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Messages - Archer

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black sapote never fruit sets
« on: August 23, 2019, 12:43:03 AM »
Well I ordered a grafted tree on ebay that showed up today.  It has one blossom on it that hasn't opened yet.  A lot riding on that one flower this season!  But I should be set up for next year for sure.  I'll report back if I actually get a fruit to set.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black sapote never fruit sets
« on: August 17, 2019, 01:37:33 PM »
Hey so I'm slowly becoming more educated about flowers.  I just cut one of the live flowers open and can clearly see both stamens and pistils in the same flower.  So this tree isn't female-only, it's "perfect", right?  Does that mean my issue is that it's self-infertile, not that it lacks male flowers?

I guess it's the same effect either way, just trying to resolve all of the conflicting information that I've read online.

I've found some trees available locally but wow are they expensive!  The amazing Exotica nursery had some enormous pots for $600 and someone else has something big enough that it's blooming for $350.  Yikes!

One other question I have is the pollinator.  Do honeybees actually squeeze into these flowers?  It doesn't seem physically possible, though I have seen a bee flying around the tree.  Is this pollinated by something else (flies?  butterflies?)?

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Black sapote never fruit sets
« on: August 13, 2019, 09:36:37 AM »
Thanks for the replies. Wish I’d asked a few years ago!

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Bananas are coming in
« on: August 12, 2019, 11:20:07 PM »
Looking good.  There are two surprising moments in growing bananas for the first time.  The first is when you realize it's flowering.  The second is when you realize you have 15 bunches of bananas ripening in the space of a week.  ;D

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Black sapote never fruit sets
« on: August 12, 2019, 11:16:14 PM »
I have a black sapote that I've grown from a little seedling.  My wife got it on ebay so I don't know very much about it.  It's about 8 feet tall with a pretty sturdy trunk.  It's covered in buds right now with a few blossomed.  Seems extremely happy.

So my issue is it's been blooming every year for a few years but no fruit.  Last year I inspected a few of the flowers and compared them to an image online.  I believe I've only found female flowers.

Here's a photo of a blossom and one next to it where the pedals turn brown and I pulled them off to show the internal structure.  I believe this is a female flower.



I don't have a second tree so there's nothing to cross pollinate with.  My understanding based on very thin information online is these trees are either solely male or have both male and female flowers.  However, I read this article which has vague wording that might suggest some trees have flowers which each are both male and female.

Can anyone straighten me out on this?

I've also read that most black sapotes that are sold are self-fertile but there's no way to know for sure if mine is.

Another concern I have is pollinators.  We've got plenty of bees, but can bees actually get into these tiny flowers?

I don't really have room for a 2nd tree but I could put one in a container.  If I can source a mature male tree just to put next to it to pollinate I could at least rule out the flower sex issue.  But that may be difficult.

Any advice appreciated.

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