green leaves that emerge bronze, providing year-round visual interest. Its small, fragrant white flowers add a delicate beauty before fruiting.
• Versatile Landscaping Plant: This adaptable plant can be grown as a standalone shrub, trained into a small tree, or pruned to form an attractive and productive fruiting hedge, making it perfect for various garden designs.
• Low Maintenance & Resilient: Once established, the Pitanga plant is relatively easy to care for, tolerant of a range of soil conditions, and generally resistant to pests and diseases, making it suitable for gardeners of all skill levels.
• Attracts Wildlife: The flowers attract pollinators like bees, while the ripe fruits are a favorite food source for birds, adding vibrant life and biodiversity to your garden ecosystem.
• Fast Growing: With proper care, the Surinam Cherry live plant grows quickly, allowing you to enjoy fresh fruit sooner than many other fruit trees or shrubs.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Surinam Cherry live plant is straightforward, ensuring a healthy and productive specimen. This resilient plant thrives in warm climates and can adapt to various conditions with proper attention. For optimal growth and fruiting, provide your Surinam Cherry with at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. While it can tolerate partial shade, full sun exposure will result in more abundant flowering and fruit production. If growing in a container, ensure it’s placed in the sunniest spot available. The Pitanga plant care involves regular watering, especially during dry periods and while the plant is establishing. Keep the soil consistently moist but never waterlogged. Allow the top inch or two of soil to dry out slightly between waterings.

The ideal soil for a Surinam Cherry live plant is well-draining, fertile, and slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.5-7.0). Amend heavy clay soils with organic matter like compost or aged manure to improve drainage and fertility. For container planting, use a high-quality potting mix designed for edible plants. Fertilize your plant every 2-3 months during the growing season (spring and summer) with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer. Reduce fertilization in fall and winter. Pruning is beneficial for shaping the plant, encouraging bushier growth, and removing any dead or diseased branches. The Eugenia uniflora tree is generally hardy in USDA zones 9-11, where it can be grown outdoors year-round. In colder climates, it can be grown in containers and brought indoors during winter or treated as an annual.

Size & Details

This Surinam Cherry live plant is shipped in a robust 4 inch pot, providing a strong root system for successful transplanting. At this stage, the plant typically stands approximately 6-12 inches tall, depending on growth. Surinam Cherry plants are known for their moderate to fast growth rate, and with proper care, they can reach heights of 6-15 feet as a shrub or small tree, though they can be kept smaller with pruning. The plant will begin to flower and produce fruit within 1-3 years from planting, often yielding multiple harvests throughout the warmer months. It forms a dense, bushy habit if left unpruned, making it an excellent choice for creating privacy or as an attractive backdrop in your garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this Surinam Cherry live plant get? A: With proper care, a Surinam Cherry plant can grow to be 6-15 feet tall and wide as a shrub or small tree. Its size can be controlled with regular pruning to fit your garden space or for container growing.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Surinam Cherry is primarily an outdoor plant thriving in warm climates (USDA zones 9-11). In colder regions, it can be grown outdoors during summer and brought indoors as a container plant for winter.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: For best fruit production and overall health, your Pitanga plant care requires at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. It can tolerate partial shade, but fruiting may be reduced.
• Q: What condition will the plant arrive in? A: Your Surinam Cherry live plant will arrive in a 4-inch nursery pot, carefully packaged to ensure it reaches you healthy and ready for planting. We take great care in preparing plants for shipment.
• Q: Can I use Surinam Cherries in cooking? A: Absolutely! Surinam Cherries are highly versatile. They can be eaten fresh, or used to make delicious jams, jellies, pies, sauces, and refreshing beverages due to their unique tart-sweet flavor.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Surinam Cherry is considered relatively easy to care for, especially once established. It’s tolerant of various soil types and generally resistant to pests, making it a good choice for beginners.
• Q: What’s the minimum temperature this plant can tolerate? A: The Eugenia uniflora tree is sensitive to frost. While mature plants can tolerate brief dips to around 28-30°F (-2 to -1°C), young plants are more vulnerable. It’s best to protect them from temperatures below freezing.
• Q: When is the best time to plant a Surinam Cherry live plant? A: The best time to plant is in spring or early summer after the last chance of frost has passed. This allows the plant ample time to establish its root system before the colder months.
• Q: How long until it produces fruit? A: A young Surinam Cherry live plant typically begins to flower and produce fruit within 1 to 3 years after planting, depending on growing conditions and care.
• Q: Is the Surinam Cherry drought tolerant? A: While established plants show some drought tolerance, they perform best with consistent moisture. Regular watering is crucial for optimal fruit production and overall plant vigor, especially during dry spells.