When to Plant Sugar Apple in Perth, Mediterranean Guide
What this month normally looks like in Mediterranean
In October the Mediterranean zone normally runs 22°C by day and 10°C overnight, with about 38 mm of rain over 6 or 7 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -0.2°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 19 postcodes, SILO.
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This Sugar Apple guide is written for the Mediterranean zone, which takes in Perth, Adelaide and Bunbury. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs
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 Mediterranean
Sugar Apple is not recommended for Mediterranean.
Daleys cannot send the tree to WA (quarantine). Winter frost in SA and inland WA kills young trees at 0 to minus 1 degree (IFAS) and the tree wants 23 to 34 degrees (IFAS). No source shows a crop in a Mediterranean climate garden.
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How to Grow Sugar Apple in Mediterranean 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)
Mediterranean Growing Tips for Sugar Apple
Key Challenges
- Frost
- WA quarantine
Pests and problems for Sugar Apple in Mediterranean
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 Perth?
Daleys cannot send the tree to WA (quarantine). Winter frost in SA and inland WA kills young trees at 0 to minus 1 degree (IFAS) and the tree wants 23 to 34 degrees (IFAS). No source shows a crop in a Mediterranean climate 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 Mediterranean zone, Perth is its reference city.