Full sun. They are deep rooters. I don't see any or hit roots digging around my old one.

Leaf drop is in flushes..its evergreen,but they like many,old leaves drop in spring as new ones are right there to replace. Not much of a mess though.

You might have a long wait.... The normal litter of old flowers and leafs plus the horrendous idea of fruit landing in a pool...

Of course,if you prune any branches before they go over the pool? No problems.

When young they need much water and heavy feeding...once they get going? You see why they are among the most drought hardy fruit tree's around. Especially if you add the subtropical part.

hmm, thanks. sounds like i'll end up putting it in the front yard south of the house to get more sun. i also like the idea of putting a less common tree out front so people can appreciate the variety.

No matter what some nitwit in La Habra says that "Sapote is not a good looking tree"..I think when you grow one and -if you want- they can be easily pruned to stay in bounds,and give plenty of fruit..more then you can eat at times for weeks. If you never prune..they can flood you in fruit. So,pruning is good.

Here's mine I bought in the early 1980's, Suebelle. Today's photos. 8'+ Mango to the right. 2' Champagne Mango in the center,Tequila Agave- Webber's Blue.

Always has fruit on her.
Hand pruned sides,polesaw at the top. But,I hate heights. at 15' tall you might not mind a tall ladder and hand pruners.
Hmm,I see two to the left I need to get to..lol..

I also prune so I can walk under her without conking my head.

Here's from today. You can expect something most of the year once Suebelle get going to a good size. The best are in the warmer months..largest and sweetest. Not bad for December though.

Still waiting for fruit from my tree. I've had it in the ground for about five or six years now, but it is quite tall:

Right now it is functioning mainly to help hold up branches of an epidendrum (photos taken last April). I'm lucky to have a tree grow in this spot of my back yard, as it has poor drainage and a lot of plants will drown. It does drop leaves, but only very slowly, and it's hard to tell when it is going dormant, as it has new leaves while the old ones are dropping. It is susceptible to insect pests, which look like black dirt on the undersides of leaves in the fall, but new leaves do not get pests so easily and stay clean until fall.

I am wondering if the nursery sold me a bogus tree. I got it as the San Gabriel nursery, and the Cherimoya tree I bought there has done quite well, but I've kept that tree in a whiskey barrel planter, although eventually I plant to put that in the ground, once I think it has enough roots. I do not think the sapote would do well in a pot, considering its size.

Just for the record..I picked another amount double that of the above. Sweet. Smaller then the summer sized. Summer,winter, what other kind of fruit tree does that?

Planting one? Its one of the few plant decisions I made decades ago I never regretted.

One more factoid...you grow also to enjoy the taste more and more. Since,they are not like anything else sold at a market..its natural to get used to custard flavored fruit and texture.

You watch!

Mine has smooth undersides to the leaves, and so perhaps it is (again) not hot enough here to make fruit. I do not have room for another one, however. It gets much hotter in San Gabriel than in my neighborhood.

Its warm enough Lars. I meant that the smooth undersides Sapote varietys can take the tropical temps,but dont really need them.

Just give your tree more time. They are heavy feeders. You might also dose them with the "middle" number fertilizers to boost blooms. It works when a plants is stubborn.

9 months in the ground and this guy is finally starting to flush out. over the past few months it kept trying to grow from near the base, which i kept snapping off. the original leaves were slowly yellowing. finally the top and small branch are taking off.

what is a good type of fert to use for this guy? i've sprinkled some osmocote out of convenience.

thanks! (photo taken Thursday morning after a freak morning rain!)

r

They like a high N when young...even ammonia nitrate aka lawn fertilizer. Or else,they can sit and not grow for years.

Its what mine did..and once it finally got going? It grew fast. From sleep to leap. When young they are like tropical jungle tree's- higher water and fertilizer needs..once they grow and get that darker green flush..they get by on whatever.

Mind you,back in the day..I was not a regular fertilizers kind of guy like most newbies. Later,when I got going..so did the tree-lol.

Thanks! Yeah I'm trying to be better about fertilizing stuff. I have some hops growing on the side of my house which take a lot of fertilizer so it got me in the habit of feeding other plants in the area.