Re: Cyphomandra Betacae

Pamela Steele wrote:
I have been given two very young and soft cyphomandra betacae ( about 12 inches in height with about 4 or 5 largish leaves) which (I think) have been propagated from seed here in England. I want to plant and grow them on the Costa Blanca. Its very exciting as I knew these wonderful fruit trees in New Zealand but I really don't know what I should do for the best to get them growing into successful fruiting trees. I will take them down to Spain in 2 weeks. At the moment they are sitting outside in my London garden in pots ..temp 19/20 degrees in the day 8/9 degrees at night. Any advice gratefully received.
Hi Pamela
I have never been able to grow Tamarillos in my garden because it is too cold on winter for them to survive, but I have come across plenty over the hill in Lower Hutt.

This is what the local handbook says about their culture:-

Site
warm frost free sheltered (they are extremely brittle and need good wind protection)
Soil
Light WELL DRAINED slightly acid. They need plenty of water, but are very intolerant of wet feet.
Training
The growth habit differs according to whether they are started from seed or cuttings. Seedlings produce a stem up to 1.5-1.8 meters before branching while cuttings branch _much_ lower down.

The book says pruning is optional for the home grower. Unpruned trees will not grow much higher, but may grow a good deal wider. The yields will be little affected. However I get the impression their useful life-span can be prolonged if they are pruned regularly.

Reading on I find it suggested with seedlings it is at least worth stopping the growth (nipping out the tip) a 1 meter so that they start branching fairly low down (cuttings in contrast may need some lower branches removed).

Tamarillos produce their fruit on the current season's growth and if unpruned they get wider and wider and the fruiting wood more and more spindly and easily broken. To keep them strong and healthy it seems sensible to shorten back the wood which has just fruited a good deal to cause the strong buds near the base to break. At the same time dead, damaged or crossing shoots should be tidied away. Light pruning encourages lots of medium fruit. heavy pruning fewer but larger ones. Never though prune back beyond the outermost lot of growth.

( Converting from southern hemisphere seasons) Pruning can be carried out from early spring until as late as April or May.

As far as I can make out the fruit then takes best part of a year to mature.
Harvest
A single tree in good heart can yield 20Kg or more of fruit! The fruit ripens over a long period and should be picked as it matures with the stem left on. It is ripe for picking when fully coloured with no remaining green ring at the stem end. Ripe fruit will keep 2-3 weeks in a cool place and 4-6 weeks in the fridge.

Now you know as much about Tamarillo culture as I do. I hope you have lots of success.

Moira

Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
NEW PICTURES AND DIAGRAMS ADDED 20/Feb/2005

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