custard apples

Anonymous starts with ...
Is it possible to grow custard apple in south australia? if so what varieties?

Anonymous says...
what about star fruit? (carambola)

John says...
Hay anon, and you r from where, and know what, ????? details please!.

yes, my fault, star fruit or caramdola (the red skin fruit which sells to the tourests in bali)

John says...
he he he sorry for losing it.I was right the frist time, i am growing star apples, purple thick skinned fruit, that have like a white flesh inside it with one black seed. I find them delicous. Also a brazilian custard apple,jak,paw paw,r2e2 mangoe,spk mangoe,8 guavas,red and yellow pitaya and a chocolate custard fruit. Everyone thinks I am nuts, but we will see what the future brings and how well my persistance goes.Hay i am growing over a hundred durians to but nut in Australia. again sorry for losing it.

John says...
All my trees are growing well. They have got to me in october i think. I will give you an answer on the custard apples in four years, jacks about 3 years, paws in 10 months, and mangoes grow well around here. The guavas do to. My star apple would be my slowest growing and perhaps the hardest to grow here. I have lost a red pitaya, more to mishandling than anything else.

John says...
Shaun

Stop watering it, cold and over watering will kill it.

John says...
This is Perth, thers no freezing, so rots proliferate in cold waterlogged soggy soil.

vanl says...
Hi Anonymous,

African Fride custard apples grow and fruit really well in SA. They are very hardy and no need for shade cloth. I also have Gefner custard apple. It is about 4 years old, but no fruit yet. It also grows very well. Cherimoyas (if you also consider them to be a custard apple) are also fairly easy to grow.

Jantina says...
Hi vanl,very interested to know what part of S.A. you garden in.I have a cherimoya in a pot which lost all it,s leaves this winter but is sprouting again now. I am a bit scared to plant it in case I kill it.Any tips from your experience?Thanks Jantina P.S. I garden just below Mt.Gambier.you can grow avocadoes here.

Jantina says...
Thankyou vanl,much appreciated ,I will give it a go.

frances says...
I have a custard apple plant which has grown from a twig to half a metre tall in a pot. What do I do now? How tall can it grow?
I have a choice of full sun (and wind)or
under a tall plum tree or in a corner of the back yard which is sunny for part of the day and protected by two fences.
Help!

peter says...
you could pollinate some flowers by hand
just in case.

peter says...
other fruits such as the cherimoya
which are self furtile still benifit
from hand pollination.

Anonymous says...
my african pride custard apple is only 55cms tall and 43cms wide but has five to six flowers. i heard that it will stunt the growth if i leave them on.
should i remove them?

RolFlor a says...
Pinks Mammoth is the best flavour.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

John says...
Try a Zinc Sulphate spray, my trees got one and all of them citrus, stone and pome fruit all responded very well.

Your on a similar perth sand to me.

peter says...
35 on monday 41 on tuesday and
at some stage well get the usual
2 weeks or so of even hotter temps.
about all you can do is put up some
shade cloth to shield it from the sun and keep it watered.


spare a thought for some stuff i have in a glass house.

Tracey says...
My custard apple tree which is usually flush with fruit had 2 last year and nothing so far this year. What do I fertilise with ? Any suggestions ? I'm in Perth

peter says...
i live in adelaide and i have have a african pride and pinks mammoth custard apple. I know african pride will fruit (i saw a photo)but i heard pinks mammoth need humidity of 70 to 80 percent to fruit. will it fruit?

Wayne says...
"i heard pinks mammoth need humidity of 70 to 80 percent to fruit. will it fruit?"

If your African Pride fruits Peter I see no reason why the PM won't
--------
"is it safe to spray water on the leaves in the evening?"

Yep, be aware that you might wash off any spray that you have used so it would be best to water first, then spray. I prefer to spray my trees in the cool of the evening.

Shaun says...
Despite the many weeks of warm weather, my Sweetsop only grows a few small new leaves, and had stopped giving out new shoots ..... :-(
It still appears in a sorry state (although a little better than during late-winter / early-mid-spring), is rather twiggy and appears weak .....
what must I do to encourage it to grow faster? .....
If it continue this way, I am afraid it may not survive the coming winter in 2009.
Any tips will be appreciated

=====================================
p/s: Corey, thanks for the plastic label of the Sweetsop .... received it last week when I got back to Perth.

Julie says...
Anonymous,are you the same anonymous who wanted to kill an Emblica tree a while ago? I would love some seeds if you still have the tree, or saved some seeds.

