Probably not ripen to sweet. Younger tree's like lots of water..then the drought tolerance kicks in. But,if you push THAT?..it takes away flavor. Like any fruit tree not from the desert..water adds sugar.

Just as my Mango season is a near bust,my Sapote season is great. All the rains and cool spring did it good. I've had a few near the size of a baseball..even if most are not that large. I was going to take a pic of the very largest one. Came back later to the kitchen and it was gone. Wife ate it.

Possums also love Sapote. Those two Lar's might have been knocked off the tree. Or Squirrels. I 've had a few on the ground..and PLENTY of great fruit half eaten or nothing but seeds on the ground. I check the tree EVERY day..and they beat me to some great fruit up in that tree. I can only pick outside or low inside.

Mine are bigger than baseballs, but not very much. The tree gets watered through my sprinkler system, and I don't know if that gives it too much water or not.

I'm still waiting for the banana tree next to it to make bananas. My cherimoya is starting to bloom again, and so I'll have to watch that also so that I can hand pollinate it.

I planted a mango seed from a mango grown down the street from me, but some pest dug it up.

You might have a different variety. I have Suebelle who was bought in the 80's from a nursery in the L.A. area. I prune and prune or else the yard would only be Sapote..I mention this because she gives all I can eat and some people complain the trees can get too big. So,I say prune it. Hard as you like..they dont mind. They just look better,denser and more tropical looking.

Did your sapote ever ripen? I have the same problem...strong winds knocked the black sapote fruit off which are larger than previous years, but not at all ripe yet (green, firm and sepals not lifted)... I have it in a fruit bowl with other fruit in the hope it will ripen. I would love to know the outcome of yours.

As I recall...they never ripen to be as sweet as normal. They are hard to time. When you do,you have to eat them fast..2 or 3 days later,they are rotting.

Why they never caught on as market fruit. If they never caught on as market fruit,then that ruined any chance to sell them as preserved or any other ways. Too bad because they do taste very good.