Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

[starch]

Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

I have a spot in my yard that will get quite a bit of western exposure / afternoon sun. And if possible I would like to put either a Chico or a Mamey here and wondered which would be the better fit?

[bsbullie]

Both

[Finca La Isla]

I would say both too. Maybe in an extreme competition, and Arizona might be the place for that, the Chico would be the choice.
Peter

[JF]

Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

I have a spot in my yard that will get quite a bit of western exposure / afternoon sun. And if possible I would like to put either a Chico or a Mamey here and wondered which would be the better fit?

Chico may work for you. Mamey is too tender for your climate unless you protect it.

[starch]

Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

I have a spot in my yard that will get quite a bit of western exposure / afternoon sun. And if possible I would like to put either a Chico or a Mamey here and wondered which would be the better fit?

Chico may work for you. Mamey is too tender for your climate unless you protect it.

Hey JF, whichever plant goes here it will be protected in the winter (frost cloth + christmas lights) to be kept above freezing temps. I am willing to do that for the cold end. I am more concerned with the hot end.

[starch]

Rob and Finca, thanks!

[JF]

Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

I have a spot in my yard that will get quite a bit of western exposure / afternoon sun. And if possible I would like to put either a Chico or a Mamey here and wondered which would be the better fit?

Chico may work for you. Mamey is too tender for your climate unless you protect it.

Hey JF, whichever plant goes here it will be protected in the winter (frost cloth + christmas lights) to be kept above freezing temps. I am willing to do that for the cold end. I am more concerned with the hot end.

Starch
it wouldn't be enough. Mamey are not easy in Florida worse here. Your climate is not suitable i would go with sapote and that's iffy.

[starch]

Which handles full sun better: Mamey Sapote or Chico Sapote (Sapodilla)?

I have a spot in my yard that will get quite a bit of western exposure / afternoon sun. And if possible I would like to put either a Chico or a Mamey here and wondered which would be the better fit?

Chico may work for you. Mamey is too tender for your climate unless you protect it.

Hey JF, whichever plant goes here it will be protected in the winter (frost cloth + christmas lights) to be kept above freezing temps. I am willing to do that for the cold end. I am more concerned with the hot end.

Starch
it wouldn't be enough. Mamey are not easy in Florida worse here. Your climate is not suitable i would go with sapote and that's iffy.

Gotcha, thanks JF. Based on these responses, here is my plan:

- Plant the Sapodilla in the spot with the western exposure that I am talking about
- Plant some Mamey seeds (just got some fruit in, it is so good!) in the understory of my large citrus and frost protect it. That way I can see how it develops and hopefully I can keep it alive through the winter, and if I can't then it's just a seedling that failed. But if I can get it to live, then I will be able to graft a Pantin or Pace on it sometime in the future.

[EvilFruit]

Chico should do better in desert climate because I live in a desert similar to AZ (without the frost  ). I had one mamey sapote in the ground for one year and then it declined and died for no reason. It's hard to keep it alive in desert because of high pH and low nutrient in soil. besides the fruit needs high humidity and almost 16  months to fully develop.

You might need to take a look at green sapote since it can be grown in Socal if I'm not mistaken.

[EvilFruit]

Another good candidate is LUCUMA 

[starch]

Thanks EvilFruit, great feedback!

[mangomandan]

In my own limited experience, mamey is more drought sensitive than sapodilla.  It can fruit in partial sun.

In southern Florida sapodilla thrives with limited care.  Neither is necessarily a fast grower.

[fruitlovers]

Chico handles almost everything better than mamey sapote: extreme sun, high temperatures, and extremely poor soil. I've seen Chico growing and fruiting in southern India in soil that looked like bricks and scorching hot sun. I think in Arizona mamey sapote would not survive long, unless you grow it under shade cloth and baby it.

