Are you using acid fertilizer? We water our Miracle Fruit with acid fertilizer every few weeks and we get berries several times a year.

I appreciate the note back. Yes, I fertilized the plant about a week ago with Vigoro 10-8-8 which is recommended for azaleas, camellias and lilies. Should I find a fertilizer that is more acidic? Any recommendations as far as products? I've been told that coffee grinds are too acidic although my azaleas love it.
I was just curious if you've ever sprayed the white blooms directly with a diluted fertilizer.
I know the plant is happy, just not putting out those cool berries. (the plant is approx. 3-4' tall, in a clay pot that's 3-4 gallons w/drainage in our greenhouse, with pine bark on the ground and the plant receives indirect late afternoon sun. I just want to be careful and not "overdose" the plant with too much fertilizer.

Mine is in the ground and gets the direct afternoon sun. I have on occasion watered it with regular Miracle Grow when I was fertilizing the plants next to it. It has produced enough berries that some have germinated and I have a little forest of miracle fruit growing under the main bush.I don't do anything special to the plant and yours sounds like it's big enough to produce berries. It may just be the wrong time of the year for it so be patient.

Once again, thanks Regine for the note back. You're probably right about just being patient. The plant has just the right environment and nutrients. I'll just be sure to mist daily. We've certainly had ideal hot and humid weather so I know the conditions are in place. I've lived in this area for 30 years and have to give myself credit as far as gardening goes. "Everyone" here loves where they're living ("growing"). Thank goodness we've been fortunate hurricane-wise this summer.
You must live in South Florida. Any unique or unusual plants/bushes/vines/trees that you'd recommend?
Is there an area on this site where people trade cuttings/seeds/sprouts? I'm especially interested in plumerias-I have lots but all are either white w/yellow interior, bright pink or all yellow. They're SO easy to grow but they want a fortune on the Hawaii gardening sites...
Thanks again....enjoy this humidity!

Have you looked on the Florida Gardening forum? There is a plant swap in Tampa this Saturday, Sept 1. I've never been to a swap but it sounds like you can get quite a collection of plants.My "catalog" is a book called Tropical Flowering Plants by Kirsten Llamas. It's not a cheap book, about $70.00 but it was a Christmas present and I love it. I keep looking through it and find all sorts of plants that have interested me and some I've bought.I have a Voodoo Lily(amorphophallus paeonifolius) that has gorgeous leaves which I bought at a plant sale at Selby Gardens in Sarasota.I also have several varieties of Heliconias and Gingers which have beautiful flowers.

Thanks again for the info. The plant swap in Tampa sounds like fun. If I check it out tomorrow I'll let you know how it was. I also may check out Amazon and see if that book is listed. A local nursery here, just down the street, has a wonderful assortment of unusual tropical plants/bushes and trees.Everything I've purchased there have been healthy and have flourished. That's where I bought my miracle plant ($14.95) and my vanilla orchid ($40) The staff is extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. You can check out their site at........http://www.tropicalfruit.com/

I have a couple of smaller Miracle Fruit plants, plus a number of seedlings that are doing quite well. How large were your plants when they first flowered?

I wonder if the problem in getting fruit to set could be related to too much nitrogen...do the plants prefer poor fertilization? I have also heard that these plants prefer being pot-bound.

A grower in Costa Rica indicated that MF like up to 20% used coffee grinds in the soil, and I potted several small seedlings in a mix of 45% peat, 45% perlite, and 10% coffee. We shall see!Here is a pic of some of the seedlings @ 2 months old.

