My thoughts would be that any plant in the ground is going to do much better than in a container. There are lots of these growing in the souther Florida area. You might contact the Fruit & Spice Park and ask them. I'm sure someone could give you some good advice on this. I've been interested in this plant. How big is yours, approx age, and where did you get it? Thanks! J

I bought my jaboticaba in May at a plant show.
It is about 4-5 ft tall.
They dealer said it was airlayed -not from seed.
Hopefully he was truthful because I don't want to wait 10 years to get some fruit.
I will try to post a picture later.
Good idea about the fruit and spice park.
That is one of the many places I would love to visit. Hopefully I can go in the near future.

I grew one in the ground for 5-6 years. It never flowered or fruited. It got blown over twice by the hurricanes last year. I staked it back up, but it defoliated this spring and died. I found a lousy root system when I dug it up. It was well fed and watered, but never did much except sit there.

My newer one is potted, is thriving/growing and is gorgeous. It is a much healthier plant all around. I'm going to keep it potted. It is in coconut husk chips which help a great deal with watering issues.

Lisa

Lisa-I am sorry to hear you had 1 died.
I have read that the have shallow root system, so maybe the root system was normal.
But who knows, I am certainly no expert.
Did you use the coconut husks for drainage?
I read several times about you using coconut husks, it must be great stuff.
I have looked for it many times but have never found them. I think since you are further south than me it is more available in your area.

At my old house, I planted one where three roof lines converge. When it rained, all the water was channeled to the Jaboticaba. It fruited like crazy as long as I fertilized. My soil drained very well though.

If you plant it by the pond, plant it high enough for the roots to find the water in a couple of seasons on their own. I would not plant it below the water table.

Jerry

Must be a nice tree. Look forward to the pics. The only plants I have seen offered were from seed...none grafted or airlayered. Does the person you bought it from have an on-line business where they can be checked out and reached? Good luck with yours. Everyone above made some very good points. The Fruit & Spice Park was okay. Not something I would seek out again on my next visit to Florida. We had more fun at Fairchild Gardens and walking around the Fairchild Kampong. I guess if F&S Park offered a tour with someone giving commentary and answering questions, it would have been much more enjoyable.

What would be your reason for wanting to keep it in a pot? Are you afraid it might get too big? I can't think of any other reason, provided your climate is suitable to growing it outdoors all year round, and your soil is okay.

I agree with Ohiojay that just about any tree will do better in the ground, particularly fruit trees. We have a couple of Jaboticabas that we grew from seed, and they did take that long to come into fruit, but now they fruit every year. They're only about 8 ft. tall, and would be easy to prune shorter if we wanted to. Since the fruit comes out of the old wood, you wouldn't need to worry about cutting off the new growth.

Like so many things, though, the fruit comes all at once, ripens quickly, and then it's gone. Maybe a couple of weeks out of the year you'll have fruit, assuming the birds don't get most of it (you can't bag it since it comes right out of the trunk). Makes a nice jelly, though.

I think they are one of the prettiest trees. The first time I saw them was a grove of them, 20 foot trees, maybe a few dozen of them. They were fruiting, I fell in love. IÂve turned so many people on to them as container house/sun room trees because they are so pretty and in fact grow fine in containers. Grafted or air-layered trees should take no more then 4 years depending on conditions. When they are young too much sun/heat isnÂt good but once they get fruit age theyÂll appreciate it.

You may try using a polymer like AquaRocks, TerraSorb around the root system to help with the moisture. You might also try one of those spikes you put in a soda bottle that slowly releases small amounts of water. You should also mist the leaves often.

Tamara