Custard Apple - Paxton prolific or tropic sun ? (forum)

db starts with ...
I'm looking forward to grow Custard Apple tree - either Paxton Prolific or tropic sun. Not sure which is better amongs these two, please help.

I want to buy it from Daleys but Paxton Prolific is not listed by them unless I've missed something and their Tropic Sun is not ready yet. Yesterday I saw Paxton Prolific in my local Bunnings for around $44.. Has anyone had any success with PP from Bunnings or should I avoid Bunnings for all of my future fruit plants? Any other nursery in Brisbane I can get it?

Thanks

Time: 19th January 2012 10:36am

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BJ says...
PP from Bunnings are from Birdwood, one of the best wholesale nurseries in the country, so no problem there. mine is bearing a fruit the same season as going into ground and I actually had to knock a few off at the end of last season when it was still in its bag. The Tropic Sun is a smaller growing atemoya though if space is a bigger concern. I'm not sure on the breeding of the Tropic Sun, but PP is a Mammoth line fruit, so has a very good flavour (unlike the African Pride).

Time: 19th January 2012 12:20pm

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db says...
Hi BJ, Thanks for ur reply.. Paxton Prolific that I saw yesterday in Bunnings has front label 'Fruit Lovers - Farmers Choice' and PP. On the back of the label it says Custard Apple - Annona Atemoya (A.cherimoya X A.squamosa).. On the back of label is also has just symbol which says 'Birdwood'. Is it same as u mentioned above? Can I grow it in big pot to keep it small?

Cheers

Time: 19th January 2012 12:38pm

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Original Post was last edited: 19th January 2012 12:52pm

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David says...
Called into Bunnies at Mt Gravatt last week to pick up a takeaway coffee from the guy outside ,told him id be back in a tick ,gonna look at the garden section, to my surprise there it was all alone ,by itself even, sitting on a trolley near the fruit tree section ,one lonely custard apple, ie Paxtons Prolific marked down from $44 to $20, inspected it couldnt find anything wrong, so picked it up and paid for it. I just love those serendipity moments that happen in life from time to time. regards David.

Time: 19th January 2012 9:52pm

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db says...
So finally I bought both varieties and decided put them in a ground instead of pot. Will they cross pollinate each other in any negative way if they are close to each other (around 15m distance)?

Time: 7th February 2012 10:40am

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BJ says...
No. Atemoya's are farmed closer together and you've seen how they turn out - fine.

Time: 7th February 2012 1:44pm

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db says...
Both - Tropic Sun & Paxton Prolific - are supposed to be self pollinating. If I plant them close to each other - say withing 4m distance, will they benefit each other by cross-pollinating being close to each other? My Paxton Prolific is already in ground now and I'm thinking whether I should plant Tropic Sun close to PP (4-5m distance) or it wont make any difference if I put it in other spot that I'm considering which is at 15m distance?

Time: 9th February 2012 2:02pm

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BJ says...
Not sure about cross pollination. I'm unsure what pollinates them, but I'd assume the PP would increase the set on the TS? Also, I think the PP will grow larger than the TS, so make sure you plant them accordingly if close together - i.e. TS in the most direct sun so the PP doesnt block its sun. If that's a consideration you need to make.

Time: 9th February 2012 2:14pm

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db says...
Thanks BJ for the reply, good point abt blocking sun.. Luckily they won't block each others direct light. I'm putting them on my backyard fence and backyard is in west, my house is east facing.. Both will get full Sun from morning to late afternoon (as there are no house behind ours).

Time: 9th February 2012 2:32pm

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Db says...
My PP is in ground since last 1 week. Top 2 leaves have now turned brown. I suspect its due to harsh sun here now a days as this plant get direct sunlight from morning till late afternoon. Is there anything I can do to prevent it happening? I dont think I have over-fertilized it but I cud be wrong. I have added DL pallets, BnB, slow fertilizer in the soil. I have yet not given any liq seasol/powerfeed. Will it help this plant if I give seasol or will it be overkill?

Time: 10th February 2012 8:19am

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John Mc says...
I think it's overkill already. I never put fertilizer in the planting hole out of fear of burning the roots, especially DL. I learnt the hard way myself.

