I’ve recently become interested in babaco (Vasconcellea × heilbornii), and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of firsthand information from home growers.
Is anyone here growing one? I’d love to hear about your experience. What USDA zone are you in, and do you grow it in the ground or in a container? How has it handled your summers and winters, and have you been able to get it to flower or produce fruit? I’m also curious if there were any surprises along the way or things you wish you had known before growing it.
I’m especially interested in hearing from people outside of the typical subtropical climates. I’m in Arkansas (Zone 8a) and plan to grow mine in a container so I can overwinter it indoors. I’m curious how realistic long-term success is and whether anyone has managed to get reliable fruit under similar conditions.
I’d love to see pictures too if you’re willing to share. Thanks!
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I grew it in the San Diego suburb of Ranch Peñasquitos. It is in USDA cold-hardiness zone 9b, although perhaps only a half-dozen trips below freezing per year, and then for maybe 5 hours. On the other hand it is not FL. The first 5 months of the year are dominated marine layer and cooler temperatures, due to the cold ocean waters that circulate here from the Gulf of Alaska.
Babaco is a near-tropical evergreen native to central America. In my experience it blooms in January-February. I had two, maybe three plants in-ground. They were very productive after a few years.
My wife and I decided the fruit was ok if you like to pour sugar on your fruit. Nobody wanted to eat it otherwise. Adding it to fruit salad didn’t help. Eventually I replaced them with low-chill cherries.
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Hi Richard, thanks for sharing your experience. One of the things that drew me to babaco was its reputation for being a little more cold tolerant than most tropical fruits. I’m in Arkansas (Zone 8a), so I definitely won’t be trying it in the ground. Our winters can be all over the place. Last year it was around 78°F on Christmas Day with nighttime temperatures in the 60s, then shortly after New Year’s we were dealing with freezing weather. Arkansas weather really keeps you guessing.
My plan is to grow it in a 20- or 30-gallon fabric pot and move it into my man cave for the winter. I’m prepared to use grow lights and a small space heater to keep it healthy, along with some of my desert plants and a few other container-grown fruit trees. I’ll also keep the pot on a pallet so it’s insulated from the cold concrete floor and has good drainage.
Do you think that’s a realistic approach? Since you had several plants and got them to fruit, I’m curious if there are any quirks you learned along the way that aren’t commonly mentioned. For example, how quickly did yours outgrow their space, and did you find they preferred full sun all day or a little afternoon protection during the hottest months? I’d really appreciate any advice before I get too far into this project.
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First of all, many of us (other than sellers) will tell you it’s not worth the effort.
Second, your plan is not realistic. They bloom in January - February.
There is a farm here that makes it happen via container gardening with not much effort. I think that alone doesn’t stop me from trying. I’ll keep this forum updated
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They over-winter in a greenhouse?
Yep. From what I’ve seen, they overwinter them in a greenhouse. I plan to do something similar with mine, except it’ll be in my man cave under grow lights with supplemental heat.