Today I planted a sugar apple tree, Annona squamosa that I sprouted from seed earlier this year. In its pot the tree grew about 8 inches tall then it mysteriously died back. About a month later I was surprised to see that it made a come back with new leaves. I’m always inspired by how much determination some plants have to grow.
Sugar apple is a segmented fruit very similar to soursop. The only downside of this fruit is that it is loaded with seeds. The fruit pulp has a creamy but slightly grainy texture with a sweet custard flavor. Sugar apples originally came from South America but the Spaniards brought them to the Philippines from the New World. It is grown all throughout Asia with the highest production in India. In Brazil it is a prominent fruit at the markets.
There are many cultivars of sugar apples out there and Im not sure exactly which one this is. Adam gave me some seeds that he got online. This is the only one that sprouted. I sometimes find sugar apples for sale but its still not too common because it is tricky to grow. It probably has something to do with the fact that they’re delicious.
Originally posted on 2021-12-25, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.