CHE fruit ? blossoms?

Luisport · May 4, 2023, 6:55pm

The thing with che is don’t give up and have some luck too…

TNHunter · September 19, 2023, 12:06am

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

randyks · September 19, 2023, 12:10am

Mine did, from firm to soft in a day.

TNHunter · September 20, 2023, 6:33pm

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…

a_Vivaldi · September 20, 2023, 6:48pm

The anticipation is killing me

hobilus · September 20, 2023, 7:00pm

how “unwholesome”

TNHunter · September 20, 2023, 8:04pm

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

a_Vivaldi · September 20, 2023, 8:13pm

That sounds… dare I say it… delicious.

Luisport · September 20, 2023, 8:24pm

For me it’s watermelon + strawberry… yummy!

TNHunter · September 20, 2023, 8:45pm

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.

Gkight · October 20, 2023, 3:23pm

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

randyks · October 20, 2023, 4:29pm

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…

TNHunter · October 20, 2023, 5:03pm

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.

Gkight · October 20, 2023, 5:38pm

Stuck it in full sun since I can hack away at it, don’t want it encroaching on my hanafuyu persimmon

Bizzlebin · October 21, 2023, 4:40am

castanea:

Che trees are very nice ornamentals, but on their own roots they are highly invasive. Their roots spread out and form thickets of thorny growth. If you have a lot of extra room, then plant che on osage orange rootstock. But if you have limited space, plant something better. I found them to be a fun tree to grow because they are very tough, but as they get older, the fruit dropping is a potential problem. I could not find any animal, or person, that would eat it. Even people who said they liked che would only eat one or two fruits per year. I also grew out a number of seedlings in the mid 1990s but that was a really bad idea. The young trees have very thorny growth and their roots spread quickly if not confined. Trees in one gallon pots would send roots out through the bottom of the pots even during the first year of growth. If you pulled the pot up, the roots in the ground would continue growing and send up sprouts with nasty thorns. Che was much worse than growing kudzu seedlings because kudzu needs a lot of water to survive. Che doesn’t. Luckily I got rid of my male che trees before the females started producing much fruit. Luckily, birds and other critters never spread the seeds because they refused to eat the fruit. In some areas of the US though, people have reported that deer and some other critters will occasionally eat the fruit. If those fruit have seeds, sooner or later, you’re going to see an infestation of che trees that will be far worse than Bradford pears. There are che growers scattered around the US who grow their female trees with male trees intentionally so that the fruits produce seeds. This is pretty much one of the worst ideas I have ever heard in the fruit growing world.

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?

castanea · October 22, 2023, 4:17pm

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!

castanea · October 22, 2023, 4:21pm

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.

randyks · October 22, 2023, 4:22pm

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.

castanea · October 22, 2023, 4:25pm

They are a very nice ornamental, although disposing of the fruit on a big tree is a pain.

Bizzlebin · October 24, 2023, 10:15pm

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.