You have access to fresh cherimoya!!?????
I got seeds from a guy in europe almost 3 yrs ago. I planted them about a inch deep in a tray on a heating pad (was in winter). Some sprout right away & some sprout 2-3 months. I traded 2 trees & have 3 here. The biggest is 3 ft tall (from soil) & 3 ft. wide. I'll try to post a link for you on cherimoya - if I can find it LOL
This one is best but you'll have to C&P.
Patty

http://cherimoya.orcon.net.nz/600x800.html

Here is a link that might be useful: cherimoya

Mine sprout in 2-3 weeks. Same as Sugar Apples and Atemoyas. I place fresh seeds in ziplock baggies with moistened peat moss. Seal the bag, lay it in a warm place- I used a tray on a shelf in my shed. You could also use any warm spot like the top of a TV or computer.

They are very rewardng to grow- fast, pretty and the fruit is wonderful!!

Lisa

Patty,
How long did it take to get 3' tall? Great links. Any pictures?
GCM,
How long does it take them to fruit?

Thanks everyone,
--Rick

Rick, Sugar Apples are the one normally seed grown. They can flower/fruit in as little as 2-3 years. Cherimoyas are fairly often seed grown, and take 5-7 years to fruit. They are also available grafted for faster production here in Florida and in California. Atemoyas are grafted onto Sugar Apple or cherimoya rootstock - so I'm growing mine from seed as an experiment.

Here are a few pictures of my fruiting SA and Atemoya.

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Lisa

Lisa, Cherimoya is not the same as sugar apple..read below.
Cherimoyas are usually referred to as "custard Apple".
Rick, I planted seeds in about Jan.'03--less than 3 yrs ago.
They can produce blooms in 3-5 yrs. Don't forget that the info on first link was written in New Zealand--other side of equater, so thier NORTH side of house is our SOUTH side. And thier spring is our fall. (Get's confusing huh? LOL)
I will keep mine outside this time till leaves fall off. They do need dormancy, although not much. I'll keep them in a cool room in basement. below 40 f. can kill them. Last 2 winters I kept them w/ other plants under grow lites for winter. I also pruned for first time...maybe next summer blossoms??? That would be nice--I never ate a cherimoya. Do you buy them fresh locally? Are you sure it is a true cherimoya & not one of the "related species" below?
Patty

Common Names
 Cherimoya (New Zealand, South America, USA)
 Custard Apple (UK, Australia)
 Chirimolla, Chirimorrinon (Venezuela)
 Graviola (Brazil)
 Poox (Mexico)
 Pac, tzumux (Guatemala)
 Anona poshte, anona blanca (El Salvador)
 Tukib (Belize)
 Cachiman la Chine (Haiti)
 Anone (France)
 Atis (Philippines)
 Sasalapa (Cook Is.)
 Ice-cream fruit (Pacific Is.)

Related species
 Soursop (A.muricata)
 Sweetsop, Sugar apple (A.squamosa)
 Atemoya (A.cherimola x A.squamosa)
 Mountain soursop (A.montana)
 Soncoya (A.purpurea)
 Ilama (A.diversifolia)
 Pond apple (A.glabra)
 Manrito (A.jahnii).

Patty, yes, I know that Sugar Apples are not the same as Cherimoyas or Atemoyas. I answered the question by explaining the different maturity ages of the three different varieties of mature annonas I own, and have also grown from seeds. Seedling Cherimoyas take longer to produce than grafted ones.

My 10' Cherimoya tree is grafted and 4 years old. Hopefully it will flower/fruit next year. I don't know if it fruited in the nursery last year. They are not reliable producers here and must be hand pollinated. Atemoyas and Sugar Apples are better choices for Florida.

I know several people in California who have beautiful, producing Cherimoya trees, from seed, and they took 5-7 years to fruit. Cherimoya trees can get quite large. Sugar Apple and Atemoya trees are small and usually spreading. Sugar Apples do well in zone 9, Florida. I know of a group of them in Stuart, growing next to US1, covered with fruit.

All three varieties are available here. I adore the taste of them all. Red Sugar Apple is my favorite. I can get bags of the fruit at the local Rare Fruit tree nursery. Mmmmmmm....

My SA and Atemoya produced this year. It does take a while to learn when to pick amd when the fruit is ripe. I'm getting the hang of it(G).

Lisa

I got them at the local Kash N Karry/Sweet Bay. They have a new thing going, where they have uncommon fruit. They said Cherimoya on the sticker. The flesh was white, and almost mush. The taste would be hard to describe, but was sweet as candy. 45 seeds from just 1. Good tasting. I'd love to have seeds from the other 2, would someone like to trade?
Thanks,
--Rick

Rick, You are welsome to Red Sugar Apple, Green Sugar Apple and Atemoya seedlings. My seeds have already sprouted(G).

Email me if you are interested. I am not sure where in Florida you are. I'm on the East coast, Palm Beach County. I work in Martin County which is probably closer to you.

Lisa

this is neat. I dont know if i love Cherimoya, but they are interesting. I could get them at th Santa Barbara Farmers Market when I lived there for school last year.
and the best !^%@#$@# kiwi ever.
I miss the variety of fruit! thats why I need a greenhouse to make some of my own.

10 ft? sounds like the Cherimoya is a bit too big for those of us without greenhouses. any thoughts?

