I pity the pour soul who has to subsist on che fruit! I was reading about che in Lee Reich’s book Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden, and he says that in China they used to feed che leaves to silk worms to make a special silk used for lute strings, and the bark was used to make the yellow dye that provided the color for royal robes. So maybe I was wrong to call it a novelty. Maybe che will also turn out to have medicinal properties of some kind, but I’m with @castanea on this one - after growing it for the past ten years, I’m ready to replace it with something I appreciate more!
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Im confused. Im getting the impression that you dont think the che fruit tastes good.
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I was just thinking of planting 40 acres of che. Why would I waste space on other things when I can have more che. Just joking.
Is it true they taste like figs? That’s what the catalogue descriptions say.
You better go with the flow and stick with your pineapple guava. Leave the interesting stuff to guys like me and Castanea 
I was thinking about getting one too, but they make it sound like turds on a stick. They are pretty expensive too, so I will take their word.
Che and Osage Orange are ultra hard wood. I would not mind having a thicket on my property of Che on it’s own roots. We have Osage Orange everywhere here. These hardwoods are very handy in my part of the world for many things. Never have I been successful in grafting Che to wild Osage Orange but It’s not for lack of trying. Many grafts have hung on a month or longer and got my hopes up but then failed. Forum members have been known to do some experimenting Che, mulberry, osage orange, fig grafting
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It’s not just the taste. The taste is mostly just bland and boring. The larger problem is the texture and composition of the fruits. I’ve seen more than one person gag while eating a che fruit, not because of the flavor,but because of the odd tough segments that run through the fruit.
They don’t taste anything like figs. They taste a little like watermelon that has been set out on the back porch for a few days and the juices have separated from the fruit.
Pro tip - never believe anyone who is trying to sell you che trees or fruit.
There’s a hilarious video where a nursery had someone come to do an article on che fruit. The woman doing the article said the fruit was one of the best she ever tasted, or something very similar, but she ate only half of one fruit, then put it down and refused to finish it.
I recall the first time I tried mangosteen in Thailand. I did not eat one half of one fruit. I bought about 7 or 8 fruits, took them back to my hotel room, ate all of them in 10 minutes, then went back out and bought about 25 more fruits and ate all of them that same night. Then I bought more the next day.
I will take your word for it. Plus I notice no one is chiming in to defend che. Really it comes down to if they were any good more people would have them. I was considering it more or less just to have as an oddity. Like I said earlier, back to option B, Pineapple Guava.
Pineapple guavas are beautiful trees and delicious - marginal cold hardiness here in Z7B but they handle our late frosts like champs. I’m planting more of these.
(My husband just said “what are you laughing about?” lol)
Quick question, hope the OP doesn’t mind me asking here (I didn’t want to start a new thread because I didn’t want to waste space)…
I’m in zone 6 and I planted 2 Che and 5 Jujube 4 or 5 weeks ago (or so). When can I expect them to start leafing out?
I planted several jujube couple weeks back and they are just starting to leaf. Even the ones that have been around for a while are just starting.
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They have some new cold hardy Ukrainian varieties I was thinking of trying.
Can someone tell me what might be going on with this Che plant, I have another that looks about the same. Planted in beach sand but I amend the soil 50/50 well composted compost and the native sand.
Hard to believe these Ches looking so bad, I have planted nearly 1000 other plants on the property and they are not exhibiting
any issues
Full sun, not blazing hot yet but its getting there.
Been in the ground since the end of last year. Havent ever applied any fertilizers to any of my plants. Maybe I should put some black cow on it as a fertilizer? Id rather it just fix itself and become adjusted.
I am thinking it needs some nitrogen ?
How would I get this Billy without giving it a full on dose of chemicals out of a bag?
For me, Che took forever to hold onto its fruit. My tree was almost 20 feet tall, easily that wide and over 12 years old.
Last year it held onto its fruit for the first time and they were ok. Nothing I sat out there gorging upon, but worth a nibble every now and again.
It is true that nothing touched the fruit, though. Squirrels tear my fruit from the branches well before ripeness and try everyone they can get their paws on (which is why I get no pears from my 2 pear trees)
Scott
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It need iron
Nutrient deficiency in plants is difficult to diagnose as they look similar. The good example is iron and nitrogen deficiency. Both cause leaves to turn pale green/yellow.
I think the plant in the pic is nitrogen deficient. The yellowing is total and from the older leaves up to young ones.
If it were iron deficient, leave veins should still show green and it start from young leaves down to older ones.
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Very interesting and I will do my best to remember that