Java apple fruit | Fruit garden | Planting Man

Java apple fruit is commonly known as Jambu air (in local Indonesia and Malaysia). Also known as makopa in the Philippines. How to grow & maintain, propagation details and health benefits. wax apple, love apple, java apple, royal apple, bell fruit (or bellfruit), Jamaican apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, and rose apple.

Java apple fruit

Java apple (Syzygium samarangense) is a dense evergreen, the fast-growing tree grows up to 12 m tall, with evergreen leaves 4 – 10 inches long and 2 – 4 inches broad. Blossoms are borne in hanging panicles of 3 to 30 at the branch tips or in smaller clusters in the axils of fallen leaves, are fragrant, yellowish-white, 2 – 4 cm broad, 4-petalled, with numerous stamens 1.5-2.5 cm long. The fruit is a bell-shaped, edible berry, with colors ranging from white, pale green, or green to red, purple, or crimson, to deep purple or even black, 4–6 cm long in wild plants. The blossoms and resulting fruit are not limited to the axils of the leaves and can show up on nearly any point on the surface of the trunk and branches. The blooms are astringent and are used to treat fevers and halt diarrhea.

Scientific Name: Syzygium samarangense
Common Names: Java apple, Semarang rose-apple, and wax jambu.

How to grow and maintain Java apple fruit (Syzygium samarangense):

Light:
It grows best in full sunlight.

Soil:
It requires a rich, fertile and well-drained soils. It prefers the soil pH 6.6 – 7.3 (Neutral).

Water:
Water regularly and moderately, always keep the soil moist but never allow your plant to sit in water. Only water when the top of soil becomes dry.

Fertilizer:
Java apple trees which bear well benefit from compound fertilizers applied after harvest and supplemented with a top dressing as soon as the inflorescences are being formed.

Propagation:
It can be easily be propagated by seed, air-layering,
grafting or by budding.

Harvest:
The Semarang rose-apple is a heavy bearer on good soil. When five years old it may yield a crop of 600 fruits. The fruits have a thin skin and are delicate, they need to be picked by hand twice a week and handled with care.

Pruning:
Pruning can be done after the fruits have all been harvested.

Pests and Diseases:
There is no serious pest or disease problems. Watch for aphids
and ants.