Fruit Trees Lover

Strawberries

2012-04-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Plant in fertile, well cultivated soil. Set the plant with the crown just at the surface of the soil. Be sure roots are spread out fan-shaped and hang down full length without crowding. For the garden, set them at 2 foot intervals. Mulch them with 3 or 4" of straw in the fall. The mulch can be left on the next season to retain moisture and keep down weeds.

CARING FOR YOUR KIWI

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When first received, transplant into a larger pot. Keep it inside in a sunny location until plant is stronger, then transplant outside. You'll need to protect your kiwi from the frost in the spring when any new young growth is on the plant, because the crop for that season may be lost. If a late spring frost is in the forecast, cover the plant with burlap or an old sheet. Be sure to provide a support system soon after planting. Kiwi should receive an inch of water a week, either through rainfall or watering. Allowing the soil to dry out in the summer will damage the fruit crop and reduce winter hardiness. The first winter after planting your kiwi apply a very deep (4-6") layer of humus mulch after the soil has frozen.

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Red And Black Raspberries And Blackberries

2012-03-04T05:36:00.003-05:00

Put roots in a bucket of water while you are preparing the holes for planting. Trim off any broken roots and cut the tops of the plant back to about 6". The hole should be dug large enough to allow you to spread the roots out like a fan; firmly pack the soil around the roots. Plant 3-5' apart in 6' rows. Red Raspberries should be planted 1-2" deeper than they were in the nursery (look for original soil line); Black Raspberries should be 1" deeper. Blackberries should be planted just about as deep as they were at the nursery. The soil should be rich in humus. They should all be planted so that there is free air movement during the growing season. This lowers the humidity and discourages fungus diseases. Never let the ground dry out. Cultivate early in the season and after the plants are established. Toward midsummer, begin mulching with materials such as grass clippings. This will help to keep the weeds down and conserve moisture.

If the bushes are left un-pruned, the berries will become a mass of brambles. After fruiting each year, the old canes should be cut out and burnt. A few vigorous new canes should be left for the fruit to grow on the next year. These fruiting canes should be cut back to about 2 ½' in early spring in order to encourage fruiting laterals.

Small Fruits

Elderberries

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Elderberries prefer moist, well-drained soil and require 2 plants for cross-pollination. The old wood should be pruned to thin out the plant and to prevent crowding.

Honeyberry

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Hardy to minus 40 degrees! Produces large crops of elongated blueberry-like fruits 1-2 years after planting. Blue Velvet reaches 3-4 feet, while Blue Moon grows 2-3 feet tall. By planting these two varieties you will enjoy fruit from May-July. Two varieties are required for pollination

Currants & Gooseberries

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Do best in cool, moist, partially shaded locations. Set in spring or fall. In the spring, they should be planted before the buds begin to grow. Prune any damaged roots and cut tops back to 10". When planting, the lower branches should be just a little below the soil level to encourage them to develop into bush form. Space Gooseberries 4 to 6' apart; Currants 3 to 4' apart. Fertilize well when you plant, water as necessary and mulch.

Plant Kiwi Seed

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Remove the seeds from a piece of kiwi fruit and lay them on a paper towel to dry out. Place the seeds in an area where they will remain undisturbed for two days.

Fill a plastic baggie with perlite. Add the dried kiwi seeds to the perlite, seal the baggie and place it in the refrigerator for a minimum of four months.

Fill a 6-inch pot with sterilized potting soil. Remove the kiwi seeds from the refrigerator and plant them in the potting soil at a depth of 1/8 of an inch.

Moisten the soil with a spray bottle of water and cover the pot with a piece of saran wrap, secured with a rubber band. Place the pot in a warm area while the kiwi seeds germinate.

Remove the plastic wrap once the kiwi seeds begin to sprout, and continue spraying the kiwi seeds with water to keep the soil moist. Place the pot in an area that receives direct sunlight for at least six hours per day.

Transplant the kiwi seedlings outdoors, in the spring, in well-drained soil that has a pH between 5.5 to 7.0. Test the soil to determine the acidity before planting, using a soil pH testing kit. If necessary, amend the soil with lime raise the pH and peat moss to lower it.

Water the kiwi plants at a rate of 1-inch of water per week for the first year, using a soaker hose. Fertilize the kiwi with a 10-10-10 fertilizer according to label instructions.

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PRUNING KIWI

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You must prune in the summer to have the vines fruit. If left un-pruned it may take up to six years to flower. To prune, pinch back the canes as they grow from the two main lateral branches (Cordons). In the spring the canes grow quickly to 8" long. Prune these back to about 4". You may need to do this every few days or so. You can stop pruning around mid-summer.

