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Problems with White Sapotes *Pics included* (forum)

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J starts with ...
I recently put my reinecke commercial, Ortega and vista white sapotes in the ground (last two weeks of autumn). All plants are over 1 and 1/2 years of age. The vista is fine but the reinecke and Ortega seem to be dropping leaves and developing black spots and what seems to be rust (in the reineckes case) all over their leaves. I've taken some photo's of the ortega attached to this Post.

Is this normal for melbourne winter? I've spraying the trees with copper sulphate and yates anti root rot and I've given them two applications of seasol since planting. Is there something I'm doing wrong, or is it normal for white sapotes to drop leaves and get spots/rust during melbourne winter?

My other white sapotes in pots (2 pikes, Wilson and 1 ortega) seem to be doing fine, but another younger (3rd) pike in a pot is dropping leaves at an alarming rate. It's the only white sapote I got from daleys while all others are from Vic/SA. I've placed it under cover so frost and wind can't get to it, any other suggestions for this younger pike?
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Time: 17th June 2010 5:50pm

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About the Author J
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Jason says...
You'll be doing pretty good if you can kill a White sapote in Melbourne, it might not be the most healthy white sapote in the world but it's fine, a few spots here and there wont matter, it's been pretty cold after all.

Any leaves that were grown on the plants in another climate will be thrown off too, that's pretty standard, Victoria is much harsher in both Summer and Winter than the weather they have up North, the new adapted set will be fine. I don't know why you are spraying them? white sapotes don't get any diseases that I know of down here and don't get root rot at least unless you have it the growing in the middle of a swamp in standing water?

Best thing is just to plant them and throw as much chicken manure on them as you can get your hands on





Time: 17th June 2010 10:25pm

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About the Author Jason
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Jason says...
+ Very tough tree they are and by far the easiest of all the "rare" fruits to grow in Victoria, maybe even more so than Avocado but that might be debatable, might also be debatable to call Avocado rare down here anymore :)

Pike never grows very big it just kinda hangs on the ground a bit messy like this one I have

http://img.skitch.com/20100510-g52dexj5n65nxgte48iimms26r.jpg

Time: 17th June 2010 10:28pm

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About the Author Jason
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John Mc says...
I read somewhere that they are magnesium hungry. The symptoms are blotchy yellowing, which is what mine is starting to show on the new growth. Epsom salts might be the answer. Yours to me doesn t look like typical magnesium deficiency, you could try spraying a week solution on the leaves? Hopefully you ll get a responce from one of the gurus that frequent here.

Time: 17th June 2010 11:02pm

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amanda says...
Hi J, the leaves are very yellow looking for a sapote? (or is it the camera settings..) what is the pH of the soil?

Time: 18th June 2010 11:36am

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J says...
Thanks for the replies, guys.

I've given all my white sapotes seasol and dynamic lifter as fertilizer.

The soil that I planted the some of the sapotes in is a mixture of black hills soil from the dandenongs and potting mix with some gypsum thrown in.

Not sure about the Ph level amanda, but the potting mix I use has neutral ph, I believe.

Its interestinng my potted white sapotes haven't developed black spots but the leaves have gone light green (from their usual dark green). The leaves aren't yellow though. Is this still a lack of magnesium or is because of winter?

I will take some more pictures shortly of the potted plants.

Thanks for the pics jason, thats is fine looking pike. look forward to my pikes getting like that (hopefully).

Time: 18th June 2010 2:17pm

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Jason says...
I think they look fine, just a little yellow but not in any danger of dying or anything like that, they are only young trees and only just been put in the ground. All these things are stressing.

If you give them some general citrus fertiliser in the spring to wake them up I bet they will grow really well this Spring/Summer. Just treat them like a citrus because they are heavy feeders. I wouldn't be adding any weird stuff to them, just either Chicken manual or normal chemical fertiliser, give them a season in the ground and see what they look like then. You probably want the longest leaves on most varieties to be about 20cm in length, that's a safe size to aim for, slowly build up the fertiliser until they are pushing leaves like that

Time: 18th June 2010 4:02pm

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About the Author Jason
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J says...
Thanks Jason, so wait till spring to fertilise. So there's no point in fertilising now at all?

I've also put up some labeled pictures of my other potted and planted white sapotes.

Potted White sapote 1 & 2 are two year old trees from Perrys in SA, that have fruited already. Their leaves have gone light green since winter kicked in. Not much leaf drop

Potted Ortega is one and half years old from perrys. No fruit. Again some leaves have gone light green, small amount of leaf drop and a few black spots here and there. Not as many black spots compared to the Planted ortega in the pics in my first post.

Potted Wilson is 1 year old. Got him at a little shop at a plant Expo. Cold doesn't seem to bother this guy. Very slow growing. No leaf drop.

Planted vista is 2 years old, no fruit, from Perrys. Leaves are going light green but not much leaf drop and the young leaf growth seems to be doing ok, some have curled a little.

Planted Reinecke Commercial is ? years old. No fruit. Got from Poyntons in essendon. Was doing well in summer but since planting and winter has dropped a lot of leaves and is developing some "rust" on others. I'm assuming this isn't a seedling and is a grafted, even though its thin and spindly and 2 metres tall.

Potted Pike 3 is about 1 year old or so from Daleys. Major leaf drop (about 40%) all older leaves. New growth seems ok, but some of it is slightly curved. Sorry about the lack of light in the photo's but it is now under the cover of the balcony due to the windy weather over the last few days, which may have helped with the leaf lost.


So there you have it. All my white sapotes. Whats the general consensus? They'll be fine and wait it out for spring and fertilize like crazy?
I plan on having all the Potted sapotes in the ground during the first week of spring. Holes being dug now. What do yall think?
Pictures - Click to enlarge

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Time: 18th June 2010 6:41pm

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Jason says...
Wow that's a lot of pictures to digest :). Yep they all like fine. Each variety do look a bit different and a bit different colour. Ortega is always more yellow than most of the others, you don't have a Chris? but for example it's one that looks half dead all the time, it's just the way it is.

I find Vista and Pike to be almost identical fruit. But the Vista tree is a bit more upright. Rienecke is a very upright growing tree, it's will probably be your best looking tree so put that in the display position in the garden :) it has a really nice colour to it, but mine needs more fertilizer to flower and fruit for some reason compared to the other varieties. It also usually takes a long time to flower and fruit. Mine's 9 years old and only just cropping for the first time now. It's also the first year I've gone heavy with chemical fertiliser on it. Coincidence or not I don't know :).

My Pike made only tiny un fertilised fruit for many years and then once I got an Ortega and Vernon to pollinate it, it's been fruiting well ever since. Vernon will fruit almost as soon as you graft it on.

I'd plant them all now, since in the ground is always better than a pot but it you want to wait until late August or the start of September that's fine. But Sapotes are capable of slow growth even in Victorias Winter so anytime is ok (mine are still flowering and growing fruit right now).

They really do enjoy lots of food, I've found without much fertiliser they mostly only flower in late Spring or early Summer, if you get a bit more serious on them they will flower in Autumn once it starts raining and Spring once it warms up and maybe even almost year round. But to me it seems as it flowering can be triggered from either warming/longer days and rain after a dry period.

I used to only use Chicken manure on them but where I am it's not enough. So I've been using chemicals now, alternating between a general fruit tree mix and then a 20% nitrogen mix, about each 1.5-2 months Spring through late Summer. I'll get you the names of them next time I get some bags if you want, they are just from Pivot, nothing fancy. I wasn't really keen on it at first hence the chicken manure :) but really everythings doing so much better now and I'm not going to live forever, so I decided better to have chemical fertiliser and fruits than no fruits at all and I don't seem to have killed any Kangaroos let alone Frogs :) so I'm cool with it for now. I will fertilise them again in the last week of August with the 20% nitrogen mix (well maybe on the bigger trees only since it'll still be raining then and the more mild stuff on the smaller trees) to try and push a heavy growth flush through Spring and earlier Summer before the ground drys out.

I've also got a seedling to flower for the first time this year also, it's about 8-9 years old. If you want to just concentrate on one plant first so you can have an example plant with dark green leaves of a certain size and see how it grows then you will have a reference for the others so you can match them to that and not go tooo far with your nitrogen, but back in the chicken manure days I used to put.... 10 kgs? on a each sapote when they were like 5 feet tall and never had a problem, that wouldn't be the case in warmer climates but down here you need more juice on them to force things along. I'll try and remember to get a picture of my Reinecke tree tomorrow

I forgot something.. my Pike tree does tend to look ratty and loose most of it's leaves before it grows it's main growth flush, for that particular tree, that's in about the middle of Summer


Time: 18th June 2010 8:22pm

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amanda says...
Thank jason - that's a heap of good info on these guys. I have two grafted lemon golds that are powering away and their leaves are a much darker green.

I actually don't give them as much food as the citrus - so I might spoil them a little this winter/spring and see if the 3yr old flowers.

I have had to resort to a synthetic fetiliser also - I use calcium nitrate which doesn't mess around with the pH. I can get a 30kg bag for about $30 - and it lasts my 100 trees all year. I use loads of organic stuff too - but it's just not enough in my sand. Calcium nitrate is what they use in commercial orchards. Apparently fruiting trees need a lot of calcium (agronomist said this)

Time: 20th June 2010 11:12am

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amanda says...
PS Jason, just went out to have a look at mine and look what I found!! How long do they take to grow and ripen do u think? (a bit warmer here than Vic)
Pictures - Click to enlarge

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Time: 20th June 2010 11:53am

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J says...
Hey Jason
Thanks for that indepth post. Really helpful. I look forward to the day when my trees can give me two seasons of fruit like yours! Anyway thanks again for checking out the pics. Now I won't stress as much. I'll plant the rest of the potted once in a month or so, because I've got to prepare the planting site some more.

I'd appreciate it if you could let me know what chemical fertiliser you are using.

As far was different varieties go - I'd like to get a Vernon but I'm having difficulty finding a nursery that has some in stock (suggestions appreciated!). I'm also interested in lemon gold as it is a pollinator but I've read its more of a tropical variety. Is this true? Any success stories with lemon gold in vic?

Amanda, that's a really nice suprise, ay? Finding fruit when you don't expect it is always pleasant.

Time: 20th June 2010 2:00pm

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amanda says...
Hi J, I think lemon gold might be ok where u are? Mine get blasted with cold southerlies, salt, hot easterlies etc and are so tough! It can get down to 4-6 oC o/night here and they don't lose any condition at all. Lemon gold also self pollinating (as in my pic) I am really pleased with them - they give me no trouble at all. My easiest fruit tree by far.
Can't understand why the fruit not so popular in the shops yet...

PS - i have't found my trees to be needy in any way with respect to NPK or trace elements (and my soil very deficient) so Jason very likely on the money - they probably have the winter blues...

Time: 20th June 2010 10:10pm

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Jason says...
I'll get the name of the Pivot stuff I'm using tonight, I actually found a bag in the shed yesterday and threw about a kilo on some for a mid winter experiment since they look like they want to continue growing all winter this year. Amanda's calcium nitrate sounds good too.

My soil is about 5.5 ph read loam with iron gravel naturally, Avocados and Sapotes seem to like that PH anyway but it means I have to get pretty heavy on the nitrogen. For sure 95% of these almost sub tropical trees can not survive without human intervention and added fertilizer and water so you have to do what you have to do.

Lemon gold is more tropical than most yes but also I've been told by some Californians that the Australian naming on Lemon gold is wrong and that we either have Lemon gold and Golden globe mixed up or only have Golden globe?. either way what we think is Lemon gold isn't most of the time. Still what we do have is one of the more slightly more tropical ones.

I've not had much luck with it compared to some of the others. But mine is in a bad spot and I think it would be fine in Victoria with a bit better ground under it. I've got pure breed wooly leaf sapotes (the one that's fruited tasted VERY bad). Summer is more of a problem than Winter. That's the same for all varieties really, anything over 38c in Southern Victoria will burn new growth unless the ground is very wet coming into the hot spell, even then they go pretty floppy with 40+c and hot northerly wind.

I have two decent sized Vernon trees, it's very different from Pike, Vernon is one of the varieties that flower from the tips of the branches and have all the fruit hanging on long stems which I think is a very attractive look. Pike, Vista, Reinecke, Mac's Golden flower all over the branches, even on fairly old wood and the fruit is kind in tight clusters all over the tree. All sapotes flower in one of these ways or the other or both? (I think) depending on well.... could be either a sexual thing or wooly leaf genes, but it seems to me all the pollinators make fruit on long stems.

Amanda, from fruit set to mature fruit is about 7-8 months in Southern VIC from the Spring to Winter flowering, the Autumn to Summer crop might be a little slower but not too much (maybe 8-9 months), so it'll be less than that for you :). My Reinecke is in a similar stage right now and is loaded, I'm really looking forward to tasting that one since I've waited so long and it's an Orange fruit. Still I'll try not to get too excited because I've found that as nice as sapotes are you never want to eat more than one or two a day and that means most of them go straight back to the ground they came from.

The only one I've found to be superb (complex) flavoured that you could eat all day is Chris and it's a difficult one to grow that I'm still trying to figure out. My mission for the next couple of years is to try and graft myself up a really strong Chris tree, since it's several times better than any other variety I've tasted. This one would be much easier in a warmer climate I'm sure.

Oh yeah as for finding Vernon, Perry's used to have them, I believe they source them from Birdwood who's Wholesale only and might only sell in bulk. Also that guy in Daylesford who's friends with Sir Glowinski might have some. If all that fails you might have to twist my arm to graft you one, it's defiantly a must have if only for a pollinator. Ortega is a similar tree and useful for the same reason, but Vernon makes bigger fruit

Time: 21st June 2010 12:50pm

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About the Author Jason
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J says...
Hey jason

Thanks again for all this info! It's gold! Looking forward to finding out what fertilizer your using.

I'll try and get a hold of some vernons and if I can't get any, then I may twist your arm :) Its interesting you mentioned vernon's as increasing your fruit size, but I was told vernon's only fruit and flower every alternating year. Interesting. Either way it's a variety I don't have and I'd like to have it if its going to benefit my other trees.

In regards to 40 degree summer days, how did your white sapotes go when we had that nasty spell two summers ago with 4 days in a row of 40 degree days? I water my trees often in the summer, and I'm concerned a bad heat wave might knock them for six.

Time: 22nd June 2010 1:48pm

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J says...
Hey Jason

I am now the proud owner of two Vernons. They were the last two Perrys had in stock. Thanks again for all the info/advice and even offering to Graft me a vernon!

Time: 15th July 2010 4:10pm

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amanda says...
FYI - these guys copped a real hiding on the weekend - 115km/hr winds off the ocean and pelting rain...all the fruit n flowers fine! Does this mean it could be a fruiting windbreak tree perhaps?

J - my trees had a week of 38 - 45 oC days this summer and they were fine. We have had 1.7 - 5 oC for 2 weeks this winter and they fine with that too - still flowering and fruiting.

My ultimate fruit tree :-)
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Time: 15th July 2010 7:27pm

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kert says...
Vernon is reputed to be hard to graft . What technique would you use? Marcotting? There was a taste comp some time ago on Cloudforest and I think Subelle and Vernon starred . Chris must be really good to beat out Vernon.

Time: 17th July 2010 2:54pm

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Jason says...
Here's some links to various tastes test from Tom A and Shawn on the cloudforest

http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/forum/302.html

http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/forum/16171.html

http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/forum/201070689.html

I think there should be at least one more somewhere but I can't find it

Vernon and Subelle are only average on all the taste tests, I think Vernon is just as easy to graft as anything else, I haven't had one fail using the Whip and tongue graft and I'm no expert grafter. The thing about Vernon is that it flowers quickly and is a very good pollinator and that's important to have with sapotes. It's a must have for that reason alone.

Rainbow is the one I want and it's in Australia, but it's proven not so easy to get hold of, but yes aside from not having Rainbow, which may be better, at least a better tree. Chris is in another realm compared to all the others I've tasted. There's are locally selected varieties in New Zealand called WikiWoo and Wookie that supposed to be very good and related to Subelle, I have seedlings of the NZ varieties just getting geared up to flower now after 8 years or so.

There's two main types of fruit with sapotes the caramel type and those with Lemonish flavour (which most people prefer), Vernon, Pike, Ortega and Vista are all your standard Caramel type fruit but Pike has a little bit more of an annoying aftertaste than most (not everyone can taste it), but it also makes lots of fruit so it's something to weigh up. My Reinecke Commercial tree is still flowering now, it made a couple of flowers in Autumn 2004 but didn't fruit then. This year is the first year it's making fruit (planted in 1999 I think) and it's making hugeeee amounts of fruit. It might never do this again, who knows but I'll enjoy it while the going is good.

I forgot to reply about sapotes in the heat, yes the 40+ degree days in Vic with the Northerly winds, they don't like it at all. You have to soak them the night before or all your new growth and leading shoots will look like the blow torch hit them, that happens to my trees most years. I try to get water into the sapotes first on those days since they are more sensitive to it that anything else I grow. Old growth is fine, only the new stuff gets floppy and then burnt off so it's not the end of th e world

Time: 17th July 2010 4:36pm

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J says...
Thanks, Jason. I've read quite a few of your posts on that cloudforest site in regards to Cherimoya and White sapotes. Good stuff.

Is there anyone is Australia that sells the Suebelle? I've read it bears all year round but I can't seem to find it here in oz.

Also, in regards to the Pivot feritizer you have, jason: I've looked online but I can't find any retailers that sell a bag or two of the stuff in melbourne. Any idea's where I can buy some pivot products?

Time: 18th July 2010 10:51pm

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Jason says...
J, If you go here

http://www.incitecpivotfertilisers.com.au/locate_supplier.cfm

You can find a shop that sells it, I still haven't got around to seeing the name on the 3:2:1 stuff I'm using but I reckon the 20% nitrogen one I alternated it with on the more hungry kind of plants during summer was this one.

Pasture Booster
http://www.incitecpivotfertilisers.com.au/product_search.cfm?ProductId=636&action=viewproduct

There are banana specials also with around 50% nitrogen but that's getting too heavy for most plants, I'm not sure which of the two gave me the extra sapote success with all the extra heavy flowering I've had since but they did want something extra.

I haven't seen Suebelle in Australia, but Vernon isn't too far away from having fruit on it at all times, it flowers for most of the year. Most of the others either flower once in Spring, once in Autumn. Mine are starting to blur the line now and flower from Autumn right through to Spring. Talking about Cherimoyas I'm going to try some things to get them growing better this year now that I seem to have Sapotes and Avocados doing well. I've been holding off on fertilising the Avocados because I don't want them to flower until it's warmer and they are starting to push them up now

Time: 19th July 2010 1:28am

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J says...
Thanks for the links, Jason - I've found a supplier and I will get some before the winter is over.

I've got an order of 5 Fino De Jete Cherimoya trees with from here: http://www.treegrowers.com.au/new_page_6.htm

I couldn't find anyone else outside of daleys that dealt with this cherimoya variety and Daleys coudn't give me any clear idea when they would have any fino' in stock. Do you give the pivot fertilizer to your Cherimoya and citrus trees?

You've got me interested in this "Rainbow" white sapote variety. Please let me know if you have any success finding it.
Having read those Cloudforest links above, you mention that your "vista" trees don't fruit as heavily as your "pikes". I was planning on getting more vista's as a result of Glowinski's recommendation of it. What do you think? Is his tree a one shot that does really well or is the variety better or the same as pikes/ortega when it comes to fruit production?



Time: 19th July 2010 8:23am

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kert says...
Treegrowers are not that easy to deal with. I had 2 years' of attempts to buy Fino from them and each time they gave a feeble excuse for non delivery;the last excuse was "too much rain".

Time: 19th July 2010 10:23am

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amanda says...
Hi Jason - Re grafting: my lemon gold is grafted onto Neem rootstock - is this what others have too?
I got it thru' a local supplier who sourced it from somewhere else...Casimiroa are classed as sensitive to salinity - but this rootstock must be doing a good job as my trees not affected (unlike most of my subtropicals)

Now I am wondering if it's the rootstock that is ensuring the success of my 2?

Time: 19th July 2010 8:07pm

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Jason says...
I've never heard of a sapote being grafted onto anything other than sapote, are you sure they are grafted onto something else?. It would look a lot different under the graft if it's not sapote

Time: 20th July 2010 4:26am

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amanda says...
Nope - the rootstock had it's own tag saying it was neem...but I have never seen a neem tree (knowlingly at least) does it have a simliar looking trunk pattern?

Time: 20th July 2010 9:40am

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Jantina says...
Hi amanda, just went and checked my small neem tree (kept in my glasshouse) and the trunk looks much "barkier" (no such word methinks) than the sapote.It's only a young tree so the bark could change as it matures.

Time: 20th July 2010 9:53am

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amanda says...
Hi Jason - the supplier says it was an ex-Daleys plant - who knows - it travelled a long way with 500 plants, 3 or 4 yrs ago - it could have been a re-attached label or such. It seemed odd to me at the time - which i why I asked the question in the first place. The tag is probably lurking down in the planting hole somewhere..oops.

I note Daleys now has both Lemon gold and Golden globe. Is there any way to tell the difference between the two? Daleys are pretty good at getting their varieties right - so I would likely have lemon gold?

Time: 20th July 2010 12:51pm

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J says...
Kert & Amanda: I won't lie to both of you by saying that I didn't laugh at both your posts. However, one of the great things about daleys forum is there is virtually no trolling like other forums around the net. and thats my dr.Phil moment of the day..

Kert: That is worrying information about treegrowers. It was indicated to me that they had lost some cherimoya grafts to root rot but I didn't think that was two years in a row. Either way thanks for the heads up.

Jason: I spoke to someone who sells white sapotes and was advised he currently has a small Suebelle, so there is atleast 1 suebelle in australia! Also, I'd love to swap/buy some of the trees you graft, jason. Please shoot me an email at jmubaraki@hotmail.com if you are interested.

Time: 20th July 2010 7:33pm

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amanda says...
Hi J, don't stress - I have deleted the post lest it offend. Must be my odd Aussie sense of humour .. and that's my Dr Phil moment...

PS J.. don't be offended please - but this is 'just' a forum? Growing a sense of humour and tolerance of others is just as important in this world as growing anything else. To be honest I think folk far too 'serious'/politcally correct these days and - I quite like kert actually (despite the many hard times he has given me) but u maybe too new to witness this? ..... He is a bit naughty but also funny and totally obnoxious at times. It's ok with me - so why not with u? Comments not directed at u - so choose to ignore them - it's that simple.

Anyway - sorry for ringing any the alarm bells over the graft...I still don't know the answer - but I don't really care anymore- so heavy is the topic! :-)))

In addition: Dr Phil totally sucks.

Time: 20th July 2010 7:58pm

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Jason says...
Fino, is probably the best Cherimoya available in Australia, Birdwood might have Pierce also? it's supposed to be good. I went to a huge amount of trouble to actually collect seed in Mexico and Sean did the same in Peru/Ecuador, I don't think either of us ended up with a plant any better than Fino :p, the trees I collected seed from in Mexico were fantastic in Mexico, mango beaters, but haven't turned out so well here. I need to move one tree that came from a fruit that was 2.0kgs in size, since it's in a bad spot and it certainly has the right genetics to be worth keeping :). I'm having a bit of trouble with kangaroos jumping on stuff and eating things lately so I need to make some taller wire guards too.

The Subelle sounds like a good find but I'm sure Rainbow is the one to really chase after. My Vista is flowering a bit better now days but I doubt it's ever going to fruit like Pike does. However it's true Glowinski's Vista tree does make heaps of fruit, I've seen it and it's a good tree. He pulled out his Pike because it was small bendy unimpressive and and struggling looking, but that's just how Pike looks :).

But really there is a huge difference in taste between these green skinned normal sugary kind of sapotes and the flavour champions of the species. I've only tasted two fruit from my Chris tree but it was substantially better than any other sapote I've tasted, I expect Rainbow to be something like that but with a huge fruit. My Reinecke is going to have a lot of fruit ripe this summer, I've never tasted it before but I hope it's better than most (should be).

J, I'm still months and months away from having sapotes grafted ready to leae home since I've only planted the rootstock from this years crop and they are only just comming up, but hopefully I'll be able to graft them by Summer. I have about 100 seed planted, but I still have at least 50 seeds starting to go dry that I just can't fit into more pots or have any room to keep, they need a home asap. I'm going to soak them in some water tomorrow but after I do that they are going to start germinating so let me know if you want some

Time: 21st July 2010 4:39am

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kert says...
Jason, how do you propose to get your hands on Rainbow? (other than seed)

Time: 21st July 2010 9:35am

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John Mc says...
Hey Jason, I'm keen to take some seeds off you. Always keen to pay or trade or whatever. I haven't had the opportunity to taste a sapote of any var as yet, so I'm keen to get my grafted ones fruiting asap. I have two large seedlings, one Reinecke and a Ortego.

Time: 21st July 2010 9:56am

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J says...
Hi Jason,
Birdwood have no Cherimoya at all and Daleys won't have Fino de jete for a long while.
Perrys have Southern Knight (which is pierce I believe?)and another variety from uruguay. I'll probably end up getting a few off them as well.
I'd love those seeds, but I don't know how to graft (yet), so they would be somewhat wasted on me.
I'd love to buy/swap some Fino De Jete Cherimoya (if you are grafting those) and some Chris white sapotes off you, Jason. Please feel free to send me and email at jmubaraki@hotmail.com and we can chat some more.

Edit: Hey amanda, I took no offense to either of your posts. I found them amusing, not offensive. I didn't know you and Kert had a pre-existing relationship in having friendly goes at each other online. I just read the posts as Kert trolling you and you responding. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I was just trying to keep the thread on topic. Maybe we can start a fun thread where you & kert (& whoever else) can hurl funny insults at each other. :)

Time: 21st July 2010 10:32am

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kert says...
Good idea ,J. I'll start by asking Amanda to give her views on "magnetised water" ;it's kinda illuminating.

