What is this spiny Hedgehog fruit and how does it taste?

👀 This is one of the coolest looking tropical fruit!

Annona montana - Mountain Soursop or Hedgehog Annona. It is also called Wild Custard Apple, Guanabana de Monte, or Wild Soursop.

• 📍 This fruit is prized for its deliciously sweet and tangy fruit, reminiscent of a blend between pineapple and strawberry. It tastes similar to regular Soursop (or Guanabana), with slightly milder flavor. The pulp is highly scented.
• 📍 The fruit, up to a pound, has the most unusual looks! Just look at these curious Hedgehog spines!
• 📍 The tree is medium sized, with beautiful, large, leathery dark green leaves that emit a strong aroma when crushed.
• 📍 Mountain Soursop is much more cold hardy than the Soursop, established trees can take some frost, down to 24F when full grown.
• 📍 Trees produce within just 2-3 years from seed, like many Annonas, and can happily grow and produce in a large container.

👨�‍👧 We guarantee that everyone who sees this fruit in your garden will ask for seeds even before they taste the fruit! And you will have lots of seeds to share because Mountain Soursop is very reliable producer with many seeds in each fruit.

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📚 Learn more about Hedgehog Annona

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😡 Why my Lychee tree is not producing fruit and why I can't grow a Lychee tree from a seed?

Practical advice on propagation and harvest- for the previous post 👆

🍑 Propagation and mycorrhiza

• 💋 Mycorrhiza is a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and plant roots. In a Lychee orchard, mycorrhiza plays a crucial role by enhancing the nutrient uptake of lychee trees, particularly phosphorus, leading to better growth and fruit production, especially in soils with low phosphorus availability.
• 💋Lychee trees are typically propagated by air layering, as they cannot be propagated effectively by seeds or grafting.
• 💋Lychee seedlings do not grow well because they require a special mycorrhizal environment that, in nature, is only provided under a mature mother tree. This dependency on mycorrhiza explains why lychee seedlings lack vigor and cannot serve as rootstocks for grafting.
• 💋If you have tried growing lychee from seed, you may have noticed that the seedling, after reaching a few inches in height, often stops growing or even shows signs of retarded growth. This is a clear indication of a lack of mycorrhiza.
• 💋The easiest way to have a healthy, productive Lychee tree, is to obtain a quality, air-layered tree from a reputable source.

🍑 Alternate Bearing in Lychee Trees

• 💋 Lychee trees often produce fruit every other year due to "alternate bearing", where the tree focuses on a heavy crop one year, leaving less energy for fruiting the next.
• 💋This cycle is influenced by weather, tree variety, and how flower buds develop alongside the current year's fruit. For example, "Mauritius" trees may bear fruit annually, while "Brewster" trees may produce a good crop only every 3-4 years.

By considering these factors and providing appropriate care, you can enjoy the beauty and bounty of a lychee tree in your garden.

📚 Learn more from previous posts:

The best varieties of Lychee
The best fruit in the world - grow your own Lychee tree
How to grow a Lychee tree

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Five most exotic avocado varieties

👀 We introduced 10 most popular varieties in our earlier posts. Here are 5 more - interesting and unusual cultivars.

1. Bacon - A large Mexican variety with dark-skinned medium sized fruits, and a rich creamy flavor. It is very cold hardy, late-producing variety of Avocado tree with exceptional fruit. It is a highly productive tree with a lovely upright and spreading habit. Its dark green, glossy leaves lend an attractive, tropical appeal to the 15-20 feet of heigh. The oval fruits ripen in late fall and into spring. The fruits are easy to peel and have a light, subtle flavor. The tree has angelic sweeping branches which helps keep the tree shorter and easier to pick its fruit.

2. Black Prince - The fruit was large, oval, 16-36 oz, green and slightly pebbly. The fruit turns black couple days after it is picked, ripens and softens. Black Prince deserves its title! The fruit pulp is thick, and has a rich, nutty flavor. The trees grow vigorously. Superior variety for a backyard grower. Harvesting mid-August to mid-September.

3. Mexicola - black fruit, rich butter content, one of the most cold hardy varieties. Mature trees may withstand temperatures in the low-mid 20s.

