Is the patio screened in? Might proper pollination be the issue with no pollinators able to get to the flowers? The tree looks healthy enough.

Harry

No, the patio is open to the outside world... it is on the third story of a building though, if that makes any difference.

Not sure what the pollinator of this species is. I grew it many years ago and never paid attention to the bugs that it attracted. To check to see if the issue is pollinators who are afraid of height, I would suggest trying to hand pollinate. If that isn't it....then I am not sure what the issue is.

Harry

That is so strange. I am having the same exact problem with mine. It is growing like crazy, very healthy and appears to be very happy. But after it flowers, and the fruit appear. they never change color. They just stay green and it's not like that become petrified and rot. the fruit appear healthy, but just in a state of suspended animation. It is loaded with fruit, but none of them are changing color. They are not falling off either. Maybe like with Tomatoes, you need a certain level of heat to induce the ripening process. I am stumped too.

Jacob

Patience (and maybe heat?),
my muntigias will flower, grow small green fruit, then turn into large green fruit, then they turn yellow, then finally red. Seems like it takes months to happen. At the yellow stage they are edible but the red stage is the best. To me they taste like the best cotton candy ever.

-Ethan

There is a yellow variety that is more rare and supposedly even a white fruited one.

Hey Ethan,

Thanks for the Info. "Seems like it takes months to happen" means that I am probably right on course. For some reason, I thought I had read that from flower to ripe fruit, was like 25 days or something. I am obviously mistaken. Thanks again for the good information!

- Jacob

Ethan, how long do you leave yours on the tree after they turn red? I tired a couple from my tree a few days ago and I am hoping that they were just not ripe enough. They had a very odd taste to me. Didn't remind me of cotton candy. Can't really describe it.

If the fruits are soft at all, they have fermented a little, makes them taste more fruit like (maybe jak taste?). If the fruits are firm and completely red, you should be good to go. I tend to squeeze the insides into my mouth and discard the empty skin. The skin is a little tough and has mild tannins.

-Ethan

Mine is covered in white flowers and never produces ANY balls.

Seems like it might be a pollination problem as mentioned above. Mine is a fairly large tree now and gets full of flowers and fruit. I used to get a lot of the fruit before but the birds have found it and now they clean out all the fruit while it's still green.

So how do I get it pollinated? Everything else in the yard bears fruit; the berry bushes, squash vines, and tomatoes. I may have a dwarf variety; mine is 3 years old and a nice, manageable 5ft x 5 ft. The nursery I bought it from had no clue what was wrong, either.

Thanks! We're going to move it and I'll fertilize it appropriately per your suggestion.

Could you post a picture of the tree? These are extremely fast growing trees and I would expect it to be much larger at 3 yrs old. Mine are always full of flowers and fruit and buzzing with bees except in the cooler winter. Where are you located? I don't fertilize now as I don't want to encourage new growth as we move into cooler weather.

It was purchased as a shrub, so I think the size is appropriate for the age. And the ones I have seen bearing fruit in Olympia, which is south of here, but hotter in the summer and colder in the winter, are in the same size category. We're going to try moving it to see what happens.