Time: 21st July 2010 1:31pm

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amanda says...
Hey Jason - have u tried the lemon gold by any chance? (or - anyone out there?) I chose it after reading Glowinski's report. I'm not a big fan of overly sweet fruit. I have been thinking of pulling my 2 lemon golds up when we move...but it's a big job - maybe I should just start afresh if these guys not so great?

J - funny idea! - the only trouble is kert would give me a hiding in verbosity! ;-)
Anyway - I didn't know there was a "trolling" problem in forums (I haven't been on any others..they are too time consuming for me)..but that's kinda creepy?? wonder what a psych' would make of it...


Time: 21st July 2010 8:06pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
The SA Rare Fruit Society have Rainbow and Suebelle listed amongst their varieties, although trying to get hold of scion wood from them is like asking for the Hope Diamond, even if you're a member, unless you live in Adelaide.

Time: 21st July 2010 9:36pm

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Jason says...
I used to be a member of SA rare fruit, I was hoping some members would be close to the border but in the end they were all in Adelaide and seemed to keep in their only little area/world so I never did meet any of them or swap any wood. But they do have rainbow and I saw plenty of pictures of it on their site when I was a member. Jantina is a member so I'm hoping she can infiltrate and get some scions :)

I don't have any Cherimoya seed since I haven't bothered pollinating them lately. John MC how can I contact you to get an address so I can send some sapote seed.

Amanda I have a supposed Lemon Gold, but I'm never going to get fruit from it unless I move it and I've probably left it too late for that (it's not in a good spot)

Time: 22nd July 2010 2:48am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Yes good idea Jason, Jantina may be the way to go. Hope she can put me on her waiting list!!

Time: 22nd July 2010 5:19am

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Jason says...
I hope so :), if someone can get me some wood I can graft it to a fairly decent sized seedling, then chop everything else off and get lots of wood pretty quick. I grafted a bit of Mac's Golden into the side of a big seedling once, that grew out really quickly, now it's kind of a sideways tree out of the side of a tree :p

Time: 22nd July 2010 8:32am

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kert says...
The SA people must have got Rainbow
from somewhere ;maybe they would unbend sufficiently to share that info.
On another topic > we experienced a frost event of minus 2.5 C and hereis what happened to unprotected ,young plants
No damage - cherimoya ,white sapote grumichama, jaboticaba feijoa, ice cream bean,green sapote
Minor browning of leaves -mango, jackfruit.
major browning of leaves -marula
Dead- papaya.

Time: 22nd July 2010 9:18am

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amanda says...
Ta Jason. If my fruit ever develop I will let u know. I was surprised that both of mine flowered at the same time and so prolifically - given that one is nearly 4 and the other only 1 year old...I wonder why the 4yr has not flowered b4 this.
It has been a freezing and dry winter, by our standards. Ah the mysteries of flowering never cease to surprise!?

Time: 22nd July 2010 9:27am

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Jason says...
Amanda if the food and weather is right pretty much all of them will flower together. I had a lot of sapotes that had done nothing in years even seedlings all flower this last Autumn, they have been flowering from then until now and are still going.

Kert I have an old wholesale catalogue from birdwood and they used to carry.

Reineckie, Golden Globe, Lemon Gold, McDill, Smathers, Candy, Denzler, Mac's Golden, Dade, Ortego(a), and Vernon

I've never heard of Candy or Denzler. I have all the others in various stages of goodness or disaster apart from McDill which is supposed to be a huge fruit. I know Daleys has never stocked Rainbow at least since the late 90s when I started watching. Someone may have imported it themselves from California.

Here's a picture of it by the way :) in case anyone see's it around

http://www.rarefruit-sa.org.au/Espalier/Fruit/Rainbow.jpg

Time: 22nd July 2010 10:14am

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J says...
Jason, Birdwood told me a couple of days ago they only do Dade, Reinecke and Vernon. They had no vernons in stock. And dade by all accounts doesn't taste that great in cold climates. And they had zero cherimoya at the moment.

I wonder if Chris from perrys fruit and nut would contact the SA rarefuit society and get some wood off them if someone placed an order with them for a Rainbow White Sapote... I wonder..

Time: 22nd July 2010 10:27am

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amanda says...
Jason - I have to ask - but what are u planning on doing with all these sapotes you have? Are u researching them?

Time: 22nd July 2010 6:41pm

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J says...
Amanda, I think its obvious: Secret government Military research program on white sapotes to create super weapons.

It's the only logical explanation!

:P

That Rainbow white sapote looks pretty sweet jason. I would love to see what all the whoo-haa is about in regards to that variety and chris. How much better could they really be than the others?

Time: 23rd July 2010 5:50pm

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Jason says...
J, if a normal Sapote is an Apple, Chris is a Mango. That's about the difference.

Amanda, I like growing Sapotes :) they are easy to grow and make lots of food, one day I'll find a actual use for the fruit but until then rubbing the smashed fruit through the grass to collect the seeds is quite soothing to the mind also :0

When I decide what are the very best varieties I'm going to do some deliberate cross's between them also. Chris is a great fruit but a sickly kind of tree so that needs to cross with another almost great fruit that's a strong grower in cool climates for starters.

I wont be doing any government research :p but I might try leaving some seeds on the ground to see what happens to the rats one day

Time: 23rd July 2010 6:22pm

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amanda says...
Ha ha - I was thinking about the seed too (maybe sedate the enemy!?) Good luck with your mission Jason - with all that knowledge I am sure I will see a Casimiroa in the nursery one day called "Jason" :-)
You could always ask someone like Maggie Beer what she could whip up with the fruit...she's got some of the best taste buds around.

Time: 23rd July 2010 6:36pm

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Jason says...
I think most of the plant breeders name plants after the inspiring girls that got away during life, not themselves :). But perhaps it's best to name the first one after your wife so you don't get stabbed :p

Time: 23rd July 2010 7:32pm

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J says...
Jason, so you have the mcdill variety or seen or tasted the fruit of that variety?

And you mentioned the americans don't think the variety we call "lemon gold" is lemon gold. Then what variety do we have?

Time: 23rd July 2010 8:32pm

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amanda says...
Sorry to butt in J - but Jason - have a look at Phil's (@Tyalgum) "Chris" in his edibles page - it's lovely looking.

Phil - I want to transplant my two L'golds - what was the root system like on yours when u dug it up?
I have 35L tree bags and the bigger tree is 3 or 4 yrs old and 1.5 tall?
I am so pleased to see u have been successful moving yours.

What's your drainage like there Phil?
Is there much distance between you and J? I know I am no expert here but I don't think the colour of J's are 'right' somehow..?

(edit: J - in the first pics u posted the younger leave seem to be getting paler - for what it's worth I think it's hungry for some nitrogen? - and seasol is very low in this...your other ones are putting out new growth which would indicate is actually not too cold...)

Hey Jason - hope your love has a better name than "Denzler"..??? :)

Time: 23rd July 2010 10:15pm

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J says...
Amanda, about two weeks ago I put a handful of Dynamic lifter on each white sapote I have, plus I bought some Yates Thrive water Soluble fertilizer which has 20% nitrogen, which I have applied once with a liberal mix of seasol. I'm not sure if this application of fertilizer is doing much good during winter - but here's hoping it is!

Since this a thread about my plants looking rather crappy, just the other day I noticed my Mammoth Feijoa was shedding/dropping leaves rapidly. I've got 5 other feijoa trees of different varieties and none of them have shed a single leaf so far. Is this something Feijoas do during winter (because my others don't) and again should I be worried? I put them in the ground during early autumn this year and I've given them a handful of dynamic lifter and seasol since. Hope that's not overkill. Any thoughts?

Edit: The mammoth and all other feijoa's are from daleys. Could it be the plant getting used to the climate change? If so, why aren't the other varieties dropping leaves?

Time: 24th July 2010 12:25am

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Jason says...
Phil the mad transplanter seems to have good success moving these!:), who dares me to move my 6 foot lemon gold sapote that's never going to do well where it is?

Amanda, it's probably best to not be reminded of these things too often but I do have some good exotics names there if I feel up for it :p. I already unofficially (so far) named an Apple "Grandpa Smith" lol, only because it's a cross between granny smith and golden delicious but I think it's a better apple than either of those

Time: 24th July 2010 5:29am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Amanda, my Lemon Gold started flowering the week after I moved it. Perhaps they need a little stress to encourage a bit of action. Most of the pics on my site are just from Google, the fruit trees are all pretty young so it's just to give readers an idea of what to expect down the line.

Time: 24th July 2010 9:55am

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J says...
Sorry to ask again, guys - but any advice on whats happening with my Mammoth Feijoa described in my last post above?

Time: 24th July 2010 11:04am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
I noticed that my "Duffy" lost all it's leaves last week, although still green and glossy when they fell. I have Mammoth, Large Oval plus a few cuttings of unnamed seedlings and none of them are doing the same. I wonder if anyone has an answer.

Time: 24th July 2010 11:16am

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J says...
Phil, thats strange. I have a Duffy too and thats one of the feijoa's that hasn't lost a leaf. It's my mammoth thats dropping them like crazy.

Time: 24th July 2010 11:39am

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amanda says...
Hi J/Phil/Jason...well that blew that theory!
I'd still be interested in your general garden soil pH too though (and particularly that black hills soil...)
I guess time will tell when the weather warms up - if they green up.

Strange about the feijoas - they grow like weeds in NZ and it's colder there - u would think it would happen to all of your trees too.

Mine defoliate suddenly only when they are dry (but they survive). I am still having to water my plants over this side :-( How about u guys?

I was worried about moving my LG's as Susanna Lyle says in her book that they have a large taproot - but they also have spreading surface roots.
Can tap roots re-establish?

(She also says they need a cool period to flower - and this is the coldest winter we have had in 5 yrs and I now have action from mine...?)


Time: 24th July 2010 12:31pm

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J says...
We've had an extremely wet winter here near melbourne, amanda. So I think watering some more would be over kill.

My trees including the mammoth were doing well up and growing until two weeks ago when the mammoth started dropping leaves. Like I said all I have done is given each tree a handful of dynamic lifter and some seasol. I spray white oil and Pyrethrum every three weeks or so to keep the bugs away. and thats about it. Curious.

Time: 24th July 2010 1:55pm

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amanda says...
Dunno then J...this is one of mine in the orchard that receives constant sub surface watering thru recycling unit - it's never dropped leaves - unlike my others that are out of this zone.

They do have shallow roots - have u stuck your finger in the soil? (I know that sounds obvious...sorry)

I see a recent post about someone using white oil too - and leaf drop (White oil pretty full on - have u tried Eco-oil? it's a great product and less likely to cause problems) What bugs do you have? Feijoa leaves are usually pretty unpalatable and tough to most things...
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 24th July 2010 2:24pm

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kert says...
Vernon has been fruiting on older,lower branches already,a much appreciated winter crop. As far as McDill goes it's OK but no one will write poetry about it. Golden Nugget is much under appreciated as it has intense flavour and a rich buttery taste. The tree is very upright with little branching and may not be the same as the USA version .

Time: 24th July 2010 3:13pm

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J says...
Kert, I've never heard of Golden nugget. Where can I get that variety from?

Amanda, I had no Idea white oil was a full on product that actually instigated leaf drop. I don't generally put much white oil on the feijoas, just my citrus trees. Will switch to eco-oil either way.

Time: 24th July 2010 5:51pm

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kert says...
I bought it at Birdwood Nursery when it was selling a much more diverse range; they now concentrate on commercial varieties.

Time: 24th July 2010 6:52pm

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kert says...
My error ;checked records and it is actually "Golden Globe". The 1992 catalogue of Birdwood lists about 10 different White sapotes ;shame they have now become unavailable but the parent trees must be still around.

Time: 25th July 2010 7:42am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Kert can you give a rundown on what was available in the casimiroa line through Birdwood in '92? There are a couple of nurseries up this way who are still wholesale customers, I'd like to track down a couple of elusive cultivars. Thanks, Phil.

Time: 25th July 2010 8:36am

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J says...
Is macs golden and Golden Globe the same variety?

Time: 25th July 2010 7:21pm

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Jason says...
No they are not the same atleast they aren't supposed to be, I have lots of Macs Golden wood if anyone want's to collect that one once it's a bit warmer. I have both Golden Globe and Lemon Gold, those are the two that are supposed to be confused in Australia, but both of my trees are planted where it's too dry for them to do anything so I'm going to have to move them if I'm ever going to find out what is what.

How about we all make a list of what varieties we all have still alive and can potentially make/swap wood at some stage?.

I have in all these in some various stages between super health and near death :P (all are savable if I choose too though) although some I don't even water let alone feed since they haven't wanted to perform for me, they are all plants that come from various places that were having a dodgy year at the time and so are on the "I might re-graft them to a decent rootstock at some stage list".

Anyway varieties that I have alive are.

Pike (healthy), Vernon(healthy x 2), Mac's Golden(healthy graft on a seedling), Reinecke Commercial(healthy), Ortega(healthy), Vista(healthy), Chris(OK), Hawaii Supreme (bit sick/small), Golden globe(bit sick/small), Lemon Gold(OK), Dade(abandoned), Smathers(OK/small x 2)is a pure Casimiroa tetrameria wolly leaf).

I know Jantina has at least one variety I don't and that's Blumenthal.

Again the only one I really want now that I don't have is Rainbow :)

Amanda the soil here is red loam with iron gravel and a decent amount of clay in it pretty much no organic matter, Ph about 5.5. Glowinski's sapotes do well also in Melbourne in a typical near the coast sand with black dirt on top

Time: 25th July 2010 9:50pm

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J says...
Thanks for that Jason. Perrys have a few Macs golden but when I asked chris what he thought of the fruit, he didn't make it sound like it was very good.

Ok so far I've got: 3 pikes, 1 Vista, 2 Ortego, 1 Wilson, 1 Reinecke Commericial and 2 Vernons. After reading the responses from everyone is this thread , I'm interested in getting Rainbow, Chris, Golden Globe and a lemon gold. I'm assuming all of these should be able to grow and fruit successfully in Vic.

Time: 25th July 2010 10:11pm

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Jason says...
I've only had a couple of fruit from Macs Golden and I didn't think it was so crash hot myself. I think any variety will grow in Victoria but it seems they may taste different depending on where they are grown and what kind of soil etc.

Vernon seems to make an almost infinite amount of flowers and not much fruit for me, oddly. But it's an excellent pollinator since it's pretty much always flowering. Pike is reliable IF you have a pollinator otherwise it simply wont make anything other than marble sized fruit. With a pollinator is makes huge fruit and heaps of them, not the best tasting sapote but at least average so that's a keeper considering you know you are going to get a lot of fruit. I'll recap on my thoughts of the ones you have that I have.

Vista similar to pike, bit prettier tree, might taste slightly better also but doesn't seem to fruit as heavily for me.

Ortega has very small fruit but again a good pollinator, it doesn't flower all the time like Vernon though, both these two's leaves are usually more yellow in colour than the other trees but can be fixed with more nitrogen.

Reinecke Commercial is an amazing looking tree, VERY dark green with bright red new growth but I had to wait sooooo many years for it to fruit. Still I believe it will be one of the best sapote's I have, only a few more months now and I'll find out :). It's supposed to be perhaps the most yellow (almost orange skin).

As for Lemon gold and Golden Globe at least one of them or perhaps both are an excellent fruit :) (whatever one is the real Californian Lemon Gold)


Time: 25th July 2010 10:26pm

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kert says...
Phil@T here is alist of Birdwood's 1992 catalogue for white sapote....Reinecke,Golden Globe,Lemon Gold,McDill,Smathers,Candy,Macs Golden,Dade,,Chris,,Wilson,Yellow,Vernon,Denzler,Ortago
For interest sakes here is their cherimoyas from 1992.....Fino,Spain,Balwin,White,Deliciosa,Bays,Chaffey,Mossman,Anderson,AndrewsLoma,Equador,El Bumpo,Libby,Campa,Reretai,Bronceada,Contra,Burton's favourite, Burton's,plus others on request(sic) Quite a treasure trove.

Time: 26th July 2010 8:30am

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kert says...
It ought not be hard to differentiate Lemon Gold from Golden Globe,Jason. Lemon Gold is a semperflores variety and is in flower now ;Golden Globe is without flowers at present. My repertoire is Golden Globe ,Lemon Gold still small, Pike , McDill and Vernon, If someone does manage to find a source of well regarded sapotes I would be v. interested.

Time: 26th July 2010 8:37am

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amanda says...
Hi kert - what is a semperflores? Is it to do with the way it flowers? thanks.

Time: 26th July 2010 9:57am

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Jantina says...
Hi Jason, I also have a Denzler (and a labelled Lemon Gold)but as you saw they are still babies planted last summer. Hopefully this year will see a blast of growth.

Time: 26th July 2010 10:09am

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amanda says...
It's ok I found it: semperflorens meaning

Time: 26th July 2010 11:37am

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kert says...
Jason, Blumenthal is another name for Hawaiian Supreme. a marketing type must have renamed it ;its proper name ought to be Hawaiian Just OK.

Time: 26th July 2010 2:58pm

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amanda says...
Hi J - i think my comment about white oil got deleted..anyway - my comment was about the petroleum based white oil being very harsh...

Hope your casimiroas go well for u! I look forward to trying a lemon gold this season...(fingers crossed) and will be sure to post feedback on my edibles (and also if it has the sub-acid taste like it should) :)



Time: 26th July 2010 6:03pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Thanks for the list Kert, no doubt I'll come across the odd relic in some forgotten nursery, seems the way to go with the hard to find varieties.

Time: 26th July 2010 6:09pm

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J says...
Cool amanda, I'll stop applying it and see what happens.





Daleys have got Golden Globes and Lemon Gold available. If they had some Chris's I'd place an order straight away for all three of them. Does anyone have a decent size flowering lemon Gold or Golden globe in victoria thats produced fruit? If so did it taste good?

And whats the deal with Sunlight and white sapotes? Can they flower and fruit in part shade? Because I've got space at the back of the property that could be used if that is so.

Time: 26th July 2010 7:18pm

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Jason says...
J, I'd try them in part shade given that they seem to have no problem flowering all winter when there is not much light at the best of times around here.

There's got to be a fruiting lemon gold in Victoria somewhere, but I don't know where :). I really better move my tree soon to see what it can do.

Kert, I didn't know Hawaii was the same plant as blumenthal, it seems between all of us in this thread we have most of the varieties that were brought into the country still going, so that's something good :)






Time: 26th July 2010 9:24pm

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kert says...
In the current Daley's plant list there is a white sapote that is described merely as "grafted" What can that be? Presumebly the others are marcotted .

Time: 28th July 2010 8:51am

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kert says...
In the current Daley's plant list there is a white sapote that is described merely as "grafted" What can that be? Presumebly the others are marcotted .

Time: 28th July 2010 8:51am

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J says...
Kert, I have noticed this as well. I smell a conspiracy!! :)
Seriously, it would be cool if Someone from daleys could answer your question. I'm interested in finding out what "grafted" in this case means.

Jason, you mentioned you need to move your lemon gold tree. Is it in a bad spot (lack of sun etc etc)?


Time: 28th July 2010 9:52am

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Jantina says...
Jason and Phil, have put in my request for Rainbow grafting material with the Rarefruit Society. Wish me luck!

Time: 28th July 2010 11:32am

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J says...
Jantina, Best of luck!

Time: 28th July 2010 1:47pm

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Jantina says...
If I get some I'm sure that a piece will gradually wend it's way to you J.

Time: 28th July 2010 3:22pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
K - I bet you'll be even more popular than ever...

Time: 28th July 2010 5:37pm

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J says...
Thanks Jantina. I would love to have a rare white sapote growing in my backyard. However I'll probably have to get someone to graft that piece for me as I (as of yet) don't know how to graft.

Jantina, you've mentioned you have Lucuma seeds. If that is correct, I would love to buy some off you. Would that be possible? I've read that it grows quite well here in the Melbourne, and its difficult to get in nurseries.

Time: 28th July 2010 6:27pm

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Jantina says...
Haha, Jason doesn't know it yet but I'll probably make him graft mine!
As for lucuma seed, everything I have is already in pots or planted out. There are still a few that haven't come up yet,but

when I checked they had put down a taproot but no topgrowth yet. So depending on what happens in spring you may get a plant from me. Longlive plant diversity!

Time: 28th July 2010 7:42pm

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J says...
Thanks heaps, Jantina. How frost tolerant are they? Also, if you do end up getting a lucuma plant for me please feel free to email me at jmubaraki@hotmail.com. Thanks again for the kindness.

And I might have to ask Jason to graft me a rainbow white sapote as well!

Time: 28th July 2010 8:24pm

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Jantina says...
Well J ,I just got an email saying I could have some Rainbow cuttings! How exciting is that?
Re lucuma, apparently they can take it down to -5c. Certainly mine have taken some frost and are still going well. There is a bloke called Sean who has one in Gippsland (see lucuma thread) and he says his tolerates some snow and that good drainage is the key.

Time: 28th July 2010 11:39pm

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J says...
Hey Jantina, that's great news about the rainbow cuttings!! Congratulations!! When do you get to take them? Now if Jason could volunteer his grafting services.. hint hint :)

Lucuma sounds very promising. I've got good drainage here and not too many frosts. Look forward to hearing from you when you have a spare seedling.

Time: 28th July 2010 11:46pm

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Jantina says...
Next meeting, in Sept sometime. Jason is very keen to get a Rainbow so I don't think he will mind grafting and my husband can graft too.
I grew up in Melb. and often stayed with my Oma (Dutch for Grandma) whose house overlooked the Puffing Billy line. My first few months in Oz were spent at Belgrave.

Time: 29th July 2010 12:06am

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J says...
Cool. As you probably realised I'm in belgrave (upwey to be more precise) too. Love the area. Don't love the possums. My partner is of dutch heritage and she refers to her grandma as Oma too.

Jantina, feel free to drop me an email when you are in the area. I'd be happy to show you around my (rapidly expanding) garden.

An update on my white sapotes (which was the reason I started this thread): they seem to have stabilised. Not getting any worse, which is good. Very good!

Time: 29th July 2010 9:52am

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kert says...
May i ask where the Rainbow donor is? I may be able to give him something he badly needs (like a kidney)
Hope our expectations on this cultivar are borne out. As you know there are otherwise normal people who think Babaco is delicious.

Time: 29th July 2010 10:22am

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Jantina says...
Haha kert good one. The donor lives in Adelaide and I have already asked him to let me know if there is anything he is particularly after, so if he does and I don't personally have it I will put out the call, thanks.

Time: 29th July 2010 11:08am

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Sean says...
Hi guys, I have a Lemon Gold that has been in the ground for about 6 years now, very slow to start with but in the last couple of years it has really taken off and is about 12 feet tall now.Started flowering for the first time about two months ago now and just wont stop. It has thousands of flowers all over it, only a couple look to have set but it is still flowering well and I think it is only a matter of time until I get fruit.

Time: 29th July 2010 7:29pm

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J says...
Thats good to hear, Sean! 6 years is a long time but sounds like it will be worth it. Where did you get the tree from originally?

Time: 29th July 2010 8:53pm

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Sean says...
It was a Daleys tree, they were really good, they sent me a tree down that the delivery guys damaged and tipped out of the pot. In rang Daleys and they sent me another tree without any hesitation, great service. I tried my hardest to get the first tree to come back but it never recovered.

Time: 29th July 2010 9:23pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Lemon Gold is a good pollinator if you ever decide to get another variety to match up with it. My Ortego is also flowering profusely but not setting any fruit, am using it to hand pollinate Pike, Dade and Vista as I'm not sure what distance the pollen will be transported naturally - ants seem to be the only insects attracted to the flowers.

Time: 29th July 2010 9:34pm

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Jason says...
Kert, babaco is pretty good! lol. A lot seems to depends on the person doing the tasting and the climate and dirt but it tastes pretty good here.

I'm not so sure I'd choose a tropical papaya over it, those tend to taste a bit spewy at times :).

I prefer the more temperate zing of Babcao I think.

Sean I don't know what happened with sapotes this year in Victoria but most of mine have been covered in flowers ever since Autumn and just wont quit.

Phil bees and flys both go for sapote flowers here for me, also ants and various things at night. But the biggest fan of sapote flowers seem to be slugs, because they are happy to make the huge clumb up the trees to get to the flowers every night.

J, my lemon gold tree is in a really dry spot, I saw a couple of flowers on it the other day, but it's really got to move (it's about 6 foot). I also noticed my little sick golden globe has died at the graft. It must have had some incompatibility the whole time, so I'll have to replace that one at some stage, no hurry though.

Jantina, that is a legendary effort :!, sapotes are easy to graft. If you can spare a scion for me I can graft it on to a just right size vigorous Pike seedling I have (about 4 foot or so and super healthy) and try and multiply the wood up so everyone can get it going



Time: 29th July 2010 9:50pm

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J says...
hey jason, I ended up getting some bags of pivot fertilizer this weekend. I got some nitrophoska blue (Nitrogen 10%)for all the other trees (recommended for avocados, lemons etc on the pivot website) and Pivot 400 (nitrogen 20%) for the white sapotes.

I've just put the Two vernons I picked up recently into the ground and The pikes in the pots will go into the ground next.

Thanks again to everyone for their input in this thread. Very very helpful.

Time: 16th August 2010 3:52pm

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Jason says...
J just alternate the two on the sapotes, I'm putting the lower nitrogen stuff I have on then once it's all gone from the ground (it takes a couple/few months) I put on the stronger stuff, once that is all gone, back to the lower stuff etc etc :). You wont need to put bulk amounts on like I do because my trees are pretty big but just put enough on that the new leaves grow darker green and bigger. You probably want to aim for around 15cm long leaves on all the sapotes for a start

Time: 17th August 2010 4:54am

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amanda says...
Hi Phil - only ants attracted to the flowers on mine as well...interesting.

