Agnes
when ripe fruits are red and size is about a big cherry.
I think they have a good taste!
Ciao Rita

Agnes , I have a large A. unedo in my garden . The fruits ripen about October, at the same time as the new flowers are in bloom.. it is a pretty combination . The fruits are small, about the size of a pea and red. They are edible but don't taste good. ...'unedo' translates as 'I eat one' , because no-one would want to eat two :-)

LOL Granite Pet, I just love the explanation of the name !
Agnes

I think it also depends on the individual tree, as the fruits on my own tree here in northern California are more the size of a very large strawberry, and actually rather sweet. The birds actively seek out the fruit, and it ripens here much earlier in the year, and can usually be found with some ripe fruit almost all year long. The fruit is much tastier than the Madrone tree, Arbutus 'Marina' which I also have in the garden. The birds seldom eat the much larger sized fruit on this beautiful smooth barked tree, which means it is much messier to garden under, as it drops a considerable amount of fruit.

Our native Madrone tree, A. menziesii is also a beautiful accent tree for the smooth cinnamon colored trunks, but is much less tolerant of normal garden conditions and easily killed with imperfect drainage or too much summer water. The 'Marina' Madrone is an excellent substitute, and has become a popular evergreen street tree here in San Francisco. No one knows for sure, but this is rumored to have some European ancestry in creating the cross, perhaps A. andrachne.

Granite Pet
The medrona grows wild in western portugal near the sea and the berries are delicious, I know cause I've been gorging myself, they are even more delicious than strawberries, I might have overdone it a bit - I spent a bit longer on the loo!
By the way does anyone know if I can take cuttings as the area is being bulldozed for houses, so within a year or so there will not be one left

Treeza

I´ve never tried to take cuttings from the strawberry tree because they are easy to find as potted plants in garden centers in Portugal. You can always try, they should do well in your Aljezur garden. I have 3 in my garden and love them, even though they haven´t flowered yet. Their foliage is also used for arranging in flower bouquets. They are slow growers.

Eduarda

It´s this plant the arbutus unedo?
{{gwi:2116783}}

Yes, it´s called "medronheiro" in Portuguese. Of course the fruits are used in Portugal, namely in the Algarve, to produce the "medronho" firewater.

Eduarda

My son would like to grow fuchsias in the central part of spain but a local expert says that he thinks this not possible due to high temperatures. I am aware that a lot of the larger flowered varieties originate in the USA, I thought in California. So, can it be done, with what varieties? any special growing tips, when to propagate?
Grateful for all advice

My son would like to grow fuchsias in the central part of spain but a local expert says that he thinks this not possible due to high temperatures. I am aware that a lot of the larger flowered varieties originate in the USA, I thought in California. So, can it be done, with what varieties? any special growing tips, when to propagate?
Grateful for all advice

A shepherd who lives close by, tells me that his goats love to eat the berries. They also seem to get drunk on them.

i just bought a small bush about 75 cm high. what kind of soil and ferilizer should it have and does it need a lot of water. grateful for any advice.

veedear, some water for it when growing up, acid soil, sun and love and very many vitamyn and délicious fruits if they are very ripe

Just a small correction: the reason why you can eat only one fruit at a time is not because they don't taste good, but because they have a pretty high alcohol content -so you may get drunk. The taste is not so bad, if they're ripe enough.

Not sure about that - I suppose they could ferment on the tree but have never seen it happen. Here people tend to like them. I'd vote on the "flavor" theory - actually more the texture. The flavor is nice, but they are full of seeds and the surface is covered with granules that are astringent if you chew them. It's sort of like eating apricot pudding with sand in it. ;)

I was interested to see Granite Pet lives in Ireland and has Arbutus unedo. I think Ireland is the only country outside the Med where this tree grows endemically.