Small Fruits, Berries, and Kiwi Growing Tips

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For best results, all fruit plants should be planted in deep, well-drained soil. They should be placed in a location where they will receive full sun and have plenty of room to grow.

How to grow kiwi

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Commonly known as kiwi or Chinese gooseberry, and native to certain areas of China, kiwi needs a long growing season of at least 240 frost-free days and winter temperatures no lower than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Kiwi plants need to acclimate to cold slowly because sudden temperature drops can split its bark while late freezes cause damage to buds, according to the California Rare Fruit Growers. Moreover, kiwifruit varieties have different requirements of chill days, or total hours between 32 and 45 degrees F.

Purchase a pair of kiwi plants from a local nursery. Kiwi plants require cross fertilization, so be sure to buy at least one male and one female plant. If you want more than two, plant at a ratio of 8 females to 1 male to ensure adequate cross-pollination and fruit set.

Purchase as many pairs of cedar posts as you have plants. Also acquire as many 8-foot lengths of garden wire as you have plants.

Pick a sunny location, protected from strong winds, where the kiwi plants have space to grow across a trellis system. Kiwi prefers well-drained, slightly acid soil with a pH of 5.0 to 6.0 that is rich in organic material.

Build two single wire trellis systems by digging two pairs of 3-foot-deep holes 8 feet apart to hold the redwood posts for each plant. Mix the cement and water in the wheelbarrow, according to the directions on the bag, and pour it into the holes. Place a redwood post in each hole and let the cement harden. Run wire across each pair of posts and anchor to the posts with fence staples.

Dig holes for the kiwi plants, making sure to dig each hole large enough to avoid bending the roots but no deeper than needed. Mix mulch into the soil, but do not add fertilizer as the roots are sensitive to fertilizer burn.

Plant the kiwifruit and cover with soil. Do not mound the soil up around the kiwi plant. Water the plants well and keep the soil around the plants moist but not soggy to avoid root rot.Prune shoots to train the kiwi vine.

Apply nitrogen-rich fertilizer during the first half of the growing season.
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Fruit Trees for Small Spaces

2012-01-27T14:32:00.001-05:00

By Andrew M Kelly

I love the tips he gives !

We are continually being told, in the media and by our doctors, that we should all lead healthier lifestyles, eating more fresh fruit and taking more regular exercise. One of the best ways to do this is to grow our own produce but it is often difficult to grow fruit and vegetables in small spaces. This article takes a look at growing fruit trees in small spaces.

Fruit trees can look spectacular in any garden, as well as the incredible blooms of blossom you, of course, benefit from the annual production of fruit. By growing your own fruit it is possible to grow it organically (by not using artificial chemicals and fertilizers) which could save you a large amount of cash. Furthermore the fruit can be picked at the exact moment you wish to eat it. Fruit this fresh is far better for you as stored fruit tends to lose it's flavor and the vitamins and minerals can degrade over time.

For the health conscious amongst us you should be aware that gardening is one of the best ways to make sure that you get some regular exercise and the garden can be the perfect place to enjoy other energetic pastimes. Unfortunately most modern, urban backyards are only small spaces. Sometimes the backyard has barely enough space to have a small patio and a tiny lawn with a few flower borders. However, with a little time and effort, it is possible to create a fantastic garden design for the very smallest of backyards.

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Unfortunately trees are not always the most suitable plants to grow in small spaces. In general trees tend to grow extremely large and the spreading branches and roots can end up causing some serious damage to nearby buildings and pools. Having a large mature tree in a small space can become a nightmare as the restricted space can cause problems when attempting to remove such a tree. Obviously it is far better to plant only suitable trees and shrubs in the first place.

Happily the increasing demand for smaller species of trees and shrubs has led to the development of some very interesting varieties and a fantastic selection of dwarf or compact fruit tree varieties have been created. Usually the fruit tree has its growth restricted by grafting it onto specially grown dwarfing root stock such as M9. Although the dwarf M27 root stock was once very popular the M9 stock has proved far more reliable and it has the bonus of increased yields of fruit.

You will be able to find a dwarf or compact fruit tree which grows as small as 1m but unusually they grow from between 1.5m to 1.8m. If you find that this size is still a little too large for your small backyard then you can further restrict growth by planting the fruit trees in containers. Such trees can be places on patios or sunny balconies and size can be even further reduced by careful annual pruning.

For those of us with really tiny backyards one of the most exciting developments in the horticultural world is the development of dual fruit trees. A dual fruit tree is really two different species which have been grafted onto a single dwarfing root stock. Another thrilling variety of compact fruit tree is the "midget fruit tree" which is so called because the tree has an extremely upright and non-spreading habit. The finest examples are those types are the Spur Apples which have an extreme upright habit which appears to be covered in fruit. Some types of tree can be trained to grow right up against walls and other surfaces saving even more space.

