brazilian brush cherry

order: myrtales
family: myrtaceae
genus: eugenia
species: myriophylla

First Story

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22 february 2016

Another member of the myrtle family, this one here is a subtropical tree or shrub that is most seen as an indoor bonsai. According to my seller the species is called E. myriophylla which means many-leaves. It's a very easy plant to care for and is rather fast growing. I bought mine when it had just been pruned back to about 10cm tall in 2014. And now it's standing close to a metre already. The growth has been very upright but dense. Leaves are pinkish when they emerge and turn light green quickly and eventually a dark green. It bears small white flowers with lots of stamina, very similar to those of a common myrtle in the summer. It is a very thirsty plant. On most summer days, I had to water it several times. If you're a working person, you may need to give it some shelter from hot sun and strong wind or grow it in a big pot. I feed my plant weekly in the growing season with half strength liquid fertiliser and it seems to really like that. In the winter, it sheds some leaves but still wants to be watered at least twice a week in the cool stairwell. It will complain by showing you limp tips if you don't refill soon enough.