Looks like I might get to try some CHE fruit this year… some have sized up some and have turned pretty red (without dropping).
I felt of a few of the redish ones today… still pretty firm. Do they soften up any when peak ripe ?
Anything else to look for to tell when they are ready to eat ?
Thanks
Mine did, from firm to soft in a day.
Harvested first CHE today… when I squeezed it some juice squirted out on my finger.
Going to wait until later to taste it… going to split it with my wife… to get a second opinion on the (wonderful fig mulberry melon) flavor 
It is juicy at least…
The anticipation is killing me
how “unwholesome”
Well… my wife is home now… we just split that CHE and tried it out. As you can see it was nice and juicy, very moist…
Drumroll…
The first word from my wifes mouth was… sweet…
And I agree… it was sweet and juicy.
Flavor wise the best way i could describe it would be if you cut open a nice perfectly ripe watermelon… and cut out a cube of the sweet heart center…
That is what it tasted like… a nice sweet juicy piece of a very good flavored watermelon… with a bit more flavor than watermelon though… it had hints of berry in there too (similar to red raspberry).
We both liked it.
Looking forward to more.
Ps… my CHE was purchased from Cliff… Englands Orchard… his California Dreaming seedless CHE.
TNHunter
That sounds… dare I say it… delicious.
For me it’s watermelon + strawberry… yummy! 
It was delicious… and i had put that small plate of berries in the fridge… until my wife got home.
Definately did not hurt the sweetness or flavor to cool it off.
It was quite refreshing cold, juicy, sweet… watermelon berry flavor… and that was the first one from my CHE that was started as a very small twiggy thing in spring 2020.
It is in its 4 th year now. Perhaps with more time… even better.
I was so ready to be dissapointed by CHE fruit… what a plesant surprise !!!
Edit add later… i went back to the tree after work… hoping to find another CHE fruit ripe… put a slight squeeze on all the larger red ones… but all are still quite firm. I will keep checking every day or two.
Do the trees handle heavy pruning well? Typically less cultivated types don’t love being hacked back it seems. Also anyone have any experience getting them to fruit in a slightly more shaded spot like 4-7 hours of sun depending on time of year? Got my tiny tree in yesterday but not sure where I’m gonna stick it in my tiny yard haha but @castanea is more of an encouragement to grow Che than a deterrent haha I just want them to be incorrect haha
I’ve chopped mine back many times to keep it bushy, it’s still happy after 25+ years. It loves heat and full sun, though…
Mine is in full sun… i try to keep it pruned so the fruit will be in reach from the ground. I can reach around 8 ft max.
I prune it early spring while still dormant… and then again late summer. I am usually taking off 3-4 ft of new growth (mostly height, but also some width) with each pruning.
It has not complained about the pruning.
Stuck it in full sun since I can hack away at it, don’t want it encroaching on my hanafuyu persimmon
This sounds very much like what I’m looking for: a hardcore tree that is generally *not* toxic, won’t spread everywhere by seed, and yet grows quickly into a thorny thicket. The fruit (even if “insipid”) would be a bonus, as well as the future timber harvest possibilities. How well does this tree form a barrier to wildlife? Any disease issues or pests?
They handle pruning very well. They will just produce vigorous new growth that has massive thorns for the next 3-5 years. And if they’re on their own roots, they will send out dozens of suckers that will eventually send up vigorous shoots with massive thorns.
All this for a fruit that’s barely edible.
What fun!
It will provide a good barrier to wildlife if it’s on its own roots. Just trim back the tops and the suckers will go crazy. But trimming the tops will reduce the prospects for using it as timber. Timber type growth on che will not deter animals.
If you have a male tree nearby, the fruit will develop seed and can spread by seed. Luckily most animals will not eat the fruit, so it doesn’t spread as widely or quickly as trees with better fruit.
They are Interesting ornamentals, like figs, even if you don’t get fruit. Numerous customers of mine had commented on the one’s I had put in. Unusual bold-looking leaves was often said.
They are a very nice ornamental, although disposing of the fruit on a big tree is a pain.
One more question: any pests of the fruit? If there is massively more than can be picked and/or cleaned up, I want to make sure I’m not supercharging a generation of insects that can then attack my mulberries, figs, or even some other species. If there aren’t pest issues, this is looking like an all-around winner for my needs.
I never saw any pest that would eat it. No insect, no bird, no mammal. NOTHING would eat the fruit except the occasional human and they would only eat one or two. There are more critters that will eat Osage orange seeds than will eat any part of che fruit.
