Matrimony Vine, Lycium barbarum, also known as Box Thorn, is a deciduous, fruit bearing shrub or vine, growing to 2.5meters tall by 4meters wide. Original habitat is unclear but in all likelihood S.E. Europe to S.W. Asia. Lycium barbarum is catalogued both as a vine and as a shrub. Along with the better known tomatoes and eggplants it is a member of the nightshade family.

The branches of the Matrimony Vine are prickly, and tend to grow in awkward mounds. The plant blossoms in summer with lavender tubular flowers. Flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by bees, followed by 2cm in diameter red berries with a mild sweet liquorice flavour produced in autumn. Fruit is consumed raw or cooked. When lightly cooked for 3 – 4 minutes can be used as a vegetable.

Matrimony Vine is an exciting choice for your edible garden. Many parts of the plant are eaten from the young shoots to the ripe berries, with the best output of young shoots produced in reaction to heavy pruning. Use of the leaves as food is well authenticated and fairly widespread in some countries. The unripe fruit might be suspect (belongs to a family that frequently plants and fruit contains toxins) though the fully ripe fruit is wholesome.

Plant propagation is by seed and germination is generally good and reasonably quick. Matrimony Vine is easy to grow; tolerating soils with only moderate fertility and a broad pH range can do well in full sun or part shade. It can stand maritime exposure. The plant needs regular moisture with good drainage. It is once in a while reported as invasive, when in a suitable position, so if you plant it keep an eye on where it spreads. The root system is extended and has been planted to stabilize soils.

Lycium barbarum is a member of the family Solanaceae the genus Lycium. When choosing a site to plant Lycium barbarum there is one condition if using it for landscape purposes. The Vine has a tendency to sprout from its roots.

Matrimony Vine, Lycium barbarum

The key to successful fruit and nut production is the presence of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.

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Cherries are any of the various trees or shrubs of the genus Prunus, especially Prunus avium or Prunus cerasus and their edible fruits. Three types are grown mainly for their fruit: sweet cherries, sour or tart cherries and, to a much lesser extent, crosses of sweet and sour cherries known as Dukes and Royals.

The Sweet Cherry, Prunus avium, also known as Wild Cherry and Gean is indigenous to the region between the Black and Caspian Seas in Asia Minor. It belongs to the same stone fruit family that includes Almonds, Plums and Peaches.

The Sweet Cherry is a deciduous, fruit bearing tree, growing to a height of 15-32 meters with a trunk up to 1.5 meters in diameter having a smooth textured purplish-brown bark, on young trees, turning thick dark blackish-brown and fissured on old trees.

Prunus avium leaves are alternate, simple ovoid, 7-14 cm long and 4-7 cm wide, shiny green above and with toothed margins. The tip of each toothed edge of the leaves bear little red glands. Leaves turn orange, pink or red prior to falling in autumn.

The flowers are born in early springtime, at the same time as the new leaves, on flower stalks two to six together with each flower held on a 2-5 cm long stalk. Flowers are hermaphroditic, 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter, with five intense white petals and yellowish stamens. The plant is not self-fertile. It is pollinated by insects and particularly by bees.

The fruit of the Sweet Cherry is a stone fruit 1-3 cm in diameter; brightly red to dark purple when mature in mid summertime, edible and with variable sweetness. The fruit contains a single hard-shelled stone. All parts of the plant except for the mature fruit are somewhat toxic, containing cyanogenic glycosides. Fruit is consumed raw or cooked and also used to make pies or preserves.

Tree propagation is by seed after a period of time of 2-3 months of cold stratification. Seeds can be quite slow to germinate, some of the times up to 18 months. The Sweet Cherry can grow in semi-shade or full sun. It needs well-drained moist soil with a moderate pH of 6 or 7.

Prunus avium is a member of the family Rosaceae the genus Prunus. 'Stella' is the first good quality, self-fertile black sweet cherry cultivar also a good pollinator for other sweet cherry cultivars, producing large amounts of large fruit.

Sweet Cherry, Prunus avium

The key to successful fruit and nut production is the presence of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.

Goumi, Elaeagnus multiflora, also known as Gumi, Natsugumi and also Cherry Silverberry, is a deciduous or semi-evergreen bush or small tree indigenous to Korea, China and Japan. Goumi grows from 2-8 meters tall, with a trunk up to 30 cm in diameter covered with a dark brown bark. The Chinese have traditionally regarded it to be amongst a group of foods that have medicinal [...] Continue Reading…

The key to successful fruit and nut production is the presence of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.

The Water Caltrop, Trapa bicornis, also known as Water Chestnut, Bat Nut, Devil Pod and Horn Nut is a native to warm temperate parts (not really a tropical plant) of Eurasia and Africa. The plant can stand low temperatures. Trapa bicornis is a floating, aquatic nut bearing vine that grows in slow-moving or standing water up to 5 meters deep.

[...] Continue Reading…

The key to successful fruit and nut production is the presence of a beneficial environment for the trees that bear them.