Unusual Fruits

Now you can enjoy growing your own coffee with Fast Growing Trees’ Coffee Plant. This woody perennial has glossy, dark green leaves and clusters of fragrant white flowers that bloom for several weeks during the early spring.

The evergreen plant is easy to grow and requires minimum maintenance. It can be grown in a pot or outdoors and is hardy in zones 9-10. It can easily adapt to most soil types and enjoys full to partial sunlight.

Once the plant is three to four years old, it will begin to produce coffee beans. The fruit, known as the coffee cherry, begins as a small green berry which will gradually turn yellow. As it continues to ripen it will turn bright orange and finally dark red in about eight months. At this point it is ready to harvest.

Each coffee bean is protected by soft pulp which can easily be removed by gently squeezing the fruit. You can easily harvest as many beans as required and roast them in your oven or roaster. Once they have completely cooled, they are ready to grind and percolate into a delicious brew. Growing your own coffee has never been easier.

Used in traditional Chinese medicine for years, the Goji berry plant is known for its myriad of healthful properties. The fruit is rich in amino acids, vitamin C, B, E, and a wide variety of antioxidants and essential fatty acids. As well as the health benefits, this plant offers a stunning contrast of small, light green leaves and vibrant, crimson berries all summer long.

Thriving throughout zones 5 – 9, the Goji will soon settle in, providing elegance and flare to your home landscape, either outdoors, on a patio, balcony, or porch. The plant enjoys full or partial sunlight and will grow between 1 and 2 feet each year, reaching mature heights and widths of 8 – 10 feet.

Only moderate watering is required for this plant to flourish. Though the Goji prefers moist soil when first planted, once established it becomes drought-tolerant, and will not require fertilizer to produce a good yield of fruit.

The Goji berry is typically harvested between July and October. To harvest these fruits, spread a sheet underneath the bush and shake the branches lightly. If the Goji berries do not fall easily, you should try again in a week or two when they will have ripened further.

This exotic fruit plant is becoming increasingly popular throughout the United States. It is a small, evergreen shrub that produces attractive, thick, green foliage year-round. It is ideal for gardens, but may also be grown in containers, and is a fantastic addition to patio and outdoor seating areas.

The Miracle Fruit grows in an oval or pyramidal shape and produces small, brown and white flowers, which are followed by vivid scarlet blooms. The plant will grow up to 1 foot each year, reaching a height of 3 feet at full maturity.

This plant thrives in warm climates with high levels of humidity and is most at home in zones 8 – 11 outdoors and 4 – 11 on patios. Miracle berry plants require only partial sunlight and occasional watering to yield fruit. The plant starts fruiting at only one foot tall. Its fruit is produced year-round, adding a rich red color to your landscape.

The fruit of this shrub are edible but tasteless, and have an interesting effect on your taste buds.

Once you chew a fleshy berry and its juice coats your tongue, everything you eat for the next few hours will taste sweet. You can put it to the test by sucking onto a lemon or lime, even these distinctive fruits will taste sweet to your palate.