Time: 17th August 2010 9:43am

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Jason says...
I guess when sapotes are flowering here it's about the only food around for bees so they can't afford to be fussy

Time: 17th August 2010 6:02pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
I've been hand pollinating just in case - Ortego produces so many flowers that I can afford to pinch a few to distribute around to the other trees, although it's quite a fiddly job.

Time: 18th August 2010 11:18am

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amanda says...
hey Phil - I wonder how commercial orchardists deal with this? Maybe the fruit in the shops is all lemon gold..?
I have no shortage of bees. Lucky the ants are on the job!

Time: 18th August 2010 2:18pm

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Jason says...
Is there a commercial sapote orchid anywhere in the world? the only place you can find them even in Mexico is up some dark alley in the most unknown of street markets, even then you have to especially ask them to bring you the fruit the next week

Time: 18th August 2010 3:44pm

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amanda says...
Haven't been to Mexico Jason - but there is an orchard over here in Gin Gin - I can often buy the fruit in my F&V store...

Time: 18th August 2010 4:47pm

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J says...
They grow em in Californy and sell at the farmers markets there along with cherimoya. That's about the extent of it.

I was reading an interesting article about white sapote and its lack of popularity in this day and age. Number 1 problem that prevented it from catching on with the farmers is the transportation and bruising of fruit. 2nd reason why it isn't as popular as it should be is because it never caught on in Asia. Cherimoya, Sapodilla and Guava (amongst others)became common in asia over the last 90 years. White sapote (due to the transportation problems) was never properly introduced to the Asian public and therefore never caught on like the other south american fruits that were introduced.

The reason its proved difficult to reintroduce white sapote as a viable crop in western markets, unlike say cherimoya, sapodilla and guava is that there's no Ethnic attachment to it from the American/Australian- Asians/Indians.

Time: 18th August 2010 5:49pm

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
I bought some semi ripe fruit from Tropical Fruit World here and left them for a day or two before I ate them. They had deteriorated in that short space of time and were not really edible, had that "off" taste of over ripe fruit. Lucky I salvaged the seeds but they do spoil rapidly worse luck.

Time: 18th August 2010 7:58pm

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amanda says...
One's I get superb! but $5 EACH... (I eat them that day or next)

Time: 18th August 2010 9:34pm

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Jason says...
$5 each :0 if you payed me that for all the fruit that went rotten on the ground this year I'd be rich :), even if you paid me 50 cents!. Well maybe not because it's easy to sell the seeds for a dollar if you really feel like it :) and sometimes there's 3+ of them in a fruit

Time: 19th August 2010 1:51am

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kert says...
Who's paying a dollar a seed?

Time: 19th August 2010 10:43am

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Jason says...
They go for that on ebay no problem

Time: 19th August 2010 2:16pm

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Russell says...
Hello there. Hope you don't mind my putting in a question here.
I'm wondering when I should be expecting my white sapote to flower? It's been in the ground three years at this location after being transplanted as a one-year-old from a previous garden. I think it's a lemon gold. It's a beautifully healthy tree that I've had to prune back twice because of its prolific growth. I've cut right back on fertilizer but it's unstoppable. It's growing in sand a few hundred metres from the beach in a sub-tropical zone. I've given it organic matter and it's well-mulched.

Time: 20th August 2010 11:40am

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kert says...
Why do you prune? Pruning sets back the time of first flowering. My Lemon Gold flowered in the pot .

Time: 20th August 2010 1:00pm

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Russell says...
Quite simple, really. It was huge - nearly 5 metres tall and its spread was over the roof of the house and well over the neighbour's fence. I live in a suburban block and don't have the luxury of wide open spaces. It's still 3 metres tall and so I haven't savaged it. I'm looking for someone to give me constructive input, thanks

Time: 20th August 2010 2:37pm

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amanda says...
Russell - I am not sure (but Phil might know) - but I have two lemon golds that have been flowering madly for a cupla months now - strangely one is 3yrs (and never flowered before) and the other only a year in and flowering too (and they are flowering from the trunk and the branches) So as to the age - it seems a bit random...
I am wondering if it's because we have had a very cold, dry winter here - by our standards. Where is Ocean Shores?

Maybe it's a set of conditions rather than the age - what do u think Phil?

Anyway - mine growing in sandy soil also (and we 1km from beach) and they are powering along too and don't seem to need much feeding either. So we have some similar growing conditions. But my 3yr old only 2m tall!

PS - this is all Susanna Lyle states in her book: "May not fruit as well in the tropics if trees do not receive a brief cool season, which induces flowering and fruiting"...

Time: 20th August 2010 10:56pm

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Russell says...
Thanks Amanda. Ocean Shores is in far northern NSW. Warm winters could have something to do with it. I'm not overly concerned. I'll be patient and enjoy the beautiful tree

Time: 21st August 2010 2:46pm

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Jason says...
I had a look at Ocean Shores and it looks like it's right in the beach at Byron bay and it had me wondering how come I walked all day along that beach and never arrived there :0. Anyway I certainly saw other unexpected sights :p.

I'm not even sure why sapotes decide to flower but I know at least in Southern Australia earlier this year was the best sapote flowering any of us have seen and it happened everywhere all at once. Maybe we had a cold snap late in Summer, I'm not sure. That reminds me, I've often seen a suspicious sapote looking fruiting tree in the background in the Hobart botanic gardens on the ABC. Finally the other day I saw it close up on the show and it's definitely a quite large white sapote


Time: 23rd August 2010 6:06am

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Jason says...
Just saw this after a search up too, posted by a Tasmanian

"white sapotes are very hardy - there is a massive one growing here in our Botanical Gardens, it fruits really thickly."

Time: 23rd August 2010 6:11am

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BJ says...
I have a huge fruit on my White Spaote now and I was wondering when I should pick it? It will be my first (Well, actually, One ripened and fell off while I was on holiday a few weeks ango and shrivelled up on the ground) and I wanted to know when is the best time to pick it...

Time: 26th August 2010 2:59pm

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Jason says...
Usually when they start droping the whole tree is ripe (if it all flowered at once), You can wait until they start to slightly give on the tree but it's risky if you only have the one fruit because it might separate from the stem then you are in all sorts of trouble because you really need to leave the stem attached of it wont soften well.

But if the fruit is huge then chances are it's ripe, how huge are we talking? baseball? large orange?

This picture is fruit from my Pike tree 5 years ago maybe? this is about as big as Pike get and most varieties are smaller than that
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 26th August 2010 4:08pm

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BJ says...
Mine is a Vernon, so it has flowers, small fruit, larger fruit and full sized fruit on it right now. The fruit it a bit larger than a large granny Smith apple (Not as big as those pikes!). The tree is still small (1.3m) and the size and weight of the fruit(its very heavy and still very hard/dense) is such that the tree is drooping quite badly. Should I wait for it to drop, or will it begin to soften slightly, or is there any other indicator that it might be ready?

Time: 27th August 2010 11:32am

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Jason says...
BJ, I'd say a large granny smith sized Vernon is done :). It will soften sliiightly before it drops from the tree but you will risk losing it to ground or birds or whatever grubs you have up there :). I think it will ripen off the tree if it's that size now without any problem. Clip the stem and keep it somewhere thats at air temp like in a box or something. They don't ripen in the fridge or in a heated room (shrivel up in both cases usually). Don't wait until it's super soft to eat it either, just until... well it takes some practice but they taste better before they turn mushy but you can't eat them when they are firm either

Time: 27th August 2010 2:43pm

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Jason says...
Also remember the size of the fruit depends on how well the pollination went. Fruit with 3 or 4 full seeds are much large than those with 1 but they can both be ripe at the same time. You can mostly tell from the shape of the fruit how many seed are in it but Vernon seems to be pretty much round regardless so it's a bit tricky when it constantly flowers like it does

Time: 27th August 2010 2:47pm

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J says...
Has any on tried to order some of the new zealand varieties of white sapote from any of the nurseries in new zealand?

Exactly what is the quarantine law and procedure like with getting plants from New zealand to Australia. Is it difficult, costly or lengthy? Has any one had any experience with this?

Time: 29th August 2010 10:58am

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j says...
Just an update, all my trees survived their first Vic winter. They are all sprouting new leaves, which is great. I'm hoping I will see some flowers on some of them this season, considering the 2 of my pikes have already fruited. Fingers crossed.

Btw the I had the chance to see Jujube4sales Ortega and Vernon tree, and the ortega was massive with every branch full of little forming fruit. Very impressed and I can't wait for my own to be like that.

Time: 21st October 2010 8:25am

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J says...
I think one of my vernon white sapotes is flowering. Do these pics look like flowers?


Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2

Picture: 3

Picture: 4


Time: 28th October 2010 8:29pm

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Jason says...
Absolutely it's flowers :)

Time: 29th October 2010 12:33am

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J says...
Thanks, Jason. That's great news! I was worried the dandenong ranges might have been a bit too cold for my white sapotes to fruit, which would have made my investment in 10 trees quite a dud, but see some flowers on atleast 1 of them makes me happy. Now they just have to form fruit and the other 9 trees need to do the same and I'll be laughing!

Time: 29th October 2010 11:45am

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Jason says...
If you stood on the FLOOR of the Valley de Mexico where you can find Sapotes growing and looked down at a mountain the size of the Dandenongs it would look about like an ant hill so I wouldn't stress too much about them :). There's nothing tropical about that place. Along with the Mexican race of Avocados those things are high altitude cool climate specials.

I was spreading fertiliser around tonight. I used the "pasture booster" on all the evergreen trees, which is something like 20-10-10 (bit more than that on each). For anything that was a bit yellow I mixed in some extra nitrogen to make it something like 30-10-10 which is getting pretty serious so I didn't water it in, I'll let in rain in nice and easy. We will see what happens, I'm aiming for around 2-3 feet of growth all around on everything this year but I'll need another few bags of pasture booster before the Summer is done

Time: 29th October 2010 9:46pm

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Jason says...
So much for letting the rain ease the fertiliser in :P. I thought it would rain for an hour not 24 hours

Time: 30th October 2010 12:12pm

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j says...
Yeah, I hear ya. I mixed some potassium sulphate into the ground for some of my flowering trees hoping the same but its really pissed down.

Btw I got some of that pasture boosta stuff and my white sapotes and guava's hated it. Leave burn galore here. I have a feeling that stuff will be great for my sapotes in a few years but for younger plants its a little too strong. My citrus seemed to like it though.

Picked up a babaco today. Had some fruit given to me by a very generous gardener and I really enjoyed them. So a tree for me it is.

Time: 30th October 2010 8:46pm

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Jason says...
How much did you put on them? little tree only needs a little bit, maybe 100-200 grams or something spread over 4 feet diameter?. I'm putting over the course of a year I guess 2 kilos around a 10 year old sapote but a 10 year old sapote could have a trunk a foot thick if you get onto a good one. I like to sprinkle it around so it looks like the fertiliser they stick on top of commercially grown potted plants. Kind of a just right looking amount. I put the same amount on both Sapotes and Citrus but I guess it depends how deficient the soil is to begin with. I actually used a whole bag last night and this morning, now I just have a bag of 46%? nitrogen left so I've been going verrry easy with that around the trees that missed out on the other stuff, that stuff I'd only be putting a couple spoon fulls on smaller plants, maybe 200 grams on decent size trees just to see what happens before I get too crazy. I wait a month after putting the fertiliser and watch what the leaves do, I haven't burnt anything yet but the leaves come out overly large and a bit wobbly looking if I put too much, if the leaves still look fine, then I put more.

I've never ever been able to make Cherimoya's grow like they should so I'm experimenting on my "White" tree this year since I don't like the fruit on that variety. It's got HEAPS of pasture booster + extra nitrogen right now, maybe not enough to kill it if things go wrong but should be enough to make it grow properly if that's what it needed

Time: 30th October 2010 9:18pm

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j says...
Jason, I'm pretty sure it was below a 100 grams per tree for the white sapotes. My strawberry/yellow guava's didn't like it at all. Infact it almost knocked one of em for a six, lost all its top growth to burn. Shame but I think it will come back strong soon.

I've got two bags of the stuff, so I'm going to use em thats for sure, but I might wait for another year and stick to organic stuff while the trees settle into the ground.

Please let me know how the cherimoya fertilizer experiment goes. Since I've got one (southern knight) and plan on getting about 5 more of them, that would be really good info. Incidently, have all your cherimoya tree's dropped their leaves yet and started sprouting new ones, jason?



Time: 31st October 2010 4:56pm

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Jason says...
Yep, most of my Cherimoyas are leafless and just pushing new buds now, a couple still have some maybe 50% leaves but mostly they are almost leafless. Pity about the burn on the new growth but they will probably come back booming, I bet the sapotes will at least. With my Cheirmoyas I've only been able to get an average of a foot growth on them per year and Glowinskis tree in Melbourne looked SO much stronger than mine and growing several feet per year when I saw it so I'm doing something not as well as he has with his. They've never had anywhere near as large leaves as they should either, the leaves should be like the size of a medium sized food plate so fertiliser is my first step, I've tried adding lime in the past but it didn't prove much.

I've never put fertiliser on my strawberry/yellow Guava, I was actually thinking the other day that I should since it's about 8 feet tall but totally yellow and not happy looking, I'll have to remember to go easy on it

Time: 31st October 2010 10:56pm

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Wayne says...
My Cherimoya was like that a month or so back Jason but now it even has fruit.
I was reading up on them and the word was plenty of Potassium "Cherimoya usually requires extra potassium for good production,up to 10 pounds per year on mature trees."

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Time: 1st November 2010 7:44am

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Jason says...
Sounds like a plan Wayne I'll try anything :). They don't normally flower here until early December. I actually just pulled the last fruit off one a couple days ago. The tree I'm experimenting on is a "White" which is not a very good fruit as far as Cherimoyas go it's 15 feet tall but 10 years old so I consider that a bit of a failure since I know they can grow much better than that in similar cool climates

Time: 1st November 2010 11:00am

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kert says...
Ten pounds per year?? Sounds excessive . Do you mean 10 pounds a year? Of what .? Potassium sulphate?

Time: 1st November 2010 12:05pm

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j says...
So it seems one of my ortega's has a small bunch of flowers at the centre. Surprised to see anything on it considering its only 3 feet tall.

Time: 1st November 2010 8:15pm

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John Mc says...
I was surprised to see my "Chris" arrived from Daley's last week in flower. Only two flowers, but, hey, a flower is a flower.

Time: 1st November 2010 9:08pm

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j says...
Well that's good to hear, John. The chris I got from daleys a month or so ago is sort of just sitting in the ground. Not getting any worse but not doing much either. I think it needs to get warmer.

Time: 1st November 2010 9:11pm

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John Mc says...
Yes all my other varieties I planted earlier this year are doing the same. A whole lot of nothin. The Reineke special has one mature leaf left. If that falls, It's just a bare upright stick.
We are having a very long drawn out winter recovery here, just north of Sydney, below Newcastle. I must say though, the 3 year old seedlings are doing well. They've probably put on 6 inches of growth already. I fed them up well late winter with a heavy application of organic as well as chemical based ferts, with horse manure as mulch. We are receiving the best rains that I can ever remember since being here.

Time: 1st November 2010 10:57pm

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j says...
Actually only my chris and one of my pikes (both from daleys) is kinda doing nothing. Just sitting there in the ground, but the rest of my trees are popping out leaves like crazy, especially my reinecke commercial. I picked that tree up about 8 months ago for 25$ and it seemed like nursery reject stock. And now its doing good.

Yeah we are getting plenty of rains in Vic as well. It's a good thing and I'm not complaining.

Time: 2nd November 2010 9:34am

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Jason says...
Pike is always the last to grow for me, it usually wont move till the end of November or even December after it flowers then it will push constant growth until May 15th ish when it just runs out of heat. But my Chris tree is pushing leaves now, it also has some flowers. Some years it doesn't but I've got pretty heavy handed on that one this year since it's always been yellow looking. I've got the Autumn crop on Reinecke half grown, that should be ripe sometime over summer so that's a bit exciting.

Apart from that pretty much every sapote tree I have is flowering right now, Vernon flowers pretty much 365 days a year but most of them flower the heaviest during Spring and Autumn (Pike only flowers in Spring)

Time: 2nd November 2010 12:28pm

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J says...
Update:
The daleys Chris seems to be growing now and so does the daleys pike, which is good news. The other pikes are growing well and my reinecke commerical has gone sort of mental, sprouting new growth like crazy.
I'm also the proud owner of 2 golden globes, 1 hawain supreme and 1 lemon gold. Got a couple more Wilsons as well for right at the back of the property where it's the coldest. Now all I need is a Suebelle and a Rainbow and my white sapote collection will be complete. Hopefully in a few years time I'm gonna have white saotes coming out of my ears and I won't know what to do with them. White sapote Jam maybe?

Time: 24th December 2010 10:30am

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Jantina says...
That's sounding pretty good J, the Rainbow is still coming, never thought to ask about Suebelle but maybe I can get some grafting material from the same source. Jason told me we can graft just about anytime.

Time: 24th December 2010 5:19pm

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J says...
Hey jantina
A suebelle would be great. I'm pretty sure some one in the rare fruit SA branch would have one. Suebelle is meant to be an everbearer and its fruit are yellow. Yellow white sapote fruit all year round sounds good to me.
Hows the ruby red pepino going? Your American paw paw seedling is doing well. Thanks again for that!

Time: 24th December 2010 9:34pm

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Jantina says...
Wouldn't say it was powering away but it has 16 leaves on it now and looks very healthy. Probably time to take it out of the glasshouse, may be a bit too hot for it in there. My Asimina triloba's have put on more growth this year than in the last 3 years put together. Must be a good growing season, still got about 31 of them so I'll have to make a pawpaw forest!

Time: 25th December 2010 11:34am

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J says...
16 leaves.. that's more leaves than any of mine! Thought my ruby reds look quite healthy, melbourne just hasn't had enough heat for growth. I'm going to be getting a few more grafted asimina's as well so both us can't have our own little pawpaw forests!

Back to white sapote discussion, if you could locate a suebelle, that would be greatly appreciated. I believe Jason doesn't have a suebelle in his collection either.

Time: 25th December 2010 4:48pm

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Jantina says...
I'm onto it!

Time: 25th December 2010 11:50pm

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J says...
Sweet!

Time: 26th December 2010 4:30pm

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Jason says...
:p I need to pot up about 100 seedlings into bigger pots. I did a couple test grafts using small wood but no luck so I'll wait till they harden now since I know that works. I've got some new tape since then and a few meters of parafilm so I might try some small green wood again with the better tapes. I grafted a few Avocados almost as soon as they germinated and that worked ok. But Sapotes didn't like it so much.

j does your reinecke commerical have the whole dark green leaves and red new growth going on? it's such a good looking variety, I'm only a month or so away from ripe fruit on mine for the first time, I'll take a picture of the fruit so you can see how orangeish it's going to get (I'm not sure how much myself yet) right now they are just starting to go yellow rather than green. It's a fairly flat shaped fruit. Oh yeah I also have fruit set on a small Smathers tree (wooly leaf sapote) and it's a triangular shaped fruit, very strange.

One of my seedling sapote trees has definitely set fruit so that's the most exciting thing right now. All it has to do is taste reasonable and it will be a good variety. Everything else about the tree is spot on, just the right amount of flowers, good amounts of pollen and strong growth. If it tastes good I'm going to chop the rest of the tree off (which is a Vernon) and let it be 100% seedling. So J, your collection may not be complete just yet :) and I have another 4 seedlings I'll be tasting over the next couple of years (and then doing crosses).

I'm having a problem with my Vernons trying to flower themselves to death this last year, they are just in a continuous state of heavy flowering without growing many leaves so I'm stopping feeding them anything other than straight nitrogen now to try and reverse this over flowering thing



Time: 26th December 2010 6:25pm

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J says...
Sounds like we're getting close to getting some Rainbow and Suebelle grafts going (close being in six months or so, but that's great!)

Yep Jason, that pretty much describes my reinecke commercial. I would love to see some pics of the fruit! It's interesting because my reinecke was being treated like reject stock form the nursery I got it from. 15$. Bargain. So if reineck commericial can fruit in vic, then by that logic Chris, Golden Globe, Lemon gold and hawian supreme should do so as well. We'll see.

Only 1 of my vernons have flowered and is setting fruit. My ortega had a few flowers then they dropped off. So not sure whats going on there but the tree is healthy and growing and really that's all I'm concerned about now.

Jason, I've got a friend of friend who loves white sapote and spent sometime in a hippie commune in NSW growing some white sapotes. He is adamant that they can't grow and fruit here (here being the dandenongs) on a regular basis. I've told him about my vernon (he believes its a seasonal fluke) and I've told him about your and Jujube4sales tree's that are doing so well but he reckons it's a coastal effect and I'm too far away and high up in the hills for the white sapote to crop properly. I guess I'll just have to wait and prove him wrong.





Time: 26th December 2010 6:41pm

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Jason says...
Does he watch gardening Australia :), the tree in the background of the veggie garden in the botanic gardens in Hobart Tasmania is often LOADED. It's not a coastal tree, they don't grow near the coast in their natural range. They grow half way up (around Veracruz state) and inside the valley of Mexico in between Mexico DF and Puebla, up to at least 2100 meters and that's about as far removed from a coastal climate as you are going to get and apart from different day length really quite similar to Melbourne without the extreme heat waves.

I know you are at some altitude and don't have any heat island but their is people growing them well inland Vic in Daylesford :) I wouldn't even consider it possible in any way to not be able to fruit a White sapote in 99% of Victoria, it's just a very easy thing to grow.

Avocados true homeland is in the exact same region of Mexico which is considerably cooler than subtropical NSW, We don't have that pure highland race here in Australia, or if we do it's very rare, they are a thin skinned small purple fruit. You can also find Avocados on the coast (different race that's more suited to the tropics) but the genetic homeland is in the valley. Sapotes will not grow in the coastal regions of Mexico, the fruit is simply unheard of in those areas.

Ortega is not much of a fruiter, so don't expect much fruit from it. Mostly it's a very good pollinator. If you spend some time looking at the flowers on the various varieties you will see that there's some distinct forms they come in. Ortega is the type of flower that had a very small fruit part and good pollen, the female parts of the flower are really small and not well developed, this makes it not likely to pollinate very often.

Pike (and Chris) are the total opposite with a massive female part of the flower and in Pikes case it seems to be 100% male sterile, it never makes pollinated fruit by itself. Chris might make pollen but it also has very large female flowers.

Tom A from northern California wrote a bit about this once and what percentages of seedlings have what type of flower, something like 25% he felt were more or less male only, he's post should be in the cloudforest archives somewhere, maybe 5 or 6 years back. So far I've had three seedlings flower and two have been mostly male flower with really good pollen, one is even better than Ortega (but female also similar to Vernon) and the Third one is a female dominant flower type. I thought I saw a female type flower on a 4th tree there a few weeks ago but never found it a second time and it was high up in the tree a bit out of range for my eyes to see it properly, so now I'll have to wait till Autumn or next Spring to see if that was a true story or not


Time: 27th December 2010 2:10am

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Rhys says...
The funny thing is that we have a Vernon and Ortega growing really well down in Korumburra (Ortega - 3m x 3m, Vernon - 2m x 2m), and the Ortega has been fruiting extremely heavily - it had 120 fruit on it last year (apple size), so it surprises me to hear it isn't a heavy fruiter. I thought maybe it is doing so well because it is right near the Vernon (which only flowers every two years).

Time: 4th March 2011 8:31pm

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Jason says...
Rhys, that is unusual, Vernon usually flowers almost year round, Ortega flowers a lot too but the fruit are fairly small. Small apple maybe? I'd almost have to wonder if the trees aren't mix up?

Time: 4th March 2011 8:44pm

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Rhys says...
Can't really say about that. The Ortega seems to flower almost all the time, the Vernon flowers only in spring every second year. The Ortega is extremely vigorous, Vernon a lot slower. I guess the key would be the shape of the fruit - they are pretty different to each other. But don't have photos to show you. Both taste pretty nice.

The soil is a rich mountain loam, 1000mm rainfall - terrific fruit country really

Time: 4th March 2011 9:17pm

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Rhys says...
P.S. I guess it would be a small apple size - more like Royal Gala than Granny

Time: 4th March 2011 9:20pm

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Jason says...
I had a good close up look at Vernon and Ortega the other day, I guess the average fruit on Vernon is rounder shaped and the tree is less droopy than Ortega but they are fairly similar trees as far as white sapotes go

Time: 7th March 2011 12:12pm

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amanda says...
Have just about polished off the half doz Lemon Gold fruit (my first crop) and they were delicious! Sweet and fragrant (but not sickly so) and NO fruit fly!? I was surprised about this.

Anyway - they taste very much the same as the one's that sometimes appear in my F&V shop (grown in Gin Gin WA)
Lovely and much underrated fruit :)
I thought I may as well grow the seeds too.

Time: 7th March 2011 5:12pm

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Diana says...
Great to hear about the lack of fruit fly- I hope that applies to Qld fruit fly. Is your tree in its third year and about head height?

Diana.

Time: 7th March 2011 8:24pm

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amanda says...
Hey Diana - yes it is!? A cupla fruits that I left too long the birds n mice gobbled up. The others I picked just about to turn from lime green colour to yellow - and they ripened inside in 1-2 days.
The 1.5yr old L.Gold flowered but didn't set (trees about 4m apart) it's a similar height but half the width of the 3yr old.

Time: 7th March 2011 9:40pm

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Rhys says...
Well I guess I'll post some photos next time I'm up there, that might help you to identify them Jason! These aren't our biggest trees - the largest Sapote is a 5 metre Golden Globe - has a single fruit on it this year (first ever).

Thanks,

Rhys.

