The Tropical Fruit Forum

I moved so many banana pups around I can't remember what I put where. This one just fruited and it is delicious. Here are the facts of the case:

• Psuedostem is about 9 feet tall, very thick and sturdy
• No distinct coloring or veining of the leaves
• Bananas are short, thick and stubby, about 4 1/2" long
• Delicious taste with a sweet lemony flavor, almost like lemon curd

Around the time I planted this, I had bought SH-3640, Hua Moa, Double Mahoi, some kind of Namwa, and a few others that were probably FHIA varieties. I lost the map I made. First photo shows the suspect banana on the left next to a longer supermarket banana on the right.

I know it's short notice but maybe somebody reading this will see their dream property for a relative bargain. It goes to auction this Saturday. Just under 4 acres of land right next to the St. Lucie River on a major road with direct access to I-95. This parcel is east of I-95 and close to Nelson Family Farm and US-1.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2088-W-Midway-Rd-Fort-Pierce-FL-34981/47815486_zpid/

Suggested opening bid is $174K, I would be surprised to see it bring that much. With land in this area typically trading at almost $100K/acre, somebody could get an absolute bargain.

It is currently zoned commercial, so that would cover a fruit stand business along the main drag. Maybe you would need to change that to mixed use / Agricultural / Residential in order to live there and build an orchard. The lot across the street which is directly on the river went to auction last month. Zone 10A and very suitable for growing just about anything you want. I am a couple miles south with a full collection of tropical fruit.

I have no relationship to the owner/seller/agent and no financial interest in the transaction.

I've eaten Soursop, but have very little other experience with Annonas. I have been eager to taste more and Lara Farms recently listed Custard Apples for sale on their website. I ordered a box of the San Pablo variety, which came to a total of $114.75 shipped. Four fruit arrived the next day, all weighing over a pound. That works out to just under 30 bucks a fruit. One of the reasons I got involved with fruit trees was to save money on food, and that's working out great so far.



A San Pablo Custard Apple resembles a massive heart-shaped strawberry, complete with indentations on the surface. It looks delicious with all the colors of Valentine's Day. The reddish-purple skin covers flesh with swirls of pink and crème.

To eat, wait until the fruit turns soft and squishy, cut in half, and scoop with a spoon. The flesh is full of small seeds, like a watermelon, except each seed is coated in a slimy jacket making them harder to eat around. I stopped counting after 30 seeds. Each bite contains seeds so you won't be able to get a big mouthful of just fruit. This is not the kind of fruit you share on a first date, unless you met at the rare fruit council plant sale. In that case, sharing a custard apple would be a true test of intimacy, staring into each other's eyes as you chew like camels around the seeds and spit them out so you can plant a seedling tree together. True romance.

Close to the skin, the texture is gritty and grainy like an Asian pear. The San Pablo contains more stone cells than any Sapodilla I have tried. Near the center the fruit becomes soft and slimy. I wish I could describe it as creamy or custard-like but it reminds me more of mucus. Although that improves with refrigeration, the grainy and limp texture of this custard apple is a major drawback, and maybe the reason it's not more widely known.

The price, rarity, and vivid colors raised my expectations for taste. The fruit has strong sweetness, about 7/10 on the sugar scale with some tart balance from the flavor. I taste two main flavors swirled together. The base layer is strongly reminiscent of Asian Pear and mild banana. On top of that a ribbon of mixed berries weaves in and out. I taste tangy strawberry, raspberry, and boysenberry with pleasant sweet and sour notes. Ever tried a bag of frozen mixed berries after they thaw? That's what I'm tasting.

Some have described the flavor of San Pablo custard apple as raspberry yogurt. While that's close, I just don't taste much dairy, certainly not the sour tang you get in yogurt. The raspberry yogurt description at least approximates two distinct flavors that are not completely mixed.

While eating San Pablo Custard Apple for the first time proved exciting, ultimately I'm left disappointed. I struggled to get past the texture and the seeds. The fruit tastes very good, but not great. I can see it as an occasional treat, but not the sort of thing you would cut open in the bleachers at a little league game to enjoy with a bag of Doritos and a root beer. It's worth trying if you can find one for free or cheap, but at 30 bucks a pop, save your money. If you are growing fruit, and the goal is to make money, then this might be a profitable fruit to grow given the prices charged by mail order sellers.

Mango season might be more sweet and more sexy, but Florida Avocado season lasts longer. Let's document the complete cycle of 2025 Avocado Season in Florida.

I hope we can learn more about Florida's avocado calendar from flowering, fruit set, harvest and pruning practices. Submit your notes and photos on dates, productivity, flavor and ripening. I should have started this thread a couple months ago, but it's better late than never!

One last thing, this is Florida Only, sorry California bros. Don't want to mix up the data.


