White Sapote --anyone growing it?

[zands]

This fruit was ripe in Homestead, South Florida about April 7th 2012. I got a few tastes this year. It is sweet with a little tart. It is fairly close to mango in taste. If you want an early mango this would be a good substitute. I see Pine Island nursery lists them. Any other sources in South Florida for it? thanks!

WIKI = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sapote

[bsbullie]

This fruit was ripe in Homestead, South Florida about April 7th 2012. I got a few tastes this year. It is sweet with a little tart. It is fairly close to mango in taste. If you want an early mango this would be a good substitute. I see Pine Island nursery lists them. Any other sources in South Florida for it? thanks!

WIKI = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_sapote

Excalibur has multiple varieties from 3 gallons up.

[NewGen]

I have it. Over 6' tall, no fruits or flowers, been in the ground for over a year.

[johnb51]

I've never tasted a white sapote grown in FL, but have eaten many back in my SOCAL days.  I would have never described the flavor as mango-like although they are delicious.  The flavor always reminded me of bananas.  It's the creamy, melting texture that sets them apart.  It's definitely a very worthwhile fruit.  If I had the space in my garden, I'd plant one for sure, but I've never seen a white sapote tree that wasn't quite large and spread out.

[Squam256]

Growing Redland, Younghans, and Suebelle. Not really impressed with how the trees are growing.

[HMHausman]

I have Redland, Sue Belle, and Younghan's Gold.  Redland is a huge healthy tree that barely produces any fruit.  When it does produce fruits, they have a bitter aftertaste which I did not encounter when I tasted it at the Fruit and Spice Park many years ago.  So something about the location or the rootstock that I used changed the character of the fruit.  My Sue Belle and Younghan's Gold trees are struggling.  Not very hardy here in my yard.

Harry

[FloridaGreenMan]

I have seen seedling trees in Homestead just loaded with fruit. Problem is that many here have a little turpentine aftertaste. I thought Dade tasted OK but nothing near as good as decent mango. These fruits seem to do best in Calif. They have over 100 cultivars!
   

[Jackfruitwhisperer69]

My white sapote is a seedling I planted 3 year ago! The tree is really beautiful...hopefully my seedling will produce in 5 years time or less

I tried a white sapote fruit from a very large tree in Santa Rita...it's was over ripe and tasted bland

I found some cultivars that have excellent flavour!
*Lemon Gold
*McDill
*Suebelle

[FlyingFoxFruits]

x

[gnappi]

I see Pine Island nursery lists them. Any other sources in South Florida for it? thanks!

I put my SES2 in the ground ~1.5 years ago. It's VERY slow growing, even slower than my Jaboticaba but my Jabo has given me at least a couple of dozen fruits in its second year in the ground. I still wait for the SES2 to flower. It's probably 4+ years old, and has grown only a few inches since I bought it.

I got my SES2 at Excalibur, it was pretty expensive if you go there expect to pay dearly.

[bsbullie]

I see Pine Island nursery lists them. Any other sources in South Florida for it? thanks!

I put my SES2 in the ground ~1.5 years ago. It's VERY slow growing, even slower than my Jaboticaba but my Jabo has given me at least a couple of dozen fruits in its second year in the ground. I still wait for the SES2 to flower. It's probably 4+ years old, and has grown only a few inches since I bought it.

I got my SES2 at Excalibur, it was pretty expensive if you go there expect to pay dearly.

What size was it when you bought it (what gallon pot) ?  Price should be no different than any other fruit tree based on the size pot it is in.

[fruitlovers]

White sapote grows fine here, but much better on dry side of island. They are too disease susceptible with a high rainfall. Don't think they taste anything like mango, but definitely a top notch fruit.

[stuartdave]

I have suebelle 5yrs in ground,homestead 1 yr in ground,vernon 8 yrs in ground and 2 seedlings 8yrs in ground,-no fruit from any and the only blooms are from the suebelle,but no fruit yet. They are very slow growing except for the homestead. Very disappointed so far as I tasted one at excalibure 8 yrs ago and it  was delicious.I live in Stuart Fl and they should grow well here.

[Ethan]

I've a bunch of varieties grafted on my main Vernon tree, there is definitely a difference in fruits, some are rich and delicious others have bitterness or other off putting flavors.  When they are good though, they are great.  My main tree seems to be pretty carefree, just water and ferts, occasionally ants.

-Ethan

[zands]

White sapote grows fine here, but much better on dry side of island. They are too disease susceptible with a high rainfall. Don't think they taste anything like mango, but definitely a top notch fruit.