Time: 8th March 2011 6:50am

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J says...
Jason, I know this is going to sound silly, but are you sure the vernons you have are actually vernons?
Jujube4sale has said in the past that her vernon only fruits every second year. Now we have rhys here saying the same thing - fruits every second year. This website: http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/whitesapote.html states: Vernon: Tree large, rounded, vigorous but medium height. Fruit green, round oblate; flesh white, not becoming bitter when over-ripe. Alternate bearing, over the winter months. Performs well in northern California. Difficult to graft.
However, putting all that info up, I believe Glowinski's book states that vernon is an everbearer.
So I'm wondering maybe if vernons flower continiously based on climate, water and fertiliser or.... Where did you get your vernons from, Jason? Perrys? I believe Jujube4sale got hers from Daleys. Do daleys graft their own white sapotes? Or do they get them from birdwood just like perrys do? Do you see where my line of questioning is going? :) :)



Time: 8th March 2011 7:43am

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BJ says...
J, I have a Vernon. Purchased from Bunnings, so a Birdwood tree. Flowers and fruits almost continuously, unless its disturbed (I transplanted it about three months ago, so no flowers until now, and its pushing quite a few).

I doubt Daley's get theirs from Birdwood, as Birdwood seem to always do 6L bags, whereas Daley's are a 175mm standard.

Time: 8th March 2011 9:58am

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J says...
Thanks for the info, BJ. Interestingly enough, I have two vernons from perrys which came in 6L bags, so they're probably from Birdwoods as well. One of them has already flowered and has one fruit. I also have two very small vernons whose original graft material came from Jujube4sales vernon tree, which again I believe came from Daleys. So it will be interesting to see how these vernons from other sources behave with flowering.

I wonder where Rhys's vernon tree came from.

I guess what I'm getting at is maybe there are two types of vernon or one of them is another variety incorrectly labeled? Probably a stretch but it's quite curious to find some vernons flowering continously & others flowering every second year..

Time: 8th March 2011 10:30am

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Jason says...
J, mine Vernons are originally from Birdwood. They don't fruit year round, in fact until recently they used to set very little fruit, I would say have two distinct crops, Summer and Winter here.. But they do flower almost year round year after year after year, they are very heavy with the flowering, so much that it can at times set back the tree in health even without fruiting, there's only small periods where it's resting from flowering cycles.

Vernon is very famous for flowering straight away after grafting, mine do this.

I have one tree that I grafted that is half seedling half Vernon, that tree has a heavy crop of Vernon fruit now that the seedling has flowered, by far the most Vernons I've had on a tree (like 20 times more).

I can't see any possible way a Vernon would flower once each two years, none of the Californians in the cloudforest have ever said they do that. But strange things do happen with sapotes depending on the climate they are in and they are all a bit different due to random seedling rootstock variability.

I have fruit on both Vernon and Ortega (both Birdwood trees) at the moment so when they are ripe in a few months I can get some good pictures and we can solve this little mystery for sure.

P.S. Most white sapotes are capable of flowering twice per year if not almost year round, the only one I'm 100% sure can not that I have is Pike. It only flowers in Spring/late Spring. Reinecke commercial seems like it only flowers in Autumn so far, but it's only just getting really going at 10 years of age :S, its a long wait that one

Time: 8th March 2011 12:26pm

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Rhys says...
Yes, we got our Vernon from Perry's too. I can't remember what sort of bag it was in (we planted it about 4 years ago.) It is quite healthy, a heavy fruiter, this is the year it does not flower/fruit. The Ortego came from Daley's nursery - this plant is a real winner for us.

The Golden Globe was a real sick old tree from Poynton's nursery (Maribrynong), but it has really kicked on.

We also have a Reinecke Commercial (I grafted it) and a Hawaiian Supreme.

The only trees that haven't grown well are the Chris - very slow growing, sick and yellow. Not at all happy.

Time: 8th March 2011 12:29pm

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J says...
Thanks for the reply, Jason. I think differing rootstock might be the answer. Do you know what rootstock birdwood & daleys use for their white sapotes?

Another question of Fertiliser application: Applying Potash on white sapotes, does this like citrus, help the white sapote to flower and set fruit?

EDIT:
Rhys, thanks for the reply. I got my reinecke commerical from Poyntons nursery as well and it was the same story, sickly neglected tree that is now bigger & growing faster than all my other sapotes. I believe Jason has stated in the past that CHRIS is pretty much a sickly looking tree no matter what you do. My chris is chugging along nicely. Lets see how it does this winter (its first winter in the dandenongs).

Time: 8th March 2011 12:29pm

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Jason says...
J, yes it seems to make them flower a lot more. I had to totally cut it out from my fertiliser this Summer season because they wouldn't quit flowering. Now after some time on nitrogen only they are growing again rather than flowering. I only just put more complete fertiliser on 2 days ago getting ready for this rain, so I hopefully get them all on flowering schedule again for Autumn. My Chris does always look sickly, maybe it's on a rootstock that's slightly incompatible but even when I've regrafted it, it doesn't look as green as the others

Time: 8th March 2011 12:38pm

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Jason says...
Also about Chris, since it's a pretty weak grower but tastes so good I plan to isolate some flowers next time it flowers and pollinate it with something much more vigorous and grow out those seedlings.

Hopefully I can get some of the flavour of Chris into a better growing tree. I'll probably use pollen from my most vigorous seedling depending on how it goes for taste when I finally get to try it in May/June

Time: 8th March 2011 3:37pm

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amanda says...
Hey Jason, what are u using for the rootstock for grafting? It's probably been mentioned b4 (sorry) but the thread is so huge now!

Also - do u think it's worth growing up my Lemon Gold seeds at all?
Thanks as usual :)

Time: 8th March 2011 5:44pm

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Jason says...
Amanda if you have room sure!. I don't think the selected varieties are any better than seedlings with most things but especially White Sapotes and Cherimoyas which have had next to no breeding or selection.

I use mostly Pike as rootstock since it's a vigorous grower and has large seeds it's also the tree that gives me by far the most fruit so those are the seeds I have most of. If I wanted to get fancy I'd graft whatever scion I had onto a seedling of that variety just to be sure it was a close match.

I'm just seeing a video of my garden from 2003 :p gees pretty funny there's nothing more than a couple feet high, now it's getting pretty close to being jungle and so many things have moved that I didn't even remember moving or things have died that I didn't even remember having and my Holden HQ still ran :).

Since I'm in this retro stuff, I've added a couple of pictures, it wont mean much to anyone apart from Jantina who's seen them lately but when I make a new video you'll see a pretty big difference, the Macadamia is a H2 seedlings (which is now fruiting), the Sapote is my Rienecke Commercial 27-11-2003 was the date for both pictures
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 8th March 2011 5:57pm

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amanda says...
Cool - thanks Jason! I haven't heard of any truly "bad" specimens of this fruit yet? I couldn't imagine a L.Gold seedling would be so far off the parent as to be inedible...it's heavenly to start with! :)
Do u think they may be more vigorous in sandy loams - and therefore grafting might not really be necessary anyway..? Just thinking out loud here.

Love looking at b4 and after pics!

Time: 8th March 2011 7:35pm

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Jason says...
They seem to grow just as well in either sand or clay. I'd be quite happy to grow all seedling everything to be honest if I could handle going 15 years without playing silly buggers with 50 fruit from grafted trees here and there it would in the long term make a better garden having all seedlings.

In the last 8? years most of what I've planted has been seedlings since I already got some grafted trees in the beginning to keep me interested while I waited. Some sapotes are going to be biased towards a good male flower and not fruit as much (but you do need those to get good pollination). Only one of the 3 seedlings I have flowering so far is a really good female flower, the other two are more on the male side but still will set a decent amount of fruit.

I think in your climate you might be able to get a sapote from germination to flowers in 5-6 years, the fastest one I've had was 7 years I think, I guess it's not much different from the time it takes for a grafted one to really get going but with seedlings you would want to plant 3 or 4 to be sure one is going to be a really heavy cropper

Time: 9th March 2011 12:25pm

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kert says...
It sounds sensible to try seedlings if you have the grafted plants as well. Glowinski says seedlings tend to revert to bitterness and you will not find this out until you are of pensionable age.It certainly takes more than 5 years.

Time: 9th March 2011 3:11pm

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Jason says...
They seem pretty reliable with fruiting age to me, all the seedlings I've planted have flowered within 10 years. It seems just size related rather than how many growing seasons because the youngest one I had flower was the largest tree just because it was a vigorous one in a good spot. All Glowinski's three trees are grafted, I don't think he's grown out a seedling but a few people on the cloudforest have and all of those have had decent fruit. One that Katie Wong? grow was good enough to be propagated around, I think it's just called Katy's seedling. There's also one seedling Axel found growing randomly somewhere, that's one of the better sapotes which he's called Santa Cruz. Tom A has grown out a few seedlings which all turned out to be good but nothing out of the ordinary so far.

What I'm really hanging out for is to get a seedling Avocado to fruit, then I'll feel like I've made it somewhere with seedlings, everyone says that's a disaster waiting to happen but most of the seedlings I've seen have turned out good, only one 50 year old tree that flowers like crazy has never fruited (yet)

Time: 9th March 2011 4:25pm

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peter says...
will cuttings strike from a white sapote
and if so how long would it take
to fruit.

Time: 9th March 2011 6:50pm

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Jason says...
I've heard you can make air layers *just* but they are supposed to be fairly weak rooted compared to seedlings. I think cuttings would be very difficult. Given how simple they are to graft that's probably still the easiest way to go about duplicating one even with the issue of the rootstock sometimes not matching up quite right. Time to fruit from a layer/cutting would still be the same as grafted plant

Time: 10th March 2011 12:30am

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Jantina says...
Hey peter, I can bring you down a couple of sapote seedlings the next time I come to Adelaide if that will help you out.

Time: 10th March 2011 9:21am

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amanda says...
hey jason - when u get a minute would u mind posting the link to this cloud cafe site about casimoroa's please? I would love to have a read - and it might save u having to repeat yourself here? :)
I am interested in reading about this male and female flowering thing...thanks!

Time: 10th March 2011 10:00am

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BJ says...
Amanda, its http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=7053218195fd51bf161672dedd49f95e



Time: 10th March 2011 10:35am

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Jason says...
Amanda most of the sapote talk was years ago before the current forum. Some of the archives from the early years 1999-2002? were lost in a server disaster but a lot of years are still there, the lost ones are still in my head (hopefully) :p

The archives are here

http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/archive.html

Most of the people there are in Northern California/Southern Victoria/North Island New Zealand type cool climates but also a few from warmer places

Time: 10th March 2011 11:30am

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peter says...
hi jason
ok sounds like they wont strike but ill
have a go anyway and see if i have any luck.

hi jantina
thanks for the offer but i have a couple
already that i wanted to try and strike.
ive got some silvan berries that you could have on your next trip down.
also got something to show you that you
should be interested to see.




Time: 10th March 2011 8:47pm

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J says...
my 2nd Reinecke commercial (from daleys) which is foot tall appears to be flowering(!). Not sure what to make of this, seems really random as the other reinecke is 2+ metres tall now and is growing well but no flowers. Isn't this variety meant to fruit after 5+ years?

Time: 15th March 2011 10:12pm

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Jason says...
Just depends on how much juice you put on them as far as I can tell. Mine went 8 years with nothing more than like 3 flowers one year, after I started fertilising it heavily it's been full of flowers ever since. I have to balance the flowers now by only using nitrogen when they start to flower too much.

I think it would have flowered straight away if I knew a bit more about them in the beginning, if you have been giving the same treatment to the big one but on a larger scale I'd expect it to also flower this year (sometime in the next month)

Time: 15th March 2011 11:19pm

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adamus says...
Does anyone know which is the best variety for Cold climates?. We're a bit colder than Upwey, and a lot higher up,(1100 metres.). I know they can be grown here, but I suspect it depends on the variety.
Any ideas.?

Time: 16th March 2011 8:03am

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J says...
Adamus, I've been told Vista, Ortega, vernon and Pike are your best bets for victoria. There is a gentleman in monbulk (a bit higher than upwey) that gets snow every year and his white sapotes are fine.

Jason, I've given my white sapotes (the biggers ones) a round of fert applications a week ago. Pivot (reasonable amounts this time), epsom salts and potash. It will be interesting to see if any of them flower. So far I have only one fruit hanging off my vernon. My ortega's flowered but nothing formed. I know my pikes can fruit because I got them with massive fruit on them from perrys, but they haven't flowered since. So fingers crossed.

Btw, the vernon flowered at the end of oct 2010, will the fruit be ready to pick now or in april?

Time: 16th March 2011 9:25am

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Jason says...
Pike wont have any proper seeded fruit unless either Ortega or perhaps Vernon is flowering at the same time. Pike isn't self fertile at all. Once you can get them all flowering at once you'll get heaps of fruit but it does take a few years.

Adamus, those 4 J mentioned are all reliable in Victoria with Pike and Vista being the heaviest and most reliable croppers of those, but you'll need either Ortega or Vernon to pollinate them. Vista and Pikes fruit is very similar with Pike being just a little larger but the Pike tree is a drooping form and Vista is more upright.

J, Vernon's spring flowering crop can be ripe anytime from about... May till sometime in Spring. Vista and Pike are a bit earlier than that usually, maybe April-May. You'll see when the fruit on Vernon is ripe it will start to go a bit more yellow in colour and look ?shiny?


Time: 16th March 2011 1:00pm

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J says...
Sounds like I need to play the waiting game. Jason, I was at port fairy this weekend and debated posting on this forum to ask you if I could drop by and check your fruit orchard out in portland. In the end I ran out of time, but if I was near by portland next time, would it be possible to come around for a short visit? I would really love to see your setup and how well your trees are going. It might even convince my GF that turning our backyard into a mini orchard was a great idea!

Time: 16th March 2011 1:17pm

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Jason says...
Sure you can come around sometime, you are going to see Jantina at some point right? she's just up the road a bit

Time: 16th March 2011 1:54pm

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J says...
Yep that's right, We'll be doing a trip to SA in october or nov this year & Jantina invited me to drop by, so I will! So I might post back on this thread about it as I get closer to the date and organise to drop by your place in portland. Thanks, Jason.

Time: 16th March 2011 2:15pm

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Jason says...
Ok, I think November is a nicer time for plant expeditions, October is still a bit cold around these parts for anything to be looking very happy

Time: 16th March 2011 3:03pm

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Jantina says...
Jason is right and the evenings are better for firing up the pizza oven!

Time: 17th March 2011 9:39am

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J says...
:) :) No probs, I will arrange (hopefully) to come down in november sometime.

Back to adamus's query: Wilson is another variety that is meant to do really well in colder climates. It's meant to fruit really well in new zealand. I've got three of em and they're small right now, so I'll let you know how they are going a in a couple of years.

Time: 17th March 2011 1:56pm

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peter says...
are the bushy inner branches of a white sapote supposed to be pruned out or
just left to grow how ever it wants.

Time: 17th March 2011 5:38pm

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Jason says...
I just leave mine do what they are going to do Peter, can't see the point in pruning an essentially wild tree?

Time: 17th March 2011 5:39pm

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peter says...
ok thanks for that.

Time: 17th March 2011 6:24pm

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adamus says...
Thanks J for this. I used to live on Sylvan road in Monbulk, and know the winter well. If a Sapote can grow there, I'll have no probs. Cheers.

Time: 18th March 2011 6:36am

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adamus says...
And thanks Jason for the info. So much help here. I love the white Sapote. Can't believe it can be a cold weather plant. Cheers.

Time: 18th March 2011 6:39am

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Dave says...
Adam, I'm living not far from where you use to live. The sapote do great here in a choice sunny position, winter they slow a bit but at the moment for instance they are shooting new buds all the time. My Ortego has put on over 4ft the last 6 months and is only a new tree. The new growth is red tinged (particularly Reinecke variety) like an avocado's new growth, which looks great imo. No fruit from them yet as they are young, but I know several people up in the hills who get bumper crops and they are colder than me in climate. Actually they have been snowed on in Olinda, and they managed to get through that even, in a good position though with larger trees behind it to stop the frost or snow landing on it.
J, are you going to Petty's Orchard open day next week? I might see you there if you are, give us a bell if interested.

Time: 18th March 2011 12:39pm

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adamus says...
Thanks Dave. We get frost here from Anzac Day to Melbourne cup day. But people still grow limes and lemons and stuff. A white Sapote should be fine. A woman grows them here, but she's the only one. She's a bit higher than me, and has a warm spot north facing. I can't wait to find some trees, and get going.
They really are an amazing taste.

Time: 18th March 2011 1:08pm

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J says...
Dave, I went to pettys orchard last year (where funnily enough I got my wilsons white sapotes & some pepinos) but this year Plantmark (a garden & plant whole saler) is having an open day for the general public on the same day. The prices of fertiliser, sprays, gardening stuff in general is MUCH, MUCH cheaper than at places like bunnings. I'm talking about 30%-50% off. Substantial savings, so I might have to give Pettys a miss. Again, we should catch up soon as you live around the corner. I want to know what ur secret is to getting your ortego growing 4 feet(!) this year. Mine are doing well (1 foot growth) but 4 feet. Daaaammmn! :)

Adamus, you should check out perrys in SA. I know they currently have some rather large ortega's for sale right now. They are pricy but its worth it.

Time: 18th March 2011 1:57pm

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Jason says...
Pretty much all my sapotes are throwing off last years old leaves and about to push the Autumn flowers, how about everyone else?

Time: 20th March 2011 5:26pm

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John Mc says...
One of my 4 YO seedlings has thrown off half of it's mature leaves. I couldn't believe it. It looked like the cockatoos had a go at it. Do you think it might be getting ready to flower at 4 yo?
The other 4yo seedling next to it hasn't lost a single leaf.

Time: 20th March 2011 8:07pm

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Jason says...
I'd be surprised if it was going to flower at 4 years old but it'll be dropping leaves ready for a new growth spurt instead more likely. The mature trees go in cycles of flowering in Spring then growth with leaf drop in Autumn followed by more flowers. At least that's how it works here. I think even my Pike tree will flower in Autumn this year which will be something it's never done before. I don't think it's ever had enough energy to flower in Autumn before since at this time of year it's always loaded with a couple hundred fruit and fairly stressed

Time: 20th March 2011 8:32pm

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J says...
None of my trees are flowering at the moment (with the exception of that foot tall reinecke commercial. Not holding my breath on getting fruit from that). I've noticed all my fruit tree flowering in upwey seems to be a few weeks behind the fruit tree flowering in melbourne. So maybe there's hope yet. They generally flower between now and winter, correct?

Time: 20th March 2011 9:07pm

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Jason says...
Yep, not quite yet. Melbourne is quite a bit warmer and earlier than me too, I'll let you know when mine have open flowers but I don't think it'll be for another month or so. Things are starting to move now but actual flowers will be a while away

Time: 21st March 2011 3:40pm

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J says...
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs304

Good link & read on all things related to white sapte. They don't cover all the different varieties, but its still a good read for white sapote noobs.

Time: 28th March 2011 9:15am

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amanda says...
Thanks J - it is a good link :) I have left it too late to plant my seeds tho' :-( They have been out for 6 weeks?

Time: 28th March 2011 11:52am

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adamus says...
J, Hi. I just procured two 1.5 metre high specimens from a little nursery in Bellingen. They don't know the variety, !!!!!, but assure me that they're self fertile.
I'll keep 'em inside for the winter, and then they're on their own. Weird they didn't know the variety.
Oh, I rang Perry's , but they don't do white sapote.

Time: 28th March 2011 5:48pm

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John Mc says...
Are they grafted adamus? Most small time nurseries only get in seedlings.

Time: 28th March 2011 7:00pm

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J says...
adamus, are you sure you rang perrys fruit and nut in South australia? http://www.perrysfruitnursery.com.au/trees.php

You can see white sapote listed on the bottom of the page, and I've bought about 5 white sapote trees off them. And I spoke to them 3 weeks ago and they said they had some very good size ortego white sapotes in stock.

In regards to the trees u just bought, Take some pictures and put em up. I'm sure jason would take a shot at identifying them.

Time: 28th March 2011 8:17pm

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Jason says...
Might not be able to ID them perfectly but narrow it down to a couple or few at least (if they are a common variety)

Time: 28th March 2011 8:31pm

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J says...
Jason, would it be possible to get some pike seeds from you in the next couple of months?

My uncle has some spare property he's not using (about an acre) and he's quite happy for me to plant some fruit trees there as long as he doesn't have to do anything. Seems to me seedling white sapotes should be a pretty hassle free rare fruit tree to grow.

Time: 1st April 2011 11:49am

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Jason says...
Yeah sure they will be ripe soon, You'll probably need to germinate them in pots since they need a bit of warmth to get going then plant them out in early Summer or something. That's about as fast as you'll be able to get them in the ground this year. Depending on the soil you might have to throw some fertiliser on them once in a while. But Avocados are probably more care free and worth actual money so I'd think about throwing some Hass trees in there :)

Time: 1st April 2011 12:07pm

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J says...
The problem is, I believe the land is flat and prone to water clogging. Not sure avocado's would do well with zero care & water clogging.
Wouldn't white sapotes grown in melbourne and sold in melbourne fetch a decent price at local markets, considering its so rare to find good white sapote fruit at markets in general?

Either I'm going to have a closer look at the property this weekend, and I'll let you know if I need the seeds (I probably will either way, I might take a shot at grafting onto seedlings & spread the white sapote tree goodness around). Please Send me an email: jmubaraki@hotmail.com

Could I put the seed directly into the ground and grow it like that? any reasons why that wouldn't work? Seedlings grown straight from the ground have better root systems, more drought tolerant, right?

Time: 1st April 2011 12:38pm

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J says...
I ended up making a video of my garden, partly to chart its progress every couple of years and see how much it has grown. This vid is unedited so there's some detailed shots of my trees and then some!
The last few minutes of the vid are in my front yard, most of the vid is shot in my backyard.

http://vimeo.com/21871952

I've included some names & times in the description, so you can name the trees you are looking at.

Time: 4th April 2011 8:09am

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Jantina says...
It's a credit to you J, it's certainly grown since we were there and all looks super healthy.

Time: 4th April 2011 11:38am

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J says...
Yes it has! I've found the trees really love miraclegro & other liquid based fertilisers (thanks for advice, lucy!. It also helps that the weather as been mild and has enabled most of the trees to establish themselves without the stress of a super hot summer. I look forward to your next visit & visiting your place soon, jantina!

Time: 4th April 2011 12:10pm

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Jason says...
J, those trees all look to be in exceptional health!, probably showing up even a few Queenslanders I'd say. It's all a bit amazing considering you are no where near the heat of the city and at altitude. I was never able to get mine to grow that well at a young age, this year has been the magic year for me too so I guess you were lucky to get this one right when the trees were young. The growth on the citrus is showing your soil must be really good too.

I'm wondering since all those trees look to be growing so well what you could plant to push your limits a bit, I think you could definitely go one step more sub tropical than I can.

Got to say I'm pretty jealous of that Cherimoya of yours, it's going to do good things for you, I can tell already

Time: 4th April 2011 1:26pm

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J says...
Hey jason, thanks! I've got mountain soil and a decent slop, so I think that helps as well. Keep in mind a lot of those trees outside of the bigger white sapotes, citrus, guavas & feijoas haven't been through an dandenong ranges winter yet. I'm not concerned about the smaller white sapote or decidous trees but stuff like the avocados, southern knight cherimoya, babaco, wampi, icecream bean ,west indian limes & jaboticaba haven't really been put to the test with cold around my area. I'm not super concerned, they should be ok. I'm a little concerned the babaco, cherimoya & avocado's may succumb to root rot but I'll be watched them closely and spraying them with yates anti root rot every month in winter. Fingers crossed.

As far as subtropicals go, I've got my kensington pride mango that survived last winter outside with no protection in a pot. It's in the ground now, so again I think it should be ok. The only other subtropical I'm interested in is the sapodilla of which I have two. I'll protect them during the winter (I'll be getting that green house soon) for a couple of years till they get bigger and then we'll see how they go.

Incidently Jason, I should thank you for recommending the pivot stuff (and all the other bits of advise you've given me, seriously dude, you've been a huge help). After learning not to put truck loads of pivot fert on my trees, they've all responded quite well to smaller applications of it since early summer.


EDIT: What did you think of my spacing with the bigger white sapote trees near the start of the video? I know they are quite close to each other, but I plant on training them. do you think that will work?


Time: 4th April 2011 2:01pm

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Dave says...
Hey J,
Very nice vid, like Jason has said all look really healthy. Can't wait to see how your food forest develops over the next few years. I like the way you've placed your trees too with the local rocks inbetween. We must do the garden visit swap soon, just been super busy myself. I did go to the apple tasting festival at petty's, it was a great day, plenty of people. Spoke to Costa from Costa's Garden for a bit, good guy. There were some really interesting ideas floating around on what and how to grow in the melbourne area, with plenty of permaculture techniques being mentioned. The variety of apples at the tasting were quite good also, I liked half of them more than any i'd tried in the last 6 months from the local grocer. Laxton's superb, gravenstein, Pine golden pippin, summer strawberry, so many lovely tastes. Check them out:
http://www.heritagefruitssociety.org.au/varieties/apples/


Time: 4th April 2011 2:45pm

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Jason says...
About your spacing, with the rate of growth you are getting you will definitely have a jungle quite soon :). I don't know if I'd prune them or just leave the strongest survive. They will all do well for long enough for you to see which varieties are going to be fruitful for you. You can cut sapotes as much as you want and they will keep growing back but the problem is they will grow back really fast as soon as you cut them so I'm not sure if you would be able to keep them small and still have lots of fruiting wood. Maybe if you continuously pick the tips off new growth each time it's a foot long you'll be able to make the trees more bushy, rather than having to actually prune branches off.

Without pruning in ten years all your sapotes will be at least 20 feet tall the way they are going and I wouldn't be surprised if your Avocados do about that also so if you stand back and imagine that. Then you'll be able to prepare yourself for how much you will have to prune things. Also Vista and Reinecke commercial will grow more upright than Vernon and Ortega and both those will be more upright than Pike. Babaco will melt anytime it's just under 0c but the thicker part of the trunk will survive. I don't have any issues with root rot here during Winter so hopefully you wont either.

