Demand for original plants and exotic fruits is increasing every year. People are interested in not only trying overseas fruits, but also trying to grow them on their own. Melon tree, or pepino, is one of the available options for exotic plants that can not only grow, but also bear fruit in Russian climatic conditions.
What is pepino, what does the fruit look like
Pepino is a small evergreen fruit lignified shrub belonging to the Solanaceae family. The height of the plant is about 1.5 m. Due to the similarity of taste with melon and mango, the pepino shrub received the names "melon tree" and "mango cucumber". Sometimes, due to the similarity of the shape of the fruit with a pear, shrubs are called a "melon pear."
Pepino with fruits
It is difficult to give a specific description to the plant, since each species is endowed with its own morphological characters. In general, we can say that, externally, it combines the signs of different solanaceous: the stem looks like an eggplant, the flowers are like potatoes, the leaves resemble peppers.
The fruits of a melon tree can be oblong, round, pear-shaped, oblate. The color of ripe pepino varies from cream to bright yellow. The peel may be speckled or dark streaks. The weight of pepino is from 200 to 750 g.
The pulp of the fruit is juicy, colorless or yellowish, tastes like a melon mixed with pineapple.
Important! Pepino is a low-calorie fruit containing vitamins (C, B1, B2, PP), potassium, and iron. It is suitable even for baby food.
Pepino can be grown both as a greenhouse and as a houseplant. The birthplace of the plant is considered South America, in our time it is often found in Chile, New Zealand and Peru. The melon pear is also gaining popularity in Russia.
Melon tree namesake
Melon pear (pepino) is often confused with a melon tree (papaya). People often buy papaya seeds, expecting them to grow pepino. Since growing home papaya from seeds is no more difficult than a melon pear, beginners see the result of their own labor and are surprised. Some people think that they were sold the wrong seeds in the store, others are even more confirmed in confusion, convincing everyone that they grew pepino.
Under the name of the pentagonal melon tree, a plant such as Babako is known. This is the third namesake pepino cultivation at home which has its own characteristics. It is easy to get confused with exotics, especially when the fruits have not yet appeared.
Before you try to plant papaya, you should compare by photo and make sure that it is the bones of the papaya plant. Otherwise, confusion will begin again. When buying, it is important to pay attention to the labeling of the bag with seed, otherwise you can buy a completely unknown plant.
Important! Many inexperienced growers worry about whether papaya bones can be eaten. This question can be answered in the affirmative: the seeds from the fruits of both trees are edible and even healthy.
Growing Features
There is a lot of trouble with growing a melon pear - the Russian climate does not fit the plant, and you have to constantly monitor the temperature and humidity in the room. But how much joy you can experience by growing an exotic naughty man yourself.
Melon tree indoor
Lighting
Pepino loves light and does not tolerate drafts, according to these indicators, you need to choose a place for its cultivation.
Watering
It is necessary to moisten the soil as it dries, in small portions. For the surface root system of a melon tree, excess moisture is fatal. For irrigation, you need to use settled water at room temperature so that the gentle pepino does not capricious.
Temperature
The optimum temperature for growing melon pears is 20-25 ° C. The critical point is 14 ° C, if the thermometer goes down, the plant may die.
Shaping and Garter
So that the thin shoots do not break and grow up, they must be tied up. To form pepino, experts advise in 1-2 shoots. All young stepsons must be carefully broken off manually. Directed towards the sun, a properly formed plant produces abundant fruits that have time to ripen in the sun and receive all the nutrients from a few shoots.
The soil
The plant needs soil with neutral acidity, with a low nitrogen content (otherwise pepino will begin to produce excess green mass to the detriment of fruiting). The temperature of the land for cultivation should not fall below 20 ° C.
Top dressing
As a fertilizer, growth stimulants or a solution of bird droppings are used. Top dressing begins 14 days after the planting of pepino in a permanent place and is repeated 1 time in 14-20 days.
Flowering and harvesting
2-3 months after planting, pepino begins to bloom. Lilac flowers appear on thin shoots, which are desirable to be tied to the nearest shoot so that the buds do not break off under the weight of their weight.
Bloom
Home flowering pear during flowering should be placed in a well-ventilated place and try to create the most comfortable conditions. With a sharp change in temperature and humidity, the plant can drop ovaries and buds.
Important! Pepino belongs to self-pollinated plants, but it can be "helped" by lightly tapping with a finger on a peg-support.
When the ovaries appear on the plant, the frequency of watering should be increased. Melon pear is a juicy fruit, the formation of which will require a lot of moisture. However, it is not necessary to overfill, otherwise the fruit may crack.
Pepino matures within 2 months. The fruit grows in size, acquires a characteristic color and aroma. To ensure longer storage, the fruits are cut with secateurs without damaging the junction with the leg. Pepino is sent to the lower shelf of the refrigerator and stored for 1 to 2 months, depending on the variety.
