Overview

Embark on a delightful tropical gardening journey with the Alano Sapodilla live tree. This exquisite fruit tree, scientifically known as Manilkara zapota ‘Alano’, is celebrated for its exceptionally sweet, pear-shaped fruits with a unique, caramel-like flavor and a slightly grainy texture. Our offering is a robust 3ft tall air-layered plant, ensuring a quicker path to maturity and fruit production compared to seed-grown trees. The Alano variety is highly prized among sapodilla enthusiasts for its superior taste and consistent yield. Originating from the tropical Americas, this evergreen tree brings not only delicious fruit but also lush, attractive foliage to your landscape or large patio. Growing a tropical fruit tree like the Alano Sapodilla is a rewarding experience, providing both ornamental beauty and a bountiful supply of exotic, nutritious fruit.

The Alano Sapodilla live tree is a fantastic choice for gardeners in warm regions or those with suitable indoor growing environments. Its air-layered propagation method means it retains the desirable characteristics of the parent plant, guaranteeing the high-quality fruit that the Alano variety is famous for. This particular specimen is approximately 3ft in height, making it a manageable size for initial planting and establishment. With its glossy green leaves and potential for prolific fruiting, it serves as an excellent focal point in a tropical-themed garden or a productive addition to an edible landscape. Embrace the joy of harvesting fresh, homegrown sapodilla with this vibrant and healthy plant.

Key Benefits

The Alano Sapodilla live tree offers a multitude of benefits for the discerning gardener and fruit enthusiast:

• Delicious & Unique Fruit: Enjoy the rich, caramel-like sweetness and distinct flavor of the Alano Sapodilla. The fruit is perfect for fresh eating, desserts, smoothies, and preserves, offering a taste experience unlike any other.
• Faster Fruiting: As an air-layered plant, this sapodilla tree is genetically mature and will typically produce fruit much sooner than trees grown from seed, often within 2-3 years.
• Ornamental Value: Beyond its fruit, the Alano Sapodilla is an attractive evergreen tree with dense, glossy green foliage, providing year-round beauty and shade in your garden or as a patio specimen.
• Nutrient-Rich Harvest: Sapodilla fruit is a good source of vitamins A and C, fiber, and various minerals, contributing to a healthy diet.
• Adaptable Growth: While loving warm climates, the sapodilla plant care is relatively straightforward, and it can be grown in large containers in cooler regions, allowing you to move it indoors during cold spells.
• Long-Lived & Productive: With proper care, a sapodilla tree can be a long-term producer in your garden, yielding abundant harvests for many years.
• Drought Tolerance: Once established, the Alano Sapodilla exhibits good drought tolerance, making it a resilient choice for various landscapes.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper sapodilla plant care is essential for a thriving and productive tree. The Alano Sapodilla prefers a warm, tropical to subtropical climate. It thrives in full sun, requiring at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal growth and fruit production. For soil, a well-draining, fertile loam is ideal. While adaptable to various soil types, good drainage is crucial to prevent root rot. Amend heavy clay soils with organic matter to improve aeration. When planting, ensure the graft union (for air-layered plants) is above the soil line.

Watering should be consistent, especially for young trees and during dry periods. Water deeply when the top few inches of soil feel dry, but avoid overwatering. Established trees are more drought-tolerant. Fertilize your Alano Sapodilla live tree with a balanced slow-release fertilizer designed for fruit trees, following the product instructions. Young trees benefit from more frequent, lighter applications. Pruning is generally minimal, focused on shaping the tree, removing dead or diseased branches, and maintaining a manageable size for easy harvesting. Protect young trees from strong winds. In colder climates, if growing sapodilla in a container, bring it indoors when temperatures drop below 40°F (4°C) to prevent cold damage. Maintaining good air circulation is also important to prevent fungal issues.

Size & Details

This offering is for a robust Alano Sapodilla live tree, standing approximately 3ft (36 inches) tall from the base of the pot to the top of the foliage. It is an air-layered specimen, meaning it was propagated from a mature parent plant, ensuring it will bear fruit true to the Alano variety and typically much earlier than seed-grown trees. The tree ships in a nursery container, ready for immediate planting in the ground or a larger pot upon arrival. The Alano variety is known for its moderate growth rate, eventually reaching heights of 20-40 feet in ideal conditions, though it can be kept smaller with pruning. Expect this tree to begin fruiting within 2-4 years under optimal care. The mature fruit is typically pear-shaped, measuring 2-4 inches in diameter, with a brown, slightly rough skin and sweet, often gritty, brownish-orange flesh. For those interested in growing sapodilla, this 3ft air-layered tree provides a significant head start.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this Alano Sapodilla live tree get? A: This particular tree is 3ft tall when shipped. In ideal tropical conditions, an Alano Sapodilla tree can grow to 20-40 feet tall, but its size can be managed with regular pruning, especially if grown in a container.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Alano Sapodilla is a tropical tree best grown outdoors in USDA Zones 9-11. In cooler climates, it can be grown in a large container and moved indoors during colder months to protect it from frost.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: For optimal growth and fruit production, the Alano Sapodilla live tree requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your air-layered sapodilla tree will arrive healthy and carefully packaged in its nursery pot, ready for planting. We take great care to ensure the plant endures transit well.
• Q: Is it good for beginners? A: While sapodilla requires specific warm conditions, its general care for watering and fertilizing is straightforward, making it a suitable choice for enthusiastic beginner to intermediate gardeners in appropriate climates.
• Q: How long until it blooms and fruits? A: As this is an air-layered tree, it is more mature than a seedling and typically begins to bloom and fruit within 2-4 years of planting, given proper care and conditions.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: This tropical tree is sensitive to cold. It is recommended for USDA Zones 9-11 for outdoor planting. If you are in a colder zone, you will need to provide winter protection or grow the growing sapodilla in a pot that can be brought indoors.
• Q: What is the best soil for a sapodilla plant? A: Sapodilla trees prefer well-draining, fertile soil. A loamy soil rich in organic matter is ideal. Avoid heavy clay soils that retain too much moisture, as this can lead to root issues.