Source tree from Shamus O'Learys Tropical Fruit Trees, Sep 2016
This tree's growth rate is nothing short of astonishing. In Sep 2016 it was a 3 gallon tree with two long spindly branches. One was vertical and the other was horizontal. I cut off the horizontal one and I was left with a skinny 6 ft tall tree.
In 2017 the tree grew from ... I kid you not ... a 6 ft tree to a 25 ft tree ... !!!
It grew so fast it really did boggle my mind. It was a 25 ft tree with a really large canopy. In winter a lot of it died back (very cold sensitive). In the spring I cut out the top 10 feet of the tree and left one of the large east facing branches and it is leafing out again.
FYI: It is called "Strawberry Tree" because the flowers look almost identical to strawberry flowers. The fruit is extremely different. Jamaican cherry fruit has almost a fruity 'cotton-candy' like flavor. They are really good, and reportedly have a lot of antioxidants.
Spring 2018 after much of the top of the tree died during the winter. Severe pruning to remove the dead branches.
