Eugenia unifloraSurinam Cherry

The Eugenia uniflora, or Surinam Cherry, is a dense Brazilian evergreen that flushes coppery-bronze before settling to glossy green, and that response to clipping is what has made it one of the standard hedging plants of the warm subtropics. Held tight it sits at a metre; left alone it becomes a small tree of 6 metres or more.

Small white flowers are followed by ribbed fruit that ripen from green through orange to deep red, edible and sharply flavoured, which adds a seasonal interest most hedging plants do not offer.

Specifications

• Height2 to 6 metres, commonly held at 1 to 2 metres as a clipped hedge
• Width2 to 4 metres
• Native toEastern South America, from Brazil to Uruguay and northern Argentina
• FoliageGlossy ovate leaves flushing coppery-bronze on new growth, ageing to deep green; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilPrefers well-drained soils; tolerates sandy and moderately poor ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterLow to moderate; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in tropical and subtropical regions

Additional Features

• FlowersSmall fragrant white flowers with prominent stamens, in flushes through the warm season
• FruitRibbed fruit ripening from green through orange to deep red, edible and tart
• UsesFormal hedging and screening, mixed shrub borders, edible landscaping and small specimen trees
• SpacingPlant 0.6 to 1 metre apart for a hedge, or 3 to 4 metres apart as small trees
• Low MaintenanceClips well and recovers from hard cutting; two cuts a year hold a formal face
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient; fruit fly can be an issue where fruit is left to ripen
• Seasonal AppealBronze new growth, white flowering and red fruit in succession
• Wildlife AttractionRipe fruit is heavily taken by birds

The Surinam Cherry is a hedging plant that also earns its keep with new-growth colour, flowering and fruit.