How to Grow Miracle Fruit? A Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Techniques
Miracle fruit is also called flavor-changing fruit, miracle fruit, and sweet fruit. Its fruit is sweet and sour and delicious. After eating miracle fruit, any other sour food you eat can have its sourness turned into sweetness, which is why it is called miracle fruit. So, how should miracle fruit be grown? Let's learn about it together!
1. Garden plot selection
Miracle fruit is native to the tropics and prefers fertile soil with high organic content and strong moisture-retention capacity. The soil needs to be acidic or neutral. It is suitable for planting in low-altitude subtropical areas. As a tropical plant, it also has relatively high temperature requirements: the average daily temperature must reach about 25 degrees, and in winter it must also be above 10 degrees, with the lowest not below 5 degrees, otherwise frost damage will occur. The garden plot should be far from urban areas, busy roads, factories, and other noisy places. The water source should be abundant and clean. It is best to choose a wind-sheltered hillside facing south or southeast to establish the orchard.
2. Seedling planting
Miracle fruit seedlings need to be planted in spring or autumn. Pay attention to the planting density. The row spacing between each plant should be determined according to plant size, with an average row spacing of 1.5×2 m per plant. The planting hole should be 40×40×40 cm in height, depth, and width. Before planting, apply base fertilizer to the planting hole according to the soil fertility and soil conditions. Generally, compound fertilizer, organic fertilizer, and topsoil are mixed and stirred together, then placed into the planting hole. Then place about 10 cm of soil on top of the base fertilizer to prevent the seedling roots from touching the base fertilizer and rotting. After planting, pile a planting mound at the base of the tree and press it firm with your foot. Keep the soil moist within ten days after planting, and afterward decide whether to add water based on humidity.
3. Fertilizer and water management
Miracle fruit is a perennial fruit that can bloom and bear fruit multiple times a year, so its fertilizer demand is also relatively high. During the seedling stage, compound fertilizer should be used scientifically, following the principle of applying more frequently but in small amounts, together with foliar fertilizer, to effectively promote the development of the fruit seedlings. For mature fruit trees, organic fertilizer should be used together with compound fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer should be used reasonably to promote the growth of branches and shoots, but nitrogen fertilizer must not be applied randomly. Use compound fertilizer together with monopotassium phosphate to retain fruit and strengthen fruit. Miracle fruit also has a relatively high water demand. After planting, keep the soil moist and also spray water on the branches and leaves to keep them moist. To prevent the summer temperature from being too high and water from evaporating, certain moisture-retention work should also be done well, and water management should be strengthened.
4. Shaping and pruning
Prune miracle fruit before it enters the vigorous growth period. Note that heavy pruning should not be used, because at this time the main focus is still on promoting growth and shaping. Generally, the natural open-center form is used for pruning. When pruning, combine it with work such as bud wiping and shoot fixing, distribute the branches reasonably, and choose strong-growing, robust buds growing in different directions as side branches. Remove the remaining dense branches and leggy branches, which is beneficial for the heading-back work on the outer parts. After winter harvesting is completed, promptly remove all diseased, pest-damaged, overly dense, and other undesirable branches. Only in this way can the growth of miracle fruit be benefited.
The above is a brief introduction from the editor on how to grow miracle fruit. I hope it can help all growers!