The soursop is very sensitive. After 1-2 days of cold temperature in the high 40s my tree started to drop most of it's leaves. I saved it by bringing it in the home, shake off all the dead leaves and leave it near the window for sunlight. It the recovers. :)

Yep, the soursop will dump its leaves when temp's drop below 40F. They will croak at around 31F.

Jeff

Thanks, it looks real bad, and I felt real bad too. But there's hope still. Thanks!

Jeff - I don't know about an outright croak at 31F. A lot would depend on truly how cold and for what period of time. It may die back to the ground but should also reflush.

Rob

I lost several potted soursop trees when we got down to about 33F last winter. We had a sole survivor - so there is some variability. Our mountain soursops had no issue at all.

They are, in general, very cold sensitive. According to Morton: 'The soursop is truly tropical.'

Yes - an established soursop tree in the ground would likely be able to recover from a few hours of below 32F temps, resprouting from near the roots. But you may as well say goodbye to any of your potted soursop trees in those conditions :-).

Jeff

Yes, my comment was referring to established plants in the ground.

I agree about plants in pots. If you aren't able to either move to a protected area during a severe cold spell (for SFLA), the potted soursops could be in grave danger.

Rob

I have 4 soursops 3 all from seed about 3 yrs old. 2 were defoliated last year and 2 close to the house were not. Temp was about 29.4 last winter coldest in 15 yrs of living in Stuart Florida. The soursop I have closest to the house has had a few blooms this year. I gave them no protection so they are not as cold sensitive as I thought.

That's amazing, stuartdave. I wonder if your trees are in a protected part of the landscape. Are they on the south side of your home?

A friend of mine who lives just a couple of miles away from me had severe damage on his established and fruting soursop when we got to 32/33F here in north western broward. It was a shame cause I loved those soursops :-(.

Jeff

Jeff, the 2 largest are on the se side of the house probably 3 ft from it . One is under some oaks and is smaller . The third is more in the open. I am about 4 miles from the ocean which probably moderates the cold a little.

Hey Stuartdave,
I was wondering...you said that the soursop closest to your house(around 3 years old right?) hada few blooms? Was this the first year it bloomed and how large is it?

I personally LOVE soursop aka guanabana. I ate it for the first time in Puerto Rico and fell in love with it. Another memeber here had posted a link about a guy in Russia who grew soursop from seed. He kept it under lights and was able to get it to fruit. I guess there is hope for someone like mw who lives in zone 6!

Andrew

Andrew this was the first year I noticed blooms on it . The tree is about 8 foot tall and was only partially defoliated by the cold this year.

My soursop has been growing great and is now about 3ft tall after being transferred to a 10gal container.
However, just in the last couple weeks I've noticed several of its leaves begin to turn yellow. Temperatures have dropped into the mid 50s at night here recently, but that seems to be well above their threshold.
Too much water? The angle of the sun has changed as we near the winter solstice ...is it from lack of sun? (I have it in the best spot to receive 'direct' sunlight for at least half of the day).
Any ideas?

Its the cool. It hasn't been cold at all so far even here in the bay area...but I see some yellowing to Musa sumatrana,Pachypodiums and Psuedobombax leaves. ALL will eventually go deciduous for a few weeks.
Tropicals that react to a dry season will drop leaves in the tropics. Here,in California,winter is the reason for dropping leaves. Short days,cool weather and of course frost push that along.

Thanks stanofh, I wonder if this is what's going on with my annona cherimola as well.

Thanks stanofh, I wonder if this is what's going on with my annona cherimola as well.

My Graviola is doing terrible. I have done so much research on this tree and feel like I know how to take care of it, but as you can see it's beginning to turn yellow and the leaves are super brittle no matter how hard I take care of it. I will be so sad if it dies, as I have put so much work and care into it. Any suggestions please? Thanks.

Where are you growing it? Indoors,outdoors? Its a tropical. If indoors,it might need more light. Outdoors in soucal? Its waiting for warmer days.

Thanks for your reply Stanofh. I'm growing the plant indoors and I have it in a south facing window to receive a lot of sunlight. I have been focusing on humidity and have found that the best method that works for now (since it is still small) is to spray the plant and soil very good with a spray bottle and then I put a clear plastic bag around the entire plant/pot and poke some holes in it. This method has worked miracles providing I don't keep the plant in direct sunlight. I keep it about four to five feet away from the window so the sun isn't "cooking" the plant. And wouldn't you know it.... I noticed a few days ago that little buds for new leaves are beginning to grow. I am very happy!

Hi guys hope one of you experts can help me. I live in Miami, my soursop is planted in the ground. It’s about 3 Years old, 10 ft tall and for the first time this year it bloomed. However, not one of the 50+ blooms produced any fruit. Any suggestions?

@Laura, I was told to take a tiny paint brush and stir the inside of the flowers ever so gently. There are videos on YouTube.