[Finca La Isla]

It's amazing how adaptable chico sapote is.  It is actually native here where I live and the trees grow huge in the wet rainforest.  It also thrives in the very hot, dry winds of NW Costa Rica and Nicaragua, to the arid middle altitudes of Oaxaca.  Obviously members grow it in CA and it should work in AZ.  What are its limitations?
Peter

[starch]

In my own limited experience, mamey is more drought sensitive than sapodilla.  It can fruit in partial sun.

In southern Florida sapodilla thrives with limited care.  Neither is necessarily a fast grower.

Thanks mangomandan .

[starch]

Chico handles almost everything better than mamey sapote: extreme sun, high temperatures, and extremely poor soil. I've seen Chico growing and fruiting in southern India in soil that looked like bricks and scorching hot sun. I think in Arizona mamey sapote would not survive long, unless you grow it under shade cloth and baby it.

Thanks Oscar. Yeah, I am definitely convinced that I should put the Chico in that spot.

[starch]

It's amazing how adaptable chico sapote is.  It is actually native here where I live and the trees grow huge in the wet rainforest.  It also thrives in the very hot, dry winds of NW Costa Rica and Nicaragua, to the arid middle altitudes of Oaxaca.  Obviously members grow it in CA and it should work in AZ.  What are its limitations?
Peter

Thanks Peter!

[greenman62]

I have a Mamey i grew from seed.
it survived 29F / 2 years ago, though it looked pretty bad.

this last winter, 34F was our coldest night
and it lost some leaves, but its looking pretty healthy.
i think size has a lot to do with it. it has gotten larger and can take colder temps
or, maybe can take cold temps for longer periods of time.

I wish i had grown Green Sapote instead though
i heard they handle cold much better.

[starch]

Awesome greenman, thanks!
Yeah, I will be experimenting with both Mamey and Green Sapote. I have three Mamey seeds in the ground (they were already sprouting in the fruit, so a very good sign) that I planted this week in the understory of my large citrus. I also have some Green Sapote seeds on pre-order from Oscar (fruitlovers) and they should be available this summer. I will plant them next to the Mamey seeds. And so I will be able to see how they handle the heat and cold together in my environment when they are grown side-by-side .... assuming they sprout and I don't kill them right off the bat

[WaterFowler]

I put a small Morena sapodilla at my renters house last spring. I put a shade over it during July, August, and September. It saw temperatures from 30-119 degrees and came out fine with no winter protection, other than a little frost burn on a few leaf tips. It will only get stronger as it gets bigger, so I'm keeping my hopes up.

I also had 4 Haysa sapodillas in 15 gallon containers at my house which is a little dryer, hotter in summer and colder in winter. They seemed happy until temps got over 110 degrees. I put them under 60% shade and they survived, but didn't thrive. In the winter, on an unusually hot day, the plastic I had over them blew down from a gust of wind, and draped over the plants which subsequently fried the top 12 inches of all the trees. But 6 weeks ago, I put them in the ground and all are growing vigorously, one is even flowering. They seem like pretty tough plants.

[starch]

WaterFowler, awesome story, thanks for sharing! Exactly the kind of observation that I was after. Yep, based on what you and others have said I definitely think the Sapodilla in that spot is the right call.

[WaterFowler]

No problem. Here's the Morena at my renter's home. Surrounded in hot rocks, surviving on nearby lawn water with competing plants all around it, yet has grown by at least 50% since I bought it a year ago as a very small tree.

[raimeiken]

Hey Starch, my chico is planted in ground next to a south facing wall, gets full sun all day and it's looking good. Haven't gone through a summer yet (planted last fall), but I think it'll do quite well in the spot.

[starch]

WaterFlowler,

Nice!

raimeiken,

Hey man! Right on, that is great. Yeah I have mine in a 5 gallon bucket right now and it gets south/east exposure and is in sun until about 2pm. I will probably move it to it's new home this fall. Just want it to get a little more size first. It is about 4-5 ft tall now.

[gnappi]

My makok sapodilla is in the sunniest spot in my yard and loves it here in so. Fla. How well it would do in Az.  is another thing.