When to Plant Sugar Apple in Melbourne, Cool Temperate Guide
What this month normally looks like in Cool Temperate
In October the Cool Temperate zone normally runs 19°C by day and 8°C overnight, with about 67 mm of rain over 9 or 10 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -3.0°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 28 postcodes, SILO.
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This Sugar Apple guide is written for the Cool Temperate zone, which takes in Melbourne, Hobart and Geelong. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Soil pH
- 6.6–7.3
Sugar apple, also called sweetsop, is a small partly deciduous tree of 2 to 5 m for tropical and subtropical gardens, with knobbly sweet fruit eaten raw and chilled (Daleys).
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Best Planting Window for Cool Temperate
Sugar Apple is not recommended for Cool Temperate.
Young trees are killed at 0 to minus 1 degree and mature trees are damaged at minus 2 to minus 3 (IFAS). The tree needs 23 to 34 degrees to grow and ripen fruit (IFAS). No source shows it outdoors in a cool temperate garden.
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How to Grow Sugar Apple in Cool Temperate Australia
- Soil
- Well drained soil; flooding for 7 to 10 days kills the tree (IFAS). Shallow rooted (Morton).
- Salt
- Sensitive. Struggles with salty bore water or salty soil. Give it rainwater if you can.
- pH Range
- 6.6-7.3
- Sunlight
- Full sun (Daleys).
- Keep away from
- Frost pockets, Wet ground (IFAS), Bushland edges where seed could escape (Morton)
Cool Temperate Growing Tips for Sugar Apple
Key Challenges
- Frost
Pests and problems for Sugar Apple in Cool Temperate
Harvesting Sugar Apple
When ready: Pick when the skin colour shows between the segments and they start to separate (Morton).
How to harvest: Clip with a short stem; ripe fruit lasts 2 to 4 days (IFAS). Chilling injury at 4 degrees, so do not refrigerate unripe fruit (Morton).
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Sugar Apple
When do you plant sugar apple in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Jan to Mar, Nov to Dec
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Oct to Nov
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): not recommended
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): not recommended
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Sep to Nov
- Mediterranean (Perth): not recommended
When should I plant Sugar Apple in Melbourne?
Young trees are killed at 0 to minus 1 degree and mature trees are damaged at minus 2 to minus 3 (IFAS). The tree needs 23 to 34 degrees to grow and ripen fruit (IFAS). No source shows it outdoors in a cool temperate garden.
How do I know when Sugar Apple are ready to harvest?
Pick when the skin colour shows between the segments and they start to separate (Morton).
Are sugar apple salt tolerant?
No. Sugar apple are salt-sensitive, one of the more sensitive veggies. Use rainwater if your bore water is salty, or grow them in a raised bed of fresh mix if your soil is.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cool Temperate zone, Melbourne is its reference city.