first canistel ripened

[brian]

My grafted Bruce canistel set a single fruit that I've been watching for months.  It finally dropped on its own today and I found it on the greenhouse floor.  It is really tasty, outermost flesh is a bit dry but gets significantly moist towards the inside and much better than the ones I found lying on the ground at Fruit & Spice park (which were more dry and latex-ey). 

I'm very pleased!  There are many more new fruitlets that have formed in the past month so I expect a significant crop next year.





here it is on the tree a month or two ago when it started becoming yellow.  This tree is about 4ft tall and wide

[Gulfgardener]

I have a Bruce from Top Topicals but after looking at yours, I'm not so sure. Did it always have the point on the bottom or did it come a while later? Mine is holding 2 fruits but they are almost tomato shaped and are growing in a cluster from near the trunk.  Maybe it is actually a mislabeled Ross instead.

Nice tree. It looks happy!

[CarolinaZone]

Hey Bryan,
How long from flower to fruit. I have several canistels. All of them from 2 to 4 years old. Any tips on fertilizer and lighting?

[elouicious]

Great accomplishment brian!

I enjoy canistel quite a bit but never had a bruce

[CowboyFig]

Looks great! Are you able to plant directly into the ground in a greenhouse up north? Well done, bud!

[brian]

Mine definitely has the pointy-heart shape and looks exactly like the ones I had in Hawaii, and the pictures of Bruce I see.  I picked Bruce because it looked the most like whatever canistel I tried the first time and really liked.  I got mine from TopTropicals also.  I have been thinking about getting a grafted Ross... so if you become convinced you received Ross instead of Bruce I'll be happy to trade budwood with you.

I am not sure exactly how long it took from flower to ripe fruit, it feels like six months or more.  I have it planted directly into the dirt in the greenhouse, mostly-clay soil with no amendments.  Mine is in full sun, though the glazing probably absorbs 30% or so but it is still enough for part-shade plants to become sunburned.  It has been trouble free aside from a bit of scale on the new growth.  I have been feeding it 25-5-15 citrus fertilizer simply because I have a big bag of it, I'm not sure what the proper ratio is for pouterias.

I'm really happy to see it thriving.  I was worried about not enough light, short winter nights, etc. but it hasn't been an issue.

[brian]

My second year of canistel fruits are ripe now.  This year I got about a dozen without any hand or insect pollination.  The flesh is even more moist than last year, to the point of being slightly wet/translucent looking near the seed.  The tree continues to be problem free and medium vigor, I'm really happy with it.

It needs to be fertilized, haven't since last year

[fruitmonger]

Beautiful tree and fruit.
Thank you for sharing the images.

[sc4001992]

Congrats Brian, looking good. How long did it take for your tree to start to fruit? I have one in a pot but the roots are in the ground now and never had flowers on it yet (over 5yrs from seed).

[brian]

I bought mine as a grafted 1gal and started flowering first year or so.  I got a grafted 1gal sapodilla and green sapote that did the same.  I am not sure how long pouterias will take from seed but it sounds to be long enough that I was happy to pay for the grafted tree shortcut.

[sc4001992]

Yup, I will need try to graft a branch again.

[brian]

Two years later now, my 'Bruce' canistel is doing fantastic and is approach the point of producing more fruit than I can eat.  I just let them fall off the tree on their own and pick them up off the ground to eat immediately.  I keep the tree at ~7ft high and most of the fruit is low in the canopy.  As long as I find them within a day they are perfectly ripe this way.  Nice and moist, really sweet.  The latex isn't bad, I just avoid the skin.  Tree is really nice looking and white it attracts mealybugs they all congregate in the growing bud/tip so it is easy to spray.  It produces low branches regularly and has been easy to control with pruning. 

I definitely think it tastes more like undercooked cake than sweet potato.

[TropicalFruitHunters]

Very nice.  I think canistel is a good fruit.  Good looking trees too.

[RS]

Beautiful tree! Would love to see an updated photo of how you're keeping it pruned back yet so productive if you have a chance to post one.

[brian]

Thanks!  Will post one soon, I is much fuller than in the earlier photo

[70Malibu]

I didn't update on the Bruce canistel fruit I tasted so here's my taste test [ 9-12-25]

The Bruce canistel fruit is excellent, the flesh is fluffy or almost creamy and no latex that I can detect. This one and Roger's PR canistel fruits are the best I have eaten. Brian's fruits are very large so much more to eat, thanks Brian. I shared some fruits with a few others, and they also said it tasted very good, it's a keeper. The fruit tastes much better than a lucuma in my opinion.

[70Malibu]

Here's the Bruce fruits I got from Brian, excellent tasting fruits. It is tied with the Roger's PR, but I like Bruce a little more since it has fluffy texture when you eat it (maybe like whipped cream almost). The Bruce fruits are very large, more to eat.

The Roger's PR canistel has a denser flesh texture, still also tastes great. Glad I have both of them.

Taste Test on [ 9-12-25]







Thanks Brian.

[brian]

Glad you liked them!  A week ago I found an even larger one on my tree, the size of a grapefruit.  I think it was more than I should have eaten in one sitting

[70Malibu]

No kidding, that's a large fruit.

[JF Paso]

"Trompo" is also large and tear shaped.  I also let the fruit drop from the tree to harvest since it changes color pretty early on and I am never sure when it is completely ripe. Checking under the tree each day is like checking under chickens for eggs lol. The fruit is large and is moister then most descriptions. I like that the fruit on the tree ripens over time rather than all at once.  I share fruit but am mostly freezing it to use later in baking.  A pretty tree that has taken time to mature but is now one of my favorites.

[70Malibu]

JF, the Trompo sounds like a good variety as well. I have never seen the actual fruits. If you can, can you take some photos of your Trompo fruits. I just got a few more canistel (grafted with Trompo) and am using it as rootstock to graft more of the Roger's PR. If the fruit is large and tastes good, I will keep a few of the grafted branches on the tree since I see a few flower buds on it now.

[JF Paso]

[70Malibu]

JF, thanks for the photo. That fruit does look like a nice size fruit. I will be leaving my central leader (of Trompo) so it can fruit. Maybe there will be 3 good varieties to grow- Bruce, Roger's PR and Trompo.

[JF Paso]

I also have Arue, but it is still small and hasn't flowered yet. Trompo has been fruiting over the last 2 months and has 3 left on the tree.  I will prune when the fruit on the tallest branches fall. Arue has been slow growing and just started putting out decent growth thus year..

[70Malibu]

I read Arue was supposed to be good tasting.