Could you email me at julwood at iprimus dot com dot au.(safe way to avoid spam).

Thanks

vanl says...
Hi Jatina,

I have been inundated with work, hence less time to check this forum. Anyway congrats.
The killer SA heat wave burnt a fair few of my trees including the cherimya. They do not handle heat very well. After adding plenty of water and seasol, they are all sprouting again.

BTW, in response to your other post, I was after the KJ Pinks variety.

Cheers.

peter says...
vanl,
i am also in the western suburbs and
i want to get a cherimoya.
what variety do you have and have you
had friut from it.

Anonymous says...
how long can you store the pollen?

vanl says...
Peter,

I have a "white" cherimoya. No fruit yet but maybe because I don't know how to pollinate cherimoyas properly. It is about 3m high.
On the other hand, custard apples are partially self fertile. I have "Gefner" and "African Pride". The African Pride didn't recover too well after the heat wave. I think its time for a replacement as land is scarce in my backyard :-)

amanda says...
I have an african pride and a hiliary white (i was told i needed both?) they are nearly three years old and the african pride had 4 small yummy fruit without any help from me. They are still very wobbly in the ground though - does it take time for the tap-root to establish strongly? (ps - mine survived a week of 38 - 42 oC no problems this summer)They have constant subsurface irrigation from our Biolytix system (not a lot as only 2 people in the house)and surface irrigation.

Shaun says...
My almost leaveless Sweetsop will be experiencing its 2nd winter ....
hope it survi....
any tips on how to keep it alive?

Ellen says...
If you're planning to move within a year or two, then half a barrel would be too large of a pot to transfer the plant into , 410mm pot will do Mariana .

Ellen says...
Mariana

I have friends in Tx who planted apple custard in a 30 gallons pot , and the tree mature and fruit as normal.But they have to change the potting soil every 2 1/2 yrs.- 3 yrs

So it will get there, we just have to be patience.

Ellen says...
Tropicdude

I have a muricata and B.Sapote both in pots,

the reason people change potting soils every so often is to maintain that high level of nutrients and performance of quality soil for your plant . Over time if you dont feed it with composts often, or every so often you just chuck in a handful of those slow release of fertilisers to feed the plant only, it is not enough to sustain a healthy plant , drainage level in the soil deteriorate, what you water in came out right through, couldn't sustain the moist level in the soil to feed the roots of your plant.



http://garden.blogtells.com/2008/03/14/potting-and-repotting/

and when you do have to cut back some roots, just cut back dead roots only, each time you transfer it from one pot to another, be very careful, it will go into shock.

And yes, I happen to have a b.sapote in a pot too.

After tasting this fruit the other day, through my local vegie shop, I think this plant is a bit over rated

HappyEarth says...
The black sapote doesn't have much flavour on its own - but its color and texture are fantastic. We mix it in with our smoothies and the result is spectacular :)

I'll have to try it with a bit of rum... thanks Ellen!

Rich
www.happyearth.com.au

Mariana says...
Many thanks Ellen for your assistance. Take care

Ellen says...
No worries folks, I was glad I was able to help.

Ellen says...
Shaun

I think your sweetsop is deciduous just like my soursop is.

Looks can be deceiving Shaun, don't give up on it, keep water it just enough to keep the root system moist.

I was about to give up on my soursop too, until I read some of the green thumbers in my edible pages and their comments .

I've relocate my annona muricata (soursop) into a warmer location(as I had placed them in pots) and it is spurting with yound shoots now .

My previous mistake with my last sweetsop 5 yrs ago was I too thought that it had died, but it was not so b/c it went dormant over the winter. So I stop watering it . And sure enough it did died.

Shaun says...
Thanx for your response, Ellen & peetah.
I may have done the fatal mistake by letting nature do the watering (aka let the rain do the work) ......
hope my Sweetsop may survive the recent hot spell in Perth bcos I have not seen it for the past couple of weeks.

Shaun says...
I think my Sweetsop is now a 'goner' = DEAD !!
All the branches and main stem had dried up and shrunk, and are brittle (snapped off very easily when bend slightly).
:-(

Lenny says...
Is it possible to get a Pinks Mammoth in Western Australia, have had a request from a friend in Bali

BJ says...
The Hilary White atemoya I got from Daleys last year has not woken up this spring, and will not do so. The rootstock is producing a few small shoots from well below the graft. Does anyone know what the rootstock is likely to be and would it be worthwhile just growing the rootstock so its not a complete loss?

