5

Are there recently researched low chill/ absolutely no chill stone fruits, rosaceae fruits and berry cultivars that can be grown in zone 13? Examples include: Biloxy , Misty & Legacy varieties of Blueberry, and I need more concrete information if whether they can be grown down south. My aim is to conduct an experiment by trial and error here around tropic coastlands. Inputs will be highly appreciated.

Jayparth
  • 1,356
  • 1
  • 13

1 Answers1

5

Many species from Rosaceae family Rubus genus grow well in subtropical to tropial areas. They produce little red-orange berries that is beautiful and very fragrant.

I have seen and eaten wild Rubus hirsutus and Rubus fujianensis growing in Fujian, China. Fujian has a minimum winter temperature of +4~+10 degree Celsius, maybe US zone 11~12. Rubus hirsutus taste better and like fragrant wild strawberry, while Rubus fujianensis is more flavorful.

I heard, but not see by myself Rubus hirsutus can also grow further south in Canton. Rubus cochinchinensis is another species growing in Canton and Hainan, used as a local herb. Rubus formosensis is a variant similar to Rubus fujianensis in Taiwan. These are absolutely tropical rainy areas.

The only problem is that I don't know whether or not you can buy them legally in USA. Rubus hirsutus is commercially planted in a small scale, you might be able to find seedlings on Douyin, Xianyu or Tiktok. But even not, the Rubus genus is very widespread and you might find wild variants in mountains and forests too.

If you can read Chinese via translation, you can also see thislink, from a Rubus plant collector: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/8682757319

Edited:

I see you also mentioned stone fruits. Apparently Rubus are all berries. You can try pears and green prunes if you want stone fruits, these are some species growable in tropical area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_calleryana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_mume https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrus_pyrifolia I have never seen or eaten them either, but I find all these are sold online marked as "grown in Canton", so they must can be produced there.

Cheshire_the_Maomao
  • 604
  • 11