Abiu tree?

[FRUITBOXHERO]

Wondering if abiu is worth growing? Have a z4 but not sure if I need 2 trees to pollinate or if it's selffertial ,also never had abiu fruit...is it tasty? also if anyone in south Florida is growing they can give me some tips on growing, full sun? Feeding? Watering? Ect ect ect

[EvilFruit]

It is supposed to be a very tasty fruit but I have never eaten any. If you love Star apple fruit, you might love Abiu too.

[bsbullie]

Nothing like star apple/caimito in my opinion.  Flavor profile is totally different. Is it the best tasting fruit, some say it is.  In my opinion,  variety makes a difference and as with anything,  tastes are subjective.   

It should survive for you in Springs.  Best to plant on South side of the house (protect from North winds).  It could show some damage in a real cold snap (it would not have been happy in January  2010), especially young trees.  There is some writings that say you will benefit from cross pollination howevwr I have seen single trees set fruit.

Noel had the best tasting Abiu at his old house in Springs.

[Mike T]

They are very good and not really like star apple all that much. Their flesh is firmer and transluscent with caramel overtones and fruit have good flesh yield,Z4 is one of the best. They can have fruit on their own but yields are better if the x pollinate.

[DocFruitFly]

Definitely worth growing if you can. It's a very finicky, slow growing tree, but the fruit is outstanding. As far as I know, there are no named cultivars, but the one tree I've had fruit from was really, really good

[bsbullie]

They are very good and not really like star apple all that much. Their flesh is firmer and transluscent with caramel overtones and fruit have good flesh yield,Z4 is one of the best. They can have fruit on their own but yields are better if the x pollinate.

I would add vanilla and apple butter nuances to the caramel undertones.

[bsbullie]

Definitely worth growing if you can. It's a very finicky, slow growing tree, but the fruit is outstanding. As far as I know, there are no named cultivars, but the one tree I've had fruit from was really, really good

There are named cultivars but getting true budwood from them can be difficult to say the least.  Many in the US grow seedlings from named varieties or I have seen grafted trees where the budwood came from seedlings of the named varieties.

[Doug]

I don't know if it's just the abiu variety I grow, but the fruit to me is like a small rich and sweet honey dew melon. I love them. My favorite caimito!
No insect or disease problems...just birds. Also my neighbors have them growing and fruiting in partial shade, so I have planted some in shade to see what happens.

[Vernmented]

Wondering if abiu is worth growing? Have a z4 but not sure if I need 2 trees to pollinate or if it's selffertial ,also never had abiu fruit...is it tasty? also if anyone in south Florida is growing they can give me some tips on growing, full sun? Feeding? Watering? Ect ect ect

Are there more Z4s available? Is it grafted? It is one of my favorite fruits. It is a PITA to grow though. I have a ton of seedlings limping along.

[savemejebus]

Noel had the best tasting Abiu at his old house in Springs.

Waiting for my Noel abiu seedling to bloom. Been in the ground about 2-3 years and is about 8 feet tall and bushy. Generally healthy except for the recent attack of lobate scales which I have been scraping off.

[bsbullie]

Wondering if abiu is worth growing? Have a z4 but not sure if I need 2 trees to pollinate or if it's selffertial ,also never had abiu fruit...is it tasty? also if anyone in south Florida is growing they can give me some tips on growing, full sun? Feeding? Watering? Ect ect ect

Are there more Z4s available? Is it grafted? It is one of my favorite fruits. It is a PITA to grow though. I have a ton of seedlings limping along.

Gonna be tougher to grow in your zone/location.

[ftmyersfruit]

Grows fine in 10a/b Lee County. Slow to start though, but they take off quickly. It seems to like at least one additional tree for pollination. I have seen tiny fruit to huge softball sized fruit from different seedlings so variation is huge. Z4 is supposed to be great but never tried it myself. I planted three in one hole to attempt to resolve the pollination issue.

[FRUITBOXHERO]

Wondering if I should try and get another tree forpollination purposes

[demingcr]

Are they able to be pollinated by Canistel?

[FRUITBOXHERO]

Are they able to be pollinated by Canistel?

That I am unsure of

[cbss_daviefl]

I had an abiu in the ground that died on me.  I think it died from lack of water during winter.  I have a seeding from Noel that I planted in 2013 that looks like it will be flowering heavily this year. Tiger 90 Sulfur applications have helped. 

[shot]

Had a seedling from jim west that pushed fruit 2lbs football shaped orange yellow  slow to come in bearing but then it was productive until 150 mph wind

[JonathonForester]

Had a seedling from jim west that pushed fruit 2lbs football shaped orange yellow  slow to come in bearing but then it was productive until 150 mph wind

Same storm that killed the maprang?

[shot]

Yes same storm but not maprang still have large ones it was marang the only fruiting one in florida.what kills me i did not propagate that abui when i had it that was the only abui that died to much root damage.Who knows how strong the gusts were in that storm but it was the worst for the island in like 100 years [guessing]

[fruitlovers]

Are they able to be pollinated by Canistel?

No, Totally different 'animal'.

[fruitlovers]

Abiu grows like weeds here, and can fruit in 2 years, if lucky. Have many volunteer trees growing around mother plant. Love the taste. Problem here is oriental fruit fly. Every single fruit that is not bagged is stung.    I'm too lazy to bag them. I just go for the starapples instead, which have thicker rinds and never get stung. 

[arvind]

Abiu grows like weeds here, and can fruit in 2 years, if lucky. Have many volunteer trees growing around mother plant. Love the taste. Problem here is oriental fruit fly. Every single fruit that is not bagged is stung.    I'm too lazy to bag them. I just go for the starapples instead, which have thicker rinds and never get stung. 

wow i learned something new today.I never though Star apple are fruit fly resistant.Thanks for the info.I'll be getting star apples after this and it is a rare tree here in malaysia

[FRUITBOXHERO]

Thank you all for the replies! Guess I'm gonna give it my best shot and see if I can grow/fruit this thing!