While the common bright red Surinam Cherry is found in landscape hedging and parking-lot-border plantings throughout South Florida, the fruit of most specimens is not remarkable.  But, as with most fruiting plants, there are superior types— and the 'Zill Dark' is exactly that.  It is a uniquely "dark" colored Surinam Cherry, ripening to a dark purple or almost black.  The taste is much superior to your average Surinam Cherry:  deeply sweet, juicy, with a slight bit of tartness and vitamin C flavor that makes me salivate a bit just thinking about it.  Our 'Zill Dark' Surinam Cherries are grafted plants, while most Surinam Cherries found at garden centers are grown from seeds.  Grafting ensures that they fruit sooner, and retain the superior fruit quality they're known for.

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Latin name - Eugenia uniflora

Surinam Cherry trees, aka Pitanga, are a fine choice for those seeking compact fruit trees– often kept as shrubs and tolerant of partly-shady conditions.  Common in standard landscape plantings, Surinam Cherry is typically seen as a bright red pumpkin-shaped fruit, usually picked and eaten by children and birds.  These common red types can taste ok, but are nothing special.  The trees we offer are a superior grafted variety with larger, sweeter fruit— worth growing as a specimen tree or planted as an edible hedge on the border of your food forest.

Surinam cherries are notably high in Vitamin C, as are all their cousins in the Eugenia genus (Grumichama, pitomba, cherry of the rio grande, etc.)  Native to South America, Surinam cherry trees often yield twice per year, once in spring and again in fall. Fruits are highly perishable so check your trees daily when in season.

Pruning the thin branches is easy and the tree is happy to be kept to shrub or small tree size.  Seed-grown Surinam Cherries can produce fruits that range in color from red, to orange, to purple, but most are not favorable in flavor.  Plant a grafted tree to ensure good fruit quality.  No serious pests or diseases have been reported, but the delicate ripe fruits can be susceptible to larva.

Tolerant of alkaline or acidic soils, but prefers a quick-draining medium. Low salt-tolerance.

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Size -  10’ Tall and 6’ Wide but can easily be hedged

Sunlight requirements - Best in full sun, but tolerant of part shade

Cold hardy temp - Down to 25º F

Harvest Season - Double harvests in spring and fall