don - Although Coccoloba uvifera is a native, it's not the best tree for most residential landscapes. Along with the fact that it's decidous, I've seen a single trunked specimen grow to 50' tall with an equal width.

If you have the room for one, just visit any beach or park, you'll find plenty of volunteers growing and no one will mind you taking one.

i've seen this as an edible landscaping plant... can anyone fill in the blanks here? what, exactly, does one eat? and, how? and... well, is it any good?

I remember sea grape jelly, but I never tried it.

I'm going to date myself with this one. As a kid I remember an old episode of the Flying Nun where Sister Bertrille convinced some of the other nuns to help her picked sea grapes and make sea grape juice. For some reason the way they made the juice was by stomping the sea grapes in barrels with their bare feet. You can imagine how surprised they all were when the sea grape juice fermented and they ended up with sea grape wine.

You eat the fruit, which appears in large clusters. Have to wait till they are really ripe, will turn purple and is sweet. The seed is pretty large compared to the overal fruit, from what I remember. But growing up we loved to eat these. Not much "meat" in one fruit, but the taste was great.

If you like flavored styrofoam, you'll love seagrapes. But then again, I don't like guava either.

I just bought a house that has a sea grape butting up against the house. It actually is growing beyond the roof. I was wondering should I cut it back or try to dig it up and move it to a roomier spot?

I'll bet the fruit is every bit as rich in wonderful antioxidants as the much touted acai (sp) fruit found in the wonderful (overpriced) Mona Vie juice.

I've tasted them, nothing to write home about. But maybe their health benefits should be researched more?

Would love to try the jelly, or better yet, the wine.

Our neighbor's sea grapes are growing over the fence near our front door and onto our roof as well. I cut them back and leave only a minimal canopy look. I had always wanted a sea grape but have found that when those (not very tasty) berries hit the ground they ferment like crazy! For a month our front porch smelled like we'd been making cheap wine! I also found it difficult to avoid stepping on the berries-- I kept tracking them inside.

Jane

We bought a plot of land and would like to grow some seagrapes there but how do we do that? From cutting? Seeds? Tubers? Our neighbors have 3 "trees" but are not sure how to help us with propagating. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If you are close to Stuart, Rorabeck's Farmer's Market & Nursery sells seagrapes in 3 gallon pots for $5. They are on Kanner Highway just west of US 1.

Oh yay! Treasure Coast people! I'm so happy :).

Here is a link that might be useful: WereAllMadHere.com

We were in Ft Pierce Saturday evening and there were several growing at the jetty (sorry that's the only name I know it by)as bushes and one as a tree. They were loaded with green grapes.

Welcome shellyberry. There are a few of us on the TC. We live in Palm City and our business is in Jensen Beach.

I heard that sea grapes near the beach are protected and it's illegal to cut them. This could be a nasty rumor (that I'm accidentally perpetuating now). However, they can be propagated by cuttings. Rorabecks is on Indian Street at Willoughby...same general area...I was there today.

Hey fellow Treasure Coast People! I divide my time between Port Saint Lucie and Jensen Beach on the Island!! It is very difficult to propegate sea grapes from cuttings and seeds. The best way to go is air layering. - Sharon

We have 3 large sea grapes in our yard here in Vero Beach. They were here when we bought the house 8 years ago, and we've been fighting with them ever since! I love them in their natural habitat, but they are very labor intensive and messy in our yard. We are seriously thinking about removing them.........hubby is getting very tired of having to rake leaves and trim them every few weeks.

I tried propagating a sea grape recently by cutting off a branch and directly planting it into the soil. No luck...Any suggestions?

Hello from Stuart!

I had a Sea Grape until Hurricane Frances uprooted her. I'd be a liar if I said I was really sad about losing that tree. (I admit I was a little sad, but recovered when I didn't have to contend with the weekly trimming or multitude of leaves that never decompose.) You couldn't pay me to replant a Sea Grape.

A nice native tree that ranks well on the Hurricane list is the Gumbo Limbo. You can direct plant it and I'd be happy to provide a nice starter for you. (I'm looking for a good home before I trim.) Gumbo Limbos drop leaves, but only once a year and the leaves aren't the size of a plate.

Ladybug, I've heard about the protected status and that the restrictions are on trimming, not just removal. However, that came from an unreliable source (handyman that turned out not-so-handy). Speaking of which, any recommendations on handymen in the Treasure Coast?

Rorabeck's is on Indian St (corner of Indian and willoughby)., and they have all sorts of interesting plants from time to time: passifloras, arabica coffee, cinnamon, lots of tropical fruit plants

Hey, Florida people. Anyone know where I can order some sea grape jelly?

Another Treasure Coaster here. SEA GRAPE QUESTION: I have a sea grape hedge that is loaded with clusters of bright green grapes. I'd love to try my hand at sea grape jelly, but they are all as hard as a rock and they never ripen. Every year they put on fruit like crazy, but they all fall from the plant as a hard seed, never turning or softening into anything edible. Is it possible I have a non-edible variety? Is there such a thing? Any info would be helpful. Thanks :)

I'm not from the Treasure Coast, but I certainly have 2 really nice sea grapes. I got them about 18 months ago at the big blue box up the road for $10 each.

Honestly, I don't have any complaints. I was looking for something that would grow fast to shade screened room on one side and serve as a windbreak on the north side. One is approximately 20 feet high, and could use a trim, the other roughly 12 feet high.

Oddly enough, even though I am in a much more inland climate, I don't have the leaves all over the place in the winter. The ones that do fall end up getting mowed over each weekend anyways.

If you're not looking for something that will take up at least a 20ft x 20ft area, other folks in my area train them as shrubs, and they look outstanding. The fruit I haven't had to deal with yet, and never had any of the jams/jellies.