Super Hass blooming profusely March 3rd with bees pollinating


Choquette lagging behind, just starting to bud and show growth March 3rd

Did anybody go to Xain's World the Saturday before last for a Fruit Hunter White Sapote tree? I woke up early and made the drive down to Loxahatchee. I arrived to find 5 people crazier than me already waiting politely in line at the gate. I haven't camped out for anything since Led Zeppelin played Tampa Stadium in 1977. Down 140th Street, a line of hopeful fruit tree growers would form, all waiting to get their hands on the latest and greatest White Sapote. Which is, of course, the Campbell "tastes like flan" White Sapote, wait that was 2024. Now in 2025 it's the Fruit Hunters Giant Flan White Sapote from Homestead.

I spoke to Xain earlier in the week and knew that he would be putting out about 25 trees starting Saturday morning, and I wasn't worried at all about being able to buy one. I mean, nobody in Florida gives a flying rip about white sapote, it's not like we're talking about buying limited edition Air Jordans on black Friday. That was UNTIL a certain guy put out a literal hype video the day before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnIyHGux2R8

Xain was extremely hospitable, he brought out some fruit so we could snack while we waited for the nursery to open. I tried Rose Apple for the first time and really enjoyed it. I was lucky to get the Fruit Hunters tree, but I missed out on the Younghans. Lots of people missed out on the tree they came for, but Xain had many other new White Sapote varieties available, many that I am not familiar with. He will also have another hundred Fruit Hunter trees in a few more weeks.



I'm excited to grow this tree because it thrives in our local environment, and appears very productive. We'll see if it really fruits outside the normal white sapote season, I'm skeptical and wonder if the mother tree is simply so mature and so productive that some of the fruit can hang on there a long time?

I love Sapodilla. I have eaten a lot of them and already have 5 young trees in the ground (Thomas, Morena, Silas Wood, Alano, and Butterscotch) so my decisions are made. While I wait for those trees to start producing, I couldn't resist ordering a sampler box from Lara Farms. The box contained the Tikal, Morena, Hasya and Molix varieties, an excellent selection. The fruit varied in size from baseball down to chicken egg.

When I eat Sapodilla, I am looking for sweetness with tropical dimension, the way that rum or caramel develops sugar's flavor into a complex and exciting taste. Sweetness level should be moderate but not excessive, and rounded out with some spice. I like a firmer texture when ripe, plus a little grit to complete the illusion that I'm eating a tropical pear. My favorite way to eat them is to peel off the skin with a paring knife and then eat it like a pear. I will start off with Tikal & Hasya.

Tikal Sapodilla Tasting
The first Tikal I tried was overripe with a soft, watery texture. Even when ripe the fruit has less body and bite than the others - it doesn't stand up well to chewing. Tikal lacks much texture but on the plus side for some, it also lacks grit. Moderately sweet with no acid component. The flavor is uncomplicated, tasting almost like granulated white sugar or maybe "sugar in the raw". In a generous mood I might say it reminds me of a weak, low quality maple syrup flavor. Tikal lacks spice and complexity. For most serious tropical fruit growers, Tikal will be a letdown on both texture and flavor. However, the mild flavor might be good for kids or others who avoid exotic tastes? Although decent and enjoyable, there are better options than Tikal.




Hasya Sapodilla Tasting
Cutting open a Hasya Sapodilla reveals a much redder flesh than other varieties. The redness increases with ripeness, as does the flavor. The texture provides some bite and firmness when ripe, along with a satisfying fine graininess. Not soft, squishy, or gritty. The moderate sweetness comes with caramel overtones, adding dimension to the sweetness. The flavor is full of tropical spice with cinnamon, floral notes and even hints of Mamey Sapote. The complex taste is both memorable and outstanding, and not overly sweet. I want to eat more and it has been a struggle to wait for the rest of them to fully ripen. The large fruit has small seeds and I consider this a top selection. I have heard some concerns about low production on trees.

I need to plant a Star Fruit tree, and with their heavy production, I only need one tree. But which variety tastes best? I've had Kari and Fwang Tung but wanted to try a few others so I ordered a variety box from Lara Farms. The box included 16 Star Fruit, with 4 each of Arkin, Fwang Tung, Kajang and Sri Kembangan.



What am I looking for in a good Star Fruit? I eat it as a refreshing, hydrating snack after I've been outside working in the heat - nature's Gatorade. For flavor I like slightly sweet with a bit of tart and a mild fruity flavor. It should be watery and weak, like a cucumber mixed with an orange. I prefer Star Fruit with a crisp, snappy texture even when ripe.

Arkin Carambola: mild watery flavor reminds me of Meyer lemon, like a weak lemonade with equal sweet and sour components. Only faintly sweet with some acidic pucker. The small fruit has good crispy texture even when ripe.

