Gourmet Melon Pear Pepino Dulce

If you can grow tomatoes, you can grow pepinos. The Pepino, also called the Melon Pear,is a rare and delicious fruit you're not likely to find in markets.

It's neither a melon nor a pear, but is related to tomatoes and eggplant. Pepino is a leafy, small bush or shrub with beautiful purple and white flowers, easy to grow in any zone free of frost. Perfect for patio containers and hanging baskets. 

 Pepino or Poire-melon is a species of evergreen shrub native to South America and grown for its sweet edible fruit. Put them in a salad or eat them for dessert.

The fruit is common in markets in Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru and Chile, but less often overseas because it is quite sensitive to handling and does not travel well.

The fruit has been introduced into up-scale markets in Japan, Europe and North America and it is slowly becoming less obscure outside of South America. Moreover, in the United States the fruit is known to have been grown in San Diego before 1889 and in Santa Barbara by 1897.

Ideal for growing in the greenhouse or a sheltered sunny spot outdoors in a container, as the plants need warmth to flower and fruit successfully.

Seeds available here

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