Recently Purchased 15 Gallon Hasya Sapodilla

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

I just purchased this Hasya Sapodilla and will be planting it shortly. It already has small fruit forming and the lower trunk diameter is about 1". I was going to nip off the fruit to encourage growth. The tree is 7' tall and the label indicates this was Pine Island Nursery stock. I bought it hear locally in Orange County for $300 which is the most I have ever paid for a fruit tree. I hope it grows well hear in the coastal zone of So. California. I live about 4-5 miles inland from the beach. Any idea how much growth I can expect yearly based on it's current size?.

Thanks

[JF]

Very little the first year and it will pick up after 2-3 in your location.  I would put that in the ground immediately

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Thanks for the info. I just dug the hole today and will be back filling with sandy loom soil in the next day or two.

Johnny

[rliou]

Sapodilla grows well in your zone.  My three gal makok from last year is already the size of you tree.  The trick is in the transplanting.  Sapodilla have delicate roots.  I have killed at least two plants early on because i transplanted it by yanking the trunk out of the pot the way i normally transplant mango.  For the two sapodilla i currently have, i cut the nursery pot verticaly in half (but still connected).  The i brought the entire pot to the predug hole and adjust the hole accordingly.  Then i simply slide the split nursery pot to the side and refilled the hole.  With this method, i find the rootball is undisturbed and it can continue growing the same season

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Thanks for the tip Robert. Normally I am careful about delicate fruit trees and lay the container on it's side and try to slide it off the root ball without yanking on the trunk. If that does not work I will cut the container as you said. I would hate to ruin my $300 investment as this is a nice Sapodilla specimen.

Johnny

[NewGen]

Did you buy it from a nursery, or  private seller?
Thanks,

[Bhkkatemoya]

I bought one recently just like yours too a few months back.  Put it in the ground immediately, been seeing flowers but no set fruit, maybe two little ones but eventually dropped off; however the good thing is I also start to see a lot of new growth on it.  Hopefully it'll take off like others said. 

[gnappi]

Sapodilla grows well in your zone.  My three gal makok from last year is already the size of you tree. 

WOW, that's a surprise. My Makok is in the ground since 2011 and is still ~6-7' tall, which I do not mind at all, but it always seems to be in bloom and have fruit on it.

[bsbullie]

Sapodilla grows well in your zone.  My three gal makok from last year is already the size of you tree.  The trick is in the transplanting.  Sapodilla have delicate roots.  I have killed at least two plants early on because i transplanted it by yanking the trunk out of the pot the way i normally transplant mango.  For the two sapodilla i currently have, i cut the nursery pot verticaly in half (but still connected).  The i brought the entire pot to the predug hole and adjust the hole accordingly.  Then i simply slide the split nursery pot to the side and refilled the hole.  With this method, i find the rootball is undisturbed and it can continue growing the same season

Never seen or known that sapodilla have delicate roots.  If your tree was not rooted out, that is one thing but delicate roots, never experienced that.

[michsu]

got this last September.. grafted 3g Alano sapodilla ($40, including shipping).. wow $300 is a lot for one plant..but I guess you want the fruit faster..  hope you get some fruit this year then.. I have to wait another year.. lots of flowers this year, but removed them.. I also bought a 7 gallon Hasya for $95, including shipping (about half your size I think).. just put that into the ground last week..

I do have a question on mine though.. it seems to be growing wide and not tall.. hasn't added much height.. it's been flowering quite a bit though.. so I guess the height won't really matter? Easier for me to pick.. my Haysa is really tall though.. so we will see what happens.. is it better to go tall or wide?





Current - 1 year (October)

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

I purchased the Sapodilla from a private party that specializes in tropical plants. They source there trees from a variety of nurseries and growers. Our prices hear in Calif are always much higher than that of Florida.  I recently talked to a lady that bought a 3 gallon Sapodilla tree directly from Pine Island Nursery several years ago and $160 after shipping and the inspection fee required in California.

I chose the Hasya for it fruit season (Nov-June) which is opposite of my stone fruit like peaches, plums, apples and also mango's. I prefer a taller tree that will hopeful grow faster than some of the smaller and semi-dwarf cultivars. This Hasys will be about 25 feet from my Beaumont Macadamia tree which is also very ornamental and I wanted another attractive tree with high quality fruit to complement it. I have not seen such a small bush type Sapodilla like michsu has and this type would not be a good fit with the rest of my tropical tees in the front yard which will be at least 15 feet tall when fully grown. Each person has there own preferences but taller pyramid shaped trees look very nice indeed.

Johnny

[michsu]

my trees are on a slope, so that works for me  I can't pick any fruit if they are over 15 ft tall.. oh, for that 3 gallon it's pretty expensive ($160).. I could get 2 x 7 gallons for that price from my source.. I figure having the Alano alone isn't good enough, so I also added a Hasya.. with those two it should be a good match with eating quality..

well, good luck to you  hope you get some fruit and let us know how it tastes like. Yeah, I do wonder about the way my Alano is growing.. that's weird.. but as long as it gets fruit, then I'm happy.

[raimeiken]

that's a pretty small 15gal size tree. I recently got a 15gal alano sapodilla that has a much thicker trunk than that and better canopy. I think your seller must have repotted a 7gal into 15gal and charged more for it.

[bsbullie]

Is it even a 15 gallon pot?   There is also ah lot of empty space in that pot.  Looks taller than most 7 gal would be but yes, trunk is a little thinner than would like to see.

