cbss - that's a very nice looking fruit! Wish mine looked like that. I posted an update on flavor in the
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=16319.0 thread. Tried to post a pic, but without success. Suffice it to say, mine look nothing like yours. What kind of soil is your tree planted in? In the other thread, we're wondering if they hate sugar sand of central FL - perhaps optimized for Miami's soil conditions? I suspect that my tree is producing off flavored fruits for some reason. Has the same kerosene like flavor I've only experienced in a purchased Jean Ellen fruit previously.
gunnar - thanks for the comments on topworking. I watched some videos on it yesterday, and it seems within my ability level to give it a go. I've done some grafting on other plant species before with reasonable success. More interestingly, I had expected that it would need to be done in spring, but from searching other forum posts, it sounds like giving it a pugging right after fruit harvest and grafting to the watersprouts has a good chance of success. That would be ideal - I'll know after I've harvested all the fruit if I'm willing to give it any further time to improve. If I decide it isn't a keeper (which is looking strongly likely) then I can try my hand at topworking. If I fail, then I can plant a new tree in spring, which is when I would plant anyhow if I decide to wholesale replace, since in my marginal climate an early spring planting works out best for new trees. But if I succeed, I could have a good sized tree by the end of next summer rather than a new tree that has just gotten its root system established. Doesn't seem to be a downside to trying. The only one I can think of - does the rootstock in any way impact the flavor profile or disease tolerance of the scion? Wouldn't want the off flavor I hate to be transmitted into the new variety, or for the new variety to be incapable of producing clean fruit. I expect that the flavor would not be impacted, since that is counter to the purpose of grafting good flavors onto a different rootstock, but I don't know about disease tolerance aspects. Usually rootstocks in other tree types I've got experience with are selected specifically for features such as disease resistance. What happens when there is a middleman (e.g. Angie) between the original rootstock & the new variety in regard to flavor & disease resistance?