As well as compact apple trees it is possible to find dwarf compact varieties of many other types of fruit tree such as plums, pears and cherries. Other fruits include peaches and nectarines and even hazelnuts, Kiwi fruit and figs can be purchased in dwarf varieties. Even in a really small backyard it is possible to grow a large selection of fruit which not only tastes great but looks fantastic too.

If you are looking to discover more about fruit trees for small spaces visit http://www.landscapinginfo4u.com/trees/compact-fruit-trees-for-small-spaces.php

http://www.landscapinginfo4u.com/ is dedicated to providing quality information about all aspects of landscape gardening. The author, Andrew Kelly, has been a keen gardener since his childhood and, now retired, he spends most of his spare time enjoying the hobby and writing about it.

Container Gardening

2012-01-25T12:31:00.001-05:00

Growing Cantaloupes in Containers - Here are my tips

What type of cantaloupe should I choose?

Just about any variety of cantaloupe can be grown in a container, as long as the container is large enough,enough space for the vines to trail and the fruit to grow. You can even grow some of the jumbo varieties provided that you have space. With smaller spaces as most of us container gardeners are, choosing a short vining and small fruited type would be a good bet.

You may also want a variety which produces early if your growing season is short. Be sure to choose one which you think you will enjoy eating! It makes the work worth your while when you can enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Cantaloupes - Container Gardening

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Feeding and Fertilizer

Cantaloupes can be heavy feeders, so be sure to give them plenty of food, especially during the heavy growth phase. A good slow-release fertilizer mixed into the soil will be enough for the first 6 weeks or so. After that period supplement with compost tea or additional slow-release fertilizer.

If you plant your cantaloupe in a self-watering container here is a trick which works very well. Fill your container to the top with good soil, pack down and water in thoroughly. On one long side about 1 inch from the edge, dig a trench about 1 inch deep and wide then fill it with slow release fertilizer. A good balanced 10-10-10 or 12-12-12.

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Cover the entire container with a plastic 'mulch' or plastic garbage bag (I used red tomato 'mulch') and secure it to the sides with clips (spring metal binder clips work great). Along the side opposite the fertilizer, cut 3 to 4 holes in the plastic. Pllant your cantaloupe seeds an inch or so from the edge, according to the package directions. You can add a trellis to the container. Make sure the reservoir always has plenty of water. As your plants grow, train the vines up the trellis and prop the fruit in the squares as they develop.

Location

Cantaloupe love sun and warmth. Place your container in a warm location that will get at least 8 hours of sun a day.
These tips and tricks will also work very well for cucumbers, squash, and even watermelon! For larger fruits and squash, try tying the fruits to the trellis with old pantyhose - cut off a leg, slip over the developing melon or squash, and tie to the support. The hose will stretch with the fruit and when ripe, simply untie from the support.

Happy gardening !

Growing Asian Pears

2012-01-21T12:04:00.001-05:00

Remove all weeds within a 3-foot radius of the Asian pear tree's planting area.

Dig a planting hole three times the width of the Asian pear tree's root ball and the same depth at which it has been growing. Scrape the inside walls and floor of the hole with a gardening fork to allow for easier root penetration.

Place the Asian pear's root ball in the hole. Fill the hole halfway with soil and the rest of the way with water. When the water drains, fill the hole with soil. Tamp around the base of the tree with your hands or feet.

Spread a 3-inch layer of mulch on the soil, keeping it 2 inches from the tree's trunk, in a 1-foot radius around the Asian pear tree.

Water the tree until the water puddles. Keep the soil moist until the tree becomes established.

Cut off the top of the Asian pear tree immediately after planting so that it is 25 to 30 inches tall. After the first year of growth, while the tree is dormant, choose four strong limbs, spaced around the tree, and cut off all the others. Cut the main limbs in half to create the structure of the tree. In the second dormant season, leave six main branches and cut them to 30 to 36 inches in length.

Fertilize the Asian pear tree in its second year with 1 cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer. Apply half the fertilizer in the spring before new growth and the other half after the fruit sets. Scatter the fertilizer on the soil 2 inches from the base of the tree, and spread it out to the drip line. Lightly scratch it in with a rake and water the tree normally. In subsequent years, apply the fertilizer at 1/2 cup per year the tree has been in the ground, split into two applications as you did in the first application.

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Some Asian Pears Varieties

2012-01-19T11:48:00.001-05:00

SHINSUI Fruit is medium sized (7-11 oz) with a green-brown to orange-brown russet skin. Flesh is off-white, tender-crisp, very juicy and sweet. Fruit quality is very good to excellent. Tree is very vigorous, upright, erect with a poor lateral branching. Stores about 6 weeks. Ripens mid August. Earliest ripening.