4. Reed - The fruit is large, weighing over a pound and round in shape. It has a large seed, but plenty of edible flesh. The skin remains green even when ripe. It is described by some as the best tasting avocado, buttery, bold, rich and nutty with an oil content of about 20%. It is a type A avocado, but fruits consistently year after year without other avocado trees around. It can be kept to around 15 feet with pruning. The branches do tend to droop horizontally.

5. Russel (green and red) - easily recognized by its gourd-like shape, large, 24-36 oz and up to 13 inches long! Flesh is yellow, sweet, excellent quality, the seed is small.

📚 Learn more: Avocado Variety Guide - check this out for interactive chart of Avocado varieties and sort them by flower type A or B, tree habit, fruit shape and quality, cold hardiness, origin, season and more!

❔ What is your favorite Avocado variety?
Share in comments👇

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💋 This is why Atemoya is better than any other Annonas

• 🎃 Atemoya (Annona cherimola × Annona squamosa) is a hybrid between the Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) and the Sugar Apple (Annona squamosa), combining the best traits of both fruits.
• 🎃 This tree is notably hardier than the common sugar apple and thrives in tropical heat, unlike the cherimoya, which prefers cooler summers. Its resilience makes the atemoya an excellent choice for both subtropical and tropical gardens, as it can tolerate light frosts.
• 🎃 The tree reaches about 15-25 feet in height and spreads equally wide at maturity.
• 🎃 One of the advantages of Atemoya over the Sugar Apple is its fruit, which contains fewer seeds, making it more enjoyable to eat fresh..

🎃 Grafted Cultivars:



Atemoya cv. Geffner: An Israeli cultivar renowned for its heavy cropping capacity and excellent flavor. Geffner is highly productive and is considered one of the best varieties, producing good fruit yields without the need for hand-pollination. ​

Atemoya cv. Lisa (48-26): Developed by Gary Zill, Lisa is praised for its outstanding taste and attractive appearance. The fruit has a pinkish-gray exterior and a soft, light pink interior. While not as naturally productive as Geffner, Lisa can yield well with hand-pollination. ​

Atemoya cv. Priestly: This cultivar produces large, green fruits with a creamy texture and uniquely sweet flavor. It is a grafted variety that combines desirable traits from both parent species, making it a delightful addition to home gardens. ​

📚 More delicious Annonas:

• • Sugar Apple: how does it taste?
• • Guanabana - the most delicious Annona fruit
• • Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
• • Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
• • The fastest to fruit: Annona

Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?

🛒 Plant Atemoya and enjoy your own rare exotic fruit!

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🎃 What's inside this bumpy Annona fruit? Delicious Health benefits!

• 🍏 Annona squamosa - Sugar Apple or Sweetsop, is not related to Apple at all; in fact it's in the same family with Ylang Ylang perfume trees - Annonaceae!
• 🍏 Sugar Apple is considered by many to be the most delicious tropical fruit. The fruit is a true treat, with pulp that resembles creamy custard, offering a flavor experience that's hard to beat. Some cultivars like Vietnam Sugar Apple Nadi - have pulp virtually melting in your mouth!
• 🍏 Sugar Apple tree starts fruiting within 3 years from seed and has compact growth habit, making it ideal for small gardens and containers. Beyond its delightful flavor and ornamental appeal, this fruit offers a variety of health benefits:

· Digestive Aid: High fiber promotes digestion and alleviates constipation.

• · Antioxidant Properties: Combats oxidative stress, reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
• · Mood Enhancement: Vitamin B6 boosts mood and helps fight depression.
• · Eye Health: Rich in vitamin A, supports healthy vision.
• · Blood Pressure Regulation: Potassium and magnesium help regulate blood pressure.
• · Skin Health: Antioxidants protect skin from oxidative damage.
• · Weight Management: Low in calories, high in fiber, promotes satiety.
• · Immune Support: Vitamin C boosts the immune system.
• · Anti-inflammatory: Reduces inflammation linked to chronic conditions.

📚 More about Annonas:

• • What fruit can help with vitamin deficiencies
• • See the Difference: Grow Plants That Protect Your Vision
• • Atemoya
• • Sugar Apple: how does it taste?
• • Guanabana - the most delicious Annona fruit
• • Top 10 fast-fruiting trees: #1. Annona
• • Why everyone wants the Sugar Apple?
• • The fastest to fruit: Annona
• • Spiny Hedgehog fruit: what does it taste like?

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