Sea Grape

[epicure3]

This plant, or tree (as the case may be) is something that should be planted more in Southern California, especially near the coast if your sand is fairly sandy. They are fairly drought tolerant and are completely salt tolerant. They don't like cold too much but came through our freeze in January fairly unscathed where I live. The plant fruits pretty easily for me but the grapes, while pretty tasty, don't have a lot of meat on them. They are pretty maintenance free (except for the occasional aphid infestation).

[palmmermaid]

We have tons of these - they are native here in Florida.   They do extremely well in our sandy soil and in inland areas as well.  The fruit is edible and our birds and mammals love them.

They are messy in some people's opinion as they drop their leaves but I like them.  They have very interesting trunk structures.  There is also another species that has huge leaves but is difficult to find for sale and expensive.

[epicure3]

(palmmermaid @ Jul. 10 2007,09:30)

QUOTE

We have tons of these - they are native here in Florida.   They do extremely well in our sandy soil and in inland areas as well.  The fruit is edible and our birds and mammals love them.

They are messy in some people's opinion as they drop their leaves but I like them.  They have very interesting trunk structures.  There is also another species that has huge leaves but is difficult to find for sale and expensive.

You're thinking of the coccoloba pubescens. Yes, they have huge leaves. I have a small one that has 3 gigantic leaves currently.

[bubba]

Epicure, Your Seagrape is a very nice specimen.In South Florida they are ubiquitous, some are attractive and well cared for and others not. I believe this to be a Carribean tree and I only question whether your Mediterrean climate is suitable for more than specimen plantings.That being said, congratulations on your hard work to establish this terriffic specimen in your area.

[epicure3]

Thanks, Bubba. You're right....I would think the same thing. I was thinking more for the home garden as a specimen plant. I don't think we'll see these in shopping center parking lots soon. But really, I don't even pay attention to these plants and they grow fairly quickly.

[happ]

epicure

Does sea grape become aggressive in growth?  I admire the scrub in Florida because of the large leaves.  Can they handle shade?

[epicure3]

(happ @ Jul. 10 2007,11:23)

QUOTE

epicure

Does sea grape become aggressive in growth?  I admire the scrub in Florida because of the large leaves.  Can they handle shade?

Sea Grape prefers full sun, which is where mine are planted. I don't know if they would grow in shade.

Yes, sea grape growth can get aggressive. I don;t know about the roots. If you trim the largest branches coming up from the center, you can keep it in check. I planted my 2 from 3 gallon pots 2 years ago and they have grown about 5 times that size now.

[Dave-Vero]

Of course park and refuge managers around here maintain the coastal scrub vegetation (and habitat for Florida scrub-jays) by setting fires.  The silver saw palmettos like this treatment, while the sea grapes simply start back from ground level.  In the absence of periodic burning, they can get pretty big.  

A corollary is that sea grapes are among the most trimmable of shrubs.

[ruskinPalms]

I love seagrapes and have a couple planted out. None are big yet as one has only been in the ground for about 3 months while the other is going on a month. They have a very tropical look that is hard to find, not too unlike the tropical look of various Ficus, yet better somehow. Even if they get nailed by a freeze, they will probably regenerate from the roots which is a good thing for my area. They are very under utilized in my area as they seem to be hardy given some the quite large specimens that I have seen. They are very, very cheap at Walmart (not sold at home depot and lowes around here for some reason). About $8 for a 3 gallon so I hope to see them getting planted out more often in the future. You know that what the big boxes sell is what drives the overall ladscape of an area. While I am ranting, I wish they would sell more Roystonea elata/regia, another beautiful native that is not planted enough here.

[Tropicalken]

Epicure 3

I've been thinking of trying some sea grapes here in the South Pasadena area. After seeing yours, I'll give them a try. I saw the giant Coccoloba pubescens some years ago in Florida and it was spectacular. Has yours survived the winter or do you keep it in a greenhouse? Is there a source for either of these sea grapes in California, or must I take a trip to Florida? I haven't even noticed any available online. I also have seen the variegated sea grape, which is quite nice.

[metalfan]

I have never ever been overly enamored of Sea Grapes. They sell them at every Home Depot and Lowes and Walmart and Target here in FL. Whenever I am in So FL and look at all the sea grapes planted everywhere, all I can think of is, "Jeez there are so many more interesting plants you could have put in that space".

