HOW TO GROW
Select a ripe sapote fruit and cut it open with a knife. Extract the seeds and rinse them of all pulp.
Crack the coat of each seed before planting to increase chances of germination. Place a seed between two wooden boards and apply light pressure to the top board. A hairline crack in the seed is ideal.
Plant sapote seeds in soil-free potting medium, no more than 14 days after harvesting, since sapote seeds do poorly in storage. Make sure that the pointed side of each seed faces up 1/2-inch from the surface of the soil. Water each seed deeply.
Continue watering deeply throughout germination, which occurs in two to four weeks, and through seedling growth, keeping the potting medium moist. Once seedlings outgrow their pots, transfer them to increasingly larger containers.
Select an outdoor planting space once trees grow between 2 and 4 feet tall. Choose an area with well-drained soil that receives full sun, and with no nearby structures.
Water each sapote tree thoroughly before planting. Dig holes 30 feet apart that are three to four times wider than the root ball and three times as deep as the tree's container. Backfill and tamp down soil once trees are planted.
Mulch newly planted sapote trees with 2 to 6 inches of wood chip mulch, staying 8 to 12 inches away from the trunk of each tree. Water each tree with 1 to 2 inches of water.
