Anyone growing Sapodillas (Chikoo or Cheeku or Chiku), Sugar Apples (Custard Apples, or “sitaphal” in Hindi) and Starfruit (“Kamrak” in Hindi) in SoCal?
If so, would love your experiences and feedback. Especially about specific varieties, how you grow them (in pots, in the ground) and where you got the trees from.
I know this isn’t that helpful but I’m growing all three in NC. All in pots, but Silas woods is a “dwarf” sapodilla and it’s flourishing for me, Kary starfruit has been a heavy heavy bearer in a very short time. The only I don’t have any input on is sugar apples as mine are seedlings and tiny still. “Tropical Central Valley” on YouTube has all of those granted that’s central Cali rather than SoCal however could be helpful if no one else chimes in. I really enjoy his content regardless
Super helpful! Thank you! Very interesting on the production. Where did you get the plants from?
Everglades farm, pricey stuff but they were the only online store I found that had Silas woods sapodilla and ice cream mango in stock, the kary was spontaneous because it was on sale haha
Haha I get that for sure.
Ok thanks.
Will check if they ship to CA. Most folks don’t because of CA Ag regulations so I will have to find some place in CA. There is apparently a place a few hours away that might have some so I’ll have to see if/when I can make the trip.
Looks like I might be in business!!
“ We are are now able to ship to the following states (March 17, 2021 Update)
*1. California, Texas & Arizona. *
We have obtained the required Nematode-Free Certification, to ship our potted trees to our customers in California, Texas & Arizona. ”
I did find another place willing to ship with a higher price and extra paperwork and a phytosanitary certificate:
https://pineislandnursery.com/nursery-content-pineisland-2
“Are you certified to ship to California?
Yes we are, but due to the strict regulations imposed by California we charge an additional 50% of the plant cost as a California Compliance Fee. We also charge $55 for the phytosanitary certificate which is a flat fee for a State DPI inspection no matter the quantity of plants. For commercial orders the phytosanitary fee is $75 and the 50% California Compliance Fee and other restrictions do apply.”
I am growing a Annona from seed. It’s still tiny and needs up-potting.
I’m also not in Southern CA but there’s not a lot of subtropical / tropical talk here, so I’ll chime in. I’m interested in sapodilla here in Napa, CA. I’ve started seeds last year and they are very small but are tolerating winter very well. I’ve provided a little protection a few times but I’m feeling very confident I can grow it now. I’ve only had sapodilla / chico in Hawaii and I did not like it. I’m pretty sure that they weren’t good specimens one way or the other. I’m told that Butterscotch and Molix are the varieties I should look to grow. So far my seeds are pretty small, grafting is a long way away, and I’ve eyed the Everglades website myself.
From what I can tell, Californians generally prefer growing cherimoyas over other annonas. Some of this is hardiness but I think that they are variable by location and local cherimoyas just taste so much better than local atemoyas/sugar apples/custard apples, etc. of course, preferences vary.
Good luck!
where in socal are you located? i’m in the los angeles area, more or less. starfruit seems to do surprisingly well here. in more inland areas it probably needs some protection from summer sun as well as wind protection. most people who have big fruiting trees don’t seem to regularly eat the fruit.
my experience with manilkara zapota is very limited. my friend in sylmar has a grafted, flowering plant in a 7 gallon pot and it seems to grow really slow. might be the location or the medium. for comparison, a few feet away is a potted, grafted, flowering size plant of canistel aka egg fruit aka pouteria campechiana that has grown ridiculously fast. i only tried the fruit once, from the store, and it was just ok, but i planted 2 different varieties in the ground at my place just because i was so impressed with its vigor. i also recently purchased a pouteria lucuma and it also seems like a strong grower. i grafted them onto each other.
my friend in sylmar had a sugar apple in a 7 gallon pot… it didn’t survive the 1st winter. i’m pretty sure that my friend in el monte has a small tree in the ground. i only tried the fruit once in florida and it was ok. from what i’ve read, people who have tried sugar apple and cherimoya generally prefer cherimoya. the cross between the two, atemoya, seems pretty commonly grown. i have a small grafted red gefner atemoya that i’m looking forward to tasting.
this is the 1st winter i’ve had a rollinia (aka annona deliciosa) outside and so far it seems fine. just before it lost its leaves it started making new leaves. never tried the fruit. annona montana hasn’t lost its leaves at all. the fruit typically isn’t the best, but ideally it should be crossed with soursop (annona muricata) so that we can have the best of both worlds. a local friend has a flowering soursop in the ground. i have small seedlings in a greenhouse. this is the 1st winter that i’ve had annona reticulata san pablo outside. hasn’t lost its leaves, but they look pretty beat up, and so far it hasn’t produced any new leaves. i haven’t tasted reticulata yet. from what i’ve heard, cherimoya is better. last spring i grafted cherilata painter onto my cherimoya. only 1 graft survived, maybe because the weather didn’t warm up fast enough. haven’t tried the fruit yet either.
my friend in el monte also has a small star apple (chrysophyllum cainito) in the ground that looks old but i don’t think has fruited yet. she also has a large fruiting black sapote (diospyros nigra). my friend in sylmar has a few in pots and it’s a strong grower. most varieties are pretty bland but i heard that the bernecker / bernicker variety is really good.
if you don’t have achacha or luc’s garcinia yet you should. they don’t seem bothered by our winters but they grow really slow. they seem to prefer some shade, especially in more inland locations.