However, there is a rare variegated form that might be worth it.

[junglegalfla]

Mine is very aggresive in growth. I have to have it cut WAY back every year. It also drops leaves all year. A huge PITA because they cover my flower beds quickly and the leaves take forever to break down. I want to cut it down but it provides precious shade. I did not plant this tree nor would I recommend one in a normal sized yard here in FL.

This pic only shows a small portion of the tree, it is well above my roof line.

[palmmermaid]

Sea grapes make a love-hate relationship.  I love them for the quick shade and easy growth and hate them for their leaf-dropping.  And the leaves are big, and as metalfan indicates, are very slow to break down.  However, planted in the right spot they are wonderful.  They are very salt tolerant and will grow almost anywhere.  I think they would do better in medians than some of the water-lovers in use.

[epicure3]

(metalfan @ Jul. 12 2007,21:14)

QUOTE

I have never ever been overly enamored of Sea Grapes. They sell them at every Home Depot and Lowes and Walmart and Target here in FL. Whenever I am in So FL and look at all the sea grapes planted everywhere, all I can think of is, "Jeez there are so many more interesting plants you could have put in that space".

However, there is a rare variegated form that might be worth it.

That may be true in Florida, but you never see them here. A few specialty nurseries carry them but that's about it. I only know one other person near me that's growing them.

[epicure3]

(Dave-Vero @ Jul. 10 2007,17:30)

QUOTE

Of course park and refuge managers around here maintain the coastal scrub vegetation (and habitat for Florida scrub-jays) by setting fires.  The silver saw palmettos like this treatment, while the sea grapes simply start back from ground level.  In the absence of periodic burning, they can get pretty big.  

A corollary is that sea grapes are among the most trimmable of shrubs.

Settings fires in Southern California is probably not a good idea.  ::

[epicure3]

(junglegalfla @ Jul. 13 2007,08:15)

QUOTE

Mine is very aggresive in growth. I have to have it cut WAY back every year. It also drops leaves all year. A huge PITA because they cover my flower beds quickly and the leaves take forever to break down. I want to cut it down but it provides precious shade. I did not plant this tree nor would I recommend one in a normal sized yard here in FL.

This pic only shows a small portion of the tree, it is well above my roof line.

Yeah, I can understand why you would want to do that. My michelia alba is the same way. The leaves don't take as long as the sea grape to break down but they're huge leaves and cover everything when they fall and it seems like I'm always picking up after them......like my kids.

[epicure3]

(junglegalfla @ Jul. 13 2007,08:15)

QUOTE

Mine is very aggresive in growth. I have to have it cut WAY back every year. It also drops leaves all year. A huge PITA because they cover my flower beds quickly and the leaves take forever to break down. I want to cut it down but it provides precious shade. I did not plant this tree nor would I recommend one in a normal sized yard here in FL.

This pic only shows a small portion of the tree, it is well above my roof line.

BTW, that is a huge tree. I don't think I'll have to worry about mine ever getting that big as it is cooler and drier here. I would be very happy if this would stay as a nice larger sized shrub.

[epicure3]

(Tropicalken @ Jul. 12 2007,21:04)

QUOTE

Epicure 3

I've been thinking of trying some sea grapes here in the South Pasadena area. After seeing yours, I'll give them a try. I saw the giant Coccoloba pubescens some years ago in Florida and it was spectacular. Has yours survived the winter or do you keep it in a greenhouse? Is there a source for either of these sea grapes in California, or must I take a trip to Florida? I haven't even noticed any available online. I also have seen the variegated sea grape, which is quite nice.

Yo Ken...

I have both the uvifera and pubescens growing in my garden. The huge leaved pubescens in actually rated as a hardier plant (or tree) than the uveifera. The seagrape does fine here. I believe it is rated either 9b or 10a. I'm in 10b so there aren't any problems. Even this past winter, when we had our overnight freeze, it did just fine with no damage. The pubescens is the tougher plant to find. I don't remember where I purchased it but I bought it online. The seagrape I bought from a nursery in FLA as a 3 gallon plant. It has more that quintupled in size in the last 2 years. That's a little scary but I don't think (hope) that it will get much bigger. I think JD Andersen has a few in stock. He sells mostly palms but has some other things like mangos, heliconias, etc... for sale.

[Tropicalken]

I think JD Andersen has a few in stock. He sells mostly palms but has some other things like mangos, heliconias, etc... for sale.

