pruning white sapote

amanda says...
That's interesting :) Coincidentally Sabrina Hahn just did a feature article on white sapote in yesterdays paper. She states "never give the tree ahard prune"..?

She doesn't say why exactly - but it's in the context of shaping the tree. Maybe it's something to do with how the new branches grow back at very odd angles do u think?

john says...
It's more to do with being able to throw a net over them in my case ; no net ,no fruit.

amanda says...
john...why do u have a vast amount of scale tho? (curious here - that's all)

Jason says...
J, some birds eat mine, mostly only those little ring eyes. Possums have recently discovered them and now they love sapotes. Parrots don't seem interested at all.

I've found out that foxes have been the cause of a fair percentage of my missing Avocado crop too

john says...
Parrots and rats have a go at mine. Scale is a serious problem if the tree is so large that it cannot be effectively sprayed.

Jason says...
I haven't got scale on any of my sapotes but with the foxes.. I had for years seen half eaten avocados all around the place with sharp fine teeth marks in them, I though it was a rat or mouse or possum. Well I actually still all those things eat them. Since then however late at night I've seen a couple of foxes under the tree eating them and I've not yet caught a possum or rat eating them :). So all I've confirmed so far is foxes

j says...
I'd love some scale!! I keed, Keed. Two years ago I met a dude at a gardening event who knew glowinski and said his big white sapote tree (assuming he was referring to glowinski's Vista) had scale on it.
I don't really see many pests bother my white sapotes or their fruit. But I do have possums and birds about (thanks for the info, john), and the first attack from those critters means it's sapote netting time.

Julie says...
I have neglected my white sapote (grown from seed)for the last few years, because I was so disappointed in it. The fruit had a slightly bitter aftertaste and the fruit ripened too close together (they are not good keepers). It hasn't fruited for a while.

It wasn't fed, but this year it did get some water and has just finished a fairly good crop. The fruit was sweet and pleasant, with no bitterness. One or two had fruit fly, but not every fruit.

So next year I plan to look after it better.

On pruning - it has become quite tall, around 4-5m, so I miss out on the higher fruit. Can I prune it back, and when is the best time to do this? Our winters are fairly chilly, but it doesn't lose all its leaves.

Mike says...
Further to what john says,it is best to take out whole limbs back to the trunk (seal those wounds) and thin the weak growth.A haircut from the top and sides can make it too dense with lots of thin new branches.