One of our most popular trees here at Tullamore Farm is the Panama Berry and we have them planted all around the property.
Panama berry trees can begin fruiting as early as their second year and many of ours have.
The small, round fruits are bright red when ripe and can be harvested by gently plucking them from the branches.
They fruit almost year-round in our local climate, with peak production during warmer months.
The berries are perfect for eating fresh, adding to desserts, or making jams and syrups.
Our wildlife, including the birds and bees, also enjoy the fruits and we still get plenty.
In our chook run we have the mandatory Mulberry tree plus we have a Panama Berry tree. Our girls in their free range enclosure love the sweet fruit of both.
Regular watering is needed during their early phase but once established they are drought-tolerant but appreciate regular watering during prolonged dry spells.
They grow well in various soil types, from sandy to loamy, as long as the soil is well-draining.
Panama berry is generally pest-resistant, and the tree is also rarely affected by diseases, making it a hassle-free option.
We have them planted at the edges of all our orchards and we call them our sacrifice trees. Our arrangement with the birds (not the cockatoos) is they can help themselves. They do seem to target them.
We have fruit fly traps around the edges of the orchards but for those fruit flies that avoid the traps, then hopefully they target the soft sweet fruit of the Panama Berry and leave the other fruit trees alone.
We are very confident that the fruit fly that slip past the fruit fly traps make a beeline for them.
Besides the fruit tasting fabulous it is quite an attractive tree and casts a great shadow. We have quite a few strategically in places to shade some trees in the summer heat.
As it starts to cool down the Panama Berries used in this way get a big prune and kept short in the winter months allowing more sun in.
