Cherimoya in Florida

[yoski]

Hi, Do Cherimoyas generally do well in Florida? I couldn't grow a Rollina to save my life, 3 failed attempts, so I give up. The Atemoya is doing pretty well and already had sizeable fruit.
So before I waste any more time, $$ and effort I figure I better ask.
thanks
Mike

[fruitmonger]

I believe that Cherimoya does not grow well here in Florida.

Cherimoya prefers elevation and needs cooler temperatures.

Here in Florida people use Cherimoya as rootstock.

I have a Rolinia here in Homestead that is growing well.

It is on Pond Apple ( A glabra) rootstock.

If you want something more similar to Cherimoya you can grow Atemoya.

Buy a grafted plant of a named cultivar.

Best of luck

[skhan]

They unfortunately don't do well. Well the trees might be fine but you won't get fruit to hold to maturity.
Plenty of discussion on past threads about the topic. You may be able to dig up the "why" there.

[fruitmonger]

My Rolinia

[Galatians522]

As has been mentioned, the tree grows fine. Har says getting fruit set is not a problem if you hand pollinate. Apparently Cherimoya fruits stop developing at higher temps, so they drop before they can ripen. I have a hunch that with the right cultural care they can be fruited in Florida and will be testing some of my theories eventually.  If you are not in the mood to experiment, I wouldn't try it for now. There is a fruiting pink Ilamma tree in Sebring by Dinner Lake, maybe that is something for you to try. It is also a high quality rare fruit that has a better chance of fruiting here. The cold did not seem to be a major factor for the Ilamma, either, so that is a plus.

[digigarden]

Dream annona is mostly cherimoya but probably not full. just call it cherimoya
Someone said the variety cumbe could maybe...

[Orkine]

I am trying dream and cumbe and will see, ... one day.

I have Cherimoya as interstock on pond apple so I could graft atemoya on the pond apple rootstock (wet area of the yard).  Anyway, twice it has set a couple of fruit and as others have said, it grows to larger than golf ball size then stops and eventually drops.  I had tested several varieties and the one that ended up doing the best for me (grafts well to my pond apple) was Dr White though others have also taken and are doing OK.  Remember though I am not trying to fruit them anymore just creating a platform on which I can graft other varieties that can do well here.  The occasional fruiting attempt is just a interesting distraction.

[chrobrego]

I've tried growing cherimoya in Orlando.  Tree does ok but won't hold fruit. I gave up eventually and just used it to graft a gefner atemoya onto it and the tree is now a superstar with the cherimoya rootstock; takes much more cold than the original Gefner that was grafted onto sugar apple.

[Sunrisefruit]

is cherimoya custard apple? if it is, my neighbor has one in his yard and does very well.. beautiful tree and fruits every year.. we are in Sunrise, Florida..
he has the red custard apple

[dm]

is cherimoya custard apple? if it is, my neighbor has one in his yard and does very well.. beautiful tree and fruits every year.. we are in Sunrise, Florida..
he has the red custard apple

If you google "Custard Apple", you will find that the use of this name is inconsistent, but I think these are the names that most on this forum use:
Annona cherimola = Cherimoya
Annona Reticulata = Custard Apple
Annona Squamosa  = Sugar Appple (comes in red & green, what your neighbor may have)

[johnb51]

And to complicate things further, in Australia they call atemoya (annona cherimola x squamosa) "custard apple."

[AlexE]

And to complicate things further, in Australia they call atemoya (annona cherimola x squamosa) "custard apple."

Yeah thats true,  technically what we call a custard apple is an atemoya but the majority of people here just use the name custard apple for everything, they don't know there are different species etc.  Doesn't matter what it actually is, if its an annona its a custard apple haha.