surinam cherry (eugenia uniflora) is a must have. maybe half my friends enjoy my red variety which has a turpentine aftertaste. all my friends enjoy the darker variety without any aftertaste. grumichama (eugenia brasiliensis) might be better? i tried pitomba (eugenia luschnathiana) last year for the 1st time and enjoyed it. the fruit tasted better when it was orange rather than yellow. the plant itself doesn’t seem to grow as strongly as the other eugenias. pitangatuba (eugenia neonitida) grows well here, and the fruit smells amazing, but the sourness is overpowering. the trick is to eat a miracle berry beforehand. then wow. eugenia calycina and aggregata and involucrata are all kinda similar. they grow good here but the fruit quality is hit or miss. my friend has a variety that tastes great, which i’m growing from seed.
another must have is jabuticaba, don’t ask me which variety though. i recently purchased 1 seed of every “ana” variety from bellamy trees based on this plant being grown in oceanside. you can also see it in this tour of his incredible collection. last year i grafted several scions from varieties of fruiting plants onto my sabara and most of them took. scions pencil size or larger will fruit faster, i think, but they aren’t often available.
i probably have 100 jackfruit seedlings outside. maybe half survive the winter? it’s definitely worth growing here. a few people have fruited it. kwai muk is more cold tolerant and the fruit is supposed to taste really good.
rose apple (syzygium jambos) is yet another must have. i like the fruit better than the few wax apples i’ve tried.
also worthy of mention is prunus salicifolia (aka capulin cherry). strong grower here but quite a bit of variation in fruit quality. should be easy to graft once we find the best varieties. from a distance it looks kinda like a peach tree, so pretty easy to spot while driving around during winter since it’s barely deciduous.
the jamaican cherry, muntingia calabura, is very productive. only tree i have with loads of fruit nearly all year long. the fruit is very sweet but not very satisfying.
not a fruit tree, but passiflora phoenicia ruby glow is so much better than the edulis varieties i’ve tried, but it might need to be cross-pollinated. that’s how i ended up with passiflora phoenicia x caerulea, which is about to bloom for the 1st time.
if you haven’t done so already, you should follow my local friend kelly todd on youtube. he’s got a crazy collection of fruit trees.
I grew Alano Sapodilla in my greenhouse in Virginia back in the 2000’s. Got it from Pine Island Nursery in Florida. I grew it in a 5 gallon pot in homemade mix of bark, peat, perlite and Granigrit. Osmocote Plus fertilizer. It is a compact grower that I also grew along with a couple of Mangoes and a Chocolate tree. Fruited well, although it dropped a lot flowers that didn’t pollinate but had a nice amount for plant size. Quit growing tropicals after a few years of over a $1,000 propane bills to keep it heated.
@SoCalBackyard I just saw your post. I’m also in SoCal. I have picked up some fruit trees at Mimosa Nursery. I remember seeing lots of tropical fruits there but I am unfamiliar with them. I’m pretty sure they had fruiting Custard Apples, and Sapodilla?
Call before you go. If it is too wet, they are closed. I recently picked up a Fuyu, Ume Plum/Apricot and Parfianka pomegranate from them. And also 2 GEM avocadoes prior year. They also have reasonably priced nursery pots - up to 45G
btw - I’m not associated with this business
[Mimosa Nursery][2700 W Crescent Ave, Anaheim, CA 92801] vuoncayoc.com
[(714) 828-0780]
Wow this thread took off. Thank you to everyone who is replying and adding their experiences and knowledge. I’ll try to respond to all the posters tonight. I also got some nursery recommendations from local CRFG folks here that I’ll post.
That’s cool! If you can post a pic, I’d love to see it. Is your plan to graft it? Or do you have a variety you want?
How long did it take to grow and what height/etc is it?
Thank you and good luck to you too! I did find some nurseries in the area that seem to have these - will post more shortly. When did you start from seed and how long did it take to sprout? How big are your trees now? If you can, pl share pics. I’m sure folks would appreciate that. I am hoping I can get 2-3 year old trees from somewhere but if I can’t I’m going to have to go the seed route too.
Yea folks have told me to check out Cherimoyas and Atemoyas. There are also more esoteric cross breeds apparently. I’ll keep posting as I make progress here.
This is awesome! Thank you for the details and suggestions.
I’m based in Irvine, CA - Zone 10.
So very close to LA.
Lots of great suggestions!
I grew up eating a LOT of Chikoo and Sugar Apple (sitaphal) and also Star Fruit so I love those flavors and have tried a lot of different unnamed (at least to me) varieties from fruit stands/etc. I’ve never had a cherimoya or atemoya so I need to go try those.
I think Jabuticaba might be another fruit I grew up eating - or at least a variety of it. I’ll have to dig in.
Love the ideas for other trees to try. I’m going to have to find and try some of these fruits to see what I’d like to grow and what my family might enjoy.
I’m also looking at ice cream bean. Apparently folks love it. Never had it myself.
I do have some passion fruit already - I have red rover, purple possum, Fredrick and Sweet Calabash. Ruby Glow sounds interesting. Will look into it!
Thanks again for the long note. I’m going to keep referring to this one as I try to source trees and try things.
Nice to hear you tried it!
Did you like the flavor of that variety?
And I hear you about the bills. That’s a lot! I get why you stopped.
Btw did your Cacao flower and set fruit? I’ve been interested in this one too. I had the ripe pulp from a cacao pod and it was awesome!
Welcome to the forum and congrats on your first post!
Interestingly enough, another nursery recommended Mimosa to me today as well. But I couldn’t reach anyone there.
I’ll post a round up of nurseries I’ve researched or been recommended shortly.
Here are a few other nurseries in the area that I was recommended.
I’ll add more here as I get info:
As a reminder, these are in Southern California:
Btw for folks in/around Irvine, who are looking for great fruit trees and vegetable seedlings, flowers, avocados, roses, bare-root trees: I also highly recommend: