8 Tropical Fruits You Can Grow in the US

In a land of such delectable fruit, like apples, peaches, pears, cherries, and berries, it’s impressive that anyone could want for more, but it happens. We’ve all tasted the fruits of lands more tropical, and they are divine. Ours—those temperate climate delights we’ve just named—are splendid, but sometimes…sometimes…we just crave a different flavor.

How is it that tropical fruits are so magical and delicious? Why can’t they grow right here, and be part of that fresh and responsible collection of foods we call “local”? Where can we live to get it all: the bananas and apples, the peaches and pineapples, the pears and the passionfruit? That’s the kind of place I want to live!

Well, it turns out that there’s a lot of potential to be found in our backyards. Several fruits of a tropical persuasion grow (or can grow) comfortably right in the United States. And, we aren’t limiting this map to Florida, California, and Hawaii. No, no! We are talking the Midwest, the Atlantic Coast, the Pacific Northwest, maybe even a tree or two in New England.

Source: The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni/Youtube

1. American pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

When the Aussies call something pawpaw, they are talking about papaya, but the American pawpaw is something more akin—literal so—to custard apple, soursop, and cherimoya. The American pawpaw’s relatives are incredible tropical fruits, but they can’t survive cooler climates like the American pawpaw can. It is native to spots as chilly as Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois. This fruit smacks of pineapple, peach, and mango.

2. Passionfruit (Passiflora incarnata)

Passionfruit has a unique flavor that we tend to associate with the tropics and or flavorful drinks like Hawaiian Punch. However, the maypop lives natively in the US, dying back to the ground every winter but popping back up with a vengeance the next year. It will spread like a weed. And it produces stunning passionflowers (good for tea) and delicious passionfruit.

3. Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.)

The fruit of a cactus may not sound “tropical” exactly, but exotic is certainly fitting. Cacti are only native to the Americas, but we more often associate them generically with deserts. The prickly pear is a popular fruit in Mexico and (now) the Mediterranean. In Australia, Hawaii, and Ethiopia, they are considered invasive. Nevertheless, the fruit is delightful, and the cactus paddles, known as nopal, are delicious, too. Some species can grow as far north as USDA 4a.

Source: The Busy Gardener/Youtube

4. Bananas (Musa spp.)

For the most part, bananas are cordoned off to the tropics, but some varieties have naturally adapted to cooler climates, such as the Himalayas and Darjeeling in India. The Blue Java banana (M. balbisiana and M. acuminata) and Sikkim banana (M. sikkimensis) can grow in cooler climates, into USDA Zone 8 (Oklahoma, Tennessee, New Mexico, etc.), and they produce edible—albeit slightly different—bananas.

5. Meyer Lemons (Citrus x meyeri)

Known as a cold-hardy lemon, the Meyer lemon is a hybrid of some sort, with a taste not dissimilar to lemon but slightly sweeter, suggestive of a likely mandarin parent in the mix. Meyer lemons can live outside, free of protection, in USDA Zone 8, but they are beloved for their relatively small size (about six feet at maturity) and ability to grow in pots. In other words, they can be an indoor fruit tree during the winter.

6. Dragon Fruit (Selenicereus spp./Stenocereus spp.)

Also called pitaya, though dragon fruit (sweet) and pitaya (sour) are slightly different, these are similar fruit from different species of cacti. They can grow outside in the warmest parts of the US (Zones 9-11), and they can be cultivated as indoor fruit producers. These are vining cacti, and they need strong Support trellises.

Source: Plant Abundance/Youtube

7. Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana)

An evergreen member of the myrtle (Myrtaceae) family, pineapple guava is native to South America, and it is sometimes referred to as feijoa. It can withstand temperatures just below freezing (USDA 8-11). It has edible fruits, aka guavas, that are suggestive of pineapples. The trees grow to about 15 feet but can be pruned to grow in pots.

8. Pomegranates (Punica granatum)

Native to the Mediterranean region (rather than the tropics), pomegranates carry with them a sort of warm-climate mystique, so they have been invited onto this list. They grow in the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia, which also qualifies them to some degree. That said, there are cold-hardy pomegranates that can make it work in environs as cold as USDA Zone 6 (Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Kansas City).

Source: MIgardener/Youtube

For those in the right spots, these could be great fun to grow and provide a different “local” flavor to the menu. Recognizing (and likely growing) these “tropical” fruits as what’s available could be a great help with keeping the food miles down.

Related Content:

• Easy-to-Grow Fruits for Even the Smallest of Spaces
• Why Fruit Purees are a Better Choice than Making Jams
• How to Grow and Harvest Goji Berries at Home
• 7 Berries That Grow on Trees for Big-Time Harvests
• How to Grow Pomegranates at Home
• 7 Winter Care Tips for Fruit Trees
• 10 Unconventional Fruit Trees for the Backyard Orchard

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!