I was born in Hanoi and just got back from my vacation in VN. Still have the Chinese new year spirit in me :). Hanoi is having a cold winter this year. It was down to 35oF on new year's eve. Hanoi is not known for growing mangos b/c it's too cold. Some variations might be able to thrive but their fruits are small and not as sweet. All the mangos in the market are from the Mekong Delta (southern VN) and from Thailand. Some of the native fruits in Hanoi are: lechee, peach, pear, apricot, plum, jackfruit, grapefruit... I agree with Ntt_Hou, you should bring s/t different instead of native. I know we don't have kiwi in VN. Peaseblossom, do you know where you will be staying in Hanoi? It's a big city but small in size. Space is very valuable. Most ppl only have enough living space let alone space for gardening. Thus, big trees might not be good choices. Flower maybe? Hybrid lily is preferred. There are not many tulips there either. Bring lots of bulbs, easy to carry and grow. As far as customs is concern, it's relatively easy. Fruit and plants won't be a problem. You can even bring in animals. Hanoi is a beautiful city with lots of histories. I know you will have a good time there. Good luck. TT

I've never heard it called 'Vietnamese' before. But, there is a different cultivar of the green sugar apple which is popular among the Vietnamese folks and which has a firmer, atemoya-like consistency. Personally it's my favorite sugar apple. The fruit is actually a yellow-ish color when ripe - a bit more yellow than the regular green sugar apple. You made the right choice. That one is the best. It's also true to seed. Jeff

Hi All, we live near Los Angeles. we have a green sugar apple tree that i started from seed (from India)around 3 yrs back. The tree is in a 15 gal black placstic container. It just started fruiting this year. i see a lot of baby fruits. Hope they all make it. I woud love to get some red or some other variety Sugar apple seeds. would one of u mind sharing some seeds with me? i can send u some of the seeds from my plant once my fruit matures. Thanks in advance. - V

There's a lot of good info on air layering on the web with pics too. I've not heard of anyone doing air layers with sugar apples since they fruit rather quickly from seed. So not sure how well they do during the process and after. If I did do an air layer from that plant, I would take as large a branch as he would let me. Otherwise, I'd just order a grafted one. Go to Ong's Nursery in San Diego. I'm sure he has some. Has this guy even seen blooms on his tree? Would he recognize them as blooms if it did? Do a search on hand pollinating cherimoya and that will give you the best approach at pollinating sugar apples.