Time: 10th February 2012 8:35am

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db says...
Oh no, what have I done :(.. Bcoz I have clay soil, what I did is I dig up almost 2ft X 2ft X 1.5ft hole, removed clay soil and added new garden soil while mixing those fertilizer and then put in PP.. I thought it will will be safe bcoz it will take some time for roots to reach those fertilizers and vice verse.. I hope it doesn't die..

Time: 10th February 2012 8:51am

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Brendan says...
Hi db, all you've done is make a 'well' which will probably hold water and kill the tree. Best practice in most soils, nothing in the hole (maybe a bit of gypsum), and return the dug out soil to the hole.

In sand, you can dig in old/rotted cow manure etc, but don't add fertilizer.

Time: 10th February 2012 12:35pm

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db says...
Thanks Brendan for the reply.. So is there anything I can do now? How abt spreading lots of Gypsum in nearby area to improve soil drainage? Will it be harmful to plant considering its recently planted?

Time: 10th February 2012 12:51pm

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Brendan says...
Yes db, you are spot on. Add 4 handfuls powdered gypsum around the tree/hole you dug. Water in some Liquid Gypsum as well. You 'might' just save it! Good luck.

Time: 10th February 2012 12:55pm

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Original Post was last edited: 11th February 2012 7:42am

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db says...
Thanks Brendan for the reply.. I'll spread some Gypsum powder that I have and try to find liquid one.. Does Bunnings stocks Liquid Gypsum?

I don't think that 'well' I created is going to be as major issue bcoz its raised garden bed area where its planted, so normally water drains in that area even if it is clay soil.. fertilizers added in the new soil will be major issue though.. Lets see how it goes..

Time: 10th February 2012 4:13pm

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Brendan says...
Yes db, bunnings up here sell liquid gypsum, I 'think' it's called Groundbreaker?

Time: 11th February 2012 7:44am

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Db says...
Bought groudbreaker, thanks Brendan

Time: 11th February 2012 8:32pm

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db says...
I have raised garden bed with some plants in it, Even though its raised, it has heavy clay soil so I want to apply groundbreaker.. Can 'Groundbreaker' harm my plants in anyway if I apply it close to them?

Time: 13th February 2012 12:12pm

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Db says...
Just an update - my PP has survived, no more leaf burning. I can see new growth on all the branches, even one new shoot coming, there is one new flower as well, I'll need to remove it otherwise it will drop anyway.

Time: 21st February 2012 8:29am

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BJ says...
Db, there is no reason to pull off the flower. Leave it on to appreciate the smell and study it so you get used to the stages of the flower, should you want to hand pollinate in the future (though you shouldnt need to with PP, especially late in the flowering season). The flower and fruitlet should fall on its own and if it does set fruit, just pull it off at that stage should you need to.

Time: 21st February 2012 9:14am

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db says...
Ok BJ, I'll keep that flower n see how it grows..

We have one 15+ yr old custard apple tree in my original country, my parents lives there.. They get lots of delicious fruits every year, I'm not sure which variety it is but it has less seeds and very sweet creamy flesh, I bought plant that time from nursery when I was living there, we have not given any fertilizer to this tree since we planted it, NOT EVEN ONCE. It is self-pollinating, in fact I never knew anything abt pollinating until I came across this site recently.. I wish I could bring some seeds here :( (is there any way?).. Anyway I hope my PP and TS comes to at least close that quality if not better, time will tell.. I have tried taste of African pride custard apple here in Australia and absolutely hated it, I could not even finish one fruit..

Time: 21st February 2012 9:30am

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Original Post was last edited: 21st February 2012 9:49am

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BJ says...
AP is terrible. PP is a sport of Hilary White. Which is a Pink's Mammoth type. Anyway, they are all larger, less seedy and better tasting than the chook fodder that is the African Pride.

Good luck! I've got 5 fruit on the PP I put in the ground last winter.

Time: 21st February 2012 10:05am

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BJ says...
Also, if you want any more info on the PP this is a good doc:
http://www.anfic.com.au/kjpinks.htm
http://www.anfic.com.au/KJ%20Pinks%20botanical%20description.pdf


Time: 21st February 2012 10:10am

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db says...
Yeah, I've read AP tastes terrible, I'm actually not sure what variety was which I tasted but I'm guessing it was AP as tasted very bad :)

Wow, you got 5 fruits within year, really impressive.. What do feed you plants?

Thanks for those links above..

