Garden Planner & Almanac The Cottage Garden Companion
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Pitomba

Eugenia luschnathiana

Takes drought once it is settled, but not cold — 10°C is the floor, whatever the season.

Light Full sun, in a bright greenhouse where the climate is against it.
Water Water regularly at first; once established it stands drought well.
Height 6 m
Spread 13 ft 1 in
Spacing 500 cm

Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing
16 ft 5 in
In-row spacing
16 ft 5 in
Between rows
19 ft 8 in
Square-foot density
Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type
Fruit · Perennial
Botanical family
Mixed / other
Sunlight
Full sun, in a bright greenhouse where the climate is against it.
Watering
Water regularly at first; once established it stands drought well.
Feeding
A liquid feed monthly, April through September.
Frost tolerant
Yes
Flowering
August
Pruning
A light prune in late winter keeps the size in hand.
Overwintering
Never below 10°C, so heated glass is essential.

Through the year

  • Sep–Oct Flowering
  • Oct–Dec Fruit Set
  • Dec–Dec Harvest
  • Jan–Sep Harvest

Pests & problems

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant

  • Hoverfly Syrphidae
    Hunts Scale insectsMealybugs

    Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

    Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum
  • Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
    Hunts Scale insectsMealybugs

    The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

    Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow
  • Green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea
    Hunts Mealybugs

    Its bristly larvae — "aphid lions" — impale aphids, mealybugs, thrips, and mite colonies, eating hundreds a week. Adults feed on nectar and pollen from small open flowers and overwinter in hollow stems left standing.

    Plant nearby CilantroCosmosDillSunflowerYarrow

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