Paul Recher says that the vast majority of cultivars are pollen sterile so you must plant a cultivar that has pollen. I spoke to the President of the South Australian Rarefruit Association about the problem and he confirmed the same prognosis so I emailed Peter Young from Birdwood Nursery and here is his reply. “Pollination in White Sapote is critical and is the main reason for many good eating cultivars not being sold to retail as stand alone trees fail to crop. This is why we chose ‘Dade’ as it has good quality fruit and we have found it to be highly self fertile. It is also a compact grower. Varieties such as Reinike, Golden Globe, Candy, McDill and Denzler to name a few all need pollinating. Varieties that are recognised as good pollinators for such varieties are Dade, Vista, Ortego and Vernon. Lemon Gold that is also very self fertile does everything later than most cultivars. It is a big tree, small fruit and although it’s good eating, doesn’t make a good pollinator or backyard tree.” Ref: Sheryl Backhouse
White Sapote is a member of the same family as citrus (Rutaceae), which can have problems of sourness and bitterness improved by applications of Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate). It is easy to broadcast the little crystals under the trees. Sheryl’s favourite remedy of boron + urea (see the checklist on the calendar) might help with fruit-setting. Having soil tested is a good idea. Ref: Pat Scott
Denzler and Blumenthal are by far the best here in northern NSW. Also I remember one year Vista had delicious creamy fruits but the memory could be faulty. Regardless Blumenthal and Denzler I imported from Kona, Hawaii and do well in the wet subtropics. Ref: Paul Recher
White Sapote by Richard Frost: Though the flowers are hermaphrodite, for fruit production it is important to obtain a known, grafted cultivar because seedlings can have partial to total pollen sterility within the flower. Further, some cultivars are known to have all or nearly all dysfunctional pollen: Dade is among them. Several varieties are reported to have regular production. These include: Cuccio, McDill, and Suebelle. The taste of the fruit is also reported to vary significantly with soil, quantity of water, nutrients, and climate.Woolley Leaf White SapoteCasimiroa tetrameria The woolley-leaved white sapote usually has 5 leaflets, larger and thicker than those of C. edulis and velvety-white on the underside (Fruits of Warm Climates, Julia F Morton)
Pike White Sapote bears every year now that I got an Ortego pollinator for it – it use to flower but never set any fruit until I got a pollinator.