Time: 21st February 2012 10:18am

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amanda says...
That's interesting cos I have an AP and the fruit is lovely: juicy, sweet and fragrant? (but grainy)
Better than what I get in the shops, anyway :) (whatever they might be?) - but haven't seen any named varieties over here to compare with though :-(

Time: 21st February 2012 10:42am

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David says...
Anyone interested enough, travel to Bunnings at Mt Gravatt, Weka rd ,there are 3 Paxtons Prolific custard apples for sale at $10 each saw them today

Time: 21st February 2012 11:27pm

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David says...
Anyone interested enough, travel to Bunnings at Mt Gravatt, Weka rd ,there are 3 Paxtons Prolific custard apples for sale at $10 each saw them today

Time: 21st February 2012 11:27pm

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David says...
Anyone interested enough, travel to Bunnings at Mt Gravatt, Weka rd ,there are 3 Paxtons Prolific custard apples for sale at $10 each saw them today

Time: 21st February 2012 11:27pm

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db says...
David, I've seen those discounted PP which are in 'clearance section', I went there when you posted abt it first time here. I didn't liked the quality of any of those PP. They all were single stem, most of them were more than 8+ ft high, you will need to stake it and also prune it to atleast half to get multiple branches.. I personally prefer plant with multiple branches, but its just me, I went in some other Bunnings and bought my PP for $44 which has 5-6 branches, it looks nice tree, if anyone who interested in PP and happy with single stem then surely go for Mt Gravatt PP, $10 price big bargain for sure, like almost free.. Also, that Mt Gravatt Bunnings store also have stock of PP for $44.25 in regular section which is normal price for PP. I asked main staff and she said they just want to get rid of old stock of PP, that's why they are discounted. When I visited that time there were even feijoa in clearance section, there was no price but staff said it could be same as discounted PP price..

How is yours PP growing?

Time: 22nd February 2012 6:46am

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David says...
Well and hope yours is to

Time: 22nd February 2012 7:14am

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BJ says...
$10 is a bargain. Just chop it a few foot above the graft point. It should already have a nice trunk and will throw branches quickly at the start of next season and should be more than capable of holding fruit late in the season.

Time: 22nd February 2012 9:43am

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Jenny says...
Just tasted my first home-grown custard apple off my small Paxton Prolific - it was delicious. Sweet but not too sweet and few seeds. My son though prefers the Rollinia & rated the custard apple 6 & Rollinia 8.5! I pollinated the flower from my Rollinia. Might be interesting to see what comes from the seeds down the track maybe?

Time: 26th June 2013 11:28am

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VF says...
Had some great bought custard apples this past week - I suspect they were PP's with fantastic taste and few seeds. One I bought was a little different though, being a little sugar-appleish in looks, a pink tinge to some of the skin, and just a little bit seedier, but not nearly as much as AP's. Excellent tasting too. Wasn't quite like pictures I have seen(the scales? weren't as pronounced), but could this have been an elusive Tropic Sun, or does this sound like another variety?

Time: 21st March 2014 3:46pm

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Brain says...
My PP had 2 fruit this year, 1 succumbed to something and the other still on tree. Look forward to the tasting.



Time: 24th March 2014 12:14pm

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JohnMc1 says...
Looking forward to the first taste of Tropic Sun this year. Three fruits growing nicely. The fused carpels are looking more like a sugar apple (A.Squamosa) than an atemoya.

Time: 24th March 2014 9:38pm

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VF says...
Brain, it's a start! My tree has zero.

JohnMc, please update when when they're ripe. Pictures would be great. Would love to know if the fruit pinkens up when ripe.

Time: 28th March 2014 10:22pm

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Brain says...
I have tasted my very own PP! I left it too ripe on the tree - it was stone hard one day and next I knew, it was very soft.

The fruit fly didn't attack it, which was a plus.

Taste wise, it was extremely sweet. Not that I eat a lot of custard apples but it was sweeter than store brought versions (maybe because it was over ripped).

The down side is lots of seeds. Maybe the bees were busy.

VF, don't give up, your tree should produce next spring/summer.





Time: 6th May 2014 12:19am

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Littlegougou says...
Are some Tropic Sun self pollinating and some needs hand pollination? I have a TS and it has never self pollinated. I always have to hand pollinate for it to bear fruit. This is the second year to fruit. My fruit is very small for some reason. Hopefully it will get bigger by the time it is ready to harvest.

Time: 25th March 2017 11:05pm

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