Ricki says...
Is it possible to grow custard apple and paw paw from seed and how do you treat the seed before planting?

Ricki says...
Thank you Jason for your reply, I will do as you suggest and keep you informed.Growing fruit trees is new to me so I appreciate any advise.

Ricki says...
Thanks Jon, we rarely get frost here,but I will keep it in mind and check the local nurseries about the availability of Cherimoya. I have not heard of it. Thank you ,Ricki

Troy says...
Hi everyone I would love advice on procuring Annona reticulata a pink variety of custard apple. Has any one heard of this in Australia I seem to be hitting brick walls all over the place with this one. I found some seeds for sale in South Africa but I dont like the chances of getting them in as a individual.

fruitist says...
I think the weedy one you mean is Pond Apple = Annoa glabra.

fruitist says...
Just rang Mt Gravatt Bunnings. They don't have it yet. PP is so prolific that, the flowers come out in multiples. BJ, if you are getting one, can you let me know as I want to get one too.

Gary says...
I am about to plant a custard apple tree How should I prepare the ground and does it require a wet or dry location? Thanks.

Gary says...
Thanks Brendan
I will purchase my trees when the Fitzroy Nursery opens. I gather the flooding has kept it closed. I have heard that a new variety is available. I would like to plant a couple of varieties.

gary says...
Will fruit fly be a problem? At present I will be planting near pink grapefruit tree, lychee, orange, manderine and lime trees. I think fruit fly is starting to affect the fruit from these trees.

Wayne says...
Hello Gary, the fruit fly have stung my "Lots of Lemons" only previously and not bothering my "Blood Orange", "Tahitian Lime" nor my "Tangelo". I don't know why that is.

We are planning a trip down your way for Easter so I will bring you down some brew if you would like to try it.

Michael says...
Hi John,

I was at the Canley Vale nursey today and was so tempted to get the new Tropic Sun variety but I don't have anymore room in my garden for it. I ended getting a yellow bi sexual paw paw instead just because it was a metre high and at $30 it was quite a good deal.

John Mc says...
Yes, it's a great nursery. Did you see how advanced the Longans and Lychees were? I'm going to try and make it a bi-annual event. The people running it are very nice as well.
The shops in the Cabramatta shopping centre blew me away. I thought I was in another part of the world, definately not Australia. I loved the fruit shops, they carry a much different range of tropical fruits, which, I was in my element.

Wayne says...
Sounds like you guys are in your glory, no Tropic Sun in Mackay yet, I picked mine up in Rockhampton [4hrs drive away]

Brendan and myself live amongst 100,000 people plus with almost as many who shop here but we do not have a nursery worth talking about. The best we can do is Bunnings who's prices for citrus starts at $35, we pay miners tax for everything

Wayne says...
Peter
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet but the new Tropic Sun is also a self polinator, as you say, beats doing it by hand;

micarle says...
Great didn't know they were both self polinating! What about Late gold does it need hand polination???

BJ says...
http://www.custardapple.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7254:new-custard-apple-variety-just-released&catid=2&Itemid=73

They call it 'free-fruiting', but dont mention about the need for pollination. I guess 'free-fruiting' could mean that it self-pollinates, but wouldnt know. Maybe an email or call cto Fitzroy Nursery could clear that up?

Anyway, I'm happy with the PP I've got. If I come into alot of land, I'll think about the Tropic Sun, and go on the search for the Island Gem again.

Jantina says...
Was that tree in Mexico Jason or over here?

Peter says...
Wayne,
you probably have got the right advice as your area has probably enough humidity and low enough temperature for the flower parts to have a longer life before they dry out. In hotter and drier areas around flowering time there is not enough overlap between viable pollen and receptive female part of the flower - that's why the trick of collecting pollen in the afternoon, storing in fridge overnight and brushing it inside a flower in female stage the next morning works out fine. All this attention is not needed in South America, as they have their native beetle pollinating. Also still good fruit set of cultivars in more milder-humid parts of the world like your area. For people living further south in the deep subtropics, Paxton Prolific might be better suited as a mutation has done something towards a better fruit set. A bit of guessing in there, but that's how I try to make sense of it...

Jason says...
Jantina, in Mexico. The main old cemetery in Puebla city not sure if it was the South end or North end of the city since I never do get used to the upside down sun :D.

