- Genus: Plinia
- Species: P. cauliflora
- Family: Myrtaceae
Jaboticaba (sometimes spelled Jabuticaba) are a rare tropical fruit tree native to Brazil, where it is called Jabuticabeira. The predominant variety found in Central Florida is ‘Sabara’ which is a tried-and-true variety that produces a thick skinned dark hued purple-to-black fruit with white pulp/flesh which surrounds and clings to 1-3 small seeds.
Jaboticaba are tasty, sweet, grape-like fruits which grow directly on the trunk of the tree, forming first as small white flowers before turning into tiny green fruits which will mature and ripen within 30-45 days. The fruit can be eaten fresh off the tree, preserved in jams/jellies or can be allowed to ferment for alcoholic consumption. Jaboticaba have a short shelf life and will ferment within 3-4 days after the fruit are separated from the tree.
Due to their limited shelf life Jaboticaba are quite uncommon to find in grocery stores. Jaboticaba are incredibly attractive evergreen trees which rarely grow to more than 10-15 feet tall in Central Florida. Their fibrous root systems and affinity for slightly acidic soil makes them perfect plants for container culture and they’ve been grown as Bonsai.
We love Jaboticaba. They’re such a tasty fruit and create an incredible abundance once established. In addition to ‘Sabara’ there are a plethora of other varieties that have differing characteristics including unique leaf structures, larger fruit, and quicker fruit set. Scarlet and Red Jaboticaba can fruit as early as 3-years-old, but fairly regularly fruit at 5-6 years old. Once established, Red Jaboticaba can also set fruit several times per year with near year-round fruit production outside of winter.
Below we’ll go over some characteristics of these extraordinary fruit and how to care for them:
- Mature Height: 10-15 feet max typical in containers (30-40 feet in their native range, will likely stay a bit smaller in ground in Florida)
- Mature Width: 15-20 feet.
- Sunlight Requirements: Prefer partial shade in Florida, but can handle full sun when established, albeit with leaf burn.
- Cold hardiness: Zone 9-11 outdoors. Patio growing Zone 4-11. Can handle short frosts when established, but don’t like temperatures below 25 degrees Fahrenheit and therefore should be protected, especially while young.
- Soil Requirements: Well Draining soil, pH 5.5-6.5. We recommend Premier Pro-Mix BX Mycorrhizae.
- Wind Tolerance: Low tolerance to wind, especially while small
- Salt Tolerance: Low tolerance to salt spray
- Growth Rate: Slow grower, which can take up to 12-15 years to fruit.
- Pollination: Self-pollinating, with greater fruit set with additional trees.
- Watering: Jaboticaba love heavy watering, with well draining soil.
- Fruit Season: In Florida ‘Sabara’ Jaboticaba will fruit in March and can continue fruiting until May. Some years the trees produce additional crops in June to August. Typically Sabara set fruit twice per year, but can fruit up to 3-4 times per year. Other Jaboticaba varieties can set fruit even more prolifically such as Red Jaboticaba, which can set up to 5-6 crops per year.
- Pruning: Jaboticaba can be pruned to reveal light to large branches and trunk as the tree flowers and fruits directly on those branches. Though pruning is not necessary and often container trees are left unpruned. Unpruned trees, in our experience, have less pressure from birds and other animals that enjoy the fruit.
- Disease/Pest issues: Jaboticaba have no major disease issues. Though, we’ve had problems with Aphids, which we control with a mixture of water and leaves from the Lemon Bay Rum tree, which we spray on the foliage using a small garden sprayer. The trees can also experience rust and fungal problems.
We grow Jaboticaba because they are incredibly gorgeous ornamental fruit trees, produce an abundance of fantastic fruit and require minimal maintenance outside of regular watering. As long as they’re planted in a proper soil and provided with some shade and plenty of water they grow into incredibly stunning specimens.
They’re a fantastic tree for the Central Florida landscape. We grow them in quantity on our farm in Christmas, FL and graft rare varieties onto Sabara Jaboticaba rootstock. We’ve also grafted cocktail Jaboticaba trees that offer several varieties from our collection including Sapucaia (have gorgeous salmon-pink new growth), Restinga, Grimal (a large fruited variety), Scarlet, Paulista (another very large fruiting variety), and Spirito (have the coolest, dark, nearly black new growth).
We recommend Jaboticaba highly. If you’d like to add a Jaboticaba to your landscape, or have us design and install a whole edible landscape, check out our availability list. We offer delivery and installations around the greater Orlando area for large orders.