My Edible Fruit Trees: Tamarillo

Tamarillo - Red (Seedling) ^9/10

Comments: - Fast growing and fast fruiting.

Planted: 2023

Height 1 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red (Seedling) ^5/10

Planted: 2022

Water Given in: Spring

Tamarillo - Red

Tamarillo - Orange

Planted: 2021

Height 1.5 Feet

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Tamarillo - Orange (Seedling) ^9/10

Comments: -

UPDATE MAY 2020

These grow QUICK. Now well over 2m tall, has done extremely well, fruit have formed and almost ready for picking (starting to colour up now).  There would be around 14 full sized fruit on it at the moment, but probably another 30-40 flowers and other sized fruit. Unfortunately aphids seem to adore it, but given how fast it grows and the size of the leaves, I haven't used any controls aside from squishing as I've regularly seen ladybirds on there munching away.  Is relatively protected from wind down side of house almost under the eaves.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2019

Flowering! Lost a couple of leaves to heavy frost over Winter (I forgot to apply some protection) but excited it is flowering. Now about 1.8-1.9m tall.

UPDATE March 2019

Now in ground. Gets watered by watering system every few days. In ground next to well established Meyer lemon.

UPDATE January 2019

Had a couple of 40 degree  days which caused wilting but most leaves bounced back with deep watering. Cut the top off once it was a metre tall to encourage branching. Keeping the water up to it - easy to tell when it needs water as the huge leaves start to look a little relaxed. Considering moving out of pot into ground in protected position.

INITIAL October 2018

I love red tamarillos so thought I'd try growing the orange ones for something different. Growing well since September (spring).

Fruiting Months May, June, July

Planted: 2018

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

First Fruited: 1.5 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pruned By: 20% in Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Manure, pea straw, lucerne, blood and bone

When I Fertilise: Winter and Spring

Pest Control: Attracts aphids by the gazillions; I just squish what I can as the ladybirds flock to the tamarillo to eat.

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red (Seedling) ^10/10

Comments: - I love tamarillos and home grown are a bit sweeter than shop/commercial ones, I think, and I don't need sugar with ours. A very easy small tree to grow - but needs shelter and/or support in windy weather. Loves a good feed and water. Fruit fly don't touch ours. Tip pruning encourages new growth = more fruit. Prune after fruiting to get rid of aphid build up. Prolific bearer.

Planted: 2017

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Balanced Acid Lovers alternating with slow release organic chook manure pellets

Tamarillo - Red (Cutting) ^10/10

Comments: - Second generation of this tree grown from cutting , growing in a bottomless pot , I will not do this again as it needs tying down so as not to blow over . Wife loves the red fruit .

Height 2 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 40 kilograms per Year

Pollination: Self Pollination

Tamarillo - Orange (Seedling) ^9/10

Comments: - Wife loves tamarillo but prefers the red ones ( so far ) second season for this tree see how we go

Fruiting Months March

Planted: 2016

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control: Ants love it . Spray user leaves with bio oil .

Tamarillo - Red (Cutting) ^9/10

Planted: 2017

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Tamarillos-red

Comments: -

Have red & yellow-they grow like crazy, produce lots of fruit for a couple of years then drop dead so try & have a new one on the go all the time. Lucky the fruit are delicious as the leaves smell disgusting!

Delicious on cereal, pavlovas and makes great jam with rhubarb

Pollination: Self Pollination

Comments

Tamarillo - Red (Cutting) ^9/10

Comments: - Extremely fast growing and attractive plant, bought from Daleys and over 1m already.

Planted: 2015

Qty: 2

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red ^8/10

Comments: -

a bit slow to start when young in cool weather but unstoppable after that. a great low maintenance tree. planted in heavy clay soil, never watered or fertilised. seems to always have a few new flowers. 2 red and 2 orange planted 5 yrs ago. both oranges have died but 5yrs is long for tamas. all trees produced kgs of fruit with little pest probs. requires staking, quite heavy cropping.

Fruiting Months December

Planted: 2011

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 4

Fruit Harvest: 5 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 9 Months from Purchase in Pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Summer and Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

Question:

Tamarillo - Red (Grafted) ^6/10

Comments: - had lots of these fruits as a child

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: Dynamic lifter

When I Fertilise: Never

Pest Control: eco fungicide and eco oil

Question: my tamarillo has black soot which from my research is dur to aphids. I have applied ecofungicide plus eco oil but the problem persists. It now flowers but the flowers fall of before they form fruit. its abit frustrating to say the least

Tamarillo - Orange

Tamarillo - Red

Tamarillo - Red ^6/10

Comments: -

Originally started growing in a pot, but I couldn't get the drainage right as they hate wet feet.  I repotted a couple of times, and in the end gave up and gave it one last try in the ground.  It's a lot happier and grew quite rapidly over summer.  Needs to be sheltered from the wind, though, so I have surrounded it with stakes and clad the enclosing area in plastic. The tamarillo loves the protection from the wind and also the increased warmth. 

Has had some damage from frosts this winter (which can be seen in the photo).

UPDATE 2014: Gave up on this a couple of years ago as it was an aphid haven. Propagated a new plant from a cutting and gave to my father who now grows it in his backyard without too much problem, and produces lots of fruit.

Planted: 2008

Height 1.6 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 3 kilograms per Year

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Winter

Pollination: Self Pollination

Pest Control:

Small snails are a problem and have consumed a large number of leaves.  I pick them off or use organic snail bait, but it doesn't work that well since the small snails tend to live up in the tree.

