Last edited on February 03, 2024. View history
Naranjilla
Naranjilla
How to sow naranjilla: Direct seed, seedlings, air layering, cuttings
Sun requirement for naranjilla: Plant in Partial Sun
Naranjilla, or Lulo, is a subtropical perennial shrub in the Nightshade or Solanaceae family grown for it's round, yellow-orange fruit. It is native to northwestern South America. The plant's stem and large, elongated heart or oval-shaped leaves are covered in short purple hairs. Some varieties have spiny stems. The plant takes 10-15 months to bear 100-150 fruit in it's first year. Naranjilla will bear fruit for 3 years. Fruit are 5cm in diameter and covered in brown hairs that are easily rubbed off to expose the yellow-orange skin. The juicy, seedy interior is green to yellow and has a citrus flavor similar to rhubarb and lime or pineapple and lemon. Fruit can be eaten raw, juiced, or added to desserts. It is quite sour if it is not ripe. Naranjilla benefit from trellising and must be protected from strong winds, direct sunlight, and frosts. Their ideal temperature range is 17-19° C. Naranjilla are susceptible to nematodes and can be grown in containers for protection.
- 0
- plantings
- 0
- harvests
- 0
- seed packets
Naranjilla facts
Lifespan
Height × spread
240cm × 240cmCrop cycle
Max altitude
Optimal light
What are growing degree days?
A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.
Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.
For naranjilla, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 10°C and a shortest growing cycle of 180 days at its best temperature, about 1800 growing degree days to a first harvest.
Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your naranjilla will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.
Photos
Photos
Naranjilla crops
What people are saying about naranjillas
Nobody has posted about naranjillas yet.
Sign in or sign up to post your tips and experiences growing naranjillas.
Who's planted naranjillas
Nobody has planted this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your naranjilla plantings.Naranjilla harvests
Nobody has harvested this crop yet.
Sign in or sign up to track your naranjilla harvests.Find naranjilla seeds
There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.
- Purchase seeds via Ebay
- Sign in or sign up to list your seeds to trade.
Time to harvest
If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 180 to 365 days.
From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.
Ecological requirements
Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Solanum quitoense Lamarck
| Family / Taxonomy | Magnoliopsida Asteridae Solanales Solanaceae |
|---|---|
| Life form | sub-shrub |
| Life span | perennial |
| Habit | erect |
| Optimal soil depth | medium (50-150 cm) |
| Optimal soil texture | heavy, medium, light, organic |
| Optimal soil fertility | high |
| Optimal soil drainage | well (dry spells) |
| Optimal soil salinity | low (<4 dS/m) |
| Photoperiod | short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours) |
Learn more about naranjillas
Resources outside Growstuff.