KOSUI A medium sized (10-14 oz), early maturing, light green to yellow-bronze fruit with a slight russet. Flesh is tender crisp, juicy, sweet with no acid. Tree is vigorous, upright, a strong grower, and moderately productive. Fruit quality is good to very good. Stores about 3 months. Ripens late August.

HOSUI Excellent golden brown russet variety. Excellent taste and eating qualities. Flesh is off-white, tender crisp, very juicy, very sweet. Size is medium to large (12-14 oz). Tree is medium to large, productive, weeping, and spreading. Stores about 3 months. Reported to develop water core if stored too long when picked very ripe. Ripens late August, early September.

SHINSEIKI Popular early season variety. Fruit is yellow-green to pale yellow, smooth with small lenticels, size is large. Flesh is white, sweet, firm, crisp and juicy. Tree is moderately vigorous, dense, very productive and precocious. Fruit quality is good to very good. Excellent storage life, about 7-8 months. Fruit ripens in late August, early September. Also known as New Century.

CHOJURO Medium to large, flattened, brown russet greenish fruit with thick skin. White flesh is crisp like an apple when ripe; mild, slightly aromatic flavor. Keeps in cool storage until February. Medium size, spreading, vigorous, early bearing tree; reliable annual bearing tree with somewhat drooping habit. Somewhat prone to overbearing; needs some thinning. It ripens in mid September.

NIJISSEIKI Best known Asian pear. Fruit is green to greenish yellow, smooth with some lenticels. Fruit size is medium (9-14 oz.). Flesh is white, firm, crisp, very juicy and sweet with a refreshing tartness. Fruit quality is good to very good. Tree is of moderate vigor, upright and productive. Stores about 5 months. Ripens in mid September. Also known as 20th Century.

SHINSEIHO Rather large fruit with light yellow to green fruits that tend to be sweet with a small bit of tartness. The flavor improves after developing in storage for a couple of weeks. Ripens in mid to late September.

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Pear Trees Facts

2012-01-17T11:35:00.001-05:00

Types

The yellow Bartlett, red Bartlett, green and red Anjou, Bosc, Comice, Concorde, Seckel and Forelle are varieties of pears grown in the northwestern United States. Blake's Pride, Gourmet Dwarf, Kieffer, Luscious, Orient, Potomac Pear, Summercrisp and Warren pears are also among the thousands of known varieties of pears in the world.

Many pear trees, such as those of the Bartlett pear, prefer slightly acidic and soil that is deep, heavy and moist but well-drained. Pear trees are especially sensitive to salt. They prefer cool damp climates but also do well in full sun.

Pear trees do not start producing fruit until 4 or 5 years, so until then they can be a bit harder to identify. Most pear trees are oval in shape, with glossy green leaves that alternate and have tiny teeth on the edges. Some varieties have small white blossoms. Because there are so many varieties, acquiring a tree identification book is best if you wish to figure out what kind of pear tree you have.

The size of a pear tree depends on how large the roots are. Many pear trees are grafted onto small rootstock to keep the size down for the purpose of gardens and easy reach when picking the fruit. If allowed, a pear tree will grow larger than most gardeners would care to handle. Most trees are also pruned to maintain a height no taller than 20 feet and a width no larger than 15 feet. If one has a large yard, the trees will grow beyond 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide.

Pears contain high levels of vitamins A, C and E1, copper and potassium. A medium-size pear has about 6 grams of fiber, or 24 percent of what is recommended for daily health

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History Of Plum Trees And Their Hybrids

2012-01-15T14:16:00.000-05:00

The documentation of ancient plums growing in antiquity is sparse. The best evidence of that oldest existence is best documented through America’s most famous pomologist, Luther Burbank, who reported in his twelve volume botanical literary classic, Small Fruits, Volume IV page 136, that the European plum, Prunus domestica, and its ancestor fruit originated in the Caucasus Mountains near the Caspian Sea.

Burbank detailed evidence that the prune (dried plum) was a staple food of the Tartars, Mongols, Turks, and Huns “who maintained a crude horticulture from a very early period.” Several websites have put forth the absurd idea that, because the European plum, Prunus domestica, seeds were not found in the ruins of Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, “whereas, most other old world fruits were,” that this plum could be concluded to be a recent hybrid of “spontaneous chromosome” doubling to produce a hexaploid offspring.

The earliest reference to plum history in the American colonies came from Prince Nursery of Flushing, New York, that was established in 1737 and reported in 1771 in an advertisement “33 kinds of plums” for sale. These plum trees were no doubt European plums, Prunus domestica.