--Rick in CT

Here is a link that might be useful:

I don't recall when the plants first started flowering. I do remember when we bought the plant about 25 years ago, we were told "you're still young, you should see it flower". We bought a seedling and it is now about 4 feet tall.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle Fruit

Thank's for the feedback. I only have the 1 plant but I guess from everything I've read I'm doing all the right things. It's happy right now, just not putting out the berries. I can wait.
Your seedlings look great, Rick. If I can figure out how to download a photo of my plant, I'll send it along next time. It's also nice to know that you're having luck up there in CT. How does your plant do during the winter months inside? Any special heat lighting involved? Has it bloomed during the winter months?
And Regine, your plant is 25 yrs. old?! That's also encouraging. I have some older plants around here but nothing that ripe old age. That's terrific that the miracle plant has hold on for so long. Your thumbs must be very green.
Thanks again. Check out that site I posted a little ways up. Jene's Tropicals is my favorite nursery and I promise "anyone" you "adopt" from their nursery, won't let you down.
(Never made it to that plant swap in Tampa. Maybe next year)

I'm pleased to report that my miracle fruit plant now has 14 green berries! Turns out the plant was root bound. My husband accidentally broke the terra cotta pot I had it in originally, so I purchased another clay pot one size larger and when I transplanted it, was surprised to see all those roots desperately searching for soil. So, that's what the problem was all along.
Has anyone ever mailed the fresh berries out of state to friends or family? Any advice on how you packaged them (iced down, etc.) will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

PS. Thanks regine and everyone else for their responses.

Glad to hear your plant is finally producing berries. I mailed some to my sister in Montana once but they did not arrive in good condition, maybe icing them is the answer.Or better yet, figure out a way to freeze dry them.
Take a look at this link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miracle Fruits Cafe

Once again, thanks regine!
I'm sure I'll be refrigerating the berries somehow. Just got off the phone after calling a few local florists and their suggestion was to check out a sporting goods store and looking in their camping section for something along that line. One florist suggested that I go online and maybe google "dry ice" in my area. Another option is checking out local seafood dealers. I think that's probably my best bet. Just wanted to get back to you and will again once my search is over. This way we can both ship our berries out of state without fear that they'll arrive in "gooey" form.

I got ripe berries by mail a few months ago (hence all my seedlings!) and they were rather tightly wrapped in saran. This caused them to get mushy/moldy, although some of them still produced the sour reversal effect. They were in the mail for approx. 3-4 days.

I would suggest that you pack MF seeds loose in a small cardboard box for ventilation, inside a larger shipping box, and send them express/overnight. I think freezing them or cooling them will destroy them, and certainly the seed will no longer be viable. This is my first winter with MF in the house. Since my house is VERY cold during the winter, I am setting up an enclosed area on my plantlight cart, and there is a seedling heating pad to use at night. This should give both heat & humidity. Did you find a pic of your plant(s)?

BTW, I am just now starting to experiment with plumeria, starting a few seeds. Any suggestions?

Good luck!

--Rr

Thanks Rr for sharing your experience with the shipping of the ripe fruit. No, haven't figured out yet how to download a pic of my plant, my son will have to help me there.
Interestingly you mention plumerias. They're an easy plant to grow in this area but you may become easily dissappointed growing them in the northeast area of the country. They LOVE direct and hot sun.
If you go to the plumeria page on this site, you'll find tons of helpful information.
Good luck!

Here in Costa Rica.

I bought two plants maybe half-foot high plant from a nursery a couple of years ago - I don't have a green thumb, I didn't pay it much attention. I havent' really fertilized them or done much.

I heard at the nursery that they produce fruit a few times a year.
I heard 6 months later that they take a few years to start producing fruit.

Anyway, long story short - this morning on the way out the door, I saw tons of nice green fruit on that baby! We're on the end of rainy season and into the sun, and the plant looks really happy - so now I'm just waiting for them to be nice and bright red.
I checked it a few days ago, and no berries.

Patience will pay off!

I've got a 21" MF plant growing here in a nice greenhouse. It's supposedly 2 - 2.5 years old. No flowers yet, (so obviously no fruit) but it is showing signs of new growth. Words of wisdom: Don't let this plant get too cold! I kept mine in the greenhouse when it got down to about 40F, and over the next week my plant lost about 10 leaves. It thrives when it's warm and sunny!

I potted in in 60% spaghnum peat, 30% perlite, and 10% crushed pine needles.

I've got pictures and a grow log on http://www.miracletaste.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=475

Here is a link that might be useful: My Miracle Fruit Grow Log