If you are gonna start you may as well start out big and Jackfruit certainly fits the bill!
The Jackfruit is the biggest fruit there is and it's really hard to believe the size of it.
The tree is thought to originate in the tropical rainforests of India. It is a very large tree and possibly a challenge for container culture.
This challenge I gladly except as the fruit is delicious and the closest comparison is something like a banana cross Pineapple.
There is both a crunchy and a soft variety the crunchy being more popular but less sweet. The fruit is very versatile and the seeds can be cooked as tastey food source or it can be picked unripe to be used as a vegetable.
This behemoth of a fruit can weigh up to 40kgs and be up to 90cm long!
Interestingly it fruits from the trunk and can bear very heavily.
This is one of the more cold hardy of the artocarpus species and mature trees can survive brief frosts. I'm sure there are many microclimates especially in northern Gauteng that it will grow happily.
I have seen very large mature bearing trees at Margaret Roberts garden centre nestled in the warm hillsides near hartebeesport dam.
Here are my own young Jackfruit about 2 months old:
Eleven plants in total but in four containers. I graft multiple plants together to increase vigor and save space. This is known as multiple rootstock grafting.
Close up of the leaves
Better picture of a healed graft
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