After the year 1755, Henry Laurens, who was a guest and friend of Wililam Bartram, introduced olives, limes, ginger, everbearing strawberry, red raspberry, and blue grapes into the United States. From the south of France he introduced apples, pears, plums, and the white Chasselas grape which bore abundantly. Henry Laurens lived in Charleston, South Carolina and served as a President of the Continental Congress.
William Bartram described two species of American plums in his famous book, Travels, in his 1792 trip to Georgia, where he identified the Chicasaw plum, Prunus chicasaw, and in Alabama, he found a wild plum, Prunus indica.

Luther Burbank contributed more toward improving and hybridizing plum trees of different species than any other person in history. His work on the plum group of stone fruits stands apart from any other person for his unequaled contribution to improving various fruits that are grown and enjoyed today.

Burbank states that his importation of twelve plum seedlings in the year 1885 was the “most important importation of fruit bearers ever made at a single time into America.”
Burbank brought plums from all over the world and intercrossed them in a giant “melting pot” to produce the best characteristics and to reject the wrong ones. These genetic plum mixtures were recombined for many generations and resulted in plum hybrids today that are so different from the original species as to appear to be new species.

Burbank stated that he spent more time hybridizing plums than with any other plant breeding program, and he reported that he screened 7.5 million plum hybrid seedling crosses before releasing outstanding cultivars for sale. His famous line of plum trees that were popular in the late 1890’s are still admired and grown commercially for sale and in backyard gardens today, such as Burbank, Santa Rosa, Wickson, Golden, Satsuma, Shiro, and Ozark Premier. His first huge success was applauded by USDA Professor, H.E. Van Deman, who suggested that the pick-of-the-lot creation of Luther Burbank be named after its creator, thus, the “Burbank Plum.”

Most of Burbank’s plum tree successes come from his combining the genetic materials of 4 major types of plums whose ancestry came from Japan, Europe, America, and China.

The most successful crosses between plums come from the Japanese plum, the most exotic, ‘Satsuma,’ the name suggested by Professor H.E. Van Deman of the USDA, who identified it as being imported from the Satsuma province in Japan. This unique plum grew a red skin with a pale-blue netting bloom overlay. The pulp was dark purplish-red, firm, tasty with an excellent quality to be preferred for home use.

Burbank’s experimental species were Japanese plums, Prunus triflora, that grew wild in Japan and were pickled by the natives. The Japanese plums grew in many colors in skin from white to purple, were large and rather tasteless, but the Japanese natives ate them while green and hard. The Japanese plum genes appear to dominate most hybrid plum offspring. Chinese plums, Prunus simonii, were aromatic, with rich colored skins, a small pit, but the skin cracks and the fruit tastes bitter.

European plums, Prunus domestica, are varied in sizes, largest to small, sweet or sour, complex genes, many colored skins, very widely adaptable, good for fresh eating, drying, or canning. The disadvantage: they are too juicy or watery. “Green Gage” is a well known standard European cultivar. Prunes are very high in sugar content.

Several species of America plums are very hardy and productive to the extent of covering the ground in spring with several layers of fruit. These plums can be tasty but have poor shipping quality. Burbank released an excellent hybrid strain of this cross called “Robinson plum.”

Several American native plum species have been used in hybridization experiments by Luther Burbank. American plums, Prunus Americana, wild goose plums, Prunus hortulans, the chicasaw plum, Prunus augustifolia, Western sand plum, Prunus besseyi, the beach plum, Prunus maritima, and the California wild plum, Prunus subcordata. These native plum trees are unusually cold hardy and frigid temperatures do no harm to them, even in the northernmost part of the central United States.

The “Myrobalan” plum originated as a French species, Prunus cerasif
era is used extensively as a peach tree and plum tree rootstock that tends to be compatible with the resulting fruit tree union and appears to be highly resistant to nematodes and root diseases.

Burbank’s goal in hybridizing plums was to produce a tree that had “stability, novelty, variety, hardiness, beauty, shipping quality and adaptability.”

The plum leaves and twigs exhibit many subtle characteristics that can be experienced by the plant hybridizer to predict the future characteristics of fruit that will be grown from small seedling crosses. Most hybridizers known from experience a predictable outcome, even though these plant qualities are too intangible to explain to an audience, like changing facial expressions or minute variations of color changes. If the leaves of a plant are dark red, the fruit will be red. This same phenomenon is applicable to flowers such as the canna lily leaf color, and the red rhizome color; or in the crinum lily cultivars, a red bulb means a red flower; a light green bulb means a white flower.
Luther Burbank developed a seedless plum by hybridizing a French plum cultivar, “Sans noyaii.” These plums develop into various skin colors ranging from white to yellow, orange scarlet, crimson, violet, deep blue, almost black, striped, spotted, and mottled. These seedless plums were delicious and unique, but were never commercially successful with growers or with public demand.

