Barbados Cherry. One of two cherries that produces in SW Florida. One cherry fruit provides an entire daily requirement for vitamin C. Trees are self pollinating so you only need one to produce fruit however having two doesn't hurt if you have the room. The Barbados Cherry tree is "weeping" in appearance can produce fruit all year long on a small tree. The cherries have a few seeds inside, not just one pit. Top Tropicals lists a dwarf that is only a few feet tall but whenever I am there they don't have it.
Protect Barbados Cherry frost areas. We grow ours close to the house since we are frost-prone. The trees can take quite a pruning too. When we had our generator out for hurricane IRMA, the branches of one of our Barbados Cherries were in our way and I did not hesitate to hack it back to a couple feet. It is recovering nicely and becoming bushier than it was previously.
Removing the stems can be frustrating because pulling the stem off often still leaves the calyx embedded in the cherry. Here is what I do: First allow cherries to ripen if you picked them a bit unripe. This usually takes 1/2 to 1 day on the counter. Gently pull stem and sometimes the calyx comes out. When it breaks off, just use a corn holder to "pop" the calyx out. The fruit must be ripe. This takes a bit of practice, but the rewards are great.
Beautiful pink flowers with green, unripe cherries.
