Yellow Fruited Jamaican Cherry (Strawberry Tree)

(Important note – Yellow seed was harvested in close proximity to a red fruited tree. We don’t know how openly they cross but a chance exists that plants could be hybrids with red Jamaican cherry. If the color is wrong, blame the bees, not us!)

This yellow variation on the classic Jamaican cherry tree is quite rare. The fruit tends to be a little larger than the red type and our friend that has both in his yard insists the yellow fruit tastes better. This may simply be because of a better flesh-to-skin ratio.

Jamaican cherry is a fun berry tree native to Latin America. This tree has become somewhat famous in Florida for being a quick-growing, rugged producers of berries that taste like cotton candy. We have found that kids adore this tree for the yummy berries which can be found many days throughout the years. Our nieces go on daily treasure hunts in their yard for that day’s ripe Jamaican cherry. The moniker “strawberry tree” refers to the appearance of the blooms and not the flavor of the fruit.

Jamaican cherry is very fast growing and, when well cared for, produces fruit within the first year. The tree is fairly cold sensitive and doesn’t tend to re-sprout well from freezes. However, it grows so fast and produces so quickly that they can be viewed as a long term annual in cold pockets. If trees are lost every few years to freezes, a worthwhile amount of fruit has been enjoyed in the meantime. In our opinion, Jamaican cherry is much less effort per berry to grow than common fruits like blueberries, even if the trees freeze out every few years. It is a useful pioneer species in young perennial plantings for quick shelter to be established where other young fruit trees are being cultivated.

This listing is for a live plant in a 4 inch pot. Muntingia calabura