What is Miracle Fruit
The Miracle Fruit plant is one of the most unique plants in the world. The plant is native to Africa and was originally discovered by Europeans in 1725 by Chevalier des Marchais. Marchais was very curious and noticed that many of the African tribes would chew the berry before their meals. He wondered about this and learned that the berries alter taste buds and make sour foods taste sweet.
Growing Conditions
Miracle Fruit plants require very specific growing conditions including a pH level between 4.5 - 5.8. The plant thrives in these acidic conditions and it is somewhat difficult to meet these requirements. The typical soil mixture used in the growing of the plants is a 50-50 mixture of sphagnum peat moss and perlite. This mixture allows for a high level of drainage; however, the mixture of peat moss and perlite does not give the optimal acidity however. This gives a pH of about 7 and acidic products must be added to keep the plant living. These conditions along with a humidity level higher than 75% and temperatures higher than 60 make the plant extremely difficult to grow.
How I Grow Miracle Fruit
Most people are afraid of trying to grow miracle fruit after hearing its very strict requirements, but I still wanted to try and have been growing miracle fruit plants for over a year.
At the start, I decided that I would try and grow miracle fruit plants from seeds and ordered 20 seeds off the internet. On their arrival, I did all of what I believed would be necessary to make them sprout and none sprouted. I was dismayed by the plants not sprouting, but my tenacity kept me going.
I decided that I would order several living plants off of Ebay and see how those would grow. I took an old fish tank that was being unused at my house and sealed off the top to make a miniature greenhouse for the plants. After several months the plants began to grow several new leaves and I was thrilled and decided to order to more small plants off of the internet.
Later on, I purchased another set of seeds and used a plant hormone known as Giberellic acid to try and improve their germination rate. It was partially successful; this time, 2 of the 20 seeds sprouted.
Today, I have 6 miracle fruit plants growing in a miniature greenhouse in my living room.
