In Peñasquitos I pruned mine up about 2’ from the ground and forced some scaffolding, but it is a large shrub by nature and spreading is inevitable like pomegranate and pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana). I pruned mine to about 8’ diameter within a 10’ diameter space.
Thanks, Richard, that helps a lot.
Hi all,
Just joined the forum. I have the Edible Landscaping Che. It took 3-4 years to stop dropping fruit, but last year had a huge crop and looks like it is going to repeat it this year. I suspect the young tree had problems getting enough water, and that once the root system grows it really takes off. It is a very vigorous and spreading plant. I’m in the Washington DC area.
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Here’s a description of Che, from my friend Richard, who was in the Bristol TN/VA area, back in 1999.
"We have had Che fruit in for 7 years. Putin both a male and female plant. Survived 14 below several winters ago. Blooms after frost; has not frozen out in five or so years (am away from my notes), unlike our mulberry. No observed disease or insect problems. Birds are a problem, have netted the female. Disease and insect resistance similar here to mulberry and fig, which are in same family (Moraceae).
Pollination is the adventure with this plant:
The male sets fruit but most of these fall off; a few of them will ripen and be identical to female fruit. Male died to ground two winters ago; the female still set a full crop of seedless fruit. The male grew back last year, bloomed thisyear and acted like a female by setting the largest crop of ripening fruit yet. (It may be in the process of some type of conversion; time will tell.) Some debate has gone on for the need of a male pollinator. I’m not sure that I had any less fruit without the male two years ago. Our plants are on the far side of the field and hence do not merit close observation; my kids eat most of the fruit with the birds.
Both our plants are grafted onto Osage Orange. Hence, if you know how Osage Orange does on yours or similar land, this should suffice for your site. A.J. Bullard let a single stem go up to 8-9 ft, and cuts all others off, he has a nice form as the result. A number of our limbs on our bush are on the ground.
Hidden Springs grafts theirs onto Osage Orange if I recall correctly; they do not grow seedling trees of Che. If you mean they graft an unnamed “seedling”, they then are no different from any other nursery, to my knowledge. Don’t know of anyone who has selected and named superior cultivars from the wild (somewhere in China?) My impression of the one nursery that sells a seedless selection is that this if merely a female. My sample size is too small to determine the value of two for pollination vs. one female.
We are at 1800’ zone 6, we rarely get into the 90s; we are on the borderline for enough heat to ripen Che fruit. In a cool summer, defoliation in fall will occur before last of fruit is ripe.
Ripe fruit has a strawberry color, knotty exterior like Osage Orange, tastes a bit like pear and fig to us; sweet but not overly so. Strange in that slightly unripe fruit leaves a metallic taste in my mouth.
In summary, an overlooked minor fruit. Well worth the effort to put in as a carefree, dependable producer in our area. The Blacks at Hidden Springs have made a jam with them. Lee Reich plans to include a chapter on this plant in his second edition of ‘Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention’.
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Additionally… a friend who’d seen Che on its own roots, down in MS/LA said it created a thorny, impenetrable thicket of suckers that you’d need a bulldozer to get through.
All my grafted Che have been thornless… but that may be an ‘old budline’ trait, similar to what we see with citrus, pears, etc. - juvenile wood is thorny as all get-out, but new growth on mature plants is less so…
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I have a nice sunny spot in my yard that I think would be perfect for a Che tree. Has any one had any experience transplanting Osage orange? I would like to transplant as large a tree as possible for rootstock. I am thinking something with a two inch trunk cut back to four feet high, let it grow out one season and then bark graft the following year. Thoughts?
Hello
I have lots of Osage Orange trees (we call them hedge apple) so myself and a couple of neighbors are very interested in the che fruit! I would be glad to trade seedling trees for some seedless che fruit graft wood early next year.
Would anyone be interested?
Red Mulberry is another “weed tree” I can most likely supply seedlings from them also.
In my experience osage orange is like a weed. It will volunteer everywhere and is very hard to kill. But if I actually wanted one to grow I could probably manage!
I’ve got an Edible Landscaping supposedly self fertile Che. Darn thing is about 12-15 feet tall and seems to drop its fruit yearly. I do get some dieback on tip growth, and this tree leaves out late (like a fig or mulberry) but I have not yet in about 7-8 years gotten fruit off of it. They look good so far this year, and I am being more careful to not let the tree suffer water issues (I am guessing dryness might be a factor in dropping fruit)
Scott
Remind me in the spring. My tree is pretty big and I don’t mind pruning some for ya. I will say that the thorns can be wicked on this tree. Seriously much worse than poncirus trifoliate or seaberry.
I can’t say much, yet, to the quality or seediness of the fruit. Hopefully this year.
Scott
have grown them for several years but they have never done well here in zone 5.
Just an update. My Che fell off the tree at this stage – hard and dry. Definitely not ripe. Next year, I’m telling myself, will be the year.
Does your tree recieve full sun all day?
Late in the season, no. I’m still clearing the property a bit. So hopefully next year it’ll get full light all season.
Thanks for the info, still trying to decide if I have a spot for this.
I ate some while visiting Emma Prusch Farm Park in San Jose,CA,a few days ago.Tasted close to Watermelon flavor,but with tiny seeds.I’d try to grow the seedless kind,but have no room. Brady
Mine seem to have gotten to about nickel size (still hard and when cut bleed latex) and have been falling off this week. There still seem to be some hanging, but given the change in temperatures I cannot imagine they will be ripening.
Full sun, south facing and the tree looks good, but I am getting tired of waiting on this one…
Scott
So disappointing and frustrating!
I hope sincerely that your Ches meet with more success in the future. Thanks for giving us these important updates. Maybe next year…
Mine also all dropped, 12 years in a row now I think.