Growing Tamarillo

Growing Tamarillo from seed to harvest. It is a small tree or shrub and is also known as the tree tomato. The plant is a fast-growing tree that grows up to 5 meters. The tree usually forms a single upright trunk with lateral branches. The flowers and fruits hang from the lateral branches. The leaves are large, simple and perennial, and have a strong pungent smell. The flowers are pink-white, and form clusters of 10 to 50 flowers. They produce 1 to 6 fruits per cluster. The fruits are egg-shaped and about 4-10 centimeters long. The flesh of the fruit is tangy and variably sweet, with a bold and complex flavor, and may be compared to kiwifruit, tomato, guava, or passion fruit.

Growing Tamarillo from Seed

• In spring, place the Tamarillo Seeds in a freezer for 24 hours to speed up germination.
• Then sow the seeds about 10mm deep in a tray of fine soil, in a warm propagator between 24-29 degrees.
• When the seedlings are about 5cm tall, carefully transplant into 7-10cm pots.
• Once the seedlings have grown to around 20cm tall, transplant again into a larger pot.
• It should remain in this pot until the plant is strong enough to be planted in the garden and when there is no risk of frost.
• The roots are shallow and not very pronounced, therefore the plant is not tolerant of drought stress and can be damaged by strong winds.
• It can be successfully grown in containers.
• Tamarillos need to be planted in a warm, sunny and sheltered site.
• The roots absolutely hate wet feet, so the soil should be very free-draining.

Maintaining Tamarillo Plants

• The tamarillo’s leaves are very large, resulting in a lot of water evaporation, therefore regular watering is very important. Do not allow the root ball to dry out.
• Don’t plant any other plants around the base of the tree and apply a mulch to keep the area weed-free, moisture-retaining and nutrient-rich.
• For pruning a young plant, take out the tip of the main leader when it is about 1m tall, which will encourage branching.
• Not much pruning is needed thereafter, but if you do decide to prune the tree, complete all pruning after harvest, because fruit is produced on new spring growth.
• Pests such as green aphids may attack the undersides of the leaves, so spray the undersides of the leaves with Neem oil in early Spring as a preventative measure. Green aphids also tend to attack any new leaf growth, as well as the flower buds. Therefore it is very important to check your plants at least once a week for pests and spray with Neem oil if you see any pests.
• The average lifespan of a tree tomato is about 4 years in terms of bearing fruit, so make sure to propagate new trees from cuttings or seed, when your tree is about 3 years old.

Harvesting Tamarillo Fruit

• You can expect the first fruits from the second year of growth.
• The fruits of the tree tomato ripen in late summer to autumn, depending on the location.
• When they have taken on their typical orange to dark red color, and they cave in slightly when pressed, the fruits are ready to harvest.
• Tamarillos will keep in the fridge for around two weeks, or about one week in a fruit bowl.