Achacha (Photo courtesy Fruitopia Nursery, Brisbane - fruitopianursery.com.au)
Achacha
Garcinia sp.
Clusiaceae Family
A cousin of the Mangosteen, the Achacha is known as the “queen of tropical fruit” throughout Asia, as it produces an unusual taste sensation, delicious, exotic, delicately sweet, tangy - no wonder the name translates as “honey kiss”.
The Achacha is a relatively new Garcinia to Australia and has had reasonable success as a commercial crop, with 10,000 trees being grown on a farm in north Queensland.
Fruit should be picked mature - it changes from blue-green to yellow-orange and then orange-red as it ripens (you can peel the fruit by running a knife around the middle, the top then readily comes away from the seed).
The pulp can be eaten fresh, used to make jam, tarts, or gelato, put into fruit punch, or added to ice cream, tropical fruit & green salads.
Native to the Bolivian part of the Amazon.
Tree Provenance
Our two seedling trees (donated by a rare fruit collector) have been planted in the one hole as it was unknown how important cross pollination with another tree was for fruit set. It appears now that they set fruit fine on their own, but crops are possibly heavier with more than one tree.
Tree Maintenance
Pruning
Garcinia sp.
Clusiaceae Family
A cousin of the Mangosteen, the Achacha is known as the “queen of tropical fruit” throughout Asia, as it produces an unusual taste sensation, delicious, exotic, delicately sweet, tangy - no wonder the name translates as “honey kiss”.
The Achacha is a relatively new Garcinia to Australia and has had reasonable success as a commercial crop, with 10,000 trees being grown on a farm in north Queensland.
Fruit should be picked mature - it changes from blue-green to yellow-orange and then orange-red as it ripens (you can peel the fruit by running a knife around the middle, the top then readily comes away from the seed).
The pulp can be eaten fresh, used to make jam, tarts, or gelato, put into fruit punch, or added to ice cream, tropical fruit & green salads.
Native to the Bolivian part of the Amazon.
Tree Provenance
Our two seedling trees (donated by a rare fruit collector) have been planted in the one hole as it was unknown how important cross pollination with another tree was for fruit set. It appears now that they set fruit fine on their own, but crops are possibly heavier with more than one tree.
Tree Maintenance
Pruning
- Prune after harvest to remove dead or damaged branches.
- When young the tree should get water multiple times per week, and once established about once a week.
- Spring (early): liquid seaweed, poultry manure, worm wee (10:1).
- Autumn: liquid seaweed, sulphate of potash, worm wee (10:1).
- Winter: compost around drip line.
Achacha at LCG December 2024 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Achacha at LCG August 2022 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
