- Winter hardiness is absent
- No wintering outside
- Overwintering in the house is possible!
- Overlapping with the harvest time
In its warm homeland of South America, the perennial melon pear grows outside in the ground in both summer and winter. Snow and frost are unknown to her. But in this country only sufficient winter hardiness can guarantee its survival. Can the melon pear develop this trait?
The melon pear has no place outside in winter - not even in an unheated greenhouse
Winter hardiness is absent
The melon pear, also called pepino or pear melon, has not a trace of winter hardiness. Their genes are programmed for different climatic conditions than those found in our latitudes. As a result, she cannot adapt to Frost. Even their cold tolerance limit is still around 5 °C. However, she prefers temperatures above 10 °C.
No wintering outside
You can plant a melon pear outside in the bed. However, keep in mind that for them, minus degrees mean the end of their lives. It can only be cultivated outdoors as an annual plant. This also applies to bucket specimens that are only outside.
Covers and layers of foliage may not keep out as much cold as is necessary. Overwintering outdoors cannot work even in mild regions of the country. You should therefore not risk overwintering your melon pear outside.
Overwintering in the house is possible!
If you have a bright and 5-10 °C cool room available, you can overwinter your pepino plants in it until around mid-May.
- Bring buckets into the house in autumn
- as soon as the temperature drops permanently below 10 °C
- Dig up and pot the plants from the bed beforehand
- Cut back bulky specimens if necessary
tips
Tubs that are on a furniture trolley are easier to transport back and forth on the ground.
Overlapping with the harvest time
If the weather is changeable in summer, it is possible that not all the fruit will be ripe by the time you move. The move must therefore not be postponed until the harvest is over.
The fruits can continue to ripen in the winter quarters and develop their full aroma. When the last fruit has been plucked from the bush, care must still not be stopped. Water the soil carefully so that it doesn't dry out completely. The nutrient requirement is so low that no fertilizer is used during this resting phase.