hilariously under-potted annona

[brian]

How is this thing fruiting?  This shop constantly surprises me with the trees they have fruiting in containers that are a tenth of the volume of what I would expect is required.  Many look leggy and unhealthy but they are alive - and fruiting.

Also, any idea what species this is? 

[Tropical Bay Area]

Soursop annona muricata
I think annona roots tend to be shallow, but not that shallow! Perhaps the tree has broke the bottom of the pot. Maybe the nursery is on a pot or soil crisis (Just like me (._.))

[Oncorhynchus]

Did you try moving it? I’ve had neglected seedlings send extensive root systems out the bottom of the pot to the point where I had to dig them up to move them.

[W.]

I would bet money that tree as either broken through the bottom of the pot or sent a root through the bottom drainage hole that is as big as the hole. Notice that the pot is not even sitting flat anymore. That shows how little the tree needs it for stability.

I remember seeing a video once of a jaboticaba collection. The owner had some Sabaras in 4" pots that were 4' tall. Of course, they were not really growing in the pots so much as growing through the pots.

[brian]

How much money??  :-D

This shop has a ton of trees in tiny pots like this and they are always moving them around. I am almost positive that this one is NOT attached to the ground in any way.  I didn't try moving it, though, but there are probably fifty other similar trees like this there and many are on wooden tables.   Most are citrus or plumeria, though, this is the first annona I've noticed there.

Thanks for identifying.  I had only seen more mature soursop fruits and they tended to be more bean-shaped than simply round like this.

[ben mango]

What nursery is this ? They must give it a lot of fertilizer. Think of how badly root-bound it is

[brian]

this is Otts Exotic Plants in Schwenksville, PA

Their sales are mostly typical nursery flowers but they also have a ~50ft tall greenhouse with old tropical trees up to the ceiling they use for photo ops.  They have a bunch of weird old unlabelled trees in containers that appear to have been aggressively harvested for rooted cuttings they sell.  I don't think they are big fruit growers as many of their fruit trees look painfully neglected. 

[W.]

this is Otts Exotic Plants in Schwenksville, PA

Their sales are mostly typical nursery flowers but they also have a ~50ft tall greenhouse with old tropical trees up to the ceiling they use for photo ops.  They have a bunch of weird old unlabelled trees in containers that appear to have been aggressively harvested for rooted cuttings they sell.  I don't think they are big fruit growers as many of their fruit trees look painfully neglected. 

That is the greenhouse I want for my collection. Imagine the fruit trees I could grow in that one.

[brian]

Yes it is quite nice looking, but I can't imagine how much it would cost to build, heat, and maintain a single-pane glass structure like that.  It usually has a lot of dirt and algae on the glass, though it is possible they prefer this for the shade it provides.

[W.]

You are supposed to paint traditional glass greenhouses with shade paint for the summer, so maybe the algae growth and dirt accumulation serves the same purpose. I remember the local florist painting their greenhouse every spring when I was a kid; they were quite traditional and still grew many of their own plants for flower arrangements.

The build cost would be high for a greenhouse like that. Of course, that design is far more ornamental than most greenhouses built today and accordingly would be more expensive to reproduce. I have actually been looking into greenhouse construction and costs lately; building a large greenhouse has been on my mind. I think I would use a Geo Air system to regulate temperature in my greenhouse. I like the look of it, though I would not use the same greenhouse design as that system's inventor and would add an extra heat source in case the Geo Air system is not all its cracked up to be.