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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Pouteria sapota production with chill hours?
« on: January 21, 2024, 07:51:11 AM »
Hi everyone,
i have been reading for days about Pouteria sapota, it is generally described as tropical, some sources say no frost tolerance and moderate wind tolerance, but here https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/pouteria-sapota/?lang=en i found that an adult tree can withstand slightly below zero for a short time, and this seems to be the case at my place, coastal Greece, frosts are not expected, and even if there is frost once or quite rarely twice a year, it will not last more than 2 consecutive nights, in other words it is just like zone 10 so an adult Pouteria sapota will not be damaged by frost; on the other hand, we do have chill hours, typically above +6 C during night, a few times i recorded +4 C this year so far, the place is generally not windy, but sometimes there are whistling winds from the sea SE. At daytime it rarely goes below +9 C (well, other years might be colder).
In short, i am sure that Pouteria sapota can survive in my yard, but, given the chill hours, will it bear fruit to be worth the price, as it is bitterly expensive to buy a Pouteria sapota little tree here. Seeds are cheap, yes, and AFAIK seeds produce stronger trees, but will seeds produce (after how long time) a self productive and satisfactorily productive tree?
Your advice please!
i have been reading for days about Pouteria sapota, it is generally described as tropical, some sources say no frost tolerance and moderate wind tolerance, but here https://www.monaconatureencyclopedia.com/pouteria-sapota/?lang=en i found that an adult tree can withstand slightly below zero for a short time, and this seems to be the case at my place, coastal Greece, frosts are not expected, and even if there is frost once or quite rarely twice a year, it will not last more than 2 consecutive nights, in other words it is just like zone 10 so an adult Pouteria sapota will not be damaged by frost; on the other hand, we do have chill hours, typically above +6 C during night, a few times i recorded +4 C this year so far, the place is generally not windy, but sometimes there are whistling winds from the sea SE. At daytime it rarely goes below +9 C (well, other years might be colder).
In short, i am sure that Pouteria sapota can survive in my yard, but, given the chill hours, will it bear fruit to be worth the price, as it is bitterly expensive to buy a Pouteria sapota little tree here. Seeds are cheap, yes, and AFAIK seeds produce stronger trees, but will seeds produce (after how long time) a self productive and satisfactorily productive tree?
Your advice please!