They would have to be pretty brave. It’s in my front yard and he would need a ladder (and even then picking would have been precarious due to the thorns) and would likely have been seen…
I am planning on getting a game camera next spring…perhaps I will get a better idea who/what could have done it if it happens again…
Scott
I tried my first Kousa outside the Pennsylvania renaissance fair. Now I have a big apple cultivar and I am hoping to sample this year.
I read or scanned through most of this thread and didn’t see it stated (of course I’ve been known to miss something from time to time).
Can anyone give me numbers for “long and hot summer”? What kind of temps and for how many days do these things need to be good? I have three planted but if I don’t have the climate to make them good I might move them to a lessor precious space in the orchard and replace them with something else.
I would be surprised if anyone had that data for che fruit. It’s a very minor fruit tree and almost no studies of any kind have been done on it. Che fruit trees generally deal OK with most US climates from zones 5-10.
Steven,
Is it in-ground or potted?
Tony
In ground. It’s about seven feet tall. I got it as a 3 gallon potted plant from Edible Landscaping three or four years ago. It seems to get a kick out of teasing me with all sorts of little fruitlets and then aborting them sometime in late July.
I grafted 2 last year and potted them. I got a few fruitlets last year but they all dropped. This year without any fruits but growing like crazy. Maybe next year. I just wanted to taste the watermelon taste in the Che fruit one time then I will be happy to move on to something new.
Tony
Che fruits still hanging on. No color yet, but this is the largest they’ve ever grown without dropping. This. Could. Be. The. Year…
keep us posted!
Yeah, iam interested too if they hold on.
Good thing that my female and male Che survived the storm (Along with the Lavender Mulberry, H118 and H120 Persimmon) my IE Mulberry didnt.
I hope my Che trees will fruit in the next 2-3 years
You don’t need a male, unless you want seeds.
I dont mind the seeds, i decided to plant one because of Dithmar Guillaume´s words.
I would recommend planting a male tree along with it.
This will make the fruit ripen earlier and prevent fruit drop.
My two potted Che trees are in their second years. I got 3 fruits and all dropped. Maybe next year…,…next year…
Tony
I’ve been growing che for more than 25 years. Fruit drop occurs in smaller plants or plants with poor nutrition. Being pollinated has had no effect at all on either dropped fruit or maturity date. I currently have an old female that never drops fruit. It is never pollinated. I also have a younger female and younger male growing quite a distance from the older female. The young female is always pollinated and always drops some fruit simply because the tree is too small to mature as much fruit as it sets. Both the younger and older female mature fruit at the same time.
Is your Che in-ground or potted?
Tony
Mine is in ground, this one is on a south side of the hill since I had problems with my female che dying in the winters. I think this is my 4th female I’ve tried. My male is still on a north slope by itself as the females all died. Apparently it is hardier. Che has been hardier and less finicky than other unusual fruit like jujube, pawpaw, and persimmons that I have tried. I’m starting to grow all these in microclimates.
I’m starting to wonder if zone 6 or colder has a long enough season to ripen che fruits. Mine are still on the tree and have turned mostly red, but they’re still very hard and full of a latex-like ooze.
What does Che fruit taste like?