Burbank crossed many plums that had a tendency to produce fruit with a high sugar content, like the sweetness of figs, pineapple and oranges. This high sugar content makes it possible for the plum (prune) to insure long term preservation, when it is dried. The prune contains a thick and tough skin of such texture that is required to not crack when the commercial drying process begins and proceeds to deliver a tasty, honey-sweet fruit that lasts well.

A prune will not dry properly into a marketable fruit, unless the plum contains a sugar concentration of at least 15%. Before drying, the prune is submerged briefly into an alkali solution that prevents future fermentation by preventing microbes from growing on the surface of the skin. For satisfactory prune production commercially, a prune tree must be a reliable grower with an annual substantial crop of fruit. The prune must ripen early, when the days are long and warm and must drop from the tree to avoid expensive picking costs at the proper ripening time. The prune fruit must cure and dry to a black color and grow a small pit. Most prune hybrids have been hybridized from the European plum, Prunus domestica.

Many cultivars of Plums are recommended for planting: Blue Damson, Chicasaw, Elephant Heart, Green Egg, Methley, Morris, Stanley, Au Amber, Au Homeside, Au Rubrum, Black Ruby, Byrongold, Ruby Sweet, Six Weeks, and Plumcot are just among the few varieties of trees offered in the market today.

There are also three ornamental varieties of flowering plum trees recommend for planting: Newport, Prunus cerasifera 'Newport', Purple Pony Prunus cerasifera 'Purple Pony', and Red Leaf Plum Prunus cerasifera 'Thundercloud', flowering plum trees.
Burbank developed purple leaved plum trees from a French plum ancestor with purple leaves, Prunus pissardi, that commercially are sold as ‘Thundercloud’ flowering plum, Vesuvius, and Othello. Some of these red leaf flowering plums developed by Burbank grew delicious red fruit in addition to the beautiful red ornamental leaves.

Plum fruit is rated high in antioxidant content that offers many health benefits like Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, Niacin, and the minerals; Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Iron.

Burbank sifted out the complexities of plum hybridization and even crossed the plum with the almond, Prunus dulcis, hoping to create a tasty almond kernel and a tasty pulp. He created many crosses with the Apricot, Prunus armeniaca L., and created plumcot trees, a 50/50 blend of plum trees and apricot trees; Pluot trees demonstrate a 75/25 blend of plum trees and apricot trees; and Aprium trees a 75/25 blend of apricot trees and plum trees.

How to Fertilize Peach Trees

2012-01-11T11:19:00.002-05:00

Till soil around peach tree trunk outward to a diameter of around 5 feet at a depth of several inches. Avoid tilling within 1 foot of trunk,it can harm roots.

Measure proper portion of fruit tree fertilizer, follow instructions on product container. A general rule of thumb is a 1/2 cup per inch diameter of trunk measured 10 inches from soil level.

Spread fertilizer by hand onto tilled soil,gently work in. Be sure to distribute evenly around root zone encircling the tree trunk like a doughnut and leaving what would be the doughnut hole as a 1 foot margin of fertilizer-free space around trunk.

Saturate root zone of tree with a generous amount of water. The emphasis should be on thoroughly drenching soil within 3 to 5 feet of the tree trunk where fertilizer has been applied.

Spread mulch with a shovel over entire root zone at a depth of at least 3 inches to protect the soil and reduce evaporation. Then water mulch with a generous amount of water.

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Fertilizing Old Peach Trees

2012-01-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

Time your fertilization of trees for spring. Peach trees older than four years benefit from an application of fertilizer in March and a second one in May

Loosen the soil around the drip line of the tree carefully with a cultivating rake. Careful not to damage surface roots of the tree. The drip line is the outer limits of the area where the branches of the tree spread.

Spread 1 to 2 lbs. of granulated, balanced fertilizer around the drip line of the tree. Do not put fertilizer near the peach tree's trunk.

Rake the fertilizer under the loosened soil with your cultivating fork.

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Maintain & Care for a Peach Tree

2012-01-02T11:11:00.001-05:00

Prepare the soil to the level that you will be planting. Dig a large hole and mix compost,sand into the soil. Ideally the soil should look slightly sandy but hold its shape if you dampen it. Amounts will vary depending on soil type.

Remove the tree from the pot and cut away burlap. Soak the tree in a bucket of water for 12 hours. Gently loosen the roots so they spread out in the hole. Fill in the hole so the trees roots are covered but the trunk stays out of the soil. Compact the earth.

Prune back the tree, especially side branches, to give it a compact appearance. This will encourage new growth and ensure a larger crop.

