Other Names:  Soursop, Graviola

Description:

These trees are generally bushy and low but can be pruned to shape; large oval to elliptical glossy leaves are beautiful and provide shade; cone shaped flowers can appear anywhere on the trunk or branches; fruit is edible but seeds are poisonous

Ornamental Features

Prickly Custard Apple is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. The fruits are showy chartreuse pomes carried in abundance from mid to late summer. The fruit can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways, and may require occasional clean-up. It has attractive dark green foliage with light green undersides. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. It features unusual chartreuse hooded flowers with yellow eyes along the branches from late winter to early spring.

Landscape Attributes

Prickly Custard Apple is an evergreen tree with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Prickly Custard Apple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Prickly Custard Apple will grow to be about 25 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.