You Down with PPC?

I have several Annona plants in 7.5 gal planters, and recently I decided to purchase a bunch of 20 gal trash cans and modify them as planters. All that takes is a power drill with which I make about 50 holes in the can. I make my own airpots. It seems to work really well in keeping the roots from sitting in water. Anyway, I am waiting on some grafted Passiflora, for four of those cans. Two bananas when in a couple more. With that I have 4 cans left, and I made a poll online to see which of my atemoyas people recommended for the super-up-potting. Phat Pak Chong (PPC) won that poll, so into the can it went today. We'll have to wait and see if the pot size makes a big difference in its growth versus its similarly sized brothers and sisters.

Grafting Day

Last night a bunch of sticks came in the mail; by sticks I mean Annona scions. I bought some cherimoya, sugar apple, and ilama and I was excited to try a late summer green scion graft. The first round of grafting in the early spring took pretty well though I didn't shield them from the sun as I should have. African Pride in just a few short months has 3 fruits; 2 which are swelling substatially. Lisa and Mexican Giant are doing well. Dream I lost.This time I wrapped them with that cloth tape that you find on newly transplanted trees' trunks. It's just a sunbrella for sticks really. We might have to wait a long time to see what takes, or maybe they'll turn black immediately. The goal is to get as many different types on as many different root stocks as possible so that I can condense my collection. We'll see if that plan comes to fruition or if I just get so many different types that I need all the plants in order to graft the scions.

• Cherimoya (A. cherimola)
• El Bumpo
• Pierce
• Booth
• Atemoya (A. cherimola x A. squamosa)
• Bradley
• Island Gem
• Phat Pakchong
• Randhir
• Geffner
• African Pride
• Lisa
• Birula
• Calostro
• Ilama (A. diversifolia)
• Rosada
• Genova Red
• Red Custard Apple (A. reticulata)
• Tobago Pink 
• Cawesh/Poshte (A. scleroderma)
• A. scleroderma
• Sugar Apple (A. squamosa)
• Super Atis
• Giant Mexican
• Cangrejo
• Lessard

No Plant is an Island

I've been trying for weeks not to pollinate my Annona flowers. I collect pollen in a medicine bottle, save it in the fridge, and then wait for the next flower to crack. The lapse between any flower opening in male form to the next opening in female has been more than 24 hours. The general concensus seems to be that stored pollen isn't much good after that, but that hasn't stopped me from trying. And it seems like one of my attempts finally paid off. It's tiny, there's a long way to go, but it's something. I have a tiny little Atemoya 'Island Gem' fruit. Now to keep it hanging on until maturity.