Native to tropical South America, also known as Brazilian cherry or pitanga. This shrub or small tree is grown throughout the tropics and subtropics worldwide, and is a great plant for New Zealand conditions.

The fruit are small but packed full of flavor, juicy, sweet and refreshing with a hint of tartness. The flavour is somewhat similar to a jaboticaba, but with hints of citrus and grape. It can fruit multiple times a year but as with many subtropicals, Surinam cherry often fruits over winter. This makes it a great plant for those wanting to produce fresh fruit year round. One of our favourite winter snacks.

The flavour and sweetness can vary significantly from tree to tree, but generally speaking the green to orange fruit have the most tartness and the red to purple are the sweetest. This tree has huge potential in New Zealand but more selection work needs to be done. We have come across a number of trees throughout Northland that flower regularly but do not produce fruit, so sourcing from good quality trees is an important consideration. Our plants are seedling grown from our own proven trees.

It grows in full sun or part shade, and fits well into a food forest with its smaller bushy shape. It makes an attractive hedge or screen with its small fragrant white flowers and the bronze-copper-pink colouring on its new foliage, similar to other Eugenia species. It is not particularly fussy about soil types and can grow in clay, but it prefers well drained soil and a reasonable amount of fertility. It needs protection from frosts when smaller but can handle light frosts once established.


Size: 1.3L