It's not super wet here but wet enough for leeches to survive in the garden so it's not exactly dry either

Time: 4th April 2011 2:48pm

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J says...
Hey dave, thanks. The rocks all came out of the holes I dug for the plants (which were wide and deep, so I got plenty of them). Rather than throw them way I used them as a base of sorts around the holes. A lot of the soil I dug out was filled with rocks and roots, so within the holes themselves I had to put in organic soil. The apple tasting sounds great even though apples aren't really my fav fruit. Let me know when you want to catch up. Anytime.

Jason, yep it sounds like I'll be doing some crafty pruning over the years. The tree placement I put in place (especially with the white sapotes) was to have the pollinators on each end of the row, so the wind or insects can take care of the pollination for me. Also I've planted most of the trees close to each other so I don't have to deal with ANY Grass in the backyard in a few years. The trees will be taking all available sunlight and the grass can just go piss off. :)

My biggest worry for my garden is two things. 1) The damn gum trees dropping branches and destroying my fruit trees. I've already had a rather large branch fall and take out a good half of one of my American pawpaws. and 2) Bush fires. Upwey haven't lost any houses for 40+ years (that I'm aware of) but I'd be destroyed if I my garden was doing uber well and got wiped out by a bush fire. But I guess I gotta live with that risk.

Time: 4th April 2011 4:09pm

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amanda says...
White Sapote fruit now available in Woolies and some F&V shops (in WA anyway..) for anyone interested in tasting this lovely fruit :)

I splurged on one yesterday ($15/kilo) hopefully they will get cheaper in the future!

Time: 9th April 2011 10:58am

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John Mc says...
I'd love to taste a white Sapote, never tried or seen one yet. I bought seedling trees a few years ago not knowing they are going to take up to 8 years to fruit and then could be feral. My grafted varieties, 5 different cv's to date, are still very young and might take another year or so to produce anything.
Lucky you Amanda, are they as nice as they say?

Time: 9th April 2011 12:16pm

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Jason says...
I know I grow lots of them, but I only eat bout 2 White Sapotes a year. There always seems to be better fruits ripe at the same time. The other 500 fruit just go to mulch, This year I'm planing on freezing them in bags of pulp to make smoothies from them

Time: 9th April 2011 12:36pm

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amanda says...
I like them John Mc... for me - they taste like a custard apple but without the grainy texture (the pulp is a little like avocado - those one's with the 'wet' flesh) and the seeds so easy to take out - leaving plenty of pulp to eat...

They are quite sweet and fragrant so might not appeal to all taste buds. I have the lemon gold - and apparently it's not as sickly sweet as some varieties - I am happy with it! Smoothies sound good Jason! You could always add something a little zingy like kiwi fruit, strawberries or passionfruit juice too ...mmmm...?

Time: 10th April 2011 11:57am

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John Mc says...
Sounds like something to look forward to???? I dug up and moved my Hawaiian special this morning only because I thought it could grow better in it's new location.

Time: 10th April 2011 1:40pm

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Jason says...
J, do you have Autumn flowers yet? most of mine have buds now. Pike didn't want to know about flowering again in Autumn even though I thought it would this year. Seems it's just not able to do that.

John Mc, good luck with the move, I haven't tried moving a sapote but I should have moved quite a few of them so let us now if that transplants ok. I'm still waiiiiiting un patiently from my Chris to flower again so I can cross breed it with my seedling of awesome sapote (that I haven't tasted yet:P but everything else about it is awesome including flowering again right now which means so far it's a double cropping most likely self pollinating variety with good quality pollen). If I can get some of those qualities in a sapote that tastes like Chris I'll have really achieved something worthwhile I think :)

I'm going to have to cheat this a bit and graft the seedlings (when I get them) onto large established trees to speed things up slightly

Time: 11th April 2011 6:15pm

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kert says...
If by the "Hawaiian special" you mean Hawaiian Supreme then it definitely needs a cross pollinator. No cross pollinator means golf ball sized fruit.

Time: 12th April 2011 8:44am

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John Mc says...
I don't have to be blonde to have a blonde moment.

Yes I meant Hawaiian Supreme. I have around 5 cv's including Ortega and lemon gold which should do the trick.

Time: 12th April 2011 9:22am

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amanda says...
Finally found out who grows these in WA - and it's an orchard down in Metricup! (just north of Margaret River) Spoke to the very nice man there and he told me he has about 28 varieties??
Just for interest: He says they are quite southern for w.sapote but he doesn't get frost (8 kms inland) He mentioned lots of feeding needed to keep the yield up - and a touch of boron may be needed if fruit not ripening. He also mentioned one variety that always looks as tho' it has a nutrient deficiency with yellowish leaves (can't remember which one now..) and that he really likes the flavour of Reinecke commercial - but he doesn't market them as they have a skin marking that always makes them look like they have a fungus.

Anyway - I have 3 of his perfect fruit (no sprays used) at only $2.50 each to taste test in about 2 days... :-) I will compare the flavour to my lemon golds (which he only uses as a pollinator at this stage as his trees a bit young)

Time: 12th April 2011 12:13pm

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Jason says...
That's interesting I seem to prefer the green fruits Pike/Vernon/Vista. But I've read that it really depends on the person if they like either the green types or yellow type of flavour. One good thing about the trees is I can't imagine ever needing to spray white sapote for anything, maybe unless you live somewhere that has fruit flys?

Time: 12th April 2011 1:05pm

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J says...
Jason, I've just checked my trees for flower buds. There's lots of new leaf growth on all the plants, but I can't really tell if they are forming buds or not. My vista might be, 1 of the ortegas has something that looks a little bit like buds and my 1 foot tall reinecke has 4 flowers opening right now. That's it. The vernons and the pikes seem to be popping leaf out like crazy.

Amanda, 28 Varieties!?! You should ask him for a list for comparison! (and grafting material!!)

Time: 12th April 2011 3:29pm

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J says...
Hmm.. I could be mistaken but my foot tall Lemon gold and pike (both from daleys) appear to be flowering..

Which is very interesting, because my other foot tall lemon gold (also from daleys) is sitting around doing not much at all, while my much much bigger two Pikes are sprouting new growth like crazy but aren't interested in flowering.

My two ortega's have some flowers forming (not many but a few), while my one of my vernons which has the only fruit from any of my white sapotes, appears to be flowering again. and then there's that tiny reinecke commerical with a few flowers while the two meter reinecke commerical just wants to grow and grow. Not sure whats going on at all. Most of my small foot tall sapotes want to flower, the bigger ones just want to grow!

Time: 25th April 2011 8:17pm

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Jason says...
I still can't get my Pike to flower in Autumn, it never has in 11 years, but it's been very (%100) reliable in Spring once it was up to size.

My Lemon gold is flowering as is Reinecke, Vernon's, Ortega and two of my seedlings.

My Reinecke didn't flower reliably for at least 8 years so don't panic about that too much. You never quite know what you are going to get with grafted sapote behavior wise because the rootstocks influence them so much. Only one thing almost certain, your bigger Pikes will flower in Spring and you must be due for a decent crop on them since they have some size now.

My Pikes must be only a couple weeks away from being ripe so I'll have those seeds soon

Time: 25th April 2011 8:37pm

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amanda says...
Taste tested my Lemon Gold against the commercial few I bought...the LG won hands down (but maybe because it was home grown in a warmer climate and more harshly treated.....who knows)
My LG was more complex, richer and fragrant. Much more custard apple like.

Time: 25th April 2011 9:38pm

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Jason says...
The one you bought were a green skinned white fleshed one I guess?

Time: 25th April 2011 10:06pm

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J says...
When I got my big pikes from perry's they were loaded with fruit, so yeah this coming spring I should in theory be due for something from those pikes. I still think it's interesting that three of my foot tall sapotes (reinecke, pike and lemon gold) are floweing. Must be connected to some super rootstock or something. Wonder if daleys use any particular variety for rootstock or just any seed that comes to them.

Amanda, I too get a distinct custard appleish taste from what ever white sapotes I've eaten so far (mostly pike and ortego). I know people say sapotes taste like banana custard.. I don't really see it my self..

Jason, I'm still quite keen on getting those pike seeds off you. My brother just moved into his new home and has plenty of room for some seedlings. I'd like the spread the sapote love around. Genetic diversity and all that. Let me know via this thread or jmubaraki@hotmail.com when the seeds are available. I'm happy to pay for them. Thanks in advance!

Time: 25th April 2011 10:39pm

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Jason says...
lol I think you all are eating some very bad custard apples :P or at least not Cherimoyas.

Sapotes are good but they are not blow your mind good like a decent Cherimoya is.

J, your small trees have probably just sucked up the fertilizer faster, they are almost totally food dependent when deciding if they will flower or not and how much and for how long :). I'm happy to send a decent but not absurd amount of sapote seeds to any regulars on here for postage costs, just so I don't go backwards. I'll probably have something like 400 seeds doing nothing within the next few months and there's always more every year. Leave a bit of space though because I'm going to need some help growing out some seedlings once I start breeding them deliberately


Time: 25th April 2011 11:46pm

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amanda says...
Hi Jason - yea the bought ones were/are green skin/white flesh (quite large too - with a pointy bottom) - they are not as atemoya-like as my lemon gold (have yet to taste a cherimoya!?) but I must admit that my home grown atemoya is better :)
Some folk don't like the grainy flesh and seeds - so perhaps a good casimoroa may be an option...
Looking forward to hearing about this Rainbow variety one of these days too..

Time: 27th April 2011 9:33am

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Jason says...
A good Cherimoya tastes exactly like "fruit tingles" except made from a juicy fruit rather than lollies, so now you know :). It's much more acidic and "fizzy" than an Atemoya, Cherimoyas don't taste sweet or acid but somewhere right smack in the middle (if it's a good one). But they don't taste that good in my climate, probably at Kerts house they do.

Green skinned sapotes with a pointed bottom could be a few different ones but I understand the flavour of those kind of sapotes, it's more plain, more caramel rather than fruity





Time: 27th April 2011 4:27pm

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Portland
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randey says...
hey amanda, how are you doing "property selling" wise. i hope that where ever you end up that you continue with the gardening. i know that is fraught with disappointments but the successes make it worthwhile. being able to walk out your back door and grab a handful of pitanga cherries or whatever just can`t be beaten. if you end up in a more tolerable location let me know and i will endeavour to get a red pitaya to you.

Time: 28th April 2011 7:07pm

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perth
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amanda says...
Thanks randey - that's a nice offer...most of my special plants coming too...just hope I can dig up the white sapotes this winter too...fingers crossed!

Time: 29th April 2011 1:14am

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About the Author amanda19
Geraldton. Mid West WA
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Rob says...
Hey Jason,
Are you able to please contact me on inhernest(at)live.com i have a favour to ask you.
Cheers
Rob


Time: 2nd May 2011 7:54pm

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BJ says...
Something interesting I've stumbled upon with my tree, I trimmed back nearly all of the leaves on one small limb in preparation for using as a scion, but i left it on the tree. A few weeks later and that limb is completely covered in flowers and small fruit. It has well over 10x the amount of flowers/fruit as any other limb.

Time: 7th May 2011 8:01am

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About the Author Theposterformerlyknownas
Brisbane
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peter says...
hi bj.
interesting, i might try that on one of my trees which seem reluctant to flower. do you know when the flowering times should be for adelaide.

Time: 7th May 2011 8:48am

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randey says...
after my sapote had been in the ground for about 4 years without doing anything a burmese friend suggested i hit the trunk with the back of an axe. a bit drastic you might think, but it worked and within a couple of weeks flower buds started appearing and it has not stopped. i usually get 2 crops per year. just dont get carried away with the axe and make sure it is the blunt side ( no oops).

Time: 7th May 2011 1:16pm

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amanda says...
wow Jason - I see what u mean about the seeds - they are very fertile aren't they! I planted the seed from the one's I bought (above) and they are up already! (about 1.5 weeks)

How big/thick does a seedling need to be b4 it's acceptable for grafting onto?

Time: 8th May 2011 12:59pm

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About the Author amanda19
Gerladton. Mid West WA
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J says...
randey, what variety of white sapote was it that you whacked with the back of an axe handle?

Time: 8th May 2011 2:13pm

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randey says...
hey amanda, i was talking to a friend who used to work at the ag dept and he suggested that you wait until the stem has at least moved from 1st year growth (ie green) to when the cadmium layer has hardened (2nd year at least). a simple V cut is quite common in grafting making sure that knife you are using has been sterilized and there are no ragged fibres on either end. making sure that both end are meeting neatly tightly wrap the union in a quality wax tape ensuring that there are no air pockets. have used this technique on my mango and several other fruit trees. also on apple trees where you can graft up to 4-5 types of apples. hope this helps.

Time: 12th May 2011 9:45pm

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randey says...
hi j, mine is the wilson varity

Time: 12th May 2011 9:47pm

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Jason says...
Amanda, when the bark is hard is good (when it goes white/grey) try and wait till the wood is hard above some leaves so you can have some leaves still on it below the graft. I find them most easy to graft when planted in the ground so I'd suggest planting them out next Spring and then grafting in maybe Autumn or the Spring after depending how fast they grow at your place.

But yeah sapotes are a 100% germination kind of tree :), if you take the seed coat off before you plant them and have a heat pad or something set at 25c they can come up in like 3 days.

My sapote fruits still aren't ripe this year yet but you should see some of the fruit on my Vista tree this year......... massssssive, a few are probably bigger than those Pike fruit I posted in a picture in this thread. That tree is really booming now after years of being slow, it grew about 6 foot last season and is still in active growth now

Time: 13th May 2011 12:00am

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About the Author Jason
Portland
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amanda says...
Great thanks randey and Jason...I will give it a go down the track :)
My lemon golds have started a big growth flush now - despite no rain. Maybe it's because the weather has cooled..will keep my eye out for flowers now. They are a strange plant..? Sounds like you have them sorted out Jason.

Time: 13th May 2011 9:03am

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J says...
Randey, I've got 3 wilsons, so if they don't flower, I might use the back of an axe like you did!

This is going to sound really dumb, but how hard did you hit the tree? :)

Time: 13th May 2011 12:54pm

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Jason says...
Not far from ripe fruit now :0 I'm going to set a record for most giant white sapote fruit this year I think. Got a few on my Vista tree that are around grapefruit size already :0!

Time: 23rd May 2011 12:22pm

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Portland
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J says...
Pics, jason, pics!!

Time: 23rd May 2011 4:12pm

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Jason says...
What if they get bigger!?, I'll then have a fake record of my record. Ok I'll see what I can do tomorrow about a picture :).

I'm getting sick just thinking about how many fruit I have and how many fruit I'm going to have when the rest of these sapotes get into full production

Time: 23rd May 2011 5:53pm

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J says...
Jeez Jason, I'm finding it difficult to feel sorry for you!! :P



Time: 24th May 2011 10:14am

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J says...
Jason, how are your pikes going? I'm ready to plant those seeds when you are ready to send them through. I've gotten heaps of interest from people who would love to put a seedling in their garden. Looking forward to spreading white sapotes around.

Update on my trees, 1 vernon and ortega in the ground are flowering alot. The small ortego and lemon gold in pots are flowering as well. And everything else is still growing!

Time: 6th June 2011 12:09pm

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Jason says...
Hey!! they are ripe, I picked some yesterday, not for me though and I have a 10 or so seeds for you from fruit that fell/stolen by animals last week. How many seeds do I need to collect before I send them. I'll pick some fruit for myself today, that will get me up to 20 or 30 seeds for you in about a weeks time once they are ready to eat. They will be a mix of Pike and Vista seed

Time: 6th June 2011 2:49pm

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J says...
Jason, 30 seeds would be perfect! I keep joking with my friend that we should start "project white sapote" where we plant seedlings in bare parks and empty nature strips.
I think I'll be able to find good homes for all 30 seedlings should they all sprout. Again shoot me an email at jmubaraki@hotmail.com when you require my address.

Time: 6th June 2011 4:25pm

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Jason says...
Germination is always 100% with white sapotes if you had 10,347 seeds you will get 10,347 seedlings. Nothing wrong with actively planting fruit trees on the roadside for genetic safekeeping and growing out seedlings for future reference :D

Time: 6th June 2011 4:50pm

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Portland
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J says...
For sure, We'll see how we go but Theres room around and near my brothers place where I think some of the seedlings will go. Can't wait. Well I can, 8 years or so before they fruit! :)

Time: 6th June 2011 5:11pm

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J says...
hey there Jason, If the white sapote seeds are ready, I'm happy to pay for the postage and get them off you.

Time: 21st June 2011 5:06pm

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Rowan says...
Jason, If you have any spare seeds I would love to buy some. I live in Casterton and could pop over to pick them up if you had some.
rowan.99 at gmail.com

Time: 21st June 2011 6:47pm

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About the Author Rowan
Casterton Vic
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Jason says...
Hey Guys, still waiting for the fruits to ripen, takes a while in my cold house :) (couple weeks so far)

Time: 21st June 2011 11:28pm

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Portland
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Brendan says...
Jason, boron (aka borax), usually helps fruit ripen. Don't need much either, a t-spoon to 9L watering can :-)

Time: 22nd June 2011 7:04am

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Mackay, Q
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Jason says...
They ripen fine if they are warm but you see my house is a constant 8 celsius day and night inside over Winter so it's like being in a fridge more or less, it's fine to live at those temps if you are used to it but no good for ripening fruits. I'm leaving them in my parents house now where it's warmer (they aren't extremists like us lol so have a fire going all the time), they only take a few days to ripen then

Time: 22nd June 2011 2:16pm

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Portland
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J says...
Jason, if you'd like to send me the fruits with the seeds in them, I'd be happy to pay for postage/packaging. Would still be cheaper than me buying white sapotes at markets.

Time: 22nd June 2011 5:14pm

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About the Author J
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John I. says...
Hey J, I haven't been able to find white sapotes (fruit). Where have you seen them for sale? At what time of the year?

Time: 24th June 2011 5:14pm

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Melton
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J says...
I've been told South Melbourne market has em of about 2 weeks during winter for outrageous prices. Hence, I'd rather get jason to ship the whole fruit(s) down to me + in a few years I should have white sapotes coming out of my ears thanks to all the sapote trees I've planted.

Time: 24th June 2011 5:50pm

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Jason says...
lol from the trees you have you'll be sick nearly to death of the stink of rotten sapotes. I've got some ripe ones here now, so it must be time to have my first ever sapote smoothy

Time: 24th June 2011 6:59pm

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allybanana says...
How did they go Jason, are any of them the first fruit from the seedlings you planted.

Time: 24th June 2011 10:37pm

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Jason says...
Went ok, but a bit bitter. Some people can taste a bitter flavour in Pike fruit, some can't. I happen to be one of the people that can :P. But those were the fruit that were in my house in the cold for a couple weeks so maybe they didn't convert to sugar as well as normal (the fruit are a couple months late due to the cold summer too). In any case I drank my smoothy of 3 white sapotes and I feel strangely very alert !:).

Oh yes about my seedlings, the first fruit are still hanging there. As I don't know how big the fruit are supposed to get or when they should be ripe I'm not sure yet when I need to pick those yet. I'm keeping an eye on them though. I'll be looking for some volunteers to graft the tree and make my seedling Sapote famous if it's any good at some point. The first one does look much like Vernon which it's a seedling of :), perhaps just a little better pollinator and a stronger tree

Time: 24th June 2011 11:58pm

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Portland
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Dave says...
With all those Sapotes you could try making a wine or liqueur!
That seedling does sound promising there Jason.
I picked up a new Sapote a few weeks back named 'Homestead' apparently from Birdwood nursery. Never seen it mentioned here before and hard to track anything on it. Does anyone have this variety or know anything about it.
My next step is to contact Birdwood direct and see what else they have there stashed away...hmmm

Time: 25th June 2011 10:58pm

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Dandenongs
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Mike says...
It is a popular american variety probably named after Homestead south of Miami that developed so many fruit varieties for cultivation and back yards.Dade white sapote is one example developed there and it is likely to be very good.

Time: 25th June 2011 11:10pm

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Dave says...
Yeah I have a feeling it is very similar to Dade but maybe more upright in stature. Fruit taste wise, no idea, it may not do welll here in the south then again it may surprise me, will have to see in a few of years I suppose when it fruits...its about a two year old now. Will let you know then : )

Time: 26th June 2011 7:47pm

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John Mc says...
Is anyone familliar with the growing characteristics of a Dade? I chanced apon the relatively advanced cv in a run down nursery recently, in flower.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 30th June 2011 9:04pm

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Dave says...
Hey John,

I sighted a few for sale in a melbourne nursery the other day, not sure why they are selling them down here, they tend to be of average flavour in the colder regions and don't fully develop to their full potential like in warmer areas. It is another Florida, as Mike mentioned, heres some notes from CRFG;

'Dade'

Time: 1st July 2011 9:37am

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Dandenongs
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John Mc says...
So it should suit my climate then. I rarely get frosts here.
I sure hope these taste alright because I now have 6 cv's and two larger seedlings that haven't fruited yet.

Time: 1st July 2011 1:49pm

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Mike says...
According to the literature Denzler is a small yellow,light bearing variety recommended for Hawaii so it might be suited for SEQ and NE NSW.Lemon Gold,Sunrise,chestnut,McDill and Dade are apparently most favoured and cool toerant types.

Time: 1st July 2011 8:02pm

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J says...
Jason, did you taste your reinecke commercials fruit yet?

I found the 1 fruit on my vernon on the ground 2 weeks ago, slightly yellow like you said it would be, it had fallen off the night before. Very yummy. Can't wait for more!


Time: 12th August 2011 5:36pm

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amanda says...
Tough seeds - a W.Sapote seedling has popped up in the potatoe patch - from the cold-compost I made last year, and spread there :)
The book I have says to plant the seeds fresh...



Time: 30th August 2011 9:25am

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Geraldton. Mide West WA.
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Polly says...
You wouldn't think I could find anything left to ask after reading 288 posts in "Problems with White Sapotes *Pics included*", but I do have a couple of questions I hope some of you experienced White Sapote growers can help me with.

Can anyone tell me which trees have the thickest (and thinnest) skinned fruits? I am hoping to get away without netting or bagging for fruit fly.

Also, I recall reading on the CA Rare Fruits list that one grower had white sapote trees ranging in height from 5' up. He contends that soil depth is the limiter. The 5' sapote was growing in about 6" of soil over bedrock. As the soil depth increased, so did the height of the trees. Have any of you experienced this?

I ask about soil depth for two reasons. First, the only place left in this small suburban yard to plant a tree is under the power line coming into the house from the street. Now the really weird part, the soil in this spot varies in depth from about 30 cm to just over a meter before I hit a concrete slab, placed there who knows when and for who knows what reason.

If limiting the depth the tap root can go will limit the size of the tree (with any additional pruning help needed), I'm probably good to plant there.

The tap root would only have to go about 2 meters horizontally to reach open soil, but if I dig a gravel trench around the area, it would enable me to sever anything attempting to escape. Maybe every 2-3 years?

If I plant two or three white sapotes about 40 cm apart, would this also help to limit the size of all the trees? The area I have to work with is about 4 X 4 m.

Time: 22nd September 2011 11:22pm

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Toowoomba
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J says...
So about 7 of my larger white sapote trees are flowering right now or seem to be setting flowers.

The problem is all the pollinators (2 ortego's and 1 vernon) have flowers on them already that are open and in the midst of setting fruit while all the other varieties (2 pikes, 1 vista and Reinecke commercial) are just currently pushing up flowers, they will probably open in a week or two. I wonder if there will be any pollinating flowers left on the ortega's and vernon to pollinate these guys with!

One of my ortegas is going mental with flowers btw. Very exciting!

Time: 28th September 2011 2:28pm

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About the Author J
Upwey, Melbourne
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amanda says...
Should be J...my lemon gold has been flowering for months now - it has new flowers and 1cm size fruit also...
Hope you get a good season! :) Let us know how your taste testing goes!?

Time: 1st October 2011 10:18am

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J says...
Hi Jason, would you be able to mail me those white sapote seeds you've collected for me. I'm no longer going to SA (and past portland) so I can't pick them up from you. Seems like a good time to plant them so please shoot me an email (jmubaraki at hotmail.com) and I'll forward you my details. Thanks!

Time: 25th October 2011 11:51am

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Jantina says...
Sorry to hear that your trip has been cancelled J, we were looking forward to your visit. If all else fails I could bring the seeds down with me when I come down to Melb in late Nov. If Jason doesn't see your post let me know , I have his Ph No.

Time: 25th October 2011 4:20pm

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Mt Gambier
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J says...
Hi Jantina, I was looking forward to dropping by and saying hello but it seems like plans have changed and we are going to India later on this year for a holiday. However I should still be around in melbourne in late November and would love to catch up with you (& lucy & violet) again. I think it might be a good idea if you could bring the seeds down with you as I seem to have difficulty getting hold of jason via this forum! Thanks again for your help.

Time: 26th October 2011 9:09am

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John Mc says...
Is it common for a "Chris" Casimiroa cv. to loose all of it's leaves while flowering?, Similar to Hass avocados? or is it really sick and should I be removing all the flowers and fruit till it picks up? I know they look sick and haggard at the best of times, but to loose every leaf while the fruit is starting to form? It must have some strong energy stores if that is what it does.

Time: 26th October 2011 2:35pm

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Warnervale NSW
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amanda says...
John Mc - from what I can gather around here - they all lose their leaves at flowering...but grow them back pretty quick. Keep the water up to it....I actually fed and watered mine this flowering time and lost no leaves (nor fruit) It's kept all its growth and is pumping out heaps more...

(ps - the only reason I pumped the trees with fert's, clay and water is cos our block is on the market - so I wanted them to look good - so it was a happy accident that the above happened!? :)

Time: 27th October 2011 2:37am

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About the Author amanda19
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John Mc says...
Thanks for your reply Amanda. I also have a seedling that has just lost all it's leaves for the first time as well. Is it setting itself up for flowering? It's definately not due to lack of water, we've had more than our share lately.

