Vince, thanks for that reply -- and a great pic! How big was your grafted rollinia when you bought it? (I didn't even know anyone grafted rollinias!!!) Are you farther south than I am? I am in the greater Fort Myers area.

I'm starting to get nervous about the seed order I placed a full 4 weeks ago -- no replies or order from the vendor, even though the company's been around forever. Bizarre not to have them even reply to a worried email. But anyway, wherever I end up getting seeds from, I'm going to use fungicide a bit more on my soil for the seedlings, see if that helps the plants to thrive a bit better. And I may just plant some seedlings into the ground promptly, and keep the rest in pots.

Best of luck with your plant -- looks like you are well on your way!

I got 5 year old rollinia to fruit here in Tampa. It was potted always with compost and got bright shade. Soncoya never thrived for me, but I raised Ilama seedlings to 17 years from my own fruits' seed. They are in the ground and one small fruit has set so far this year and lot's of flowers coming.

Thanks for that info, FlatwoodsFarm! And let me say that I am astonished that you're doing so well with Ilama in Zone 9!! Are you protecting these trees in winter? (Then again, you mentioned shade, and I know larger trees overhead can provide significant winter protection for the plants beneath.)

I started a compost pile my first or second year here in the Cape, and to date I've only added to it - never actually used the dirt. I think that's what I'll use for growing the soncoya seedlings. And I'll go ahead and order some rollinia seeds and try them again, I guess.

Thank you, thank you for those details, and kudos on a remarkable achievement (I would think) for the Tampa area!

Thank you. The ilamas are not protected except to wrap a blanket around on really cold nights. I am a long time member of the RFCI and have lots of fruit action going on such as :olives, soursop, pawpaws, chestnuts, and real wine grapes

Good to know, Flatwoods Farm! And unfortunately, after all of this buildup, the package of seeds finally arrived -- and the vendor mistakenly sent me sugar apple seeds instead of sancoyas! I was so disappointed.... I don't know whether to look for another source or spend the money the next time I get to Homestead and just look for a potted tree. And you've gotten me more interested in rollinias (ilamas) now, so maybe that's the tree I need to pick, whether in seed or potted form.