I’m super excited today as the severe cold fronts we’ve been having down here in South Florida have thinned out the foliage on my trees enough for me to notice my first red Custard Apple!!! I didn’t think any of my hand pollination took,  but I guess I was wrong.  I tasted this fruit for the first time a  few years back and honestly it has to be my favorite fruit of all time next to a fresh orange.  I was so impressed with the fruit I immediately planted a second tree only about 8ft from the original in hopes that they would kinda mesh together slightly during maturity for just a giant glob custard apples one day. Very excited today! Variety is San Pablo

Quote from: achetadomestica on December 18, 2017, 01:26:23 PM

Quote from: Aina Exotics on December 18, 2017, 01:10:27 PM

i was talking to lynn at frankies nursery and she said they do their chico by airlayers starting in spring thru summer. If they do air layers there then id imagine it can be as successful as grafting or atleast quicker. protect em from the sun with foil for sure. Seedlings do grow quite slow so id imagine it would be worth it to find a airlayer process that works.  good luck

Good to know spring is time to airlayer. I just wondered after you remove the layer
of skin around the branch wouldn't there be a lot of milky crap. Do you wash off with
a hose before you wrap in sphagnum? It has to be messy?

I concur, spring time is best for Sapodilla air-layering, in fact air-layering in general. They can take up to six months, and at times longer, before being able to be removed from the parent tree. You can check month after month with little or no root growth noticeable, and then BAM!, the roots begin to emerge. There is some latex bleeding during the air layering process that gets on your hands and tools, however it's not so much that it needed washing off with a hose. Make sure plastic is wrapped tight, particularly at the top, to prevent rain from getting in. Too much moisture in the plastic wrap and the air-layer will wither and rot. Best success has been with upright pieces around 1" in diameter, although I have seen larger diameters work. You will likely have to climb to the top of the tree for the best air-layer candidates. Be careful and good luck.     

I harvested about 15 Alano sapodilla about a month ago. Most of them were well rooted. They might have been on for two months or so. I used long fiber sphagnum and I think I put a little rooting hormone on but that probably isn't necessary.

I don't know if this works for all cultivars but I have seen other people air layering Alano.

No problems. I prefer grafting most things though because I believe if you have a healthy air pruned seedling for a rootstock you will have a much stronger tree.

I did try air layering on the Alano before and rooted very well.  It takes long time to root though.  This time, I will try to do on my Silas Woods sapodilla. I hope it will work too.

I don't have an answer for you and am curious what forum members would say to answer your question.  I just envy you for wanting to trim your sapodilla.  Here I am, I cannot get my Makok to grow enough in Southern California, let alone have the luxury to think about trimming my tree.

It also grow super slow here in SF area. It will be hurt if I throw away a year of growing so that's why I am asking if I can propagate it into a new plant.

Why I want to trim my plant? because I want to keep it low so I can protect it in the winter much easier.

Here’s a shot of some fruit on my tree, I performed the first round of thinning but skipped the second round because I was too busy. I would much rather have fewer larger fruit than a bunch of smalls because the ratio of flesh to seeds/skin is higher in larger fruit.

My hand in picture for scale


Simon

It's hard to tell without a photo ref. There is more than one disease that can cause brown spots.
Here's a link that may be helpful for identification. I've had similar issues with my A. reticulata, but it usually goes away over time. Much of it it caused by high humidity.
http://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/crop-production/integrated-pest-managment/ipm-for-fruit-crops/ipm-strategies-for-custard-apple/custard-apple-diseases-and-symptoms

From my experience none of mine began setting fruit until the trunks were as thick as two pencils. I read somewhere that maturity has a huge role to play and for me that was certainly the case. Now i cant get it to STOP giving fruit. I have mine on the West side of my property in full southern california sun, and it takes the 100+ days like a champ.

I just want to add my experience regarding sapodilla as well.  I am in Southern California.  A few years ago, I had an Alano.  It was small and had tons of flowers every year but no fruit set ever.  About three years ago, I got a Makok.  It's a bout 3-4 feet tall and is currently in a pot in because I have not found a good spot for it.  I keep it in full sun exposure.  It has lots of flower set.  After two years, last year, it has one fruit currently about the size of an egg.  This year, I am more diligent with watering.  It now has 7-8 fruit buds.  I don't pollinate by hand.  I don't know why it behaves this way.  I just want to share my experience.

My Alano set fruit last year in the East Bay, but it was right next to a Silas Wood so they may have cross pollinated (not that it is necessary, but it might have helped).  The fruit held for many months until it disappeared one day, but I think letting a young tree hold the fruit may have been the reason it died several months later.