The leaves look similar to some of the tropical Solanum we see in Southeast Asia. ?Solanum melongena - brinjal? Solanum xanthocarpum? The latter is a prickly plant, though. The fruits are yellow and as a sour taste when cooked.
Hello Tropical and Weekend Gardener could it be something like Senecio petasites http://www.botanypictures.com/plantimages/senecio petasites 02 uithof.jpg or Senecio cristobalensis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/103749/
Nope. That's Solanum quitoense, commonly called the Naranjilla. Where did you get that? Looks like you're doing something right - they're fairly finicky plants. If you pollinate it yourself when it blooms, it'll throw tasty fruits - they're ripe when they're orange; pick them using a hanky and rub all the fuzz off before you eat them. Down here, the fruits are usually juiced and sweetened a bit. A ripe Naranjilla has more vitamin C than an orange, and it makes them a bit tangy. Make sure that they are in well-draining soil, and if you want them to bloom try to give them 12 hours of light and 12 of dark (mimics the day cycle of the Equator, where Naranjillas come from) - as it's still winter in Canada this might mean grow lights to supplement their natural sunlight cycle. Once it goes past 15 C, you can put them outside in a half-sun location (under deciduous trees is ideal.) Bring it inside if there's any indication that the temperature's going to top 35 C, as this will kill it or at least make it extremely miserable. I had to put ice around the base of my plants when this happened, since they were in the ground. Once you've got it established, it's easy to propagate from cuttings. Best of luck, and if there's any more info you need, just ask!
Hmmm, very interesting info Lorax. Thank you! I got a clipping from a friend, but it's not growing in Canada, it's home is the Caribbean. That would explain why it wasn't finicky, but started flourishing right away. The second pic is the cutting, the other photo is after about 10 weeks growth. I did some googling and I'm wondering why mine doesn't have any thorns on it? Is there a thorn less variety, or is it just a baby with thorns on the way? Thanks again for the help folks.
Thorns develop in about year 2, and even then they won't be all that severe; I have a 6-year old and it's only vaguely prickly.
*Update* I transplanted it outside in May, and it just lost it love for life. Could have been because I transplanted it in the dry season, but it had plenty of water throughout. Maybe the soil, the fresh lot we had come in was a red/irony colour instead of dark brown, so maybe it's rebelling against too much iron, or whatever. The top still seems to be okay, but without the colour and vigor it had in it's youth! Don't think the temperature has been over 33 or so. I have a picture, but its such poor quality/pixels that when enlarged you can't really tell much by it. Any ideas or should I just take a cutting, shove it in the ground in some resonable soil and see what happens? Thanks, :)
It could be rebelling against too much heat, as well as getting grumpy over being transplanted. I've personally never tried to transplant a Naranjilla - so go with your gut feeling. At the very least, take a cutting and stick it in good soil - this way you won't lose everything of your hard work.
