Will this ripen before winter

Probably because it was easy to grow well, particularly in the mild Tamar Valley. Also it had fallen out of favour certainly by the start of the 1 st World War.

 

Mine was simply stuck in the ground, watered and left to get on with it, it has never been consciously fed or watered and is now over 3 ft tall.
This is mine. Note the different colours of the fruit.




I'm not sure what the fruit will be like, because of the drought it's small and dry at the moment.

 

What did it smell of? I can't say I've noticed a smell around it.

 

If concerned about feeding it, why not give it a general liquid feed like you do your other plants in pots.

 

Why not pick the red fruit on the left of your pic and try it ? If it doesn't taste as you think it should, pick off the next ripest and bring it indoors somewhere warm - an airing cupboard perhaps ? and then see. You could also put a banana/banana skin with it much as you would do when ripening tomatoes indoors.
If you knew what your plant was when you bought it, presumably you checked what conditions it required and followed the advice.
As to whether the fruit will ripen on the plant before winter, depends where you are and when winter weather will hit your area. Only one way to find out and that's to wait and see.

 

Does tomato feed count as a general feed

 

Im already doing the banana thing with peaches which were blown off and im getting the feeling that if a fruit comes off too early then no amount of banana is going to ripen it
Also im not 100% sure what these are supposed to taste like

 

it was a sweet pleasant smell but this was months ago in spring unless the smell was coming from a neighbours garden . There has been a long gap between the flowers and the fruit appearing ie near 6 months

 

why did it loose favour ? ive not really read anything bad about it. One of the other reasons i got it is because its the only plant i have that is supposed to be evergreen apart from the blueberry plant which someone on here said wasn't evergreen

 

Probably because it is labour intensive to pick and social changes were reducing the availability of labour throw in the 1st World War and there you go.
Could also have been that Queen Victoria liked it, but nobody else really did so when she died they could stop copying her.

 

I have a variegated one in my front garden and it makes a nice decorative shrub about 2 to 3ft high. It has very pretty flowers which aren't so easy to see against the variegated foliage so I might get a plain leaved one as well if I can find room. The fruits on it are quite pale and I wasn't sure when to pick them but they were edible in early November so may actually be ripe earlier. They have a nice fragrant flavour.

 

The fruits soften a bit when ripe, and are a deeper colour. If they come off easily when given a gentle tug, they're ready. The flowers in spring do have a perfume and are quite pretty.

 

@hi2u_uk yes, the fruit needs to be already on the turn to ripen off the plant - with or without the banana.

 

Not related to the topic but these are the peaches after 3 days with a banana. They do smell peach like but i think they're going in the food waste

 

peaches should just ripen anyway, all prunus will ripen when fallen if they can even if very under developed. our plum aborts some fruit and they turn into rock solid, dry purple things with small but developed seeds. issue is ripe doesnt necessarily mean good!