[JF]

Is it even a 15 gallon pot?   There is also ah lot of empty space in that pot.  Looks taller than most 7 gal would be but yes, trunk is a little thinner than would like to see.

Rob, we get ripped off by some nurseryman...how much would that be in Florida $65?

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Raimeiken might be right insofar the seller might have purchased a 7 gallon from Pine Island and put in into a 15 gallon container earlier this year and it did not have a chance to grow that much. I did notice the trunk diameter was not as thick for that size pot. My other options were to drive to Ong Nursery in San Diego (2 hours each way) and see what they have. I might do this anyways as they have a lot of interesting fruiting tropical plants. I have room for one more tree, either another mango or sapodilla. The large fruit of the Oxkutzcab Sapodilla intrigue me as it has received positive feedback for both the quality of the fruit and attractiveness of the tree. Will have to check this out when I go to Ong's in a few weeks. I probally overpaid but I picked up the tree locally and had it back home in less than 40 minutes (including driving time).

The other options are online. Top Tropical s charge $80 for a 3 gallon Sapodilla plus $65 for shipping to California. Pine Island Nursery is even more expensive. You guys in Florida are lucky because of the wider availability and much cheaper prices. I hope this Haysa grows well and it already has small fruit developing which I will likely remove to promote growth.   

Johnny

[bsbullie]

Is it even a 15 gallon pot?   There is also ah lot of empty space in that pot.  Looks taller than most 7 gal would be but yes, trunk is a little thinner than would like to see.

Rob, we get ripped off by some nurseryman...how much would that be in Florida $65?

At Excalibur,  7 gal would be $65 and 15 gal would be $125.  Price would be cheaper if from ZHPP.

[rliou]

Johnny. You may want to check with Champa nursery in El monte.  They get their trees from PIN.  That's where I bought my makok.  I don't think they sell any big sapodillas though but you can call and check

[achetadomestica]

I love sapodillas. I have 7 grafted trees and a couple grown from seed. I only put 2 in the ground this year. I live in 9b and want to get them larger before planting them. I did plant a 3 gallon haysa this past spring. It flowered and had allot of small fruit but dropped it all. It grew well this summer and hopefully we will have a mild winter or two. Your tree looks awesome. I have seen and heard of trees that seem to go dormant after planting and then bam after a couple years they really take off especially alanos. I bumped up all my grafted trees to 7gallons and they are growing well so far. We are about to cool down and I will plant a couple more in the Spring. I also have noticed some trees are more bushy then others. I have topped allot of mine to encourage them to bush more and I prefer them bushy. I have seen trees that are 20 feet tall and only 10 feet wide and I have seen 20 foot trees that are 20 foot wide and I much prefer those trees. The trees love high humidity and temperatures above 80F. When my trees are in this range they constantly flush new growth which is reddish and looks cool. My yard is full of Sri Lankan Weevels and the sapodilla leaves are virtually untouched by insects. I am going to plant the trees next to oaks for protection. Good Luck with your tree.  The only thing better then a sapodilla tree is two sapodillas or 7.
Mike

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Thanks to all that replied. Much appreciated. I just planted my Sapodilla and the roots were wrapped around the container but not tight so I'm guessing it was probally moved from the 7 gallon to this 15 gallon about 6-9 months ago. The Pro can #15 had to be cut as I could not remove the tree. The root system was largely installed intact and the temperature has been warm hear in late October (high 70's) so hopefully it will adapt and grow well in 2016. We will see as I am quite curious regarding the growth rate.

[bsbullie]

I am not sure if the picture is deceiving however that looks to be too low in the hole?  Please pist a picture of the final planted tree.

[starch]

that's a pretty small 15gal size tree. I recently got a 15gal alano sapodilla that has a much thicker trunk than that and better canopy. I think your seller must have repotted a 7gal into 15gal and charged more for it.

raimeiken, did you pick that up from Shamus? I got a 3 gallon Molix from him maybe a month ago and up-potted to 5 gallons and it has already put on 4-6" of new growth. Very pretty tree and leaves and I am definitely optimistic about growing it down here.

[zands]

I hope you get lots of delicious fruit from it. Good that you have the cojones to spend that much on a super-sized fruit tree. Good luck! Oh, I see you planted it...

I just had to do the same...Destroying a nice large 15-gal pot to get the fruit tree out safely. Pounding on the side of with your fists will usually loosen it up enough to get the tree out with the pot intact. But I paid $85 for my large avocado and I was not going to risk tree damage. Tree is doing great 6 weeks later

[JF]

Johnny
Here is an example of sapodillas growth 7 gallons inland Orange County for summer
I planted out two sapodillas in May 12
Here is how they looked then and now

May 12





Now

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Hear are a few photos of my just planted Hasya Sapodilla. I still have to add a little more topsoil to level where the tree is planted. JF your Sapodilla put on quite a bit of foliage over the last six months. The new growth looks healthy and next year should be great because of the warmer El Nino weather conditions hear in the West. I will try to post updated photos in one year to compare the growth of this tree.   

Just a side bar hear are (2) photos of my El Bumpo (5 gallon) and Fino de Jete (15 gallon) Cherimoyas planted in April 2015. The last picture of the Cherimoyas was just taken today. 2016 should be good for these trees also.

Johnny


(15 gallon Hasya Sapodilla)




(El Bumpo & Fino de Jete, April 2015)


(El Bumpo & Fino de Jete, Oct 28, 2015)