white supote (forum)

Jane "B" starts with ...
I have a seedling white supote 11 years old. For the first time it has produced flowers this year that set then drop off at just under a centimetre across. i fed it with compete manure d in the spring and kept up the water to it. Someone suggested cincturing it, but I dont want to take the chance of losing it as it is a beautiful tree (about 10 feet high) I cut off a branch that was sweeping the ground and found it produced many sprigs of flowers above the cut. Can you suggest anything else I can do to help it hold its fruit please? Regards Jane

Time: 6th January 2012 7:08pm

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About the Author Jane B1
Tailem Bend S.A.
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Sean says...
Im really sorry to tell you Jane but most White Sapote's require cross pollination so you will either need to graft one of the branches of your tree to a different tree or plant a different tree ( preferably a grafted one)

Time: 6th January 2012 10:57pm

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Gippsland
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john says...
Sean, that statement needs a modifier; Jane's problem may be that she has an unfruitful seedling (which happens ) Even without cross pollination she should get walnut sized fruit that are seedless
If one examines the flower one can work out if it requires cross pollinating by checking if the anthers have pollen or are sterile. As you know some varieties are "semper flores" and do not need a cross polllinator

Time: 7th January 2012 9:56am

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Jane "B" says...
Hi Sean and John, I have taken a picture of the flower and added it. I am not sure what anthers are but there is a circle which looks like pollen. Am I right?
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 7th January 2012 1:06pm

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john says...
Anthers are the male part of the flower and are like filaments with a knob at the ends. If they are sterile then there is no pollen . Run your fingers over their tips and if you have a yellow deposit on your fingers it is a fertile variety that does not need a X- pollinator

Time: 7th January 2012 2:38pm

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Jason says...
Jane, it might take a couple of years to get going but there's a good chance it's a tree that needs a pollinator. A lot of sapotes are female only, usually they are the ones that have the larger fruitlet part of the flower. The good news for you is that it's only a matter of buying grafted Ortega or Vernon to pollinate it

Time: 7th January 2012 7:03pm

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Portland
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amanda says...
Getting a second flush of flowers on my Lemon Gold this year...(yay! & Yum!) Fruit fly found one I missed bagging :-( - so they do get them after all (must have just been lucky last year..)

Time: 7th January 2012 8:06pm

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About the Author amanda19
Geraldton. WA
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Sean says...
Thanks for that John
Can't say I have ever produced any of the non seeded type, mine either seem to be seeded or nothing. Although sometimes they produce small or flat seeds that don't seem to fill out correctly so possibly they are what you are talking about.
Either way I think the fact that Janes fruit all fell off sounds like a pollination issue to me.

Time: 7th January 2012 9:18pm

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Mike says...
I have seen trees fruit quite well without others being nearby.Some seedless fruits can be large and have seed 'slips' while other fruit on the tree may have 1 or 2 seeds.I think it depends on whether the seedling was from a selected good seedling line rather than a seedling from a named type that is usually grafted.Some seedlings have huge fdruit full of big seeds.

Time: 8th January 2012 8:42pm

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Robert says...
I am looking to plant a white sapote in my front yard and was wondering which variety
would have good ornamental qualities. I currently have a Golden Globe growing looking for a pollinator.

Time: 9th January 2012 8:42am

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J says...
I think vernon looks quite nice.

Time: 9th January 2012 10:18am

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Jane "B" says...
Thanks for your comments Mike. The seeds came from a fruit bought at Salamanca Market. It was a very large fruit with large seeds (about pidgeon egg size). After John's comment I checked the flowers. There were a few with anthers and lots of ants around them but I couldn't find any evidence of pollen.Trouble is I dont have the room to plant another tree.

Time: 9th January 2012 5:17pm

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About the Author Jane B1
Tailem Bend S.A.
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Jason says...
I'll use Pike for an example since it's a common variety that produces no pollen. Pike fruit without a pollinator gets to about the size of a cherry and has no seeds at that stage it will be ripe but tiny. You will never ever, ever... get a seed in a Pike fruit unless you have a pollinator. Many sapote varieties female only like that and a large percentage of seedlings are also.

Add a pollinator and you get 3-5 seeds usually and fruit the size of a cricket ball or more.

Jane if you have no room, just graft one branch over to ortega or vernon, they are very easy to graft. You will only need the one branch to pollinate the rest of the tree

Time: 9th January 2012 7:24pm

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Original Post was last edited: 9th January 2012 7:26pm

About the Author Jason
Portland
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Robert says...
Anyone know where i could chase up a vernon?

Time: 9th January 2012 9:58pm

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Lucy says...
You could contact this gentleman. I believe he has some vernon

Stephen Onians T: 03 9438 6702 minalinka@optusnet.com.au


Time: 9th January 2012 10:17pm

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Jane "B" says...
Thanks Jason. However, I am not sure I would be able to souce a branch in this area. I dont know anyone esle with a supote tree. Also I have no idea of how to graft it. Any hints. Jane

Time: 10th January 2012 12:40am

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About the Author Jane B1
Tailem Bend S.A.
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Jason says...
Jane, there are members of the Rare fruit society of South Australia very close to you with plenty of White sapotes, they also hold lessons on grafting them



Time: 10th January 2012 6:48am

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About the Author Jason
Portland
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J says...
I'll second Stephen Onians. Top guy. He has a bunch of other rare fruit trees as well.

Time: 10th January 2012 9:23am

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About the Author J
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