Fertilize about 11 weeks after planting with fertilizer rich in nitrogen. Use about a pound and work into the soil. Thereafter, fertilize with 3/4 pound of fertilizer in spring and again in early summer. Always water fertilizer well.

Paint the trunk white to prevent winter scald, which can kill the bark and interfere with next season's growing. If the tree will be experiencing freezing conditions, cover with a thermal barrier or even a clear plastic bag.

Spray annually before buds form with an organic fungicide as peaches are prone to fungus problems. Spraying with a horticultural oil will help keep insects away.

Prune annually. Prune when plant goes dormant in winter. Prune out dead wood, crossing branches, reduce height by 1/3 and clear the center of the tree for better air circulation.

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Pruning a Strawberry Tree

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Prune the strawberry tree in early spring before the blooming season. This will promote more healthy growth in the growing season, when the tree can easily recover from the pruning.

Prune the tree so that it grows with a single, strong trunk. Cut away any excessive twists or splits that may cause a second trunk to grow. Strawberry trees will try to grow multiple trunks, but are easier to control with one strong trunk.

Trim branches below the desired canopy level. Strawberry branches will droop as the tree grows, reducing visibility of the trunk and limiting the vehicles or people that can pass below. Establish a safe canopy level and prune any branches that droop or develop beneath that level.

Cut away any dead or diseased branches to prevent the spread of disease and to promote good health on all branches.

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Care of a Strawberry Tree

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Here are some tips

Soil

Test the soil in the planting location. The strawberry tree is hardy and will grow in clay or dry soil, but the prefers rich, loamy soil. The soil should also be well-draining, high in acidity and free of lime. While the strawberry tree will tolerate some lime, it grows much better if the soil is lime-free. Use a soil pH testing kit to determine the amount of lime in your soil, but the chances are low that you have lime unless you or someone else previously added it to amend the soil and reduce acidity.
Location
Strawberry trees are very tolerant of pollutants. For this reason, they are often planted along city streets, in parking lots or in containers on rooftop gardens. Strawberry trees also are tolerant of salt, so they can be planted near warm coasts. Strawberry trees do need some protection from cold winds. These trees prefer full sun or partial shade, and grow best when exposed to morning sun and afternoon shade.
Watering
Water when the top layer of soil dries out. Strawberry trees are moderately drought tolerant, which means they can withstand short periods of drought, but not extended, dry periods. Test the soil by inserting the tip of your finger into the ground or container soil. If it is dry down to a depth of 2 or 3 inches, the tree needs watering.
Pruning
Prune your strawberry tree aggressively. The tree should be trained to grow on one trunk to promote strong growth. Prune off secondary trunks in early spring, as well as any branches growing below the desired canopy and branches growing vertically or crossing another branch.

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History Of Persimmons

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Japanese persimmons, ‘Diospyros kaki L.,’ were introduced into the United States from Japan by Admiral Perry who discovered the fruit growing on the coast of Southern Japan in 1851.

Most of the early Japanese persimmon introductions in 1828 were sprouted from seed in Washington, DC, but were unsuccessful, because of the unusually cold winters experienced during that period.

The USDA introduced grafted cultivars of Japanese persimmon into California and Georgia beginning in 1870, and many of these experimental persimmon tree trials were begun in Central Florida in the early 1900’s at the University located in Gainesville, Florida.

One thousand cultivars of Japanese persimmon are available from Japan, but from the hundreds of tree cultivars tested in the United States during the past years, only a handful of commercial trees should be considered by the home gardener for reliable fruit production.

The cultivars of Japanese persimmon trees recommended for home gardeners are Fuyu, Fuyugaki, Giant Fuyu, Chocolate, Eureka, Hachiya, Jiro, Tam-o-pan, and Tanenashi.
Many cultivars were planted in Florida by Professor Hume of the University of Florida at Gainesville, Florida during the early 1900’s. The trees were a sensation because of the prolific early bearing and the observation that the trees ripened into large crops of colorful, juicy fruit in late fall when very few fresh delicacies are available. Reports of early Japanese persimmon tree orchards show that in excess of 22,000 trees were being grown commercially in Florida alone. The Japanese persimmon trees are classifieds into two categories using two terms that confuse most people. The use of the term “non” is interpreted by most people as a negative, meaning a tree that demonstrates a less desirable quality. Japanese persimmon trees produce fruit that is non-astringent or astringent. The non-astringent term in this case is more desirable for eating to the prevailing garden public, because it contains a “non” bitter taste in the green or hard fruit state. Eventually the astringent Japanese persimmon fruit will develop a juicy, flavorful, very desirable, taste when it ripens to the point of being soft. The peak flavor of a Japanese persimmon never really climaxes until both the non-astringent and the astringent persimmon both ripen completely on the tree to the point of softness. The use of these terms in recommending the purchase of Japanese persimmon trees has been unfortunate, to the point of discouraging many gardeners from planting trees of the astringent persimmon cultivars. Plum trees, for instance, are not classified into two categories of sour and sweet, even though a hard green plum before fully ripening is sour to taste, yet it becomes pleasantly sweet and juicy in the soft colored stage.