Time: 27th October 2011 3:15pm

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amanda says...
Maybe it was the dynamic lifter I gave mine then..? I don't normally feed just before or during flowering (usually do it early winter) cos I am scared I will muck up the flowering process.
But last year it dropped all it's leaves at flowering (first time it flowered also) and I noticed a friends establised tree (don't know the variety) does the same.
Maybe Jason knows?

Time: 27th October 2011 5:32pm

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Geraldton. Mide West WA.
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amanda says...
Just wanted to say how much I love my white sapotes...I would highly recommend this plant for WA folk and would even give it a go in a warm spot in Albany. It's a super tough and very rewarding plant. Incredibly under-rated fruit.
I never have deficiency problems with them - they have a good strong root system that goes searching. A strong solid trunk and I have never had a pest problem with them at all. They are not bothered by the salt or extreme heat, here. I am in love! lol.

Splurge out and try some fruit next time they are in season in the shops :)

Time: 18th November 2011 8:36pm

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Jason says...
Hey I've definitely seen them flowering without leaves in Mexico but they still have maybe half their old leaves when flowering here

Time: 18th November 2011 9:00pm

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amanda says...
Ah! thanks Jason :) That helps to know. Maybe they are a smart plant that puts all their effort into their flowers? ;-)

Time: 18th November 2011 9:09pm

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Jason says...
I think they can be set into dormancy and flowering by a dry spell, that's what happens to them in Mexico, they wake up in the wet season. Most of mine flower in Spring when it warms and again in Autumn I think this second one for me is after it's been dry and then they flower when the rain starts

Time: 18th November 2011 9:57pm

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amanda says...
Jason - Susanna Lyle says they need a little chill for flowering..? This works well for a Med' climate perhaps - as the chill is in the wet winter....?
She says they may not set fruit in the tropics due to lack of chill..? I don't get the second flowering - only one at end of winter...maybe it's the Lemon gold - or maybe it's the warmer climate..?

Maybe we finally have a fruit to brag about, that our tropical members can't!? hehe....

Time: 23rd November 2011 7:35pm

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J says...
heya Jason, just wanted to say thank you for sending those White sapote seeds my way. And another thank you to Jantina for getting them to me. They are all in pots now waiting to germinate!

Time: 30th November 2011 11:10am

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Peter says...
Hi Amanda,
do you have the address of the white sapote fruit farm in Metricup?
Do they sell trees as well?

Time: 5th December 2011 6:35pm

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amanda says...
Hi Peter - I don't have the pamphlet anymore :( If u are looking for trees - try ringing TAS1 in Middle Swan - I got both of mine there..? Perthites may know where else to find them..?

I think the Metricup grower just does the fruit...but u never know your luck...I will see if the F&V shop has the info.

Time: 5th December 2011 6:57pm

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Peter says...
Thanks, Amanda.
I will have a look when I am heading down south even he might not sell trees and the fruit is not in season. It's always worth visiting fruit farms...

Time: 5th December 2011 7:48pm

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Jason says...
Jantina, I'm winning on 2 grafts out of 3 with Rainbow so far. might do 3 out of 3 yet year but the 3rd stick was a fairly dodgy bit of wood in the first place so 2 from 3 will be fine in the circumstances. How are yours doing?

Time: 18th December 2011 8:30pm

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John Mc says...
I was very worried about my Dade. It went into a looong dormancy, most of spring, untill we had a stack of rain recently and off it went, whew!

Time: 19th December 2011 7:57am

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Dave says...
The Vista has been the slow one for me this year, just putting out new growth now and a few flowers. My ortega was first to go and is powering ahead with about 2ft of growth all over so far, the reinecke and chris are doing nicely also, pike ok...the 'Homestead' I put in the ground earlier this year is doing well and shed all its 'northern' leaves and has put on a healthy head of new growth.


Time: 19th December 2011 10:49am

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Jason says...
My Pike doesn't normally want to grow until about this time of year or later, it makes up for it with rapid growth through Autumn

Time: 19th December 2011 4:17pm

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amanda says...
Just back from down south and saw white sapote growing happily in Margaret River (a sloping orchard surrounded by tall trees) - they get frost there. There was also custard apples :)

Time: 23rd December 2011 11:06am

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Jason says...
Funny how from your extreme heat home you relate margaret river as far south and cold frosty place when it's still so much warmer than here :).

White sapotes can't care less about any kind of frost Western Australia has to offer. But what kind of Custard apples are we talking? I guess Atemoyas? they need a decent amount of heat

Time: 23rd December 2011 12:16pm

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amanda says...
Not sure Jason - I was too chicken to get too close - but my mate used to jump the fence and nick the fruit ;-) so I will quizz her a bit more - the orchard was very large and on a 30 degree slope or so, and near the river - the soil was so beautiful. The C.Apples were near the top (nearer the house) away from our "access" :)

Time: 24th December 2011 11:21am

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J says...
A quick update: I've located a suebelle white sapote in Melbourne and I'll be picking it up in Jan. The gentleman in question should have more suebelles grafted and ready to sell in a year and hopefully by then I will have some grafting material ready for anyone that wants some.
Looks like all our Sapote collections are getting bigger all the time.

Time: 24th December 2011 6:24pm

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Jason says...
J, Suebelle is a rare tree in Australia, I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone having one

Time: 24th December 2011 7:00pm

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J says...
Well, this dude's got it, Jason. He's been hunting it down for years as well, and he's pretty happy he has it now, and he's promptly grafted up a few more from the original plant he got. I think, I'm not a 100% sure mind you, that he got the Suebelle from someone whose a member of the SA rare fruit society. I've got my name on one of them because I've bought a bunch of stuff off him (wilson white sapotes, babaco etc) and have communicated to him how keen I am to have a suebelle. ;)

Time: 25th December 2011 1:19am

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amanda says...
Hey Jason :) Do u think my seedling casimoroa are big enough to graft onto yet?
They are very healthy and root system nice and strong - trunk is about 1cm now.
Also - which graft-type would u recommend?
Thanks!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 19th January 2012 2:57pm

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Jason says...
Amanda you can graft them onto the wood once it's hardened. It might be better to wait until that hardened wood is above a couple of leaves. My recent grafts took a bit of pain during the day we had that was well into the 40s, almost 50s in some spots :S, so it should be better to do it when you have some sensible weather around 25c

Time: 19th January 2012 4:38pm

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amanda says...
Great - thanks heaps Jason :) That's a damn hot day...your poor plants would not be well hardened to it hey?

(I have enormous thunder storms completely encircling us at present...but not here :-( I am sure Gero is in a rain shadow)

I will wait - should be perfect size around autumn at the rate they are growing. The are lemon gold seedlings and I will graft my lemon gold in-ground/proper plant onto them. Then I can take them away with me :-)

I might get some help when the times comes - have never grafted b4 - but I get the "feeling" that these guys would be good to cut my teeth on maybe...?

Time: 19th January 2012 5:50pm

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J says...
Hey jason, your seeds are germinating right now! Thanks again. And I've have about 15 of so fruit across my white sapotes this year including 3 on my small Lemon gold that I put into the ground during late winter last year. Hopefully this output doubles every year. Very good growth on all of them during december too.

Time: 19th January 2012 5:50pm

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amanda says...
Hey J - my lemon golds are quite a small fruit compared to ones in the shop...can u let us know how big yours get to when they are ready to pick please? :)

Time: 19th January 2012 5:59pm

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J says...
Sure thing amanda. I think They have a few more months to go before they ripen, but I will take some pics for you.

Time: 20th January 2012 10:00am

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amanda says...
Thanks J! I am wondering if mine are small cos' maybe I haven't fed the tree enough or something. They taste fine..just very small.

Time: 20th January 2012 11:56am

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J says...
Here's a pic of My vista that has around 9 fruit on it. Did a count of the total number of fruit on all my white sapotes this year and I came up to 42. Better than the 1 fruit I got in my first year (last year). Now as long as we don't get any nasty weather and the birds/possums don't get to them first, I might have my first white sapote feast on my hands!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 21st January 2012 4:49pm

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robert says...
has anyone heard of a variety called homestead. What is the best tasting variety to grow in Melbourne?

Time: 7th February 2012 7:25pm

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Jason says...
Chris is easily the best tasting variety I've tried, Vista once you take everything into account, like health of the tree in this climate, amount of fruit per year and quality of the fruit is probably the best one to grow in Melbourne. I haven't seen Homestead but from what I can remember it's from Florida so you can expect it to be a wolly leaf sapote and not so good tasting in Melbourne

Time: 7th February 2012 8:18pm

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john says...
Does Chris need a X pollinator?

Time: 8th February 2012 7:37am

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robert says...
how about wilson

Time: 8th February 2012 6:33pm

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robert says...
Is wilson a good variety for Melbourne?

Time: 8th February 2012 6:44pm

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Jason says...
Not sure about Wilson either, I don't have it. John, yeah I'd say from the shape of the flower that Chris needs a pollinator, mine is planted near a Vernon and most of the flowers Chris has (not many) get pollinated ok. It's got a few fruit on it and the moment that I've pollinated with another stronger tree and I'm going to grow those seedlings out

Time: 9th February 2012 3:21am

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j says...
I have 3 wilsons and they do great in the dandenong ranges. Still young, so no fruit but the cold doesnt bother them at all. I believe you will need a pollinator for them as well.

Glowinksi notes in his book that Wilson is probably one of the most cold tolerant varieties and it does well and fruits well in new zealand so should do fine in melbourne.

Jason, The chris fruit that you have tasted, were they from you tree in victoria?

Time: 9th February 2012 12:24pm

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Jason says...
J, yes from my tree, it doesn't fruit very often but they are exceptional when it does. They really close the gap between Sapotes being an average fruit to an exceptional fruit.

If I had a normal Sapote at say 60% and a Mango at 100% Chris might be 90%, big difference to a normal Sapote

Time: 9th February 2012 1:35pm

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j says...
Well that's good to hear Jason. My chris is growing slowly but surely. Doesn't really seem to mind winter much either. I've got it next to an ortega so when it does flower, it'll have a pollinator near by.

Time: 9th February 2012 2:09pm

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john says...
Has anyone grown fruit from Hawaiian Supreme sapote aka Blumenthal.? Mine are golf ball size despite adequate X pollinators close by.

Time: 9th February 2012 2:18pm

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John Mc says...
Well, I finally got around to grafting some white sapotes today. I'm assuming Feb would give me my best shot, so I looked for wood that had hardened as apposed to types of cv's for my first attempt. I found what I considered the right type of scion wood from a Hawaiian supreme, a Dade and a Lemon Gold. I would have preferred an Ortego in the mix or a Chris but I thought the wood was too green and soft, can always add them later. I have a couple of seedling trees doing nothing for the last 3-4 years so I thought I'd multigraft them for the fun of it. Now it's a waiting game to see if I was at all successful.
Just one thing, if Jason is reading this, Jason, do you cover the scions with glad wrap or a plastic bag till they start to grow? I did it anyway but was just wondering if it was necessary.

Time: 11th February 2012 9:40pm

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Jason says...
John, I used to tape the part where the cut is then cover the rest with those plastic bags you buy veggies in with a little water inside it then tape that over the scion (taped underneath the cut). These days I tape the cut with the same normal stiff grafting tape and wrap the rest with parafilm.... However the recent 45c day sent me back to the drawing board a bit, clearly I needed a paper bag over the young grafts in that kind of heat, especially the dodgy ones I was working with without swollen buds.

If the weather is going to be sane (under 30c) I don't think you will have any problems, the main thing is to pick the scions when the buds are swollen and only a couple days away from shooting out (and pick them as hardened white wood) do both of those and you can't miss

Time: 12th February 2012 11:50am

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John Mc says...
Thanks Jason, I'm sort of on the right path then. I pruned the seedling trees right back a few months ago to about 1.5m high. I grafted onto shoots that arose from those main branches and wrapped them in glad wrap to help reduce dehydration till the grafts take.
The pruning left me an opportunity to do some double clefts on the ends of the pruned branches as well, they're about 25 to 30mm in diameter. I found the simple cleft graft to be the easiest but gees white sapote wood is very brittle, I found that out a number of times. When I get a high success rate I'll be on the lookout for some "Rainbow" scions next year.
I received a Kampong from Daley's last week, bringing my white sapote collection to 8 cv's.

Time: 12th February 2012 8:56pm

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peter says...
hi john,
the white sapote grafts i did that didnt
take were all rainbow scions i got
from the rare fruit society, im going to try again so ill get a few for you
as well.


Time: 12th February 2012 9:27pm

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John Mc says...
I'm very grateful if you can thanks Peter, your Cherimoya seedlings are leaving here today.

Time: 13th February 2012 8:38am

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Jason says...
My 2 Rainbow grafts didn't go, they were looking OK until that very hot day but the scions had no developed buds on them at all so for them to take would have taken months and I just didn't get months until it got too hot. I grafted maybe 4 Rainbow scions onto Jantina's trees but I'm guess they also got too hot on the same day. They were the same batch of scions without developed buds so it was a bit of an uphill battle even without the heat. First time I've failed with a sapote graft so it was a bit disappointing.

My gardens looking pretty bad and dried up this year, the worst it's looked in a long time so I'm hoping for some decent rain pretty soon

Time: 13th February 2012 12:13pm

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j says...
That's sad to hear, Jason. Was looking forward to some Rainbow goodness being spread around. Some good news: I'm picking up that Suebelle White sapote this weekend, so If you'd like I can send you some grafting material from it in the next few months.

Time: 13th February 2012 12:20pm

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Jantina says...
All is not lost! Just went and checked again. It was obvious fairly early on that all the ones Geoff did failed but yours were looking good Jason.The heat (we were away)got most of yours but,if you labelled them correctly then one Rainbow has healthy growth on it. That's on the tree you labelled "all Rainbow except one Pike" I found the graft labelled Pike and it has gone so I'm assuming the one left is Rainbow. There is another living graft one the lowest tree but no label to say what it is. For some reason the lowest 20 metres or so of my garden seems to stay a bit moist so that might have made the difference. Now I'd better give that tree a bit of TLC.

Time: 14th February 2012 10:03am

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Jason says...
Ok Jantina, well I know what the leaf on the Pike tree looks like so once it grows out I'll check to make sure if it's not Pike and if it's not Pike it must be Rainbow :). Try and give that branch no competition from other branches (none coming off it apart from the graft) and it should grow out pretty quick

Time: 15th February 2012 12:30am

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Jantina says...
OK Jason, all of my sapotes are putting out new growth at the moment and there were some new little branches coming out just below the Rainbow graft but I have cruelly ripped them off seeing how as the entire Rainbow expectations rest on this one little graft. Giving the tree plenty of water too.

Time: 15th February 2012 10:55pm

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John Mc says...
Jason, have you tried green on green grafting on white sapote? I was reading up on this last night, you remove the terminal growth bud and several leaves to push the other buds into bud swell, should take around two weeks for bud swell to happen. Then take at least three buds of current growth scion wood and graft this onto current season growth of the rootstock. It's then wrapped up in the usuall way. Any comments?

Time: 16th February 2012 11:22am

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Jason says...
John, I do that with most grafting when I want the buds the right size but I still will do it to a bit of wood that at least has hardened where I'm going to cut it with sapotes. It can be current season wood just so long as it's started to go white. The rest of the wood can be green, just not where the cut is otherwise I find it bruises and just doesn't last long enough to heal. You might have success with it, I just think it's so easy to use harder wood with those, then you might as well go with that.

No problem to use greenwood with Avocados though

Time: 16th February 2012 2:38pm

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amanda says...
Hey Jason...I pretty sure my seedlings will be ready for grafting onto this autumn...what type of graft do you recommend/use?
I only have two seedlings so I am hoping the grafting is fairly easy and takes readily?
Thanks :)

(I might start practicing on some other stuff ;)

Time: 17th February 2012 5:04pm

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Jason says...
Amanda, any kind of graft a simple slice on each part works good enough, you can get fancier if you want but you don't need to. A wedge graft will work too, pretty much whatever gets a good join and you are comfortable with. The preparation of the scion and the wrapping etc are more important than the actual cut

Time: 18th February 2012 3:50pm

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amanda says...
Thanks Jason...forgot to ask - should the scion be "woody" like the rootstock too?

Is there a limit to the length/size of the scion, that I should be careful of?

What do u mean by the "preparation of the scion"? Thanks again Jason :)

Time: 18th February 2012 6:22pm

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John Mc says...
I might be able to help there, Amanda. The scion wood should be hardening off otherwise it won't last till the sap starts flowing.
Length? 3 to 4 inches long, as long as they match the diameter of your rootstocks, not absolutely important, as long as one side matches up perfectly.
Preparation of the scion wood? Two weeks prior to grafting it should be hardening off, terminal bud removed, leaves removed and the buds should be swollen when you do the graft. How close am I Jason?

Time: 18th February 2012 7:15pm

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amanda says...
Thanks guys - what would I do without u hey!? :) It should be good timing for slightly cooler weather come March...and then the first rains (hopefully!)

Time: 19th February 2012 12:21pm

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Jason says...
John, sounds just fine to me. With the harder wood and the buds ready to burst it has little option but to grow and right now. When it's growing like that the healing is almost instant

But try and get both sides lined up if at all possible and it should be easily possible

Time: 19th February 2012 12:42pm

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John Mc says...
I'm also trying the same technique on some black sapote as well, it's a busy month for propagating.
Avocado? Look how small the seedling was when I grafted this one.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 19th February 2012 5:16pm

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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Around December, I pruned my white sapote branches that were in my way.

Two weeks later I saw some swollen buds so I decided to graft my seedling sapote using one of the buds.

What I did was cutting a piece of chip from the root stock, then a very similar size scion wood with a bud. Then wrapped up in the usual way. The air temperature was about early 20 C

A month later I checked and found the whole thing healed up so I cut the top off. Now, there are 3 branches from the same buds about 8 cm long each. BTW the thickness of both scion and root stock about pencil thick size.

Time: 19th February 2012 5:41pm

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Jason says...
John that's the exact size I graft Avocados, it works well, what variety is that? the colour of it kinda looks like Fuerte

Time: 19th February 2012 7:00pm

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amanda says...
Hey that's pretty good John Mc..I am looking forward to learning grafting techniques...I guess I had better do some "study" :)

How do manage holding the two plant bits together, neatly, and then wrapping tape at the same time?? :D

Time: 19th February 2012 8:02pm

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Mike says...
John Mc that looks pretty professional.Lately I have had very few grafting survivors after trying a couple of batches of clefted and approached trees.I can hardly hear myself type with the rain pouring.
It is good to see those healthy vines,seedlings and sprouting herbs in the shot also.

Time: 19th February 2012 8:16pm

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Jason says...
Mike it hasn't rained more than a half a spit here in months, the only good news I can see from all this and having no water left in the tank is that my bore water seems to be full of healthy minerals... or lead lol or something. Whatever it is it makes me itch so it must be soaking in

Time: 19th February 2012 11:05pm

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Mike says...
I'm sure alcoa will ensure the groundwater is sparkling and fresh.Rainfall is actually a few 100mm down so far this year after a few wetter than average years.There has been no monsoon just storms really.The garden struggles when there is prolonged heavy rain.

Time: 19th February 2012 11:27pm

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John Mc says...
Thanks for the encouragement guys, yes it's a Fuerte, Jason. Amanda, I just do the simple upside down saddle graft, I call it a cleft graft, I'm not sure if that's the proper name, it does get a bit fiddly at that size. It's the first attempt with plumbers (teflon)tape, I didn't know if it could be wound on tight enough, but it looks successful enough.
Mike, the cuttings covered with the plastic bottle are, from what I can gather are called SAURAUIA BERRY Saurauia madrensis), also known as Moquillo. It's related to Kiwifruit, the lady is about to dig the tree out so I thought I'd try and get a sample before it goes. The cuttings are holding up very well so far. I'm trying to convince her to let me do an air layer or I've even offered to dig the tree out for her for free but she's keen on just cutting it off at ground level. We'll see what happens.


Time: 19th February 2012 11:31pm

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amanda says...
Sounds good John Mc...The cleft graft looks very secure doesn't it? (is that the same as the one Brendan has pics of in the Grafting thread?) I have the parafilm-type grafting tape to use.

Why upside down? Any advantages or just easier?

It's sort of has it's own "splint", with the side parts?
I can't no longer see the graft union on my other w.sapotes now - it's so seamless!?...but from vague memory I'm sure it was a cleft..? (from Daleys)

(The moquillo sounds interesting? what does it taste like? :)

Thanks for the help everyone! Much appreciated :)

Time: 21st February 2012 10:22am

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John Mc says...
Yes, that's the one I call a cleft graft. A saddle graft is where the rootstock is sharpened and the scionwood is split. I find it much easier to swap them around. That's what I mean by upside down.

I think the physical side of grafting is not the issue, anyone can join two pieces of wood together, if they can't there's plenty of info on the web.
The more important issues, and not easy to find, is things like timing, temperature, scion-wood characteristics and preparation, rootstock characteristics, types of wood and after care.
I might have to write a handbook on everything about grafting except joining the wood, if and when I find all the info.

Time: 21st February 2012 12:37pm

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Jason says...
That's the thing isn't it, you can say grafting is easy and it can be.. but it's really only easy if you can understand the other stuff besides the actual cutting and joining. Like what are the temperatures going to be in the next 2 weeks, how will you keep the humidity in the scion so it doesn't dry out, can you choose a scion that's going to shoot in 2 weeks time just as it heals.

Another thing you could try which I haven't yet is twisting a wire around the scion where you are going to cut it to build up sugars in the scion for a couple of weeks before you make the cut, it might heal faster doing that..... might not too :0 but I think it's worth a try


Time: 21st February 2012 1:50pm

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john says...
I've read that Vernon is difficult to graft.(and I've failed with it twice)

Time: 21st February 2012 3:12pm

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John Mc says...
If you were going to succeed with that vernon I'd like to think about now would be your best shot, together with the preceeding preparation.

I'd like to spend a year at Daley's in the grafting shed, lol.

Nice little surprise today, success in striking an offshoot of an RD6 Papaya. Roots comming out of the pot everywhere, nice.

Time: 21st February 2012 6:59pm

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JUJUBE FOR SALE IN MELBOURNE says...
Good Job John Mc, I would not mind to learn how to do it because I just want a dwarf papaya.

Time: 21st February 2012 7:23pm

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Jason says...
John I've only tried to graft Vernon once, which was actually onto a seedling of Vernon so I guess that takes away most of any problems it might have with incompatibility. Anyway the graft worked no problem, it fruited the very next year and is a fairly large tree now

Time: 21st February 2012 7:37pm

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amanda says...
About the humidity part: would it be better if I kept mine in a tent of some kind, do u think? It's always so dry here - unless it's winter?

My plants are in a shade house and I have numerous buckets of water in there to keep the humidity up. Not sure if it will be enough though...

It's interesting what you are saying Jason and John - as I guess you need to time it right for your very own climate too!? And mine very different to yours - which means my trees may also be in different growth phases at different times...?

I like a good challenge like this!? :D


Time: 21st February 2012 9:35pm

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Jason says...
Amanda if it's about 20c most of the time where the sapotes are then the graft will heal OK. For me I need to wait until November to see those kind of temps so I can't graft before then.

Basically if the rootstock is in a state of growth and the scion has swollen buds and is about to grow and you graft them you should be ok. If with plants are in pots in shelter you can put a plastic bag over the graft with a sprinkle of water in the bag and tie it on and you shouldn't have any problem. Just treat it like you would a cutting

Time: 22nd February 2012 12:38am

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peter says...
hi jason
would grafting likely to be succesfull
in bout 5 or 6 weeks time if kept warm.

Time: 22nd February 2012 12:55am

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John Mc says...
Might be getting a bit late Peter, unless you can sustain a decent temperature till it heals. Lessening of daylight hours will have a slowing effect on the healing process as well.

Time: 22nd February 2012 8:23am

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peter says...
hi john
i can get some rainbow scions in about
a months time, they said the same thing
about it being late, best sept - nov
but i can put them in a box with
heat and artificial light.
do you want some at the same time or wait until sept when more will be
available.

Time: 22nd February 2012 6:49pm

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John Mc says...
Mate, we have nothing to loose, yes please, Jason said they take easily enough so it's definately worth a try, I'm up for it. I'll put a mini poly house over the seedling tree if I have to. It's going to be a very multi-grafted tree if all the different cv grafts take.

Time: 22nd February 2012 8:53pm

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John Mc says...
Here's a pic of a Hawaiian Supreme graft on a seedling tree done on 12-Feb, 10 days ago. Still looks healthy.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 22nd February 2012 9:49pm

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peter says...
pic looks good, hopfully still will
in a month.
how many scions do you want and at
what diameter.

Time: 23rd February 2012 12:41am

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John Mc says...
Hi Peter,
Any diameter is fine because I'll probably do a double cleft graft on one of the pruned branches.
Three scions would be great, but any would be appreciated.
It might work out allright, because they will be going into a growth spurt soon.

Time: 23rd February 2012 8:16am

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peter says...
ok.
ill let you know when i get them.

Time: 23rd February 2012 8:27pm

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amanda says...
Hi guys...I have a choice of 1yr and 2yr wood for my scions (perfect sizes etc) I am guessing the 2nd yr wood would be a better choice?
(it's "woodier" ... :)

(The rootstock is having a growth spurt..and I have prepped a selection of the 1 and 2yr scion wood...should be set to go very soon!) temps are 20 - 35 now...but the maximum should be be high 20's in 2 weeks and there will be heavy dews, less wind and the chance of light rain) ...autumn is truly amazing/beautiful here...)

