Outdoor soursop sapling planting

1. Prepare a sunny, south-facing spot with wind protection in the garden and rake 2 inches of compost into the soil.

2. Transplant 12-inch-high seedlings into the yard in the spring, spacing them at least 12 feet apart. Dig holes big enough to hold the root ball of each plant. Cover the base of the plant with soil

3. Add 3 inches of mulch to keep moist.

4. Water soursop plants often enough to keep the soil moist, but not wet, during hot weather.

5. When the weather cools in the winter, be sure to reduce watering. Soursop plants can tolerate drought. That said they can develop pest problems if they are always wet.

6. Provide soursop plants with 10-10-10 fertilizer, using a total of one-half pound of fertilizer per tree in the first year. Split the amount quarterly. In the 2nd year, raise the amount to 1 pound. Thereafter use 3 pounds of fertilizer per year.

7. Reapply mulch annually to the trees.

8. Widening the mulch application area to 5 feet as the tree’s root system expands.