Fwang Tung Carambola: more prominent flavor that tastes of plum and nectarine. Moderately sweet with much less acid to balance than Arkin. The very large fruit could be slightly crispier when fully ripe, but it's still has some snap and body when ripened to sweetness.

Kajang Carambola: the first Kajang I tried was insanely sour, it must have just been a bad one. The others in the box had an excellent more intense flavor reminiscent of fruit punch. Quite a tropical taste. You will taste some sour, and I wish it was just a little sweeter to balance the acid component. Decent crispness even when the fruit is overripe. Medium sized.

Sri Kembangan Carambola: pleasing flavor that tastes of tangerine and green grape. The milder flavor is more toward the cucumber end of the Star Fruit flavor spectrum. Not fruity enough for my palate. Slightly sweet without much acid punch. Wish it was a touch crisper when ripe. Medium size fruit.

Of those 4 selections, Fwang Tung was a clear winner for flavor and the large size fruit also helps make the case. Keep in mind that the ripeness has a huge impact on flavor, and the fruit seems to vary from piece to piece. I still want to taste Bell and Lara, they both have excellent reputations for taste. Xain recommends Bell very enthusiastically and I definitely trust his judgement.

Tasting Mamey Sapote convinced me to go past backyard mango grower to crazy fruit tree collector. On a trip to Xain's World to buy Mamey trees, Xain sold me a Whitman Green Sapote tree and since then I've been looking for an opportunity to taste the fruit. I've heard several people say they prefer Green Sapote to Mamey Sapote, so when I saw the 5 pound box of Whitman go up for sale on the Lara Farms website, I placed my order right away.

As he always does, Julian sent way more than the listed amount, about 8.5 pounds of fruit. At $85/box plus shipping, Green Sapote is one of the most expensive fruits available on the Lara Farms site and works out to over $10/pound. While that's a premium price compared to supermarket bananas, I don't know anywhere else that sells Green Sapote, and it's still less than some of the exorbitant fruit shippers in Homestead selling tropical fruit sampler boxes.

Once again, my expectations were confounded by the Whitman Green Sapote tasting...

General Notes: The Green Sapote fruit is small, ranging in size from chicken egg to kiwi fruit. As the fruit ripens, the skin wrinkles and the color changes from olive green to coppery red. Most fruit have a single seed with a hard wooden shell. The flesh is pinkish orange in color and can be scooped out with a spoon. The overall unimpressive external appearance might explain why Green Sapote has remained such an obscure fruit.


That's a teaspoon for size comparison!

Texture: Firmer flesh than Key West Mamey Sapote (which I find creamy when ripe), and slightly lacking in moisture. Even when the skin is wrinkled and soft, the flesh has more body and chew than I would like. At least you can peel the skin off easily with a paring knife. Each fruit also contained a few small fibrous shards of debris near the stem end, requiring care to avoid when eating, along with some firm areas directly around the seed.

Sweetness: moderate sweetness, slightly less sweet than any Mamey Sapote that I've tried. I expected sweeter.

Flavor: After trying more than ten fruit at different stages of ripeness, I am still struggling to define what I'm tasting. Yes, it's similar to Mamey Sapote, but lacking the complexity and depth of flavor of Mamey. It tastes slightly like Sapodilla, but without the sweetness and background spice. The Green Sapote reminds me of a roasted carrot with a little more sugar, not the most tropical flavor. The exotic notes that make Mamey Sapote so intoxicating are missing.

Uses: Probably best to just eat the fruit with a spoon - it would take a lot of work to break down 5 or 6 of them for a milkshake.

Rating: Whitman Green Sapote  ranks behind Mamey Sapote and Sapodilla for me. The small size and flat flavor are clear disadvantages. It does fruit in the dead of winter but you can find Sapodilla (and some Mamey cultivars) available around the same time as Green Sapote. The reputed cold-hardiness of Green Sapote may give some advantage over Mamey and Sapodilla to growers in colder climates and maybe that is where the real value lies.

Bill Whitman did some amazing things with tropical fruit, and one of those was getting Green Sapote to fruit in South Florida. However, this selection, the Whitman Cultivar, needs more development. Like the Haden mango, it should be considered a starting point from which we can develop larger, more flavorful and sweeter fruit, from more precocious trees. The lack of Green Sapote cultivars (only 2 or 3 available?) shows that very little work has been done with Green Sapote and there is a lot of potential for improvement by the kind of people the read this forum.

My aunt asked me about planting some fruit trees. She's in Mobile, in a thin band of Zone 9A near the Gulf of Mexico. I thought Persimmon would be perfect, I know it thrives in Louisiana, but I just don't know what varieties do well there or any local nurseries.