Epicure,

Thanks for the info. I'll check out JD Anderson. I went there last year and am not looking forward to the drive again. It took forever to get there. Perhaps if he has some, I can do a mail order.

I am happily surprised that pubescens is the hardier of the two. It's leaves are outstanding. I do remember that when seeing it in Florida that there was extensive insect damage to the leaves which I never noticed on the uvifera. Do the insects of California find it a tasty treat too?

How long have you had your pubescens and how large has it grown in that time? I would really like to get one, so I'll check online and see if any turn up. They both should do well here since I'm probably a zone 10b - not sure.  I'm on a hill surrounded by zone 9 at the bottom. There was extensive frost damage there, but I did not frost at all. There were no losses or any sign of cold damage.

[Eric in Orlando]

Seagrapes are one of my favorite palnts, I never get tired of seeing them. Here is a variegated cultivar, 'Alba-variegata';

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....6

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....7

[Eric in Orlando]

Here are a couple of other Coccoloba we planted this year to trial here at Leu Gardens;

C. pubescens

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....16

C. rugosa

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....17

[epicure3]

(Eric in Orlando @ Jul. 13 2007,20:47)

QUOTE

Here are a couple of other Coccoloba we planted this year to trial here at Leu Gardens;

C. pubescens

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....16

C. rugosa

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....17

That pubescens is exactly the same size as mone. 3 lonely, but huge leaves. No activity yet, but the summer is young.

[Walt]

epicure: I also like sea grapes in both shrub and tree form.

I  have two sea grape shrubs in the ground. I say shrubs as mine keep getting frozen partially back every few years or so.

A friend of mine who lives on lake front property here (where it's much warmer) has a 30 feet tall sea grape tree. Last year I picked up some fallen seed from his tree and planted them. Most all of the seed germinated.

I plan to plant many of these large seedlings here and there about my property. Some folks in the warmer areas around here have sea grape hedges. I bought a jar of sea grape jelly, made locally by a resident. It was very tasty.

Here's my sea grape seedlings I'm growing in my shadehouse:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2823125610042496162BlKVAr

[epicure3]

(Walt @ Jul. 14 2007,07:56)

QUOTE

epicure: I also like sea grapes in both shrub and tree form.

I  have two sea grape shrubs in the ground. I say shrubs as mine keep getting frozen partially back every few years or so.

A friend of mine who lives on lake front property here (where it's much warmer) has a 30 feet tall sea grape tree. Last year I picked up some fallen seed from his tree and planted them. Most all of the seed germinated.

I plan to plant many of these large seedlings here and there about my property. Some folks in the warmer areas around here have sea grape hedges. I bought a jar of sea grape jelly, made locally by a resident. It was very tasty.

Here's my sea grape seedlings I'm growing in my shadehouse:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2823125610042496162BlKVAr

Looking good Walt. How come you don't plant them out? Mine took full sun from 1 gallon plant.

[Walt]

The reason I haven't planted them out is two fold. One, I'm not sure where and just how I want to plant them. Two, I want them to get much larger before planting out.

I plan to pot grow them (stepping them up in pot size soon) until the spring/summer of 2008.

I may want to plant all of them together in one large patch, just for effect.

It was just for a lark that I planted the seeds anyway. The tree I got them from had seeds all over the ground around it, yet I saw no sea grape sprouts, small saplings, etc. coming up, hence I didn't know if my seeds would sprout, but they sure did. I think I got better than 90 percent germination.

Here's a sea grape tree about the size of the one I got my seeds from.  It's in Sebring, Florida, rated zone 9b, but it's probably zone 10a most winters:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1228744271042496162gcojxo

[Tropicalken]

Which sea grape has the largest mature leaves; pubescens or rugosa?

[SunnyFl]

(Eric in Orlando @ Jul. 13 2007,20:46)

QUOTE

Seagrapes are one of my favorite palnts, I never get tired of seeing them. Here is a variegated cultivar, 'Alba-variegata';

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....6

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/leu4510....7

That's nice, Eric!  Where did you find it?  

Please excuse me if this is a dumb question, but is the variegated form also considered a native?

[aztropic]

Seagrapes also seem to do well here in Arizona,taking the full sun and appearing quite drought tolerant also.Of course nobody sells them so I had to grow my own.  Here is a 2 year old seedling battling it out with a Jubea.