There's usually Cherimoyas and sapotes growing in every cemetery because on day of the dead people bring gifts of the favorite things for the dead and lay them on the grave. So lots of dead peoples favorite fruits grow from the seeds all over the place.

There's also a lot of Cherimoya trees in the main central park in Mexico city, the best one I saw was somewhere not far from the Australian embassy in another park, it was LOADED with large almost ripe fruit. Also in Southern Mexico there was some other Anona species they also called Chirimoya (but it wasn't) growing up on the top of the mountains just under the pine tree line. Not sure what exactly it was since it wasn't the right season for them. But the local guy told me I must! come back in Cherimoya season since they are way better than mangos, which were ripe at the time I was there. They seemed totally naturalised where they were growing, maybe even native??

Wayne says...
Imagine Cherimoya trees growing in public places here.

Close by the Capricornia Nursery is Orams nursery.
http://www.oramsnurseries.com.au/fruiting.html
I got to talking to the lady there about polinating Cherimoyas by hand and I told her that my tree was setting some fruit by itself. She then told me that the bug doing the polinating was the vinegar fly and to hang pineapple scraps eg. in the tree. I mentioned this to Brendan and it appears this is a common practice in the area

kert says...
There's another trick I read about > spray sugar on flowers to encourage insects.

Wayne says...
Thanks Kert

Interesting Jason, a couple of years back we would get fog often during the cooler months but rarely now

Miranda says...
I have a sugar apply tree, set it's first fruit late February last year after a night of rain. it was too late to ripen, and was split in early winter. Last month, it set it's second fruit.(I didn't hand polinate, as it is a slow growing tree, still very small.)This one may not be ripen.There are so many flowers. Last week, I decided to practise hand pollination. I used a small brush transfer pollen from fully open with aroma scent flowers to half open flowers, and mist the tree in the evening. I now have 6 small fruits. My problem is how to encough the tree to grow faster and bigger? next year, I will try hand polinate early spring, so I can have ripen fruits.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1	Picture: 2	Picture: 3

John Mc says...
I think you've nailed it yourself Miranda. I see the sugar apple flowered much earlier but didn't self pollinate because of the dry weather. Next time start much earlier in the season, Jason says not to polinate too early, let the first flowers go and then start your hand pollinating. I think you'll have a bumper crop next year.
I'm with Wayne, I try to keep my potted plants to a minimum. Less maintenance.

Miranda says...
Thank you all for your adivice. We have just moved from a townhouse to a house, so most of my fruit trees are still in pots. I didn't put the sugar apple in lager pot, as it does not have many roots like other trees, may be the potting mixing is not right. but it finally gets full sun after we moved house. will change to large pot soon. it is heavy clay soil here, so I need to improve the soil structure befor I can put it in the ground.

KERT says...
I don't think the adice given is accurate in this instance. If the soil is well structured and has "crumbs" it is important not to disturb it esp. when it is v.dry or wet. Miranda has clay soil of poor structure (West. Sydney) and the correct response is as follows - heap up the soil to encourage drainage , add plenty of organic matter, use gypsum but only if you have sodic clays (there is a simple home test to identify sodic clays)

Peter says...
Yes - it's far easier to add water when needed, whereas collar rot can't be corrected. Good drainage is important. For potted plants avoid a dish underneath as this waterloggs the soil and encourages collar rot. Also I would not recycle the soil of the diseased plant.

Brad says...
i don't suppose you took pictures of the process?

John Mc says...
Hey Peter,
How long has your cherimoya been in the ground? I take it's very well established?

John Mc says...
I must say, I planted a seedling from an African Pride fruit last year right up the top of the paddock that doesn't get any water whatsoever and is still alive. It hasn't grown much but is still alive and healthy, I was surprised to see it was still there.
I wonder what the progeny is from this variety (African Pride)? Has anyone got throwbacks of A Squamosa? or A Cherimola? I suppose they could be anything since the African pride is a hybrid between the two. Some of my other seedlings from the same fruit have rounded leaves very similar to A Cherimola. Is it worth growing them out? or should I try grafting on a known cv?

Peter says...
I am a little suspicious - why ACAGA would create a new terminology? 'Self-pollinating' rings a bell in everyones ear, whereas free fruiting does not make sense. They would also have some percentages of fruit set, like there is for Paxton Prolific...just a sales strategy of left-over cultivars from a breeding program which did not make it to the commercial growers, maybe. The exeption seems to be Paxton Prolific, formerly only available as KJ Pink to commercial growers.
The real good stuff is hopefully available to home growers as well (doubt it) - such as a pink skinned and pink fleshed hybrid of Annonas, announced as self-pollinating!

