I may buy a miracle fruit plant off of eBay for my room this year, but before I spend so much on such a slow growing plant, I would like to know if anyone here has successfully grown one of these. The scientific name for the plant is Synsepalum Dulcificum. I understand that this needs acidic soil (4.5-6.0 pH) with very low alkalinity, and that it is a tropical plant. The problem that I see is that I live in Arizona where the average humidity is somewhere around 0. One website sugested putting a clear plastic bag over the plant if the environment is not very humid, but that doesn't seem safe to me... I guess I could build an indoor lexan or plexiglass greenhouse... but I don't know about the size of the area I will have in my room... I just don't want to spend $35 on a plant and then kill it because of adverse conditions... Any suggestions?
I have never grown one but I did a google search on it and the average humidity level in west Africa, it's native home. It is an interesting plant but without the proper growing environment it is going to be tricky to grow in Arizona. Have you done some research on how efficient a growing cube would be, what other equipment you would need to maintain a humidity level of around 80%. You would certainly need to have it's new home ready and working before buying it. What drew you to this particular plant instead of something that likes living in a small room under under normal environmental conditions like a Pothos or cactus?
Well the reason I am looking at this is because I nearly bought some freeze-dried miracle berry fruit tablets, just for fun, (when you eat them they make everything sour taste sweet to you) and I have been looking for a plant to get for my room anyway. I realized that the plants were about the same price as a small package of the freeze-dried fruit, and thought it might be an adventure to try to grow a tropical plant in Arizona (if it is possible at all). I suppose as long as the box is closed and I kept water in the bottom I could adjust the humidity by moving it in relation to the window and sunlight... I will be waiting about two weeks before I do anything, because I will be moving into my dorm on this Wednesday, and then figuring out how big of a plant area my roomates will put up with. I assume a 1m x 1m x 1.7m would be a big enough box for it... but again I'll have to do more research on that.
