Conditions & Harvest
Cherimoya like to be protected from wind and frost, although will tolerate some mild frost when established. They are self-fertile although some trees can benefit from hand pollination. See this page for instructions.
They fruit late winter through spring in Aotearoa, producing large aromatic fruit up to 1kg in size. Pick when the skin changes colour to light green and then eat when the flesh softens slightly.
Uses & Food Forest Information
While Cherimoya will eventually occupy the emergent to high layer of your food forest, they appreciate some protection while they are young and are slower growing than many other fruit trees. We typically start them out in the undergrowth of tithonia and faster growing fruit trees like Tamarillo or Pawpaw.
Cherimoya also grow well in large containers and can be espaliered, trained or pruned to shape.
Their creamy flesh makes them a great fruity addition to things like smoothies and yoghurt. Their fruiting window makes them a great gap filler at a time of year when there typically isn’t a lot of fruit around.
