Anyone successfully grow a Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum)? - Orchid Board

Dalton · #1 08-22-2016, 04:30 PM

Hey everyone,

Sunday (8/21/2016), I received my Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) plant in the mail. I was wondering if anyone else has had success with them and if so, how you grow them.

The place I bought it from had a youtube video about it, but it was about fertilizing, pollination, and sunlight. They didn't mention watering. Someone in the comments asked and they said wait till the top of the soil is just dry.

I contacted them and asked, since it's in a 50/50 peat moss and perlite like my carnivorous plants, could I grow it like them and put them in a taller pot, sitting in a tray of water. The peat moss wicks up what it needs. They came back quickly and said they couldn't recommend growing it like that. They recommend following the care instructions they provide, but that I was free to do what I wanted, but I might loose the plant.

So then I went to their site and re-read the care instructions. They said that a new method they're using is a watering globe. That's also based on wicking action. I fail to see how that's different from letting it wick from a tray at the bottom. Of course, just like the CP's, they're sensitive to salt build up. I mostly let the rain take care of flushing the pots, but if it doesn't rain for a while, I do flush them.

So, has anyone had any success in growing this plant and do you believe that the growing method I described would work for them in SC full sun? Thanks.

Dalton

SFLguy · #2 08-22-2016, 06:17 PM

Huh, i wasn't aware they were sensitive to salt buildup
The difference between the globe and the tray method is that the globe allows the plant to dry a bit more than constantly sitting them in water (or really sitting them in water at all). I have both CPs and dulcificum and i wouldn't ever let the miracle fruit be as wet as the CPs.
That being said, i don't track how much i water the miracle fruit, i really do just water when the top is dry. How tall is the pot? If it's a relatively big pot you could wait until the top quarter inch is dry before watering

estación seca · #3 08-22-2016, 06:21 PM

I grew some from seed until it got too hot here, and they died. They are very easy to grow in just about any non-soggy soil, at just about any pH, so long as you never let them dry out. That will kill them at once, so don't get even close. Fertilize them heavily for faster growth, and more flowers/fruit. You will find information online that they must have acid soil, but people here have disproved that. They need a lot of light. Full sun in SC would be fine for an established plant, but yours isn't established yet.

Others in metro Phoenix are successfully growing them in greenhouses with evaporative coolers, so somewhat high temperatures are not a problem. They unquestionably prefer higher humidity but will survive in lower humidity. People here are growing them in the ground in our local soil; in typical potting mixes, and in a mix very heavy in perlite.

Dalton · #4 08-22-2016, 08:31 PM

The sensitivity to salt build up is what the vendor says on their site. I do have peat moss and perlite for my CP's. I had liked the idea of the water tray method, because I know how rock hard peat can get when it dries out. I really don't plan to let it dry out, but you know what happens to intentions. I'd like some kind of backup. I'll definitely try the water globes since we have some.

The pot it's in is ~4". I'll probably move it into a 6" pot, but the one's I've been getting for my CP's are deep. They're about 10" deep, just from guessing from memory. I had gotten them at the time because there weren't any others available. However, it worked out in the long run to my thinking, because it allows only the bottom 2" to be really wet. Everything above that should just be wicking from capillary action, the same as the water globe. It's just a matter of where that water reservoir is, in my mind. I could be wrong. I figure it'd be like an orchid in semi-hydro where the roots would grow down and either adapt to the extra water at the bottom or they'd terminate at the line where it gets too wet and you'd have healthy roots in the higher part of the pot where it's simply damp.

Since you guys think my plant isn't ready for full sun, I could put it on the shaded front porch. It'd get a little full sun and all the humidity. I'd have to bring it in for the winter, but I could put it out next spring in the full sun after it's re-acclimated to the outside and it can slowly acclimate to warmer temps as the rise.

estación seca · #5 08-22-2016, 08:34 PM

Just pretend it's any other tropical shrub you just bought. It's not a special, hard-to-grow plant. The only thing unusual is the seeds can't dry out or they die, so almost everybody buys a started plant. And small shrub seedlings don't ship well.

Dalton · #6 08-22-2016, 08:42 PM

The one I got is about 12" tall, I'd say.

Leafmite · #7 08-23-2016, 11:10 AM

I don't grow this but I got addicted to Logees and so I have looked at this plant and researched it.
By peat, you mean the sphagnum peat moss, the light, fluffy stuff? I have been using the miracle gro kind for my soil mixes recently because it is all that is available. I found that when it is mixed with perlite, sand and pine bark (I buy the orchid type) and used in a clay pot that isn't too large for the root system, it doesn't get soggy so the plants are okay when sitting in a saucer of water. I have been growing my figs, citrus, jasmine and cacao this way and have used this method on other plants in the past. The important thing is to make certain the soil mix doesn't soak up too much water. Damp is okay, soggy will kill the roots. It works best when the plant is root-bound.

This plant prefers a pH between 4.5 and 6 but will tolerate a higher pH. From my reading, it will do best in the lower pH. I find that the lower pH plants seem to like extra iron so I keep Ironite on hand for them. The bark should help keep a lower pH.

Good luck!