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

[epicure3]

(aztropic @ Jul. 15 2007,12:17)

QUOTE

Seagrapes also seem to do well here in Arizona,taking the full sun and appearing quite drought tolerant also.Of course nobody sells them so I had to grow my own.  Here is a 2 year old seedling battling it out with a Jubea.

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

Nice job! Yeah, they are very tough plants. Just keep the cold away.

[epicure3]

(Tropicalken @ Jul. 13 2007,17:59)

QUOTE

How long have you had your pubescens and how large has it grown in that time? I would really like to get one, so I'll check online and see if any turn up. They both should do well here since I'm probably a zone 10b - not sure.  I'm on a hill surrounded by zone 9 at the bottom. There was extensive frost damage there, but I did not frost at all. There were no losses or any sign of cold damage.

Hey Ken....

The pubescens has only been in the ground since May so I don't have any growth info for you.

[chinandega81]

On ‎15‎/‎07‎/‎2007‎ ‎9‎:‎17‎:‎29, aztropic said:

Seagrapes also seem to do well here in Arizona,taking the full sun and appearing quite drought tolerant also.Of course nobody sells them so I had to grow my own.  Here is a 2 year old seedling battling it out with a Jubea.

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

Any updates on how your sea grape is doing?

[aztropic]

Grew into a 4 foot tall bush but ended up freezing one winter and didn't come back.

There is now a 15 foot tall royal poinciana in that spot...

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

 

[Silas_Sancona]

On 7/7/2016, 9:26:20, aztropic said:

Grew into a 4 foot tall bush but ended up freezing one winter and didn't come back.

There is now a 15 foot tall royal poinciana in that spot...

 

aztropic

Mesa, Arizona

 

Good to know about your experience with these.. Have two 1gal specimens from cuttings i'd started last summer atm. Won't be testing their winter limits for a couple more years. The "Fun" winter experiment will be the 6 Orange Geigers i have in a pot that seemed to have survived more abuse than i expected.

[sur4z]

On the east coast of Florida, sea grapes growing east of the coastal construction control line are highly regulated as to trimming and/or removing. Sea grapes have been found to stabilize the dune system by collecting sand in the leaves. They are also important because they block light from shining on turtle nesting beaches.

I don't live on the ocean but I have a 25 ft sea grape hedge on the east side of my house which helps block the corrosive salt air.

[JasonD]

There are a couple of Coccoloba hondurensis plants at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. They have big, shiny, pointy leaves with pinkish new growth. Frosts have set them back over the years but they've always rebounded. Slow. I'd love to see the plant propagated for California gardens. It would surely do well in slightly warmer parts of the Bay Area and south along the coast.

[Diane]

So I bought a seagrape tree from Myers Nursery on east coast Florida...they dug it up from their yard(it was not potted).

 

it came like they ripped it out, no dirt and one root. It went through shock lost all the leaves and I was told water heavy daily.... after a couple months I still have no new leaves? I broke off a small branch to test if it was alive and it looks green still.   How long until the leaves grow back?

[chinandega81]

Where are you growing it? Have the roots grown back? It depends on the conditions it's in. Any pics?

[kinzyjr]

@Diane Welcome to the forums!  Hopefully it makes a recovery, but the months with no new leaves give me some concern.  These are usually fast growing plants.  @chinandega81 had some good questions above that will probably help everyone understand the condition of the plant better.

[Diane]

14 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

Where are you growing it? Have the roots grown back? It depends on the conditions it's in. Any pics?

Valrico, Fl .... I haven’t dug up to look at the roots. It looks like a Charlie Brown tree!
 

im out of town... I took this from our nest camera. 
 

we were told to water it a lot... it still gets flooded by roots daily. 

[kinzyjr]

Just now, Diane said:

Valrico, Fl .... I haven’t dug up to look at the roots. It looks like a Charlie Brown tree!
 

im out of town... I took this from our nest camera. 
 

we were told to water it a lot... it still gets flooded by roots daily.

I'm not far away (Lakeland, FL).  If I were a betting person, I'd say this one is either DOA or on the way to DOA if we have a rough winter.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that you can get them relatively cheap at the big box stores in the area.  They go from the 3 gal. pot size to a pretty substantial bush in a single growing season.  After that, they can get almost tree-like if left to grow as they choose.