Native & adapted
Miracle fruit
Synsepalum dulcificumAlso known as Miracle berry · Sweet berry · Miraculous berry
A small shrub with red berries that make sour foods taste sweet for an hour or more. A fun container plant that needs acidic soil and low-salt water.
Before you plant
These conditions determine whether it will thrive.
Needs acidic soil, roughly pH 5 to 6.5. In Phoenix that means a raised bed or large container of acidic potting mix, regular soil sulfur and, ideally, rainwater or filtered water, since tap water is alkaline and salty.
Container on a shaded patio, brought indoors or covered when nights drop below 40°F.
Right plant, right place
Will Miracle fruit grow at your Arizona property?
Grow it in a pot of peat-based acidic mix. It grows slowly and rarely needs repotting.
Best regional fit: Urban core · USDA 9b–10a.
Light
Sun exposure
Bright filtered light or morning sun only.
Water
Irrigation
Keep evenly moist with rainwater or filtered water. Phoenix tap water slowly poisons it with salts.
Fruit set
Pollination
Self-fertile.
Harvest
How to use it
Chew a berry, then taste lemons, vinegar or sour fruit; they taste sweet for a while.
Planting & stewardship
How to help Miracle fruit thrive
- 1
Use an acid-loving plant fertilizer at half strength.
- 2
Water with rainwater, filtered or reverse osmosis water.
- 3
Keep it out of direct afternoon sun.
- 4
Move it under cover on cold nights.