The melon pear, which comes from South America, is now increasingly being cultivated in private gardens here because of its delicious fruits. It can also be kept in a pot on the balcony. But when does the perennial plant actually bear fruit?
When does the melon pear bear fruit?
The melon pear (Pepino) bears fruit in the first year if it is planted in a sunny, warm location with at least 18 °C. The harvest time is in late summer, after approx. 90 days after flowering.
Even the first year is fruitful
The melon pear is a nightshade plant, like the long-known and cultivated potato or tomato. After sowing or planting, it grows just as quickly as this one. If you give it the warmest and sunniest place in the garden, a bountiful harvest awaits you in the first year.
Due to its sensitivity to cold, the melon pear, also known as pepino, is usually grown in a container with which it spends the summer outside. If the pot is also sunny and protected and the Pepino receives sufficient care, ripe fruits can also be expected with this type of cultivation.
Annual harvest during overwintering
The Pepino is not hardy, so it can only be cultivated outside as an annual. However, if you have a bright and cool room of around 5 to 10 °C for overwintering, the plant will grow perennial and give you new fruits every year.
Late harvest time
After flowering, it takes on average around 90 days until the fruits are ripe and ready to harvest. Then it is already late summer. A possible cultivation in the greenhouse may contribute to a slightly earlier start to the harvest.
Fruit blessing also in winter quarters
Depending on the weather, the melon pear may have to move into its winter quarters early. There may still be a few unripe fruits hanging on it. She can continue to wear these because they can also ripen indoors.
Temperature as a crop killer
The melon pear is self-pollinating, but warm days and nights are also necessary for the fruit to set. Min. This plant needs 18 °C to bear fruit. At pollination time it cannot always achieve this value in this country.
So it can bear bigger fruit
The Pepino can also bear a lot of fruit in this country. You can get larger specimens not only in a good location, but also with appropriate pruning measures:
- prune out all flowerless side shoots
- shorten long flower shoots
Depending on the variety, the fruits reach a length of up to 20 cm and a weight of up to 300 grams.
Tip
Only harvest ripe fruits that exude a sweet scent and whose flesh yields slightly when pressed with your finger, because they have the best aroma. Unripe fruits can ripen at room temperature.