Time: 14th March 2012 9:47pm

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j says...
hey guys, I got a suebelle white sapote a month ago. Here it is growing nicely in the new pot I transplanted it in. Jason, if and when you or jantina come down to melbourne make sure you drop by for some cuttings and to check out the garden all of your advice has helped build! :)
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 27th March 2012 7:34pm

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John I. says...
Hi J, I'm looking for a Suebelle. Can you tell me where you sourced yours from?

Time: 30th March 2012 10:57am

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J says...
John, try stephen Onians from Minalinka Aquatics on 0394386702. He only had a few suebelles but is busy grafting more. He should have more in stock during spring/summer this year. Btw he has lotsa other white sapote varieties and rare fruit trees.

Time: 1st April 2012 11:43am

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John Mc says...
Amanda, did some more grafting today. I had previously prepared an Ortego scion branch a few weeks ago (amongst others)and have been waiting for the buds to swell. Well, swell they did. With six nice big fat buds at my disposal I did all sorts of grafts on an old seedling tree that's just going nowhere, just hoping they're not flower buds, don't look like it though. All the plants are going through a growth spurt ATM and throwing a lot of flower buds as well, so if the buds arn't flower buds, I'm hoping for a good result.

Time: 1st April 2012 9:14pm

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amanda says...
Great John Mc :) I must admit I am not sure what this "bud swell" thing is? I did everything above - but I still have sticks after 2 weeks? Am I supposed to wait until the stripped sticks start to grow new leaves? The temps are perfect now too.

Maybe I should take a pic?

Time: 2nd April 2012 9:17am

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John Mc says...
When buds "swell" it's just a term for them getting bigger, I cut the scion wood when the buds were as big as I thought they were going to get before they "burst" open into new growth.

I have a three bud scion that has died back to two buds, the two remaining, although no growth is evident yet, looks healthy.

Now may not be the best season to be grafting white sapote's, although they go into a growth spurt, it's the season for throwing out flower buds as well.
Jason would be best to clear that up for us I'm sure.

Time: 2nd April 2012 12:11pm

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Nick says...
Does anyone here have some spare white sapote budwood (thats if its the right time for grafting?)? And which out of avocado and white sapote would like more shade? That reminds me, I sent your box of plants today John so it should arrive by wednesday or thursday, hope ive given you a good selection :)

Time: 2nd April 2012 6:33pm

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John Mc says...
You're a champion Nick, thank you very much. All my rootstock buds have now burst into either flower or growth buds. I'll go back through this thread and see when's the best time for grafting.

Time: 2nd April 2012 8:45pm

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amanda says...
hey John Mc...It may still be too early for my lem golds to flower here?...I usually get flowering much later - once the winter rains have settled in...

I have only just finished picking my fruit?

It's still around 25-30oC during the day and around 15-20 overnight..? And as dry as a bone also...

Time: 2nd April 2012 9:19pm

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John Mc says...
A few of my white sapotes have just shot flower buds this week, Ortego, Lemon Gold, Reineke Commercial and a new one, Kampong.
We haven't had any rain here for a month either, I'm starting to hand water for the first time in a while.
It looks like we are having a warmer Autumn than summer.

Time: 2nd April 2012 9:46pm

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amanda says...
Oh... :0( I am going to have run the gaunlet then John Mc...I can't leave these guys any later now...fingers crossed!? At least I get new ones thru quarantine from Daleys - if it stuffs up :D

I'll let u know how I go...

Time: 3rd April 2012 9:26am

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John I. says...
J, thanks for the info. I got in touch with Stephen and asked him to hold one for me. He says they are not ready for sale yet but I'm not in a hurry.

Time: 3rd April 2012 11:18am

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J says...
nick, white sapotes do fine in the shade. You can some bud wood from my trees when ever u want.

Time: 4th April 2012 9:04am

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Nick says...
Thankyou very much J, I might have a go grafting my seedling soon! Just give me an email at niksmaster2008@hotmail.com whenever you have some available :)

Time: 4th April 2012 9:29am

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amanda says...
The deed is done John Mc :-O It was hard with a Stanley knife...must invest in a scalpel...? I haven't had any cold weather to initiate flowering yet - so hopefully the scions will be leafing one's.

I cut the rootstock just below the level of the first leaves? One of the scions seems a bit small compared to the thickness of the scion..I hope it works.

It was a lot trickier than I thought it would be - fingers crossed...

Thanks for yours and Jason help :)

Time: 9th April 2012 10:54am

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J says...
Amanda here is a pic of my Lemon Gold white sapote (on the tree) you asked for a while back. As you can see fruit the is the about the size of a small to medium apple.

The second picture is two fruit in my hand from my vista tree. These are medium size fruit for my vista. There are two others that are bigger, one of which I found fully ripened on the ground today, and was very, very yummy. Decided to pluck two fruit off the vista to see if the fruit ripened off the tree will be as yummy as the one I found on the ground.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 9th April 2012 8:09pm

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amanda says...
Great! Thanks so much for remembering J.. :) Yup - my L/golds similar size...(no pointy bottoms tho..? Mine not from Daleys though....Interesting..)
I pulled some of my fruit green and hard - left it in the fruit bowl not thinking anything would come of them...but they ripened and tasted fantastic too! :)

I am an Official Addict of this fruit now!? :D




Time: 9th April 2012 8:20pm

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John Mc says...
Amanda, if I read it right, did one of your scions have a smaller diameter than the rootstock? if that is the case, did you make sure you placed the scion to one side of the roostock so the cambians line up at least on one side?

Time: 9th April 2012 9:34pm

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amanda says...
No, John Mc...!! :-( The scions are in a wedge graft and they are smaller than the rootstock. I wondered about that - as the xylem and phloem are way out of whack from each other?! Poop, poop, poop!

It's not too late for me to renovate them..? will need to go lower on the rootstock though..?

That's such a bummer!? I just wanted to 45 degree cut each surface and then match them up...how hard can it be?

(if all else fails - I can get them tissue cultured down the road - which I would like to do just because they are a non-Daleys source and thus add to our genetic material...?)

Time: 9th April 2012 10:13pm

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John Mc says...
If you did them in the last day or so surely It should be OK to relocate them?.
I also wrap the new graft in glad wrap for a few weeks till I see new growth.


Time: 9th April 2012 11:16pm

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BJ says...
Does the White Sapote suffer from water stress if they get a bit too much water? My Vernon fruited well in a pot, but ever since going into the ground it has thrown all its fruits at marble size. Its in a spot on a slope 1m or so above a boggy spot. It looks healthy and flowers and sets small fruit constantly, but holds none. Any ideas?

Time: 10th April 2012 3:22pm

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Mike says...
BJ Rootrot from excess water and other root afflictions can have symptoms rather like water deficiency.Damaged roots cannot deliver water to the crown.Even on a slope the planting hole can act like a well if the parent soil has a high clay content and was replaced by new soil.

Time: 10th April 2012 4:59pm

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peter says...
john mc.
ive been trying my hardest to get those
rainbow scions from a paticular person
at the rare fruit society but he hasnt
been very helpful and also stating
that grafting wouldnt work this time of year, although the grarfs they did last
september which aparently is the right time of year didnt take either.
it will be no problem getting them later but thats 5 months away.

jantina,
just wondering who it was that you
got your scions from a few meetings
ago.




Time: 10th April 2012 6:51pm

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John Mc says...
Yes it's getting a bit late now, the cooler weather is approaching fast, I wouldn't be too concerned now, put the pressure on next Sept. Thanks for sourcing them out.
Oh, btw, that huge Cherimoya tree is loaded with fruit again if you were sourcing any more seed. They'll probably be ripe early spring. I'll have some from my own grafted tree this year as well.

Time: 10th April 2012 7:36pm

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Jantina says...
Peter, it was John Poole, he was very helpful. Sadly the Rainbow grafts didn't survive the next heatwave even though I watered diligently. Haven't been game to tell Jason yet.

John Mc, if you have spare cherimoya seeds from the big tree I'd love some. Tried to buy some overseas and they said they had them and then just went off into cyberspace and don't reply to my emails.

Time: 10th April 2012 10:59pm

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John Mc says...
Jantina,
I have a few small seedlings you can have for now to get a head start. I wasn't real keen on the fruit, it wasn't all that nice. I can send you the pick of the ripe fruit to try for yourself when ready probably next spring.
There's a DA submitted for the site, keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't get the chop before the fruit ripens. It's a very, very old tree, I'd say was planted soon after the old fibro house was built in the 60's. I'll send the seedlings off next Monday unless otherwise advised.

Time: 11th April 2012 8:37am

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amanda says...
Thanks John Mc..I will see what I can salvage..these scions are not looking too good :-(
I just followed the rough diagrams that came with the grafting tape...(blush)

BJ - in Susanna Lyles book she states that they can tolerate cold and wet soil - as long drainage is ok..? But they prefer a deep loam. They are resistant to armillaria and pyhtophthora (handy :)

If it were a problem with your root system then your leaves would be falling off too? (but this can happen anyway/naturally - in extreme heat or cold - and at flowering)

She mentions that they can suffer from magnesium deficieny. But that's about it..?

Have you had unseasonal weather? In my location - I find unreasonable weather the worst culprit for fruit drop.
Has the rain eased up over there yet?

Time: 11th April 2012 10:24am

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Geraldton. 400km north of Perth
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John Mc says...
With this bud (pictured) I exposed the cambian on both parts and taped them up together. I cover the fresh grafts with glad wrap for a few weeks to conserve scion moisture.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 11th April 2012 4:57pm

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peter says...
jantina,
yes it was john poole that i spoke to
also. he told my he had a rainbow
tree but did not want to bring any
scions to the meeting.

john mc,
any more seeds would be much
appreciated. ive been keeping hose last seedlings that you sent under cover until now and most have survived.

Time: 11th April 2012 6:46pm

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adelaide
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Mike says...
peter, I have been on the hunt for seeds up here and they have had the year off.Between the tablelands and the coast there is usually a long fruiting season when they turn up at the markets.There just has been no fruit aouind at all.

Time: 11th April 2012 6:54pm

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amanda says...
Hi Mike...do the trees fruit very well in the warmer climate there?

It would be interesting for northern WA folk - especially in Carnarvon (which can get cooler nights much like the Tablelands - although I thought/felt it was "freezing" on the Tablelands after living in Cairns..?)

(ps - thanks for the great pic John Mc :) Very helpful..)

Time: 13th April 2012 11:04am

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Mike says...
Amanda I think they are native to 15 to 20 latitude ie southern mexico/central america with cool tolerant ones bred for florida and california.The tableland ones I believe are mostly the same as southern australia and can handle winter temps below zero.The same is true for the mareeba area which is drier and hardly ever has frost.These types seem to go ok on the coast.
Some of the Cairns DPI Kamerunga fruit research stations' trees may have come from Guatamala and I recall eating some beauties from a big tree.I don't think these tropical types were officially released before the trees were chopped down.Some of their progeny apparently is still around.

Time: 13th April 2012 6:07pm

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amanda says...
Thanks Mike. It does seem that they would be at least worth trying up the WA coast.

Time: 13th April 2012 6:58pm

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Mike says...
The kamerunga fruit research and quarantine station was an initial point of introduction and varietal trials for sub trop. and tropical fruits for many decades.I know some genetic material went to south johnstone,mareeba and other DPI properties around qld but most was lost.Typically dozens of varieties were collected overseas and planted out with only a few of the best performers retained.I saw a giant (2kg?) black sapote variety with a distinctive shape for sale in Rusty's yesterday that looked just like one I saw at kamerunga in about 1995.

Time: 14th April 2012 6:44am

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Rhys says...
Hey, just an update - I posted about our Vernon, Ortega and Golden Globes last year.

This year has been a good one for Sapotes. Huge crops on the Vernon and Ortega, and lots of flowers on the Golden Globe (about 7 metres tall now). We ate the fruit of the Golden Globe a month or two back, and it was very tasty (extremely dense and rich), a lot better than the other two. But pretty small fruit overall.

I'd recommend the Golden Globe as a plant, but it took close to ten years to starting cranking out the flowers. Fortunately, it seems that most flowers set.

We also had our first Asimina triloba fruit (American Paw Paw), and they were also very good - very strong banana-like taste.

Rhys.

P.S. We are in South Gippsland up in the hills.

Time: 14th April 2012 6:36pm

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Dave says...
Good to hear your Sapotes did well this year Rhys. Sounds like your GG is powering along, that one I don't have in my collection yet!
Our Ortega has gone from a 10ft tree to a 5 ft shrub recently as I was chainsawing some silver wattle with bad aim. Still surviving but needs some healing now.
Reinecke is pumping out flowers at the moment for us.
Wow, the A.Trib fruited for you, nice one. How long before it fruited after planting? We have 4 named ones going well here so far but only a couple years old and 3-4 ft tall.


Time: 14th April 2012 7:02pm

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Rhys says...
Hi Dave.

We have about 7 Asimina trilobas, 5 seedlings (about 1.5 metres in height) and two grafts (1 metre). The seedlings fruited first, but they were planted probably about 6 years ago, took a long while to get going. The two grafts went in only about two years ago, I expect they'll fruit more rapidly.

The seedling fruit is excellent so far, one is particularly good. The fruit is not as large as I would have expected though. Though they are banana-like, they are not banana precisely. It's a shame, as we only had four fruit. Hopefully more than that next year!

Rhys.

Time: 14th April 2012 10:38pm

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Jason says...
Jantina, don't stress about those Rainbow grafts, the combination of them being not good scions (the timing just wasn't there on the buds) in the first place and those crazy hot days made it all but impossible. The grafts I did back here were perfect, looked good but just got fried off the tree just as they were getting growing.

I have a couple of fruit from my first Chris x aggressive seedling cross almost ripe, but those seed that I don't keep myself will be taking a trip to Ben's farm in NZ

Time: 18th April 2012 3:35pm

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Jantina says...
Couldn't believe it Jason, they made it thru the first scorchers and then after I took off the growth below the graft like you said and gave them extra water they go and fry in the next lot of scorchers. Very sad.
Looking forward to hearing what your Chris x seedling fruit tastes like.
How did the injured kangaroo go?

Time: 18th April 2012 8:20pm

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Jason says...
The Kangaroo is actually healing, I wouldn't have imagined it possible because he has a lot of damage.

He's never going to win the Kangaroo Olympics because his foot is kind of flat and all mangled near his toes but the open wound is healing up really good.

He will be good enough for poking around the backyard here no problem.

What I meant about the chris x seedling is that the fruit that contains the crossed seeds is almost ripe, another 10 years yet till the tree from that seed grows and has fruit :)

Time: 19th April 2012 3:42am

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John Mc says...
How sad does the Chris cv look and peform? Mine has done nothing over the past 2 years. Even now there is only a few yellow leaves away from a dead stick. It put on a small show about this time last year but all that new growth has gone. I wonder if I've just picked the wrong spot? Do they move OK? All the other cv's are powering along beautifully.
Would it benefit much by repotting it and moving it into the poly house till I get some growth happening? I know they are poor performers but this is rediculous.

Time: 19th April 2012 8:04am

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Jason says...
John, the Chris sapote is worth a useless lot of nothing as a tree, they always look sick and half dead. Although mine seems to be improving with age and tons of fertiliser. I can't remember having moved a sapote so I'm not sure how that goes. Not only does it grow badly it only wants to flower about once each 4 years.

It such a shame that the fruit off it are so good and so hard to get, but because it's so good I think it's very important to grow out any crossed seed you do get from a Chris tree. None of the other trees I have are anywhere near it in flavour

Time: 19th April 2012 12:21pm

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John Mc says...
Thanks for that Jason, I'll keep the water up to it and overdo the mulch and B&B and hope for the best.
I'll leave that one where it is and keep a look out for another one to grow for comparison.

Time: 19th April 2012 4:08pm

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amanda says...
Jason/John Mc...my roostock have started to sprout - should I leave them there for the time being (to feed the graft) or take them off straight away?
Thanks :)

(also - I think one of them has taken - at least it's not brown and shrivelled looking? ;)

Time: 27th April 2012 9:28am

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Jantina says...
Amanda I can only quote Jason here, and he told me to take off all the growth below the graft. It's about 70 posts up on the 15/2/12

Time: 27th April 2012 1:26pm

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amanda says...
Thanks Jantina :)

Time: 27th April 2012 8:40pm

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Jason says...
Yes sometimes grafted trees don't like to grow the grafted part out and need some convincing

Time: 27th April 2012 10:55pm

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amanda says...
hnnn....I am kind of surprised that grafting is still so basic...? I am sure we can do it better somehow?

Although - I look at all the stuff going on with plant breeding these days and wonder where it is all going to lead to..?

Tissue culturing plants is as big a leap as GM is, really? Tissue cultured plants are clones also.

I fully intend to spread as much naturally selected-for-seed around in Geraldton as I can.

They may just out-compete those GM crops too. ;-D

Sorry about the topic diversion there..?



Time: 28th April 2012 12:24am

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John Mc says...
Grafting is very basic but it's still an art. As you know now, there's far more to it than just sticking two bits of wood together and hoping for the best.
If you want to practice I've found grafting Solanacea scions onto wild tobacco rootstock is good fun, you can have tomatoes, eggplants, tamarillos to name a few on the one plant and they show results quickly whether successful or not.. I veneered grafted two types of eggplant recently (too late in the season really) onto a large branching wild tobacco but they appear to have taken.

Time: 29th April 2012 10:24pm

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amanda says...
That sounds like a great idea John Mc! I actually have some regular tobacco seeds that I have no use for. Thanks :)

I also re-did my sapote grafts properly (lucky I did check as they were both stuffed) my last attempt - as the graft union will end up in the soil if they get too much shorter..(oops)
I put a plastic dome over the whole pot. It sure is tricky work -but I think it could get addictive...??



Time: 30th April 2012 1:11pm

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VF says...
Is anyone growing/ or have tasted "Kampong" variety? Have found reviews on the taste of other varieties on different threads, but not this one. As for growing, how does it compare to the size of other varieties?

Time: 5th May 2012 9:04am

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Jason says...
I just ate the famous fruit from my Chris tree which I pollinated with my super strong growing seeding. It only had one seed in the fruit!:) so I'll have to look after that one. First time I've eaten a Chris fruit from a Winter crop too, still tasted great but maybe not quite as good as the Summer time fruit. It tastes and smells like...... a mild Eucalyptus drop lollie

Time: 11th May 2012 6:00pm

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amanda says...
Hey Jason...good on you :) Working your way towards that 'Jasons Special" !? So it wasn't overpoweringly sweet then?

My grafts failed :-( I will have to practice first, like John Mc suggested. I hope I can track down some more lemon golds for the next home.

Do u have/like lemon golds Jason? (not forplant material - just curious about your opinion of them?)

Time: 13th May 2012 11:56am

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peter says...
hi amanda,
i was doing some reading on a us site
about white sapote blind taste tests
and the lemon gold was listed as the
3rd best.
if you ever want any lemon gold
scion wood just give me a yell.
on another note would you have any
spare sunshine speacial seeds at
the moment.

Time: 13th May 2012 12:11pm

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adelaide
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John Mc says...
That's good Peter, my Lemon Gold is coming into flower right now for the very first time.

Time: 13th May 2012 4:06pm

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peter 10000 says...
yea mines been flowering for a few weeks now also.
another good yellow skinned one is supposed to be the suebelle, ill try
getting some of those scions when i
get the rainbows.

Time: 13th May 2012 7:00pm

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amanda says...
Thanks for the offer peter :) Yes I have plenty of s/special seeds...can u email your address? (and how many u need?) Got loads of fruit this season...yum!
(sunley at wn dot com dot au)

What were the top 2 on that taste test peter..?


I much prefer my LGold to the big fruits from down here in Margaret River...but they are still very good too.

(These people only sell fruit - but I talked the man/owner there and he was really nice and very interesting/helpful. I will just record his details here in case any of you serious growers want to check him out? I don't know if he has Rainbow yet - but he had other stuff.
The orchard is Walburra Valley, walburra at bigpond dot com)

Time: 14th May 2012 10:25am

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peter 10000 says...
hi amanda,
the top two listed were
malibu
fournoy
then lemon gold
golden globe was 7th

thanks again for the seeds.

Time: 14th May 2012 6:25pm

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adelaide
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amanda says...
Hey - has anyone tried growing white sapote from cuttings..?
I recently got one of those enclosed propogater things that apply bottom heat for striking cuttings.
As my grafting left a lot to be desired I thought I might have a go with some lovely small hardwood cuttings..?

Also - what temp is the soil supposed to be in these little electric green houses?
This one only cheap and has no temp control - only vents. It's sitting at about 32 oC ...?

:-)

Time: 9th June 2012 6:22pm

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John Mc says...
32 in my opinion is a little hot in general terms Amanda. I'm thinking between 22 to 25 range would be more suitable. I haven't had any luck with white sapote cuttings either. I have some coming up from underground roostock shoots and have never been able to strike them either. I don't have a mister but it would probably make the world of difference.

Time: 10th June 2012 9:14am

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amanda says...
Thanks John Mc....there is heaps of condensation in there? (can't see thru the plastic..)

I thought I'd have a go - but if u haven't had any luck then perhaps I am being too optimistic (again!? lol)

I might as well just buy 2 new plants at this rate!?

Time: 10th June 2012 7:23pm

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amanda says...
John Mc - I am almost ready to throw in the towel...grr! Is it better to supply bottom heat and maybe leave the lid off the propogater..?
It looks like the cuttings are going to go mouldy with all the humidity in there..? :-(

Double edged sword isn't it..? Do u treat your cuttings with an antifungal - regardless of symptoms anyway..?

Time: 13th June 2012 2:06pm

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peter1000 says...
hi amanda,
imm fairly sure that it is said that
you cant strike cuttings from
white shatoot
cherimoya
and white sapote
ive tried them all several times with
no luck.
if anyone has please let us know.

Time: 13th June 2012 6:14pm

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amanda says...
Ah - thanks peter1000..I could live without the hassle right now - so that may save me some time thanks! :) Haven't forgotten your seeds BTW - just been a bit busy home shopping etc..have a few to send out now - so hopefully this week!

Time: 13th June 2012 9:20pm

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J says...
White sapote flavoured Pepsi exists! http://www.napajapan.com/Product.asp?product=1002&name=Pepsi+Cola+Soda+-+White+Sapote



Time: 30th October 2012 12:08pm

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Linton says...
White Sapote Cuttings

These are 4 cuttings that I took from the big tree I chopped down 2 months ago and they all seem to be sprouting.

Didn't do anything special, just stuck them in some potting mix - easy!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 2nd November 2012 10:36am

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John Mc says...
Might be a tad early Linton, best of luck anyway, I've never been able to get them to strike.

Time: 2nd November 2012 5:27pm

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Mike says...
Peter 1000 I didn't forget about the white sapote seeds either.Sugar world at Edmonton has white sapote slurry under their trees now that visitors have been impromptu skiing on for weeks now.I hear their mower has been throwing seeds all over the place.I just have to stop off next time I go south.
I am told there are highly productive dwarfs in florida now and an acquaintance there is on the hunt for seeds for me.

Time: 3rd November 2012 8:05am

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peter 1000 says...
Hi Mike
thanks for that, much appreciated.
i still have two seedlings going of the
last ones you sent.
unless it has changed recently white
sapote seeds are on the not permited
list but scince they are already growing in the country aquis sent me forms to possibly have them permited
but the forms are to complex for me
so i didnt proceed.
also have the ligularis, yellow edulis
and cold climate d/f up and growing
bit sadly the columbian yellow d/f
didnt germinate.

Time: 3rd November 2012 8:48am

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Mike says...
peter 1000 what else is on your wish list? I have to admit I had not yet checked ICON on the white sapotes but was only asked if I want them.
My friend has a clean sweep of good cold tolerant dragon fruit but suddenly is not so sharing.I'll try some arm twisting and finger pointing and see if he gets more yielding.

Time: 3rd November 2012 8:59am

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peter 1000 says...
Hi Mike
my wish list is mainly for white sapote
and cherimoya seeds and new types
of d/f but lately also have been getting
into babaco.


Time: 3rd November 2012 10:53pm

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John Mc says...
Did you have any luck with those fresh cuttings Peter? I didn't with those rainbow's. I wrapped the scionwood with parafilm before I cleft-grafted them onto a large seedling stock. It's a technique I picked up from Avo grafting to minimise moisture loss. I also covered the scions with a cardboard box for extra protection, but the early couple of 35deg days were just too much.

Time: 4th November 2012 7:27am

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peter 1000 says...
i put them in little cups with another
cup over the top but they ended up
shriveling up, i think they might
have got some mould.
i didnt even graft my rainbows, still
got two sitting in the fridge.
i was going to wait till the rootstock
was growing strongly, which it is now.
there is another meeting in 3 weeks
and i have enquired weather some more will be avaiable so i can graft
fresh scion.
do you want some more?

ive been meaning to ask you a question
regarding folar spraying.

if your using say 0-50-0 or 0-0-50
and i have 0-10-0 or 0-0-10
in theory i should be able to mix it
5x stronger.
would this be correct?



Time: 4th November 2012 9:20am

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John Mc says...
You're asking the wrong person there Peter, but I wouldn't be mixing it up 5x stronger. The P or K component is 10 or 50 but the rest of the components or the carrier that contains those ranges of ferts would be toxic 5x I'd assume.

I'll have a look and see if there are anymore sprouts on the Babaco and try and strike it before I send it off.
Oh, and yes if there are any more rainbow scions available, beggars can't be choosers, but if there is a selection to choose from, could you grab the smaller ones that might be available?



Time: 4th November 2012 11:50am

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Warnervale NSW
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peter 1000 says...
ok, will do, are there other varieties
you may also be after.

Time: 4th November 2012 5:03pm

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Jason says...
Hopefully the guys in Adelaide can come through with some sapote scions cut at the right time one of these days. That Rainbow is one illusive little bugger.

My Chris x hybrid is up and growing and a pretty good fruit set on the Chris tree at the moment too.