Varieties of melon tree for Russia
There are more than 20 varieties of melon pear, but only 2 of them are most often used for cultivation in Russian latitudes: Consuelo and Ramses. Gardeners from regions with a warm climate manage to plant them in open ground and get a crop.
Variety Consuelo
Pepino Consuelo
The variety was listed in the State Register in 1999, recommended for greenhouse cultivation and open ground.
Pepino Consuelo does not require pinching of the tops (indeterminant). The stems are purple, more than 150 cm high, actively forming stepsons. The leaves are small, whole, light green in color.
The flowers look like potato. The petals are white, most have purple stripes. It is noteworthy that pure white flowers do not form ovaries, but crumble.
4 months after emergence, the first crop can be harvested. The fruits have a mass of 420 to 580 g. The skin is smooth, yellow-orange, with purple stripes, specks. The shape of the pepino of this variety resembles a heart with a blunt tip. The pulp of the fruit is very juicy, sweet, with a pronounced melon aroma.
The variety has a high yield and good germination.
Interesting. Although pepino is most often called a fruit, from the point of view of botany, it is a berry. Culinary experts define a melon pear as a vegetable, along with other nightshade ones.
Variety Ramses
Pepino Ramses
This variety was also listed in the State Register in 1999. Recommended for cultivation throughout Russia. The plant is indeterminate, with shoots above 1.5 m. Shoots are greenish with purple spots. The leaves are medium, dark green in color, whole-edge.
The color and shape of the flowers are the same as in the variety Consuelo. Ramses is distinguished by earlier ripening: after 3.5 months. The fruits are cone-shaped, pointed, weighing from 400 to 480 g. According to the State Register, the color of the skin of the fruit is yellow, but, according to reviews, pepino Ramses is more often colored in cream color with purple specks.
The skin is thin, glossy. The pulp is yellow, juicy, with a light melon aroma.
This variety is more resistant than Consuelo, has good germination and with proper care gives an excellent harvest.
How to grow at home
There is an opinion that pepino obtained by the method of cuttings gives larger and sweeter fruits. This can be verified first hand.
Growing pepino from seeds
Since an excess of light in summer days can provoke falling ovaries, it is better to sow pepino in the fall. So the plant can have time to form, bloom and set fruits before the summer sunny days. You can sow seeds in the spring, but in this case the bushes that have grown and formed an ovary will have to be shaded.
Often they write about almost 100% germination of pepino seeds. This information is probably launched in order to advertise seed, as professionals estimate the germination rate of a melon pear by 50-60%.
Not all pepino species have seeds.
Pepino growing at home from seeds:
- Choose a container suitable for germination, for example, a plastic container.
- Make holes in the bottom. Put drainage and a layer of coarse sand previously calcined in the oven for disinfection in the container.
- Place a layer of nutrient soil in the container. Press down slightly so that the seeds do not fall deep.
- Spill the soil with a solution of foundationazole.
- Gently spread the seeds over the surface.
- Cover the container with foil or glass.
- Landings are aired daily, moisten as necessary from a spray bottle. It is especially important during this period to observe the temperature regime of 25-28 ° C.
- A phytolamp or other light source is installed 10-15 cm from the container. Dosing is carried out around the clock, from sowing to picking.
- Seeds will bite in 7 days, but not all. Some may not germinate for up to 30 days. As the pepino grows, the lamp should be moved aside. Some sprouts can not independently shed the seed coat and rot. To avoid this, you will have to help them by removing the shell with a clean needle.
- After the appearance of the third leaf, seedlings are dived into separate cups.
- After a week, lightning is reduced to 16 hours.
Seedlings
Seedlings can be ordered by mail, but fragile plants are unlikely to reach the addressee safe and sound. It is better to try to grow them according to the method described above from seeds.
If the seeds were sown in the fall, then by spring the seedlings should grow stronger. At the beginning of March, the bleaching is stopped and the plants are placed on the windowsill.
It’s no harder to take care of seedlings than for any other nightshade:
- Watering should be regular, but not too plentiful;
- Top dressing is done 2 weeks after a dive. You can use complex fertilizer, diluting a double dose, or special top dressing for seedlings. Repeat once every 14 days;
- Transshipment into larger containers is done after the appearance of 6-8 leaves.
Growing pepino from cuttings
Broken down during the formation of the stepson can not be thrown away, but used as cuttings for rooting. The lower leaves of the cuttings are cut off and put in a glass of water or placed in light soil.
Covering pepino is not required, but you will often need to spray the plants. The roots with this method of reproduction grow quickly. If the stalk is rooted in the ground, you need to get it together with an earthen lump on the roots and in this form put in a pot.
Cut fruit
Growing pepino at home, especially from seeds, is not an easy task. To accept such a “challenge” of the tropics is an interesting task that will not leave indifferent avid plant lovers.
