Sorry we do not ship. The Che Norris (Cudrania tricuspidata), is also known as Chinese Mulberry, or Mandarin Melonberry. This small tree is in the mulberry family and is native to eastern Asia, but has been naturalized around the globe. This variety is self-fertile so you only need one plant to bear fruit in the fall. The fruit tastes like a cross between a fig and watermelon. These trees are grafted on Osage orange rootstock to prevent suckering.
Che Norris Variety
Che Norris is a productive female selection of Maclura tricuspidata known for its ability to set seedless fruit even when a male pollinator is absent. The plant produces small maroon-red fruits, typically around ½ inch in diameter, with a sweet flavor often compared to a blend of fig and watermelon. This variety was discovered by fruit collector Cliff England near the Norris Dam area in northern Tennessee and has since become popular among growers interested in unusual fruiting plants. Norris is valued for its relatively manageable growth habit and is commonly grafted onto Osage orange rootstock to encourage a more upright, tree-like form. Although it can produce fruit on its own, the presence of a male plant may improve fruit set in cooler growing regions.
Che General Info
Che trees are dioecious, meaning that there are male plants and female plants. The varieties that we sell as well as some others out there produce fruit even without a male tree around. When a Che plant bears fruit with no male plant around the fruit is seedless. If a male plant is around, it is said that the fruit will have 3 to 6 small brown edible seeds.
In the West Virginia area the fruit ripens in the fall. The ripe fruit slightly soft and is a deep reddish-dark pink color. The fruit ripens as early as mid-summer in warmer southern climates. The fruit size is cultivar dependent. The taste is generally like a cross between a fig and watermelon but there are some subtle differences between cultivars. The fruit generally ripens for up to a month and once ripe it has a good shelf life.
The tree will generally form into the shape of an umbrella. Some of the leaves look like green duck feet. If planted on its own rootstock it sends up lots of suckers and becomes shrubby. For this reason, it is usually grafted on Osage orange rootstock. This allows the plant to form a nice single trunked tree that usually does not grow larger than sixteen feet tall.
Be sure to check out our other great plants for sale at Great Escape Nursery.
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Sorry, we do not ship plants. We will only be selling plants from our nurseries in Maryland and West Virginia. Pease see our “Contact Us” page for more information.