Peter says...
Someone else might want to go down that track - after reading the info provided I made the choice to stay away from Tropical Sun for the Perth situation.
To be more moderate: Tropic Sun might be slightly better than the old cultivars like African Pride, but not a real hammer, otherwise the provided info would sound more exiting!

fruitist says...
Just wondering how much is a Tropical Sun. One nursery here sells for $45.

Phil@Tyalgum says...
Tropical Fruit World has them for $34, nice advanced trees too.

John Mc says...
They are quite vigorous in their growth, I bought two. Could even throw a couple of fruit next year. I'll keep you posted.

Est says...
Hi Marianna

Where doyou get Custart Apple sesdlings in South Africa?

Jason says...
reticulata is the Sweetstop, Squamosa is the sugar apple. cherimola is the Cherimoya, muricata is the Guanabana/Soursop. Most people like the Sugar apple or Cherimoya the most depending if they are tropical or temperate people but Guanabana is used in icecreams and drinks a lot in central and Southern America, it's more sour tasting and kind of chewy

fruitist says...
Evergting is the same for the sweet variety. Same tree, same fruit except it is sweet and slightly drier texture. The skin can be peeled off if you cut the fruit into slices. My favourite way of eating is eating the slices. I can peel off the skin one bite at a time.

fruitist says...
The tiny Soursop fruitlets (after flower petals are discarded) can survive thru Brisbane winter. When Spring comes, the fruitlets will come alive and start to grow into fruits during Spring and Summer.

For bigger fruits, I think they will get shedded before Winter. Last week, I just lost one fruit which was about 0.5kg big. It was okay and still hard to the touch on Sunday and then on Tuesday, it was on the ground and the whole fruit has turned almost black in color.

Mike says...
There are lots of Annonnas called custard apples.Soursops,sugar apples,soncoya and ilama like it tropical ie latitude 24 and warmer, the hybrid atemoyas 17-30 and cherimoya about 25 and colder.Gefner is a self pollinating atemoya but all set better with hand pollination.Red and purple forms occur in a couple of species,

Mike says...
Yes ID 0. Peter Salleras has a few new seedlings growing of Soncoya and I presume it is the white fleshed one.Colin Gray might have some.I don't know of any Ilamas but they should be around.I asked a chum to bring seeds to me when he returns from a meso-American adventure in a couple of months or so we'll see how we go. I will also try to get some of the 'sort of' sugar apple seeds from Thailand when my partner returns from there. They seem to be more 'cultivated' or have some atemoya or another annona genes perhaps.

Mike says...
Peter copped it in the cyclone so I hope he still has them.I got some durians from Peter and I am hassling him for an Amber Jackfruit.No it is a Cairns person with instructions on trawling markets and the icon printouts.Oh yeah try Kerry McAvoy if you want other durian species that might be more cold resistant.

Mike says...
If you lightly crack the seed coat of some next time it might work.All annonas and allies seem to be variable in quality within species.
In terms of taste and flesh yield Amber Jackfruit is one of the best i have tried and Peter has another type just as good.

Peter says...
Hi fruitist,
sure you know a lot of tricks about seed germination, but just in case you have not tried this one: You can also try to surface sterilise them in 10% Bleach solution for 10 or 15 minutes, then put them in a take away container filled with moderately moist fine vermiculite, close it with the lid and put the container inside near a window. Sterile conditions (almost) for many months, maintainance free. In that way my annonas (just the atemoyas, but very tricky, delayed ones) germinated after many months without fungal problems...

fruitist says...
Thanx the tip, I will tell that to the person who has a mature Illama tree bearing fruits in SE Qld. He has no luck with germinating seeds for the last few years. I gave him a packet of GA3 a few motnhs ago asking him to use that. He may have some successes already with his recently extracted seeds.

Mike says...
oh yeah get some marcotted ones from Peter Salleras if you're going there, just let him prepare them in time.He has some R9s as well as the other classic reds

fruitist says...
Mike, Read the Chiku thread, some thing for you.

Mike says...
yes she does and that is the number.After Rona,Larry and Yasi good durian and rambutans are just not available from anyone. It seems everone went through the wringer and is giving up or replanting themselves.I'll look at the Chiku thread

fruitist says...
There used to be one about 8 years ago. He then moved to FNQ but may have moved back now. I just called his FNQ number and the number is invalid.

