Annona Cold Hardiness

[edself65]

Here is some photos that I took yesterday of my Kampong Mauve Sugar Apple and San Pablo Custard Apple. Both of these trees are planted on the West side of my house with full exposure to the north wind. If you view these photos you will that the Custard Apple was very severely damaged! It was killed back to about 8 inches about the ground! This tree was almost 7 feet tall and 6 or 7 years old (I moved it here with me in a large container to die in the ground in Florida!) before I had that 25 F degree night several weeks back! I found some live bark a few inches above the ground and placed some Ilama scions on it! If you look at the Sugar Apple you will see some branches lost all foilage and some branches held foilage! The branches that are bare are starting to bud out now! I could never tell anyone that Annona reticulata is a more cold hardy annona! I was trying to grow all annonas for 10 years in Texas and we had severe freezes every single year compared to the South Florida freezes! Every single year Annona reticulata was the first ones dead! I was able to fruit Sugar Apples 8 of the 10 years that I lived in Texas growing in the ground! I had people come by see them and taste fruit each year! Take a look at this winters results and draw your own conclusions!

Sincerely,

Ed Self

[FlyingFoxFruits]

your post is concurrent with what has happened for last 5 yrs here in Central FL...have seen A reticulata turn to a stump, and A. squamosa live almost like a damn guava...

A. reticulata takes too long to fruit from seed, and becomes too large of a tree...also being too cold sensitive...

A. squamosa fruits in 3yrs from seed at only 2.5ft tall, and can handle 28 no problems...I see them all over town...but see no reticulata.  Wish I did! 

I've been all over Orlando and seen only a few up here...Larry had one, at Our Kids Nursery, in Winter Garden (stump, but alive), and a buddy of mine Lincoln has one (massive stump, coming back with suckers all over, now 10ft).  Larry's never grew large enough to fruit, but Lincoln fruited his before those two wicked freezes we had around 3 or 4 yrs back...ever since they keep getting stumped...but all A. squamosa and atemoyas did fine!  all over town.

I have a hybrid reticulata, that seems much more cold tolerant than regular reticulata. Fruits are said to be yellow/green and taste amazing.  I hope to have fruits later this year, or next year! I keep u posted!

[HMHausman]

Sorry to see this damage, Ed.  And, your comparative damage findings are interesting and somewhat unexpected.  Not having gone through the kind of cold you had prevented me from discovering, on my own,  what you found. the very hardest of ways.  On behalf of us native Floridians....our most humble apologies for our damaging cold snap.  We really do hope for warmth and sunshine thoughout the winter. Let me know if you need more ilama budwood.

Harry

[fruitlovers]

Main problem with A. reticulata here is chalcid wasp. They seem like a magnet for this wasp and almost all fruits are mummified. So am thinking of cutting my 2 trees down. Other annonas get the chalcid wasp, but not nearly as badly.
Oscar

[edself65]

Thanks Harry! If you look close at that first picture I put 3 Ilama scions on the base of that custard apple stump down close to the ground where I finally found some green wood! I am hoping to use it as a rootstock for Ilama. I will keep a closer eye on the weather now.

Thanks,

Ed

[Guanabanus]

Thank you all for this really good information on the relative cold-hardiness of Annona squamosa and lack thereof by Annona reticulata.  I would not have guessed this difference.

[merce3]

Bumping this back up from the past... Does anyone know of any other cold hardy annonas? I will be moving to Tallahassee and I'm trying to get a sense of what might survive annona-wise in 8b.

[Guanabanus]

All Asimina species, and a few Rollinia species from extreme southern Brazil and northern Argentina (very small seedy fruits), are hardy in mild temperate zone areas.

There are also several related genera from southern China, some of which are said to have edible fruits.

[Domnik]

Ed, perhaps you've come to the stronger plant, but it might be something else to. Among some species I have observed that approximately 1-3% of the population differ resistance to cold than others. Unfortunately, sometimes what is observed in the field can be difficult to repeat and prove a serious scientific study. I think that Your annona reticulata just might have little better place than other.
In the other hand: You planted it in the corner. The wall and fence is a better backdrop (background thermal) than single wall. Besides, under the most damaged plants you have open space. At first glance, the differences may seem insignificant, but they are not the same. Over just a few meters away there may be significant differences (heat) tempertatur.
Regards
Dominik

[Guanabanus]

Plant health, especially good hydration with high-Brix sap, can increase the plants' resistance to cold, by lowering the temperature at which the sap and cells will begin to freeze.

Brix is the total of dissolved minerals and glucose in the sap.

[johnb51]

Plant health, especially good hydration with high-Brix sap, can increase the plants' resistance to cold, by lowering the temperature at which the sap and cells will begin to freeze.

Brix is the total of dissolved minerals and glucose in the sap.

Good point.  Thanks.

[vlan1]

Cherimoya and Atemoya are certainly doable in 8b,  you just have to be prepared to lend them a hand on nights when it gets below 28F

[TREESNMORE]

Most of my annona are in pots. That way you can protect them from the cold. In 2009 or 10 whenever it was 24 degrees here I lost all of my atemoya in the ground but Gefner maybe it takes the cold a little better.