Tamarillos are also known as tree tomatoes. In our latitudes they can only be kept as potted plants because the trees, which grow up to seven meters high, cannot tolerate sub-zero temperatures. This is how you can grow the sweet and sour tomato-like fruits.
How do you grow tamarillos?
Tamarillos can be grown by sowing in prepared seed trays. After germination, they are transplanted into pots and later placed in pots with clay-rich soil and a climbing aid. The plants need lots of water, monthly fertilization and frost-free overwintering. Harvest time begins from the third year.
Sowing tamarillos
- Prepare the seed tray
- Do not sow seeds too densely
- Cover thinly with soil
- Keep dark until germination
- Spray frequently
- Transplant into small pots after emergence
- Put in pot later
- Attach trellis
Seeds are available from specialist retailers (€3.00 on Amazon).
Tamarillos grow particularly well when they are planted in clay-rich soil.
Plant in pots
Once the tamarillos have outgrown their pot, transplant them into a container. Ensure good drainage to prevent waterlogging.
Fill the bucket with clay-rich soil. Alternatively, you can also use garden soil that you refine with ripe compost.
Attach a climbing aid immediately after planting so you don't hurt the roots later.
Water a lot in summer
In summer the tamarillo is allowed on the terrace. Choose a sunny spot protected from the wind.
When it is very hot, you need to water frequently, sometimes several times a day. Avoid wetting the leaves to avoid sunburn.
Fertilize the plant once a month with cactus fertilizer.
Wintering indoors
Tamarillos are not frost hardy. They must be kept in a frost-free, very bright location over the winter. During this time, water only occasionally to prevent the root ball from drying out.
If the tamarillo has grown too tall, simply cut off the top. The plant then branches below the cut point.
Harvest tamarillos all year round
Tamarillos have no fixed harvest time. If the site conditions are good, from the third year onwards, except during winter, new flowers will continually form, from which fruit will continue to develop.
You can tell whether the tamarillo is ripe by its dark red color. However, the fruits ripen just like tomatoes if they are picked too early.
Tips & Tricks
You can get pre-grown tamarillo trees from garden shops. If you want to harvest fruit quickly, you should skip sowing and buy a biennial plant. Then you can expect flowers and fruit the following year.