Occassionally aphid problems, which I ei&

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red ^8/10

Comments: -

Very unusual looking yet attractive plant with some very large leaves. I have it in the back corner of my yard in a corner which is sheltered from wind. Doesn't get a lot of sun in winter but will get plenty in summer. Has grown very fast and is loaded with fruit now.

One branch with about 20 fruits got too heavy and snapped in the wind, its still half attached so I have strapped it up to prevent further damage, the fruit held on for a couple of months and fully ripened.

Fruiting Months July and August

Planted: 2014

Height 4 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Fruit Harvest: 30 Fruit Per Year

First Fruited: 1 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Summer and Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: chicken poo and mulch

When I Fertilise: Yearly

Pest Control: Had some aphids and snails, yates product spray removed aphids, multiguard sorted out the snails. Will need to net for birds.

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Tamarillo - Orange (Cutting) ^10/10

Comments: -

Love these trees, they grow super fast and the huge leaves look so nice. I have a red one also which is loaded with fruit, this one is yet to fruit.

Height 2.5 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Water Given in: Summer and Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Fertiliser or Organics Used: chook poo

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red

Tamarillo - Red (Grafted) ^7/10

Comments: - Beautiful flavour that is nothing like the rubbish you get from the supermarket. Sweet and juicy.

Fruiting Months March, April, May

Planted: 2010

Height 2.4 metres

Growing: In a Pot

Fruit Harvest: 5 kilograms per Year

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

When I Fertilise: When Fruiting

Tamarillo

Comments: -

Cyphomandra betacea Denmark Gold

HxW 3x2, medium sun, frost sensitive

Tamarillo - Red ^9/10

Comments: -

I love the large felty leaves of the tamarillo. I found due to its thirsty nature that it was a useful indicator for wateing the rest of my potted plants prior to planting them out -if i saw the tamarillo wilt then i knew the rest of the plants also needed a drink. Our local mushroom grower uses Tamarillos as a sun shield for establishing a garden bed (here in queensland) especially for young seedlings. Now that i am famliar with canopy which the tamarillo generates i will definitely use his tip for the rest of my garden.  

Planted: 2011

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: Self Pollination

Tamarillo - Red

Tamarillo - Red ^5/10

Comments: -

Struggles to hold most of its fruit

Height 3 metres

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: Self Pollination

Organic Status:Organic

Question:

How do I help the plant hold more of its fruit?

Tamarillo - Red ^8/10

Comments: -

I grew tamarillo previously on Mid Nth Coast NSW, and wanted to see if it would grow in Canberra. It has taken a few years, but now we have success! It's planted in front of a north facing brick wall.

The winter frosts knock it back each year. First year frosted all leaves off and the trunk began to rot. Cut it back and it resprouted and grew very fast. No fruit. Next winter it was taller, frosted again, but didn't lose so much trunk. We had flowers and some fruit, but there wasn't  enough time from flowering to fruit before winter set in, for them to get big and sweet.

This winter was a bit milder, and the plant is now up to the eaves. A few leaves were lost nut very few, and flowers developed during winter and hung on. The photo is from August showing the condition after frosts. Now (November) its covered in big, new leaves again, thousands of flowers survived through winter, and I'm expecting a bumper crop next autumn.

My advice to others in frosty areas:

1/ definitely choose a protected spot, preferably with a solid wall facing north, and eaves are an added benefit.

2/ either be patient for fruit until your plant gets tall, or be very vigilent with covering on frosty nights.

Needs quite a lot of water in summer--you can tell because the leaves wilt.

It always gets aphis but I haven't bothered to do anything about it. The plant survives and the bugs bring lovely birds to feed on them. This winter, two superb fairy wrens spent a lot of time on the tamarillo eating aphis and entertaining us outside the kitchen wihndow.

Fruiting Months May and June

Planted: 2010

Height 3 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Fruit Harvest: 1 kilograms per Year

First Fruited: 2 Years from purchase in pot

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Water Given in: Spring

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: chicken manure, compost, warm castings

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pest Control:

None so far. If aphis become a problem, I'll band the trunk to keep ants from farming them. So far the birds do the work.

Organic Status:Organic

Tamarillo - Red

Growing: In a Pot

Qty: 1

Sun/Shade: Full Sun

Tamarillo - Orange (Cutting) ^8/10

Comments: -

This tree is very easy to look after, but needs a good drink in dry weather, and a bit of protection from very strong winds.  It fruits a couple of times a year, and I find that if I take the fruit off just as they are turning orange, the fruit fly seem to leave it alone.  It is very shallow rooted, and a couple of mine have been blown over in strong winds.........and unfortunately they don't seem to recover very well.  From then on, they always seem to wilt, no matter how much I water them!!!  I have also had a couple fall over from termites in the roots.   But it's not too much of a problem, as I have seedlings coming up all around the garden, and they are also very easy to strike from cuttings.........and these fruit very quickly.

I live in a sub tropical area, and am only able to grow the orange variety, but in winter the fruits do go a lot redder.

Height 2 metres

Growing: In the Ground

Qty: 3

Sun/Shade: Medium Sun

Pollination: No

Fertiliser or Organics Used: horse manure, mushroom compost, bllod and bone and sugarcane mulch.

When I Fertilise: Spring

Pest Control:

The only thing that seems to affect the tree is aphids....but have also had 2 lovely trees about 2 metres tall, fall over......due to termites in the roots.

I  have found they are very short lived trees, and always have a couple of 

Organic Status:Partially Organic

Tamarillo - Orange

Tamarillo - Red

Tamarillo - Red

Growing: In a Pot