Mike says...
To germinate lotus it helps to drill a small hole that just goes gets through the testa.It is fiddley

John Mc says...
If anyone has been hanging out for them, Daley's has three of the new Tropic Sun atemoyas for sale today. It took me a day trip to Sydney to buy two of these not that long ago. They appear to be good vigerous growers at this stage.

Nick says...
My custard apple is a very whippy grower so I pinched the tips but it hasn't made any new growth in quite a while, should I maybe have left the pruning for its dormant period?

amanda says...
I agree grub! The Margaret River one's were big too! Who would have thought they could grow there...
A nice sloping orchard tho..and right on the River...gorgeous loam. Donnybrook is even more surprising grub!? It gets damn cold there?

Have seen some lovely (and finicky) fruit trees growing around the Bunbury area too...Gelorup, Leshenault etc..

Nick - I would start a new thread called Pruning custard apples maybe? (or do a search?) I haven't found mine easy to prune either...and u will need to be more careful of fungal problems in Vic maybe?

amanda says...
Gee that's helpful info grub :) I must admit I am always rubbernecking when I am travelling in WA...just to see what can grow where?
Many folk ask if they can grow certain plants in the southern climates....Donnybrook gets frost doesn't it? It would be interesting to check out it's minimum winter temps for last few years.
Good idead to keep the seeds :)

John Mc says...
Nick, my African pride cv's were very whippy in their first year also. I waited till they went dormant then pruned them quite hard to get some strength into the main framework. I pruned off a lot of height then pruned all the lateral branches off within 8" of the main stem. Now in their third year they have a very strong backbone and laterals.

grub says...
yes i purchase fruit from there daughter when i go through
ill quiz them next time i go passed
he use to work for csiro and has some finger limes that havnt be released to the public yet

grub says...
hi amanda i caught up with vince but he didnt know the name of the custard apple ..he also showed me there paw paw in flower and a mango tree loaded with mangoes .the custad apple tree is about 4 meters high .and the walnut trees even bigger .

Mike says...
I sent some pictures of an apparent rogue red fruiting atemoya seedling tree to some people on the forum.By all accounts it is something out of the ordinary in many respects.I have just weaseled 4 seeds of it along a tenuous line of connections.

Mike says...
If they germinate I will keep one and it will be on a rapid development program.My sugar apples took 2 years so 3 and a bit might be possible.I just hope it turns out like the picture of the parent, or at least has fruit like it.

John Mc says...
That reminds me of a I did a job down at Brooklyn a couple of years ago with a large Atemoya tree in the backyard. They claimed it to be a large red fruiting variety, I never gave it a second thought. Looks like I might have to go down and take a closer look. I just assumed that red atemoyas were as common as red A. squamosa, apparently not.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Well done Mike for getting some special seeds of red cherimoya.
Good luck John Mc.


Here it the picture

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Oops sorry Mike. I just posted the right one.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Many thanks Mike for looking after my little fruit trees. I am very much appreciated. Hopefully I will be able to pick them up soon.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
You are very generous as usual Mike. We will probably drive there soon. We will let you know in advance.

It does not matter whether it is a seedling or not. If the red cherimoya tastes good go for it. How exciting to discover a rare tree in your neighborhood.

peter says...
john mc
yes red ones are rare, it would be well
worthwhile for a trip back to broocklyn
to check, may even be fruiting now.

mike
doesnt matter if its custard apple or cherimoya, still a good find.
ddid you plant those four seeds
pointy end up.
not too long ago i germinated lots of
cherimoya seeds that john mc sent me.
(thanks again john.)
i found that a good portion of them were
decapitating themselves trying to pull
their leaves out of a hole on the pointy end of the seed so i helped them along by carefully cutting open the
seed and drawing the leaves out.
on another note i have some of your
snake beans just about ready for harvest.

peter says...
yes the pale green ones, is it normal
for some stalks to have two beans
growing on the ends of them.
the other beans are also growing well
but no beans yet. i have them all
in an aquaponics system.

Mike says...
I have bad news on the red custard apple.Some skin of the fruit made its way to me and I found out the photo was not an actual picture of the fruit itself as I was led to believe, but was plucked from the web.The skin was clearly from the common garden variety, red sugar apple.

JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Thanks for letting us know Mike. Let hope that there will be another chance to find this special fruit again.