Origin story - Painter is the first of its kind and clearly proves that (much like Atemoya is its own category) cherimoyas crossed with custard apples are a category in their own right, the Cherilata.  In the early 00's, John Painter used pollen from a grafted 'Tikal' A. reticulata (male) to fertilize a seedling 'Spain' A. cherimola flower (female) to invent this masterpiece. Only this tree withstood the test of time out of the many cross-pollinated A. cherimola seeds that were sown from that precursor 'Spain' cherimoya seedling, which no longer exists. All of Painter's sister seedlings succumbed to herbivory, disease, or neglect until there was one, which John proudly planted in prime real estate just a few steps to the rear of his house. John likes to joke that his flock of chickens (and his rooster, Forest) doesn't have an apetite for Annonas but they'll demolish a Painter fruit anytime they get the chance. John donated enough scion wood to the project to produce about one hundred trees in 2020 with explicit instructions to make sure they get into the hands of dedicated home gardeners who want to add something unique to their collections. John and our breeding team couldn't be more proud now that we are seeing tastings and reviews of this fruit starting to spread on social media! 😇

Flavor profile - Delicately balanced subacid and sweet qualities with hints of seasonal berries like mulberry, blackberry, raspberry, and other juicy red fruits.

Field notes - An exceptionally vigorous and prolific tree. Produces off-season and for a long duration starting in early October thru mid April when all of us fruit lovers are missing the tastes of our favorite Summer fruits. 👅 Scroll through our photos and you will see that Painter trees grafted on A. glabra, or pond apple, rootstock are capable of tolerating significant flooding. We have grown productive and mature trees under the following stressors using pond apple rootstock: (a) full drought with no irrigation, (b) flowing brackish water above and below the graft union, and (c) standing fresh water. 

Cultivar status - It has become widely available since first being released to the nursery trade in 2020.