type : Evergreen, Shrubs, Trees
sun exposure : Full Sun, Partial Shade
water : Regular Water
Plant Details
Grown for attractive foliage, white flowers, edible cherries. Perform best in a moist atmosphere, with rich, well-drained soil and a sheltered location.
cherry of the rio grande
E. aggregata
- Zones TS; USDA 10-11.
- Native to Brazil.
- To 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide, with bark peeling in thin layers.
- Narrow, elliptical, glossy, dark green leaves to 3 inches long.
- Showy flowers to about 1 inches across.
- Oval fruit to 1 inches long ripens from orange-red to deep purplish red, is said to taste like cherries.
- Eat fresh or use for jams, jellies.
australian bush cherry
E. myrtifolia
- Zones CS, TS; USDA 9-11.
- Although known to grow into a 15 feet-tall, multitrunked shrub, it is often used as a privacy screen or a topiary plant, trimmed into playful spirals and pompons.
- New growth emerges bronze and remains showy against the older green foliage.
- Flowers are creamy white puff balls in spring, and they are followed by red berries.
surinam cherry, pitanga
E. uniflora
- Zones CS, TS; USDA 9-11.
- From the tropical Americas.
- Very slow, open growth to about 1525 feet tall and 1015 feet wide, though it's commonly seen at 68 feet tall with equal spread.
- Glossy, copper-tinged green leaves reach 2 inches long, deepen in color to purplish or red in cold weather.
- Fragrant, showy, 12 inches-wide flowers with prominent stamens.
- Roundish, inch-wide fruit ripens from yellow to orange to deep red; it is edible when fully ripe.
- Fruit of seedlings ranges from quite sweet and cherrylike to very sour.
- Lolita has sweet, black fruit that is far superior in flavor to that of seedlings; it's good for jams, jellies.
- Grafted selections are sometimes available.
- Good screen.
- Can be sheared into a hedge, but by doing so you'll sacrifice fruit.