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Solanum muricatum (Melon Pear Plant)
Half-hardy Shrub
What is Half-Hardy Shrub?
FROM £12.99
Unusual exotic edible from South America
Egg shaped fruits that taste of melon and pear!
Attractive golden fruits with dramatic purple stripes
Delivery Information View Product DescriptionPlease note: This product cannot be delivered outside the United Kingdom.Loading...Description How to Grow DeliveryLooking for an exciting new edible to grow in your greenhouse or polytunnel this year? Why not try Solanum muricatum, or Melon Pear Plant. It looks like a melon and tastes like a melon, but it’s actually from the tomato family!
A half hardy perennial shrub from South America, it can be grown as an annual in the UK. Solanum muricatum forms a bushy shrub clothed in evergreen, lanceolate leaves and bears purple and white flowers similar to an aubergine. These develop into fist-sized, egg-shaped fruits that mature from green-tan to yellow-orange slashed with purplish stripes. The fruits can be harvested from late summer to late autumn and should be picked immediately once ripe. Beneath the inedible skin, lies soft, sweet, yellow flesh ripe that is variously described as a cross between a honeydew melon and a pear with cucumber aromas! Eat the ripe fruits raw as a dessert or preserve them. Fruits can be stored at room temperature for a couple of weeks but will rapidly deteriorate in quality if placed in a fridge.
The fruits of Melon Pear Plant require a long season to ripen and should never be eaten before they are mature. They are best grown in a warm greenhouse or polytunnel, protected from frost, where they should be ready to harvest around September to October. Height and spread: 1m (39in).
Please note: Unripe melon pears are poisonous and can cause stomach cramps and nausea due to their high solanine content.
Height Up to 1m (39in)
Spread Up to 1m (39in)
Half-hardy Shrub
full sunFlowering Months Harvest Months Planting Out MonthsJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECJFMAMJJASOND
1 x 10.5cm Potted Plant (KH1059)
2 x 10.5cm Potted Plants (KH1060)
Grow in a warm polytunnel or greenhouse protected from frost and grow in a similar way to a tomato, preferably in a greenhouse border otherwise in a large container of nutrient-rich compost. Support if necessary and feed with liquid tomato food once a week. Water regularly but avoid waterlogging. Fruit set is improved by growing more than one plant. Plants are perennial and can be overwintered in a frost free place if desired. The fruits should only be harvested and eaten once they have developed yellow/orange skin and distinct purple stripes. Unripe fruit is poisonous.
Seeds and garden supplies will normally be delivered within the time period stated against each product as detailed above. Plants, bulbs, corms, tubers, shrubs, trees, potatoes, etc. are delivered at the appropriate time for planting or potting on. Delivery times will be stated on the product page above, or in your order acknowledgement page and email.
Orders for packets of seed incur a delivery charge of £2.99.
Orders which include any other products will incur a delivery charge of £6.99.
Where an order includes both packets of seeds and other products, a maximum delivery charge of £7.99 will apply - regardless of the number of items ordered.
Large items may incur a higher delivery charge - this will be displayed in your shopping basket.
Please see our Delivery page for further details, and more information on different charges that may apply to certain destinations.
For more information on how we send your plants please visit our Helpful Guide on plant sizes.
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