Grow Chinese star fruit at home

Carambola is also known as the Chinese star fruit. Although it is a tropical to subtropical tree or shrub, if you provide the right growing conditions, you can grow it in your garden and even enjoy home grown star fruit. The fruit has a unique shape – when you slice it, it forms a star (it can be five-pointed or six-pointed star). Despite being called the Chinese star fruit, it is not a plant that originated in China. It is native to Malaysia, Indonesia and India.

Basic growing conditions

First of all you need to know that the tree or shrub can grow to a height of around six to nine meters. However, if you grow it as a houseplant, it will never grow that tall. The reason is that star fruit cannot tolerate temperatures below -3 °C. Frost will kill the plant easily so, you need to grow it indoors. The optimal temperature is around 28 °C and plenty of sunshine. Well, it is a tropical plant…

Photo: Pixabay

Growing from seeds

Since you need to grow it as a houseplant, you can sow all year round. You can improve soil with a perlite or sand to achieve better water drainage. Cover seeds only lightly with substrate. After two to three weeks seeds should germinate. The ideal temperature for germination is from 25 to 30 °C. Transplanting is not advisable. Never let the temperature drop below 18 °C.

Plant care

If you experience a hot summer, you may move the plant outside, but ideally in a greenhouse. You may also cover it with a plastic container. Maintain temperature around 22 °C in winter. Soil should be well-drained and rich in nutrients. Remember that the plant deals well with dry periods but too much watering can harm it. Try to use rainwater or settled water for watering. Fertilize about four times a year and water regularly. The root ball must never dry out, but again it must not sit in water either. Once the tree starts producing fruit you may increase watering slightly.

What about the taste?

Carambola creates very nice leaves and you may grow it as a decorative plant, but if you provide ideal growing conditions, you can also expect to see fruit. When the plant blooms, it produces beautiful fragrance, which is similar to a jasmine scent. Describing the taste is rather difficult, especially if you have not tasted this fruit yet. It is so specific that many people characterize it differently. The best description says that it tastes like a mixture of papaya, orange and grapefruit. If you grow carambola from seeds, you need to wait 6 to 8 years to see the first fruit.

Source: https://www.semena.cz/217-karambola

Preview photo: Pixabay