LaVerne Suebelle Rootstock
The following thread was started by Merbert on November 06, 2009 at 5:25 pm PST
LaVerne (and everyone else) use seedlings for their rootstock, so you might get something fun, and you might get something that makes no or poor fruit. I always encourage people to let at least one branch grow below your graft or grafts, just to see what you'll get. I've never been a big fan of Suebelle. Small, slow grower, often very slow to fruit, but worst: the leaf pubescence is a scale magnet. It's a fine tasting sapote, but I think there are many varieties that are superior in multiple ways.
The above followup was added by Tom A. on November 06, 2009 at 10:09 pm PST.
Tom, my instincts were to leave one branch to develop and mature. My Suebelles barely grow. I have a Homestead from Florida that has just taken off after sitting practically dormant for 2 years. I have good hopes for it. A LaVerne McDill hasn't produced a single leaf since Summer and looks terrible.
The above followup was added by Merbert on November 07, 2009 at 0:15 am PST.
My Suebelle graft does not seem slow. It is faster then half of the other ones I grafted on my tree, but it is not as fast as Santa Cruz,
I put a graft on this spring, and grew 4 feet over the summer.
The above followup was added by David Johnson, Waterford CA, zone 14 on November 07, 2009 at 1:38 am PST.
For the 1st year, the Laverne Suebelle did not grow much. This year (2nd year), it has been in growth flush for the last 3 months or so. I did read here (a post from several years ago) that putting a lot of fertilizers/water can induce White Sapote to start growing fast...
The above followup was added by atc (sunnyvale) on November 07, 2009 at 4:38 pm PST.
Alot of Sapote varieties are no good, same with Cherimoyas they are fruits that have just not had much/any work put into them, just a few amature Californians that got one to fruit and said hey! here's my variety :0 but really most are no better than the average seedlings.
They are VERY climate dependant too. Sapotes will grow and fruit over a wide range of climates but each variety responds so very different depending on the climate it's in, alot of them wont even grow in cool climates and alot of the cool climate ones wont fruit in warmer climates. The only sure things are that seedlings/rootstocks will allways outgrow the grafted plants and that Vernon is a pretty sure bet. They need bulk nitrogen almost like a shot of adrenaline to kick start them into growing
The above followup was added by Jason on November 08, 2009 at 10:46 am PST.