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Photo
This 6 year old, 6 foot tall, grafted, Suebelle white sapote was photographed in June.
This tree was planted in the fall.
During its first two summers, it would start shedding its leaves in June when the weather got hot,
so it was protected from the sun underneath a shade cloth structure. The third summer it was not
protected from the Sun and suffered no ill affects.
It is located on the west side of the house, in the lawn, on the east side of a cinder
block wall. Being located a fair distance, 9 feet, from the western wall of the house helps the tree avoid
the baking reflected heat it would be exposed to if it was located closer.
A small basin around the white sapote is kept free of grass, and is
lightly composted. Only fish emulsion and chelated iron are used on this tree because it burns very easily.
It is watered by the sprinklers but it is also occasionally deep soaked.
Fruit can be seen growing on the lower left hand side of the tree.
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Overview
Having attractive white bark, a dense canopy, and delicious fruit, makes white sapote a very desirable tree.
They struggle a bit with the summer heat but become more resilient when they are established.
Frost damage is not a concern in the lower desert.
White sapotes are salt sensitive and therefore one must be very careful not to burn them with
chemical fertilizer.
Fruit
White sapote fruit is somewhat unusual. It is generally the size, color, and shape of a large green apple.
The fruit gets a yellow blush to it when ripe. At this point
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the fruit should
be picked and allowed to ripen at room temperature. Pick the fruit by cutting the branch above it. Otherwise
the fruit will spoil at the damaged area before becoming ripe. It is ready to eat when soft. The flesh is custard like
and the taste can be described as similar to vanilla pudding, or pumpkin pie, with a hint of banana.
The skin is bitter and should not be eaten. The seeds are reportedly toxic (as are peach seeds believe it or not)
so take care not to eat them. White sapote seeds look like oversized citrus seeds. Large trees can produce
a lot of fruit, so white sapote trees can be somewhat messy, and should not overhang a driveway or walkway or pool.
Buy a grafted white sapote tree
to insure good quality fruit. One of the best varieties is Suebelle which is available in select nurseries
in the Phoenix area.
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The tree pictured above flowered every year but did not set fruit until its 6th year. Interestingly, the first
year it fruited was the first time I hand pollinate it. Suebelle white sapotes tend to flower throughout the
year but the most heavily flowering happens unusually early in the growing season in January.
It was at this time
I went out a couple of mornings and took what appeared to be flowers in their male stage and rubbed them against
all the flowers that looked
to be in a female stage. The male flowers are the ones that are all the way open and have stamens covered
with yellow pollen. The female flowers are just barley open and have a tiny little stigma peaking out.
In the Phoenix area, suebelle fruit become ripe in November.
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Heat Tolerance and Sun Exposure
White sapote trees should be protected with shade cloth for the first two summers after planting.
Once established they tolerate the heat well as long as they are given sufficient water.
Cold Tolerance
Being hardy to 24 degrees F. white sapotes are as cold tolerant as citrus, so frost damage
is not much of a concern in the Phoenix area. The tree pictured above survived 26 F.
in January of 2007. It
lost all of its leaves but quickly recovered.
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Planting
Dig a hole at least twice the size of the rootball. At a minimum, make the
hole 2 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep.
Work in a 30/70 mix of compost to soil.
Be sure to mix the compost and soil
as thoroughly as possible. It also is a good idea to finish with the
hole an inch or two recessed so that a watering basin is formed.
Watering frequency
White sapotes do well on a grass watering schedule. An
occasional deep soaking will help the tree fend off salt burn and encourage the
roots to grow more deeply.
Watering method
Basin and sprinkler irrigation
are both suitable for white sapotes.
Fertilizing and Growth Rate
White sapotes are sensitive to soil salinity. Since Phoenix area water is already high
in salts, the safest thing to do is to not use any chemical fertilizers.
Soil amendments such as compost are still beneficial, as is an occasional feeding
with fish emulsion and a chelated iron fertilizer. If a white sapote tree is
grown in the grass, make sure to stay several feet away from the drip line of the tree
when fertilizing the grass.
Propagation
White sapotes can be grown from seed, but good fruit will only be reliable on grafts.
Pests
Some caterpillars like white sapote trees but usually do not cause any significant problems.
If they do start to cause too much damage they are easily controlled by the "squish with
pliers" technique.
Links to more white sapote information
Julia Morton
California Rare Fruit Growers
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