Rose Apple
The rose apple is a highly decorative evergreen large shrub or small tree growing to about 20 feet with low spreading branches and pale-brown bark. It is wide spreading and often will be wider than its height.
Fruit: The fruits are 1 - 2 inches wide, almost round or a little longer than wide. When ripe they may be greenish or dull-yellow flushed with pink. The skin is smooth and thin, and the firm flesh yellowish, sweet and rose scente. They contains one to four medium hard, round seeds, which rattle around inside the fruit. The seed as well as the roots are regarded as poisonous. Seedless, thick-fleshed fruits have been experimentally produced by treating opened flowers with growth regulators such as naphthoxy acetic acid. Frost Protection: The rose apple will take several degrees of frost but does best when planted in a protected spot on the south side of a wall or building. Young plants can be given overhead protection and covered when significant frosts are expected. |
Propagation: Most rose apple trees are grown from seed. The seeds are polyembryonic and produce one to three sprouts, but seedlings are not uniform and there is considerable variation in fruit quality. The poorer fruits are dry and tasteless. Various vegetative propagation methods have been satisfactory. Treated semi-hardwood cuttings were moderately successful, while air-layering and veneer grafting of spring-flush scions have been successful to a greater degree. Fruiting takes about four years. |