Lisa:
Your fruits look so lovely I fell in love again. They are flawless and looks so good and tasty. I am so envious of you.
Benny

To add to the naming controvercies, "custard apple" is a name reserved almost exclusively for Annona reticulata, in Florida. Also, the "sugar apple" (A. squamosa) is almost always referred to as "anón" by Cuban-Americans, who are the group who grow/buy/eat most of them. In case usenet doesn't render that word well, with the special characters, it is anon with an accent mark over the o.

Garnet, you can prune cherimoya to your size.
The 1st link I gave to Rick (above) tells just about allyou want to know about cherimoya --how to prune, propagate, germinate etc. Please bookmark it for future reference! (I learned a lot from it!) Yes, grafted trees always produce fruit earlier, esp. when the buds are from 3 (or so) yr old trees.
Lisa, do your trees go into a dormancy? Lose their leaves? I kept mine under grow lites last 2 winters but that link just reminded me they need some chilling hours.
Your fruits look great..can't wait till I taste one!
I would love seeds if anyone cares to part w/ a few :-)
Any grafting pro---can cherimoya graft unto poncirus rootstock? (dumb question?)

Benny, you are so sweet! Thank you for your kind comments. Don't worry, you have much more beautiful citrus than I do (we have leafminers here and hurricane damage), and I've always admired your Fuji Apple tree and Persimmon.

I started collecting other Tropical fruit trees/shrubs when I realized that we might lose all our beloved citrus one day soon to the Canker folks. It has been interesting learning about other tropicals. Have you ever eaten Mamey Sapote (I adore my Mamey trees!)? Or Tamarind? Or Florida Sweet Barbados Cherries? Mmmmmmmmm..

Benny, if I get a nice crop of Annonas next year I'll mail you some fruit to try. They are more like custard or super- sweet ice cream than like fruit. They have a milky flavor.

Lisa

I have paw pawn trees & I hear they are similar to cherimoya (?). Chilled Paw Paw was George Washington's favorite desert. Said it tasted like custard apple. I would trade ANYTHING to get a fresh cherimoya!! My paw paw's are still seedlings --3-4 yrs old & growing SLOWLEY.
I never ate them either.
Patty

I'd ship you one but shipping would be crazy.

This place will ship you fresh, high quality Cherimoya fruit. I've had them ship to relatives and they said they were great tasting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cherimoya fruit shipper

im just kicking myself I didnt save seeds from when I was out there. i LOVE the west coast farmers markets.

I didnt have place to grow them tho.

Cherimoya was a bit weird to me, I waited till they were bruising soft, and they were a bit like Pears still, just a touch "glassy" or "sandy".

Lisa, or ANYONE.. Do you give the plants (cherimoya) chilling hours? After reading up again, I see it says they need 50 - 100 chilling hours. I just put them outside again so they will start a dormancy period (40's at night). I don't know if this is a good idea or not. Anyone with advice on that would be much appreciated. Or, should I just keep them under the lites? Thanks
Patty

Nobody really answered the question. I did mine by drying the seeds for a few weeks collected from fruit. Then planted in potting soil an inch or two deep. I used bottom heat as recomended in the literature. It still takes a month or so to sprout. Two months without heat. Ive read that they should be transplanted to a large pot (2 gal) when they have a few leaves to avoid a root problem. Good luck.

Patty, yes the trees get all the measly chill hours South Florida has, since the trees are outside. My adult tree already shed all its leaves in September, and lost most of the new ones in hurricane Wilma last month.But they are coming back again.

The Atemoya and Sugar Apple trees are still leafy.

I have to hand pull the leaves from my Sugar Apple trees in Dec/January since they don't drop them all themselves. Same with regular Apple trees- it just doesn't get cold enough for long enough to make them shed cleanly.

I don't know why the Cherimoya shed so early. Possibly the dry conditions caused it.

BFreeman- the question was answered.. What makes your method the best? It takes a lot longer than the way I do it-what is the benefit? Are the seedlings healthier if they take longer to germinate?

Lisa

BFreeman, The first 3 replys told how to germinate seeds...read them please. Of 3 different ways, Lisa's way IS the QUICKEST.
Lisa, thank's for the info! After growing these for 3 yrs., I just realized that the link I posted says "chilling hours"...eeeeek. The trees are still outside, 40's at night & 50's day. Haven't lost 1 leaf yet..not even turning yellow, but I'm sure it'll come soon & then I'll put them to sleep in basement. Also, in that link it says below 40* can kill young trees so I really have to watch night temps. Thanks again.
Patty

DO NOT transplant to a 2 gal pot when they have a few leaves. Too large of a pot WILL cause possible root rot.
3 " wide X 4" deep is about perfect to start. Pot up to larger as it grows. Trees like deep pots for a good root system.
Patty

i have one cherimoya tree and it has not had any fruit yet. i planted it two years ago and it was 4 foot tall now it is about 5 foot. what kind of fertilizer should it be given and what is the best ph. any advice welcom.
it is widely farmed here and we enjoy the fruit(from market) most times of the year. mine is a grafted tree.we have very hot and long summers perhaps that is problem too.

Just moved to SoCal from Florida and encountered Cherimoya for the first time. Actually was living in Stuart, FL, so I am so curious where they are growing on US1???!!!

Anyway, gonna try sprouting some of these seeds and see what we get. :-D