A Winter Standout in the Tropical Fruit Calendar

What if there were a fruit that delivered top tier flavor, dependable winter harvests, and the toughness to handle Florida’s toughest growing conditions? Too good to be true? Maybe not. Cherilata is a newer Florida-bred annona hybrid is rapidly gaining popularity, and not by accident. It reaches peak production in January and February, precisely when most Florida orchards are quiet and seasonal residents are in town searching for the perfect small dooryard fruit tree. Plant it while you’re here this winter, and there’s a very real chance you’ll return in seasons ahead to find it holding fruit — ready to welcome you back with a harvest.

The Genetics Behind the Flavor

Cherilata is a hybrid between two excellent fruits in their own right. Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) and Mexican Custard Apple (Annona reticulata). It blends the rich, creamy excellence of cherimoya, once called by Mark Twain ‘the most delicious fruit known to man’ with the heat tolerance and durability of reticulata. The result is a fruit widely described as tasting like “berry cheesecake” — creamy, smooth, lightly tropical, with bright berry undertones and noticeably fewer seeds than many reticulata types. For those fortunate enough to already have a producing tree — and remember, it’s only been circulating for about five years — it’s widely regarded as a true top-tier fruit that keeps you coming back for another slice. Mature trees can produce an impressive 50–75 fruits per season, each typically weighing between one and two pounds. Plant one now, and you won’t be short on winter harvests in the years ahead.

The texture is thick, smooth, and perfectly spoonable, clearly favoring its cherimoya parentage in eating quality while retaining the rugged adaptability of reticulata — which is exactly how it earned the name Cheri-lata, blending both parents together. Unlike many tropical fruits that require peeling, slicing, or prep work, this one is best enjoyed simply chilled in the refrigerator and scooped straight from the shell, letting the creamy flesh speak for itself.

Rootstock for Tough Conditions

What truly elevates Cherilata for Florida growers is its grafting compatibility with Pond Apple (Annona glabra) rootstock. Pond apple is native to Florida and is naturally adapted to sandy soils, extended drought, extended floods, fluctuating water tables, and even brackish conditions. Pond apples are technically edible, but most who’ve been brave enough to try one describe the flavor as… unmistakably swampy. It’s the kind of fruit that earns respect for resilience more than rave reviews for taste — which makes its value as a hardy rootstock. It also is known for its poor graft compatibility with many other Annona species and hybrids. With only Cherilatas and Soursops showing decent compatibility.

When grafted onto pond apple, Cherilata takes on the rugged durability of its rootstock — tolerating standing water, extended drought, and even short bursts of salinity that would sideline many other tropical fruit trees. It may also gain a measure of cold resilience; during our recent cold event, while other trees in the garden suffered significant damage, the Cherilatas came through with minimal impact. For sites with inconsistent drainage or coastal exposure, that adaptability is a major advantage.

We decided to test that toughness firsthand by planting several pond apple–grafted Cherilatas directly into our bioswale — a true proving ground of sandy soils, periodic flooding, and full exposure. They’ve established beautifully so far. Even the winter 2026 cold snap, the coldest in 16 years, caused little foliage damage. If they continue on this trajectory, we look forward to welcoming you to see them in person — and hopefully offering a taste next winter during one of our monthly demonstration tours.

Growth Habit and Production

The tree exhibits strong, upright growth while remaining compact enough to be easily managed in backyard orchards and food forest settings. Like many annonas, hand pollination can drastically improve fruit set, but even without intensive management, Cherilata has developed a reputation for dependable hefty winter production. Its peak fruiting window in January and February makes it especially valuable for growers aiming to stretch their harvest season across the calendar year.

A Backyard Breeding Success Story

One of the most compelling aspects of Cherilata is its origin in southwest Florida. This was not developed by a large university breeding program. It was created by hobbyist fruit grower John Painter from Pine Island, who used pollen from a grafted ‘Tikal’ A. reticulata to fertilize a ‘Spain’ A. cherimola flower. From that intentional cross came a standout seedling that is now spreading through specialty fruit nurseries and collector orchards. It’s an inspiring reminder that passionate hobbyists can shape the future of horticulture — proving that planting a single seed today can lead to an entirely new popular cultivar tomorrow.

Cherilata, a fruit on the rise?

For growers dealing with sandy soils, erratic rainfall, and coastal pressures, Cherilata looks especially promising. It fruits when little else does, withstands stresses that sideline other crops, and delivers a dessert-quality experience that rivals the best annonas like Atemoyas and Cherimoyas.  We’re eager to watch it mature and begin producing in our demonstration gardens.

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