Custard Apple 'KJ Pinks' developing fruit at LCG, February 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Custard Apple 'KJ Pinks'
Annona atemoya
Annonaceae family
Grafted
This tree has an additional graft attached, of the "Pinks Mammoth" variety.
This is a hybrid of two fruits - the sugar apple and the cherimoya. The creamy tinge between the carpals is the tell-tale sign the fruit is ready to pick (if picked too soon, it will not ripen).
Very juicy and smooth, sweet and a little tart, reminiscent of vanilla - the fruit is generally eaten fresh (often chilled first), but can also be added to smoothies, ice cream and desserts. The black seeds are toxic and inedible.
Tree maintenance
History
It is probably the oldest & biggest and certainly one of the best atemoyas, if not Annonas. From memory the recollections of a Brisbane botanic gardens worker of a fabulous human head sized fruit encountered in the 1860s in Suriname, French Guiana or somewhere around there caused a hunt. They were located and brought to Australia in the 1890s. Their story of survival and blossoming into the standard by which all others were judged for 100 years is quite a tale. All serious breeding programs in Australia try to impart or retain the mammoth taste.
Annona atemoya
Annonaceae family
Grafted
This tree has an additional graft attached, of the "Pinks Mammoth" variety.
This is a hybrid of two fruits - the sugar apple and the cherimoya. The creamy tinge between the carpals is the tell-tale sign the fruit is ready to pick (if picked too soon, it will not ripen).
Very juicy and smooth, sweet and a little tart, reminiscent of vanilla - the fruit is generally eaten fresh (often chilled first), but can also be added to smoothies, ice cream and desserts. The black seeds are toxic and inedible.
Tree maintenance
- Prune in winter to keep to a manageable size, remove dead branches.
- The tree needs a humus rich soil, and lots of compost.
- Water when the soil is dry.
- Apply citrus fertiliser every three months until the tree begins to bear fruit. Regular fertilising is not common, but could increase the tree’s longevity.
History
It is probably the oldest & biggest and certainly one of the best atemoyas, if not Annonas. From memory the recollections of a Brisbane botanic gardens worker of a fabulous human head sized fruit encountered in the 1860s in Suriname, French Guiana or somewhere around there caused a hunt. They were located and brought to Australia in the 1890s. Their story of survival and blossoming into the standard by which all others were judged for 100 years is quite a tale. All serious breeding programs in Australia try to impart or retain the mammoth taste.
Custard Apple 'KJ Pinks' at LCG January 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Custard Apple 'KJ Pinks' at LCG August 2022 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
