Young plants such as yours are very sensitive to full sun so be careful. When it retracts its leaves, this is a defense mechanism to protect from damage, moisture loss, etc. An area that receives dappled sun/shade would be fine. Start giving it some weak fertilizer. When it starts to get taller, start pruning to keep the plant short and stocky. Otherwise, it gets tall and lanky. It will be so weak, it will not be able to support its own weight when the leaves get wet.

There is tons of info on the web concerning grafting. You are about a year away from that.

What kind of fertilizer do you suggest? Is it ok to start fertilizing now, and how often should I do that? As far as pruning, how exactly do I do that? Should i just pick the branches closest to the top and cut them shorter, or altogether and how do i know if i am cutting too much. Other than that are there any other things i should look at doing to keep it healthy? I'm not sure if you can tell by just looking at the plant, but does it look to be doing ok? Another thing i realized after i starting doing some research is that there are different kinds of plants. I have no idea what kind mine is. Is there a way to find out? Sorry for all the questions, but i have very little experience right now and I am trying to learn as much as possible, its been fun so far!

Thanks!

I use average liquid fertilizer with minors. Organic fertilizer as foliar. This is a strange plant. Mine is head high, 3 years old, well pruned clump of 3. Sensitive to wind. Leave fold up, despite being grown in full sun with moderate wind protection.

It's grown from seed so it really doesn't matter what kind it was...chances are slim that it will produce fruit the same as the parent. And you really don't want your fruit to resemble the fruit found in the grocery store anyway.

Fish/seaweed fert is good to use once a week or so. You can get some other type of fruit tree fertilizers but just go easy since your plant is young and small. You can hit up a hydroponics store and get good micro nutrient foliar fert.

When your plant starts to get around 12"+, I would just cut the leader back about halfway. Keep your eyes open for aphids, thrips, and spider mites. Occaisionally check the underside of the leaves for anything very tiny and moving! Thrips and spider mites just love starfruit plants.

Your plant looks good. Just keep doing what you are doing. I would definitely keep it outside as much as possible to subject it to wind. This will help strengthen up the branches and trunk. Good luck!

Thanks for the reponses guys! I will go and look for some fertilizer later this week and give that a try. I'll get some pics as it continues to grow and keep this updated!

So, little update...I think the plant may have some of those bugs attacking it. About a week ago i noticed that a few leaves were drying/curling up and one or two had fallen off. I got some Organocide from Home Depot, as well as some organic fertilizer. I sprayed both of them on Sunday, and there have been a few more leaves falling off since then. I'm hoping that these were the ones already affected by the bugs, and that the organocide is working. I've still been watering it every other day, and most of the other stalks with leaves seem to be doing well, but again only the next few days will really tell. The picture here is from earlier today. Does what I am doing sound like a good approach? Is there anything else i should do to help out the plant?

The plant is small enough to where I would inspect each leaf, top and bottom, for any kind of insect. Then you could use a light rag in some warm, soapy water and gently wash off the leaves. GENTLY. I've found that just about any insect I could have in the greenhouse, loves my starfruit.

I wouldn't get too excited just yet. Plant still looks nice and healthy. Starfruit drop leaves all the time too. Just don't over water. I noticed you have what looks to be a plastic wrap around the container. What is that? Make sure the container can drain completely. Don't let it sit in any water. Keep up the good work.

Ok great I'll wipe them later today then just to be sure. I cut an apple juice container in half and that is what you see around the container. It is there to catch the draining water. I usually water until I see it start to drain a little. Does that sound like a good approach? Glad to know it is still doing well.

I would remove the juice container while it is outside. Just let the water naturally drain away from the container the starfruit is in. You never want your plants to be sitting in water for any length of time.

I have a few growing in a greenhouse, about 2 months old. I've got a 6500K growlight and a 3000K growlight running most of the day in there. The greenhouse is under a porch.

Would a foliar spray of fish emulsion be too strong?

I wouldn't think so. Make it according to the directions and you might even make it a bit weaker for the first couple of applications...just to be sure.

I gave it a spray today with 5-1-1 fish emulsion at 2 tsp per gallon. Also gave the cherimoyas and Hawaiian papayas a shot too. My rambutan is a tiny little sprout, so I held off on that one for a while. The starfruit is doing OK, considering the greenhouse gets up to about 105 during the day, but there is a fan in there.