It was ridiculous for me to say it tastes like a mango. I meant to say it is sweet and juicy like a mango so if you like mangoes you will like white sapote. And since it is ripe earlier than mangoes it sort of extends your mango season. I would think of it as an early mango...but as another poster said, it is closer to banana taste

[FlyingFoxFruits]

NOT SO RIDICULOUS!
One time a fellow handed me a sliced fruit on a plate, which I assumed to be a white sapote...it turned out to be an Icecream mango!

Although the taste is very different, the appearance and texture of the white sapote, can be strikingly similar to mangifera.

BTW..the icecream mango was amazing.

White sapote grows fine here, but much better on dry side of island. They are too disease susceptible with a high rainfall. Don't think they taste anything like mango, but definitely a top notch fruit.

It was ridiculous for me to say it tastes like a mango. I meant to say it is sweet and juicy like a mango so if you like mangoes you will like white sapote. And since it is ripe earlier than mangoes it sort of extends your mango season. I would think of it as an early mango...but as another poster said, it is closer to banana taste

[JF]

Here is my Suebelle. It's been in the ground for over two years and has reached twelve feet. Great tasting fruit if I could only get it to produce more than a few fruit in a year. I will give it one more year to perform or it's out of here.

[HMHausman]

I had completely forgotten about the variety Bonita Springs.  As I recall, it was an excellent fruit.  I forget now if I once grew one or grafted one.  Either way, in any case, I no longer have it.  Amazing fruiting airlayer you have there.  I'd be concerned for its long term survival because of the amount of fruit it is producing and holding in relation to its small size.  Hope I'm overly concerned about nothing.
Harry

[fruitlovers]

While some varieties of white sapote are certainly better than others, most in my opinion are quite good, and just some are excellent. I only had one cultivar of white sapote that was terrible, and as you might have guessed this was one that was developed in California for commercial sales. I forget the name of it but it kept on shelf for a VERY long time, exterior very dark green, quality comparable to Tommy Atkins. HAHAHA

[zands]

Hi Harry,

My growing style is keep em small, productive, and allow the tree to self regulate. I swear by 2-10-10, great results with this fertilizer mix.

You have some interesting things to say here. Are you still using Ironite as a foliar? With some soap?
 Hi Andrew, I fertilize my fruit trees with 2-10-10. The first number Nitrogen (N) gives you growth, the second number Phosphorous (P) encourages blooms, and the third number potassium (K) promotes root growth. I don't want my trees getting big so I keep them potted and feed them a low nitrogen [size=100%][/size][size=inherit]fertilizer[/size]. I also use Ironite to provide the missing micro nutrients such as Zinc and others. Not only do I put the Ironite granules in the ground I also mix a batch and spray the entire tree with it.    You can find both items at Lowes. 
Sunniland Bloom Special Fertilizer 2-10-10 Item #: 97809 :  Model #: 120146 5 lbs $5.00   
Ironite Mineral Supplement 1-0-1 Item #: 237903 :  Model #: 2149601502 40 lbs $19.00

[FlyingFoxFruits]

x

[JF]

Suebelle near me...I just took budwood from this and grafted onto my redlands/smathers tree.

I like the small fruits..they are aromatic I remeber...am I right?  I've only had a few, and they seemed small, and delicious.

Seems to have fruits or flowers almost 7 months of the year near me.

Unbelievable fruit. Small yellow fruit with a hint of mango, coconut and cherimoya. I have only tried a few varieties most of them have this bitter taste near the skin but suebelle is in the top of the class. Ethan would be the expert in the field of casimiroa edulis. I would love to hear his opinion.

[murahilin]

That is correct. I have lots of results to provide as proof that this system works. I have sandy soil and my soil pH is 7.2 in my yard. If you have alkaline soil your results may be much different, but you can always grow your plants in pots like I do. I do not use the ground soil for potted plants since I have a serious nematode problem in my yard. I use the Jungle Growth Flower and Vegetable Professional Mix from lowes.

Jungle Growth was my favorite potting mix but the Lowes around here stopped carrying it recently. I haven't been back to check recently but the last time I was there the people told me that they no longer carry jungle growth. Is it still available in your area?

[zands]

That is correct. I have lots of results to provide as proof that this system works. I have sandy soil and my soil pH is 7.2 in my yard. If you have alkaline soil your results may be much different, but you can always grow your plants in pots like I do. I do not use the ground soil for potted plants since I have a serious nematode problem in my yard. I use the Jungle Growth Flower and Vegetable Professional Mix from lowes.

Thanks much for your foliar ironite idea. Foliar will work in any kind of soil....so alkaline soil is not a factor

[Jsvand5]

I have a redlands. It has grown reasonably well for me. I bought this tree before trying the fruit. Once I tasted a few I kind of lost interest in the tree. It will be one of the things that I get rid of on my trip down south this summer.