The Che Storehousebush (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. 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 Storehousebush
Che trees are dioecious, meaning that there are male plants and female plants. The variety 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 is a little smaller than a twenty-five-cent gumball and tastes like a cross between a fig and watermelon. 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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