Mostly I'm currently excited about my Macadmia trees finally flowering half decently after 12 years, pity I'm currently allergic to nuts! that really sucks because I wasn't when I planted them. Finally after years and years of being eaten to the ground I put a Kangaroo proof guard around my Prunus mume tree too, it's loving it and growing really fast now :D

Time: 10th November 2012 2:07am

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John Mc says...
After two long years of going frustratingly nowhere, I dug up the Chris cv and potted it up. The poor thing had two leaves left on it with no growth whatsoever after all that time.
We'll blow me down, it's put on more growth over the last month than it's entire two year history. Growth is coming out from everywhere and heaps of it.
It definately wasn't happy where it was, the ground is too well drained and I couldn't keep enough water up to it. I did the same with the Dade and Kampong until I get the ground sorted. All the others are growing strong, especially the Ortego, it has it's first little crop (7 fruits the size of marbles) hanging on, and, at the same time, has at least 7-10 little fruits just pollinated on every branch tip.


Time: 10th November 2012 8:09am

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peter 1000 says...
jason
please tell us when is the right time to cut and graft, ie. graft when
rootstock is growing strongly and
scion is dormant or rootstock growing
and scion also growing.
do you want any rainbow scion?

john
have you got a particular diameter
that you want.

Time: 10th November 2012 8:55am

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John Mc says...
Peter, I'll put my little bit in, in the meantime, this is what I do in general terms, not including pears apples etc.
To get the best chance of a successful union, have the rootstock putting out new growth, shows it's active. Try and get the scion wood with big fat buds before budburst. If using scionwood instead of budgrafting, my guess would be to get it at around pencil thickness. Try and avoid hot weather. I wind florist tape tightly around all the scion to minimise moisture loss, It works fantastic with avocado's. Then, cover the grafted pieces with something like a small cardboard box or bag to get them out of the direct sun.



Time: 10th November 2012 11:15am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Jason have you had Chris fruit yet? - no one seems to have much info on it. It's like asking for the Hope Diamond trying to get a description of the flavour - even the Daley's website just describes it as superior. Have just done a John Mc as mine is still about the same size as I received it seven or eight years ago..

Time: 10th November 2012 3:26pm

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Murwillumbah
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Jason says...
Peter 1000, in the ideal world you cut sapote scions when the buds are swollen and just a few days away from growing out. Then it's very hard to fail with the grafting. When grafting it doesn't matter much what the rootstock is doing so long as it's warmish (20-25c) maximums seems good.

Phil, yes I get fruit once in a while from my Chris tree, it tastes different. More resinous, maybe pine tree flavoured ...... or mangoish, mango pine tree. Last year it didn't taste as good as the first time I tasted it but one of those was a Winter crop and the other a Summer crop... Winter crops on sapotes always tastes considerably better here. In either case it's better than the typical sapote. It's definitely a weak grower that's why I pollinated one of the flowers with another tree that's super vigorous and I'm hoping it grows into a fruiter, not all sapotes do but I can only hope.

I need to find someone thats a pro fig grower btw to try and identify a deficiency I have with my figs.. The fruit tends to curl up like a cashew nut and then drop off. Not on all my trees but on some varieties it's a big problem and minor problem on the others. Since figs are a common crop I'm hoping that will identify a major lack of something in the soil that causes me not to grow some other things

Time: 10th November 2012 6:06pm

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peter 1000 says...
john/jason
what time of year do the buds start
to get swollen, and what if they have
already started growing out.

jason
google figs 4 fun and to see if you
can find a solution to your problem.
if not you can email them and describe
what the figs are doing and he should
get back to you within a couple of days.

i have about 25 varieties in differant
stages of growth.

what varieties are you growing?


Time: 10th November 2012 6:55pm

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adelaide
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Jason says...
peter 1000, with the figs I'm growing errr (thinking)

Excel
White Genoa
White Adriatic
Prestons prolific?
Brown Turkey (I though I had Black Genoa too but now I think I have 2x brown turkey)

And after that I have a lot of local varieties I've "borrowed" from old local houses, anything I see that ripens early around town I go back in Winter and flog a branch or two or a sucker.. or something :d.

Most of the commercial varieties don't ripen here or at least not in my especailly cold garden so I've had to mostly collect old local varieties which tend to ripen much earlier or with less heat. However most of the local ones I haven't had long and haven't seen fruit yet.

If the sapotes have already started growing out you just need to look for another branch :) you can pretty much always find a bud somewhere that's thinking about growing this time of year, but if they are no where near ready to burst it makes it difficult. Another option is to especailly prepare a scion by cutting the growing tip off a branch, that will make it bud swell really quickly

Time: 10th November 2012 7:22pm

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LoveFruits says...
Hello BJ/others,
My white sapote is also in the boggy spot like yours, small fruits and leaves dropped in August. The new leaves are growing at the end of October.
I don't know whether I should dig it up and plant it somewhere else or just leave it there. The tree is about 1.5m height.
I am concerned the tree will get the root rot, but on the internet it said that "White sapotes are resistant to both Phytophthora and Armillaria"

Thank you


Time: 22nd November 2012 2:25pm

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J says...
Can someone tell me what these black spots are on my white sapotes leaves? There are some on the trunk as well. They look like black paint drops. What should I do to get rid of them?
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2

Picture: 3


Time: 16th December 2012 6:44pm

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Jason says...
J, those look like some king of scaley bug/parasite

Time: 16th December 2012 7:20pm

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Portland
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J says...
Thanks Jason, how do I get rid of them? They are on my big vista and my two lemon golds.

Speaking of better news, my chris and one of my Wilsons has set fruit! Two more varieties I haven't tried. Out of last years crop I found the Vista and lemon gold to be the best tasting ones. All the tree that flowered last year are setting fruit again this season which is good.

Time: 16th December 2012 8:01pm

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John Mc says...
Give them a couple of sprays of pest oil.

Time: 16th December 2012 8:20pm

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J says...
john is that the same thing as white oil?

Time: 16th December 2012 8:35pm

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John Mc says...
Yes, I think it's a more improved version of while oil. You can make it up yourself by adding a teaspoon of canola or any kitchen oil with a drop of washing up detergent to a 500mm spray bottle and spray away.

Time: 16th December 2012 8:39pm

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Dave says...
Hey J, yeah its Black Scale, its actually a little sucking bug. John is right about the remedy (I use white oil).
There is a little bit around this year, only found it on my citrus this season, not much to worry about though.

Time: 17th December 2012 9:30pm

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Dandys
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Grant says...
Hi gang, i have a grafted lemon gold from Forbidden Fruits with no mates for cross pollination. The tree has dropped all of its original leaves and is now shooting out new growth, i was wondering if it might be a good idea to let one branch from below the graft grow in the hope of better fruit set when the tree gets to that stage

Time: 20th December 2012 11:02am

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Lennox Head
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amanda says...
Never heard of anyone growing a rootstock branch for that reason...wouldn't it 'take over'?

Although - Lemon gold is self fertile Grant so it shouldn't be necessary.
Mine set fruit without a pollinator...maybe it's a bit young yet?

It can also flower for quite a few months so there are good chances of favourable conditions during a long flowering...

Time: 20th December 2012 11:46am

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Leschenault (160kms south of Perth)
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Grant says...
Thanks Amanda, it was just a thought seeing as another variety is right there and i have no room for another tree.

I'm not panicing over fruit set yet as it has only been in for a few months, though if there is no advantage i'll just cut it off.

Time: 20th December 2012 7:15pm

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amanda says...
It's an interesting thought tho Grant... :) Sometimes we don't think of the obvious...I really don't know if L/Gold improves with a co-pollinator - (maybe Jason or someone on the Cloud Forest site would know) but if so - there is also grafting a different branch on as an option (even the rootstock one..)


Time: 21st December 2012 10:04am

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Jason says...
It's a tough call with sapotes. Often you just get a bad plant. A lot of the time the rootstock is not fully compatible with the scion and you get a tree that just wont perform. When that happens to me I'll usually grow a new rootstock and re graft the tree to that.

Sometimes a variety wont perform in your climate and the rootstock is twice as thick as the rest of the tree, in those cases I'd re-graft the tree then cut it back to the rootstock.

My Lemon gold is in a dry spot, but at ten years old is still small and only having flowered once and never fruited it's a bit of a dud. Other people have great success with them, but my particle tree in that hole is no good. Most of my seedling White sapotes have started flowering now, it takes between 6 and 10 years roughly in Southern Vic. The seedlings seem to turn out just as good as the average variety but are much stronger growers.

So in the end just watch that tree for a few years, it it becomes obvious it's no good I'd let the rootstock grow out then but not right now.

Another interesting thin about seedlings in general is that I had a volunteer Avocado grow in the flower garden infront of the house, pity it's right beside the slab and will have to go, but it flowered this year at maybe only 5 years old and it's already over the houses gutter in height. No fruit set this year but next year I'll graft it to a seedling because I want to see what kind of fruit it has one day. I'll cut it out once a graft has taken.

In other seedling news this year my 30? foot tall seedling sapote made it's first flowers (only two lol), no fruit set. Two of my macadamia's flowered, they made about 2 flowers each 2 years ago and one set 2 nuts which turned out just fine, no flowers last year and about 50 flowers each this year. They both have a decent fruit set this time are 13 years old. Another seedling Macadamia I have made one flower for the first time, no fruit set. My only grafted/cutting Macadamia is 1/4 the size of those other trees, same age and has not flowered yet...

I had one seedling Loquat flower and fruit for the first time this year at about 5 or 6 years old, tastes real good too! and one seedling fejoa maybe 6 years old also. I get pretty excited when seedlings flower, way more fun than a grafted plant because you never know how it's going to turn out. I've got a few seedling sapotes flowering the last couple years but only one regularly fruiting, they take a couple years after the first flowers to get going properly.


Time: 21st December 2012 8:52pm

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About the Author Jason
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amanda says...
Gee...that's patience and dedication Jason!? Good on you...I feel guilty that I am not trying a little harder now ;-) I do have seedling grumichama tho...it's a start maybe..? :D

Time: 22nd December 2012 1:13am

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John Mc says...
Grant, I think it's a reasonable idea, as long as you keep the rootstock growth in check. I'm doing the same with an African Pride Atemoya. The rootstock is Cherimoya. I'm grooming a branch coming off the rootstock for the same reason Jason gets excited about seedlings flowering for the first time. One day the Cherimoya seedling will flower and fruit, if it's not up to scratch, I have branches to either graft other related scions onto or cut it off completely.

Time: 22nd December 2012 2:28pm

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Grant says...
Terrific feedback, thanks. Well i will let it go, and watch and learn.

Time: 24th December 2012 4:48pm

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Lennox Head
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Alan says...
I've grown white sapote's in the Yarra Valley and inner suburbs of Melbourne. A few frosty mornings will cause leaves to yellow and fall - never experienced in Kew. Only pest is scale - it's ubiquitous (use white oil). Only self-fertile variety has been Ortego - it also pollinates others well - success also with Dade and Reineke. Ortego's fruits are smallish - about 250 grams - compared with Dade which exceeded 600 gms commonly in Kew. Had no fruit till ortego planted. I have lost 2 young trees to collar rot. All varieties I have tried have produced different (all good) fruit - Ortego is a bit sweet for me - but skin is tasteless (that's good).
Biggest problem is the size they grow to - with very invasive root system. Brush-tailed possums and flying foxes are real problems. Avoiding fence lines and proximity to other trees can keep possums away - hail netting is the only thing that works with flying foxes.


Time: 31st January 2013 5:29pm

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VF says...
I have a young Kampong (bought in Nov. from Daleys), and it is now already producing flowers. Does anyone have experience with this cv, as I'm about to plant it (now that we've finally had good rain), and wondering at how good a self-pollinator it is - should I plant it near other cv's (not such a good spot), or by itself (much better position)? Any advice welcome.

Time: 2nd February 2013 9:01am

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Wongawallan
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BJ says...
i've heard great things about Kampong. Mine is 30cm tall and has 5 fruits fully set and is still flowering and setting. never seen such precociousness in white saps before. i'll thin to 2 fruit. Not gonna bother with removing all fruit, like some would advocate, as white sapotes dont need any help 'getting their roots in' round these parts.

I also have acquired a golden globe with a limb of 'sunrise' or 'sunset', i can remember which, which is supposed to be an excellent cultivar.



Time: 2nd February 2013 2:51pm

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VF says...
Good going BJ! Certainly does sound precocious - mine is not much bigger than yours, so fingers crossed. I got a GG shortly after the Kampong, but this one has put all energy into growing, and now has nearly doubled original height (I love the velvety underside of the leaves of this one). I've not heard of sunrise/sunset, hope its' a good one for you. Thanks for reply.

Time: 3rd February 2013 7:17am

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J says...
Tried Two fruits off my chris tree yesterday. Very nice, Chris definately tastes different from Vista. I had a vista ready to try as a comparison and I had someone else try it as well. Chris was described by the other person as having a pistaschio like flavour. I wouldn't say that myself but it definately tasted a bit different from a vista or pike. Close to the lemon golds I've had.

Time: 13th May 2013 6:16pm

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upwey, victoria
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Jason says...
My mate and I both of English DNA have concluded Chris tastes exactly like pine tree flavoured butterscotch custard. My Spanish/American native wife says they taste Fruity Flan. It seems to vary a lot person to person. On the other hand they don't taste the same year to year so I guess they taste fairly different in each different garden

Time: 13th May 2013 6:44pm

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Portland
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Jason says...
I don't think there's much between Pike and Vista. Vista is definitely a little better though. Pike of course is a much heavier bearing (and smaller) tree, so it has some advantages. My Lemon gold is flowering heavily for the first time at the moment and its 10 years old+. But its in a very dry spot.

Time: 13th May 2013 6:55pm

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John Mc says...
I've read elsewhere that Lemon Gold takes many years to flower, I have no idea why. Mine has been planted out for three years now and is in full flower, sooner than I expected. Actually, they're all in full flower except Chris cv. I have 9 cv's and have never tasted any of them, yet. They'd better be good.

Time: 13th May 2013 7:15pm

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J says...
1 of my lemon golds flowered the year i put in the ground. lets put it this way, tue other lemob gold tree is a lot bigger right now. I have a wacky theory about white sapote flowering, having different varieties near that flower causes other slower flowering varieties to flower sooner.

Time: 13th May 2013 8:25pm

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J says...
Tried fruit from my Hawaiian Supreme Today. No where near as good as chris, however the skin was very firm, which made it easy eating, neat and tidy to scoop out. I have found Most white sapotes are very messy eating and the skin falls apart.

Time: 14th May 2013 3:46pm

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Jason says...
My theory is they flower after a dry spell or a cold spell or both. Timing when you eat a sapote seems very critical. One day too late or early and some varieties are terrible. Chris needs to be eaten much firmer than the smooth leaf varieties, maybe that's true for all the wooly leaves and hybrids like Chris.

Time: 15th May 2013 12:58am

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sapote says...
Hi, i have to problems with my sapote trees the first one is that the leaves got son kind of warts on top and the second is that the fruit outside has holes that goes to the inside of the fruit. Somebody knows how to take care of this problems.

Thanks
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 15th June 2013 1:23am

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VF says...
Your pic's look like Matisia (S.American Sapote) rather than White Sapote. Where are you growing these? As far as fruit damage goes, possibly Oriental Fruit Moth.

Time: 15th June 2013 9:24am

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sapote says...
Yes it is S. American Sapote and the trees are located in Colombia.

Time: 15th June 2013 6:12pm

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sapote says...
Yes it is S. American Sapote and the trees are located in Colombia. Do you know how to take care of the leaves problem?

Time: 15th June 2013 6:15pm

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Mike says...
sapote we call them matisia and you may also know them as chupa chupa.I hear that in their Colombian home you never see 1kg low fibre ones like that in the picture I ate recently.
Cuban May Beetles attack the foliage but not like that.It looks a bit like leaf galls but could be a virus or something else.If they are galls with a small grub in each lump, cut the leaves with them off and burn them.This is what you should do for a fungus or virus as well.If it is a fungus you may need to spray with fungicide. Trimming and fertilising would probably help no matter what the cause of the problem.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 15th June 2013 7:20pm

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Anonymous says...
Ive got an Ortega growing here in Adelaide approx 1.5m tall Ive had it for 18 months ,in spring thru summer I feed it light feeds of Commplete D,somtimes seasol, and Ive given the tree a hit of fungal innoculant -mycorrhyzal,one treatment is enough,its great for existing trees and fantastic on transplanting trees from pot to ground.Watch your soil medium ,must have enough fine sand( washed filling sand) for drainage,best to plant on raised mounds 100-150mm high.Mulch with a little chicken manure and lawn clippings and any thin autumn leaves you can get your hands on,approx 75mm thick and keep it away from trunk of tree.Best avoid bark chip mulches ,you will get nitrogen drawdown and plant will grow very slowly.The yellowing in photos looks like a cold weather response. Out of all the subtropicals this one is the toughest and easiest to grow.I hope I was of some help.

Time: 22nd June 2013 5:08pm

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Adelaide
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Linton says...
White Sapotes all dying suddenly!

All of my White Sapote varieties which have happily been growing in pots for the past year, except for one, the leaves started to go yellow in the last week or 2 and have now all dropped off leaving the plants bare.

It's funny how it has happened to them all simultaneously, except for the Vernon which remains healthy and unaffected.

It's baffling me as to the sudden cause of it.

Time: 5th December 2013 8:32pm

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Springvale, Vic
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PhilTyalgum1 says...
They are semi deciduous, mine are also doing the same thing but new growth is appearing as well. Strange to see my Vista looking like it's autumn with some large clusters of fruit on bare branches. The amount of new shoots is astonishing.

Time: 5th December 2013 9:40pm

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About the Author TyalgumPhil
Murwillumbah
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MaryT says...
Linton, Did you have a sudden cold snap? If they're in pots are they root bound?

Time: 5th December 2013 9:42pm

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Sydney
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Jason4 says...
Linton, Phil is right. They are actually fully deciduous in their native range in Mexico where they go dormant in the dry season and flower just before the rains. Then grow vigorously. Mine are all 80% leafless as of today and one of them is a powerful seedling maybe 30 feet tall. Its not dying :). Some have young new growth already but others havent started yet.

Time: 6th December 2013 12:26am

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About the Author Jason
portland
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phil@tyalgum says...
Jason should I thin the clusters of fruit on my Vista? Some of them have 12 or 13 developing at the ends of the branches, I can't imagine them all reaching maturity.

Time: 6th December 2013 9:52am

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About the Author TyalgumPhil
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Linton says...
Thanks for the advice, I didn't know that they were deciduous so it seems like there is nothing to worry about. They are not pot bound and I recently changed the potting mix.

The leaves turned yellow during a hot spell of about 34 deg. but they were well watered, maybe too much water.

I'll wait and see how they come back. Cheers.

Time: 6th December 2013 7:54pm

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About the Author Linton
Springvale, Vic
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J says...
So after a good 6 years from when I started this thread with pics of my tiny white sapotes I was putting on the ground in 2010, here are some pics of those white sapote trees from 2016. Big Thanks to everyone on this thread for all their help.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2

Picture: 3

Picture: 4

Picture: 5

Picture: 6


Time: 12th September 2016 9:59am

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upwey, victoria
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allybanana says...
Nice one J those trees look healthy I noticed your ground is pretty clear of weeds. Two of the grafts survived that we did and have tiny fruit if they work it may be my first chance at tasting this fruit. Those white sapote seeds you sent were planted in the Eden community garden greehouse and people like the seedlings as they look like something people like to smoke. I hope the taste of the fruit is good enough to salve their disappointment.

Time: 12th September 2016 8:57pm

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About the Author allybanana
EDEN, NSW
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J says...
haha! Not sure how eden locals could mistake white sapotes for the real deal but yes, once they taste the fruit, it should curb their munches and disappointment!
Ally hopefully those fruit that have set on the grafts take, just be aware that whitesapotes that set over winter taste a little different to those that set over summer (and ripen in late autumn). The summer set tastes better in my opinion.

Also I discovered white sapotes HATE being netted. Ive lost a few of my smaller trees that way. No matter, Markmelbs came over and took some cuttings from my Chris variety (Jason was right, it has the best flavour out of the lot) and grafted it onto some white sapote seedlings I have. So now Ive got three chris's in the ground.

Time: 13th September 2016 1:30pm

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upwey, victoria
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health101orgarticles1 says...
Your link of a photo of your 'Pike' tree is now not anymore alive on the internet.
Will you put another photo up?

Time: 15th September 2016 11:28pm

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EAST BRISBANE,4169,QLD
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health101orgarticles1 says...
Have you found and started using any organic fertiliser?

How well are your White Sapote trees fruiting and flowering?

Time: 15th September 2016 11:38pm

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health101orgarticles1 says...
How well are your trees flowering and fruiting?
Any flowers and fruit dropping?

What fertilisers do you use?

Do you know of any certified organic fertilisers?

Time: 15th September 2016 11:40pm

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EAST BRISBANE,4169,QLD
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health101orgarticles1 says...
How did your bunches of 12 or 13 grow?

Did you thin them out or not?

Time: 15th September 2016 11:49pm

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health101orgarticles1 says...
My book says it is an evergreen tree.

Time: 15th September 2016 11:53pm

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health101orgarticles1 says...
How are your dying sapote's going now?

Have you found a way to get them healthy?

Time: 15th September 2016 11:55pm

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J says...
Hi Health,
my white sapotes flower and fruit like clockwork. A big crop ripens around april to July (the flowering takes place in dec - jan for this crop) and theres a small crop that ripens late spring/summer (floweing for this crop occurs during winter). The biggest issue I have with my white sapote crops in my area is the possums getting to the fruit.

I've found having pollinator such as ortega, vernon and lemon gold does wonders for the fruit set, and yes planting in a row works well.
I use a combination of organic and chemical fertilizers and the sapotes respond well to this. Applied three times a year, early spring, early summer and early autumn. I have given the trees epsom salts in spring to prevent magnesium deficiency. Outside of this i dont give the trees anything.
Ive lost 4 smaller trees from netting them over winter. The bigger ones are too big to net. Im assumming its the netting the sapotes had a problem with because ive had no problems from any other trees that havent been netted. All 4 trees have been replaced. 3 of them with the chris variety- as i have stated before ( and so has jason) this is the best tasting sapote.

The sapotes that are in rows are about 7 trees in a row. This year was the first year Ive thinned them out. theyve been growing uninterrupted for 6 years.

Time: 16th September 2016 3:55pm

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upwey, victoria
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health101orgarticles1 says...
Don't you or Daley's have a record of what your order was way back then?

Time: 17th September 2016 2:23am

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J says...
The big sapote trees in a row are in order - oretaga, vista, reinecke commercial, 2 pikes and 2 vernons.
I have various other sapotes like lemon gold, wilson etc around but they aren't as big.
And just to be clear all my big sapotes were gotten from Perry's in SA not daleys.

Time: 19th September 2016 10:55am

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upwey, victoria
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health101orgarticles1 says...
To J from Upwey, which 'organic' fertilizers do you use?
Are they not certified organic?

How would netting harm a tree?
My guess is that it doesn't.

How do you protect from possums?
Trunk collars?

I have no possum problems.
I have seen only one on one night in from 9 to 22 years here.

I also have a Reinecke Commercial and a Pike together, and that's all the White Sapotes that I have.

See my other recent unanswered post.

Time: 1st October 2016 6:22pm

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J says...
organic fertz includes chicken poo and blood n bone.
No real solution for possums. Get to the fruit before they do!
The only sapotes of mine that have died have been ones that have been netted and process started while being netted. Hence my assumption that they dont like being netted much.

You really should plant an ortego, vernon or lemon gold near your pike and reinecke if you want them to crop well. Your varieties need pollinator varieties like those to set good amounts of fruit.

Time: 4th October 2016 11:17am

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upwey, victoria
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Harry says...
I finally tasted my first white sapote (Chris) about two weeks ago - but to be honest, I was very disappointed as the fruit was really bitter.
Not sure if I picked it to early as only 3/4 of the fruit was soft (except for near the stem which was still a bit firm).

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1


Time: 4th May 2018 2:45pm

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Original Post was last edited: 4th May 2018 2:50pm

About the Author Harry
ROXBURGH PARK,3064,VIC
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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Harry

With fully ripe white sapote the stem should fall off or easily detached when held. The skin should give way a bit like a ripe avocado but not too much like a mushy ripe persimmon. If underripe it will be unpleasant and any bruising will cause it to be bitter under the bruise. Mostly the skin is naturally bitter. So the tell tale sign is the stem. If it fell off or detached quite easily when touched it is usually fully ripe. With a few more practice you will get the hang of it.

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 6th May 2018 9:33pm

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Original Post was last edited: 6th May 2018 9:34pm

About the Author Fruitylicious1
TAMWORTH,2340,NSW
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Harry says...
Fruitylicious, thanks for the info! I'll take your advice and give it another go next Autumn - hopefully by then I'll have a bit more fruit to play with. Cheers




Time: 11th May 2018 2:50pm

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Original Post was last edited: 11th May 2018 7:09pm

About the Author Harry
ROXBURGH PARK,3064,VIC
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Linton says...
White Sapote leaves are turning yellow, Why?

Is it because of too hot, too much water, too dry or something else? It is in a big pot and the soil is moist but not wet.

Thank you.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Picture: 2


Time: 15th January 2019 9:29am

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About the Author Linton
NOBLE PARK,3174,VIC
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denise1 says...
White Sapote are famous for doing the occasional heavy leaf drop. New growth is usually just around the corner. This photo shows it quite dramatically.They are of no more use to the plant so could be cut off as I would do with all leaf problems on small trees.. Hopefully it is not anything more sinister.

Time: 16th January 2019 4:43pm

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About the Author denise1
auckland NZ
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Southacre says...
Hi Amanda, I am looking to plant a white Sapote in Canning Vale. Am wondering if they get attacked by fruit fly here in WA?

Time: 8th August 2023 1:11pm

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About the Author Southacre
CANNING VALE,6155,WA
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