I'd like to pick out 4 or 5 non-astringent varieties that will do well in that climate. Any suggestions for cultivars and nurseries would be gratefully accepted. Thank you!

In my ongoing quest for winter fruit, or any fruit outside mango season here in South Florida, I decided to learn more about the Canistel and taste a few before planting a tree. The trees look beautiful, and so does the fruit. I have heard mixed reports about the taste, with stories of trees fruiting abundantly onto the ground because owners don't care to eat the fruit.

Ross Canistel rates as the top candidate based on other reviews. But Ross hasn't been available on the Lara Farms website since I've been checking. They don't offer a variety box so I started off by ordering 5lbs of Trompo and 5lbs of Oro. The Trompo box arrived first, and the "5 pound box" actually contained 9 Trompo Canistel fruits weighing over 9 pounds. Quite generous! Each fruit had been carefully wrapped in packing paper. They are firm to the touch and the skin is as golden as sunshine.

Trompo Canistel tasting...

General: I let the canistel soften until I could crack it in half with my hands. The golden skin turned brown and scaly as it ripened. When I opened it up, I was struck by the heart shape of the silhouette. How unique!  Each fruit weighs about a pound and contains one or two seeds with the same wooden shell as a Mamey. The seeds pop out easily.



Texture: The central meat around the seeds is soft and creamy like soft serve ice cream. Closer to the skin, the flesh gets firmer like a carrot, forming a crumbly outer rind that won't spoon out and tastes less appealing. I have tried letting the fruit ripen longer to see if the whole thing turns creamy, but no luck so far. There is latex in the fruit, which won't bother you as you eat the first few bites. But after finishing an entire fruit, your lips and even your teeth will be sticky for a while. The latex is a drawback, especially for civilians outside the tropical fruit cult who you might share the fruit with. They don't understand that sometimes you have to suffer for fruit 

Sweetness: candy sweet near the seeds, and moderately sweet near the skin.

Flavor: The base flavor reminds me of candied yams topped with marshmallow and cinnamon. The sweetest central parts hint at an unnatural sweetness like cotton candy or candy corn. The more natural taste of the middle and edges brings to mind roasted butternut or spaghetti squash, and balances the candy flavors. At the very outside it gets more like an underripe carrot.

Uses: Perfectly usable as a traditional fruit, just crack it in half, chill and eat with a spoon. I would love to scrape out the flesh from a few Trompos, blend them up with a dash of milk and butter, and have that as a side dish with pork tenderloin medallions and savory gravy. I could also see the fruit made into a sweet and spicy sauce by blending with some roasted hot peppers and vinegar, perfect for a burrito or taco. It would work well as a dessert by taking halves of the fruit and putting a scoop of cream cheese where the seed used to be, topping with chopped pecans, then baking.

Rating: I love growing and eating sweet potatoes, but I hate digging up sweet potatoes. What if every year at Christmastime I could have free sweet potatoes that fall off a tree, already candied? The Trompo Canistel is delicious and could be the answer but there are some major drawbacks. The latex is a serious issue that makes eating less pleasant. You have to add a warning about latex allergy when you hand out or serve the fruit. Too much of the fruit ends up as hard, inedible rind even when the middle is supersoft. Perhaps letting them fully ripen on the tree would improve those issues. If it does, then Trompo Canistel is a winner. Until I taste other varieties, I will reserve final judgement on planting a tree.

I am hoping to find a decent source of composted manure that I can use on my bananas, papayas and younger trees. I've been buying bagged Black Cow at the big box store but it's up to $7/bag these days. Any ideas within a 50 mile radius of Port St. Lucie?

Horse, chicken, rabbit, goat, whatever 

I never gave much thought to the rootstock of a grafted mango tree, and what impact it might have on your results growing the tree. When you buy a tree, you never really know what kind of rootstock you are getting. There could be a hidden problem that takes years to reveal itself.

I've watched a few videos and done a little reading on the topic of dwarfing mango rootstocks. Are we still waiting for the ideal solution that gives a productive, precocious tree of manageable size? In theory we are searching for a polyembryonic mango tree that fruits well at a young age and grows compactly rather than slowly, and when used as a rootstock will regulate those traits (to the degree it is possible) in the grafted scion?

Have any advancements been made in this area in the last couple of years?

I'm going to plant a couple more Sapodilla trees to join my Silas Wood and Alano. Alex Salazar mentioned the Thomas cultivar as "exceptional" and the most requested variety he grows at Tropical Acres. I am considering planting one, but the only place I can see that sells the tree is Lara Farms, as a 1 gallon.

The forum and the internet as a whole don't contain much if any information on the Thomas. Here's a tasting video, for what that is worth. The fruit is large and they eat the whole thing rather eagerly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUXAv4iXMqs

Is anybody growing the Thomas Sapodilla? Where did you get your tree and what has your experience been so far?