Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits

Richard · 03-28-2008, 09:46 AM

Two rooted cuttings arrived today via overnight Fed Ex from the U.S.D.A. Tropical Agricultural Station in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (aka TARS).

Richard · 04-13-2008, 11:09 PM

The smaller of the two rootings has given up and died -- but the other has retained its leaves and is now pushing out 1/4 inch worth of new growth from a few nodes.

D_&_T · 04-14-2008, 08:36 AM

Sorry to hear that you lost one Richard.

Richard · 06-03-2008, 10:47 PM

My remaining plant has continued to grow, so today I transplanted it outside. It's barely visible here inside a shade enclosure made of garden fencing, an old screen from a screen door, and of course the indispensible duct tape

MediaHound · 06-04-2008, 09:32 AM

Nice work!

shredlew · 08-20-2008, 02:05 AM

Hello again from San Clemente! How is the remaining Cleyera doing now? How did you go about getting the cuttings from TARS?

Thanks!

Richard · 08-22-2008, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shredlew

Hello again from San Clemente! How is the remaining Cleyera doing now?

Cleyera, known as Sakaki in Japan, is very different from Carissa.

My remaining Carissa spinarum is adapting very well now in full sunlight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shredlew

How did you go about getting the cuttings from TARS?

The USDA maintains a database of named plants and germplasm collections of many of these. You can visit their site at Taxonomy Query for GRIN Species Records.

shredlew · 08-22-2008, 11:03 AM

Geez, sorry about that. I had Cleyera on the brain that evening. Thanks for getting back to me.

Richard · 06-12-2011, 09:09 PM

Here it is, 3 years later!

Richard · 02-20-2012, 04:56 PM

It's been 5 years since Chiranjit Parmar started me on the quest for this plant. I started a cutting from TARS about 4 years ago and the plant has steadily grow to about a meter in size. It is doing well in my very mild winter climate where it might reach freezing for an hour before dawn about a half-dozen times per year. The leaves will get a little yellow and red blush during this period but overall that's fantastic for a plant whose native environment has a record low temperature of 45 F (~ 7C).

Since I started growing the plant, a lot of new information and research has come forward. There's a nice synopsis on Wikipedia, including the English name of the plant: Conkerberry - Carissa spinarum.

I've had a couple handfuls of fruit sets on my plant. Its delicious, better than Blueberry in my opinion.

03-28-2008, 09:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 545,756 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Two rooted cuttings arrived today via overnight Fed Ex from the U.S.D.A. Tropical Agricultural Station in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (aka TARS). __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

04-13-2008, 11:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 545,756 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits The smaller of the two rootings has given up and died -- but the other has retained its leaves and is now pushing out 1/4 inch worth of new growth from a few nodes. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

04-14-2008, 08:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
D_&_T 3rd winter growing indoor D_&_T's Photo Gallery Location: Northern Indiana Find me on the map! Zone: 5 Name: Dan Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 877 BananaBucks : 30,822 Feedback: 4 / 100% Said "Thanks" 2,437 Times Was Thanked 260 Times in 169 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 342 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Sorry to hear that you lost one Richard. __________________

06-03-2008, 10:47 PM	#4 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 545,756 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits My remaining plant has continued to grow, so today I transplanted it outside. It's barely visible here inside a shade enclosure made of garden fencing, an old screen from a screen door, and of course the indispensible duct tape __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

06-04-2008, 09:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
MediaHound Tally-Man MediaHound's Photo Gallery Location: Florida Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Jarred Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 5,261 BananaBucks : 2,028,272 Feedback: 66 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,856 Times Was Thanked 5,086 Times in 1,353 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 2,086 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Nice work! __________________ Apologies in advance if I am slow to reply to your PM. I suggest posting in the forums for support if you need something urgent.

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08-20-2008, 02:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
shredlew Location: San Clemente, CA Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: shredlew Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 9 BananaBucks : 810 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Hello again from San Clemente! How is the remaining Cleyera doing now? How did you go about getting the cuttings from TARS? Thanks!

08-22-2008, 11:03 AM	#8 (permalink)
shredlew Location: San Clemente, CA Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: shredlew Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 9 BananaBucks : 810 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Geez, sorry about that. I had Cleyera on the brain that evening. Thanks for getting back to me.

06-12-2011, 09:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 545,756 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits Here it is, 3 years later! __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

02-20-2012, 04:56 PM	#10 (permalink)
Richard un-Retired Richard's Photo Gallery Location: Vista, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA 10b Name: Richard Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9,674 BananaBucks : 545,756 Feedback: 9 / 100% Said "Thanks" 3,636 Times Was Thanked 12,543 Times in 4,721 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 1,685 Times	Re: Carissa spinarum, one of the world's most nutritious fruits It's been 5 years since Chiranjit Parmar started me on the quest for this plant. I started a cutting from TARS about 4 years ago and the plant has steadily grow to about a meter in size. It is doing well in my very mild winter climate where it might reach freezing for an hour before dawn about a half-dozen times per year. The leaves will get a little yellow and red blush during this period but overall that's fantastic for a plant whose native environment has a record low temperature of 45 F (~ 7C). Since I started growing the plant, a lot of new information and research has come forward. There's a nice synopsis on Wikipedia, including the English name of the plant: Conkerberry - Carissa spinarum. I've had a couple handfuls of fruit sets on my plant. Its delicious, better than Blueberry in my opinion. __________________ Back in business at plantsthatproduce.com

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