B-17 Edible Barbados Cherry

 

Unlike the ornamental Barbados Cherry with small red berries edible by birds, this Barbados Cherry is larger and edible by humans. Fruits are round to oblate, cherry-like but with 3 lobes. They are bright red with thin skin, easily bruised. The pulp is juicy, acid to sub-acid occasionally nearly sweet, with a delicate flavor and apple notes. The fruit is very high in Vitamin C, up to 4,000 mg per 100 g fresh weight, but typically around 1,500 mg C. Green fruits have twice the Vitamin C level of mature fruits. Fruits develop to maturity in less than 25 days. Seeds typically three with fluted wings, forming a triangle.

 

A cherry for the Houston area climate. Photo by TreeSearch Farms

Care of the Barbados Cherry

 

Pruning: B-17 is a relatively fast growing bushy shrub or small tree (to 15 feet). Can be pruned to any desired shape, but grows best as a managed shrub. Multiple or single trunks which can be trained. Occasionally, bushes appear to be composed of canes. Branches are brittle, and easily broken. Leaves may be irritating to some people. The root system is shallow, and trees can be toppled by wind, but they can be uprighted and recover over time. You may want to stake them or keep them out of wind patterns. the perfect time.

Cherry red and ripe for the picking - B-17 Barbados cherries.

Planting: Keep in pot until late March or early April, and bring in if there is going to be a frost or freeze. Then the tree can be planted in the ground in a sunny, well-drained location. Plant in the existing soil without adding any amendments. This plant can be left in a pot and transplanted in the spring to a 7 gallon and to a 15 gallon pot a year later.

 

Cold hardiness: As with most frost-sensitive plants, the acerola will need protection in the first couple of years when grown in areas where frost can occur. Growing with overhead protection or growing next to a wall or building may be sufficient, but the plant may also be covered with heavy cloth or plastic sheeting draped over a frame for added protection, when there is going to be a frost. Mulching heavily up the trunk will give added protection from frosts, but be sure and remove the mulch after the frost. Protect if there is a frost of 28 degrees or colder.

 

Harvesting: Harvest 25 days or less from time the blossom turns to fruit. Eat out of hand within a few days, for fruit does not keep well over a long period of time.