Some botanist historians argue that the Japanese persimmon tree documented as growing there one thousand years ago actually originated in China. This argument is often repeated by academics, when national origins of plants are debated about many other plants, but the argument is meaningless. It is realized by geologists that the land boundary of Japan was united to the continent of Asia at some past period of ancient history.

Japanese persimmon fruits are produced in great numbers by California orchardists and the fruit begins showing up on grocery shelves around Thanksgiving. South American persimmon fruit production matures at different seasons than persimmons, ripening period in America, so that many grocery stores can stock this delicious tasty fruit year round. Japanese oriental fruits can be stored for two months for future consumption at a refrigerator temperature of 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Japanese persimmons grown from seed can grow to 40 feet tall; however, modern grafted cultivars rarely grow very tall. Fruit shapes vary wildly from plum, tomato, and heart-shaped to square, oval, tear drop, and lobed or many combinations in between.
The small yellow wax-like flowers fill the air with a sweet pleasant aroma. The flowers may or may not require cross pollination, and will mature into a various array of sizes--up to one pound each—and the color ranges from yellow to dark-reddish orange.

The wood is among the hardest known to man, being highly prized and desirable for wood carving by Japanese artists. The Japanese persimmon tree is a very important landscape specimen tree because of the deep green waxy leaves that turn such brilliant colors in the fall, often appearing like a brightly lit Christmas tree in the landscape.

The American persimmon, ‘Diospyros virginiana,’ was found growing in Virginia by the early American Captain John Smith in 1609, who described the tree and the persimmon fruit in great detail and as tasting like an apricot.

William Bartram, the famous early American botanist encountered the native American persimmon trees, ‘Diospyros virginiana,’ as documented in his book, Travels, of 1773. The native American persimmon was also brought to the attention of early American Presidents and plant collectors, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

American persimmons contain a few seeds in the juicy, pinkish-orange fruit which often ripens in September. These delicious fruits have a natural juicy, sweet, fruity taste when overripe in the pinkish-orange stage and should never be picked from the tree until plump, soft to the touch, and completely ripe.

The American persimmon grows in almost every forest habitat of the United States, and the hard wood of the trees is valued by mountain wood carvers for its decorative grain. The wood is also in high demand for the manufacture of golf clubs prized for the durability and bounce projectability of golf balls coming in contact with the golf club wood.

Caring for Your Peach Tree

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Soil

Peach trees should be planted in well drained sandy or loamy soil. Loamy means soil that contains a certain amount of clay. Over time, you can amend your soil to allow good growth of your peach tree. Most peach trees grow best when the soil pH is near 6.5. Taking a soil sample to your local cooperative extension office for evaluation will help with making soil amendments. It's a good idea to check your soil about every three years. When planting more than one peach tree, the trees should be planted in rows 12 to 15 feet apart.

Planting the Peach Tree

Pick a place to plant your peach tree that is at least 20 feet away from other trees to gain the full benefit of the sun. Dig the hole for our peach tree about a foot deeper and a foot wider than the pot. The amount of loose soil that is filled in around the roots will allow for good root growth. Add more loose soil into the bottom of the hole in order to plant the peach tree as deep as the top of the soil already in the pot. Place the peach tree in the hole, fill with loose dirt and add water to the hole. Pack the dirt firmly around the peach tree. If the peach tree is planted on a slope, make a little trough for watering.

Fertilizer

Fertilize your peach tree about a week after planting and again about a month later. You may need to fertilize again in the spring. A good 10-10-10 fertilizer or fruit tree fertilizer spikes will work well for peach trees. The older the peach tree, the more fertilizer you may need to use.
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Mulching

Heavy mulching at least three feet around the peach tree trunk will help prevent weeds and retain valuable moisture. If weeds are surrounding the peach tree, you should keep it mowed or spray with herbicides. Doing so will cut down on insects.

Watering

Watering is a tricky business. Over watering is bad for the peach tree and under watering is bad too. Sandy soil will drain much quicker than clay soil and needs to be watered more often than clay soil. A hot summer day will make your peach tree need more water than a cool day. As long as the top few inches of the soil are moist, you should be fine. Looking for leaf droop will also let you know when your peach tree needs watering. Practice will let you know how much water your tree will need on a given day.

Sun Requirement

Peach trees need to be planted in an area that will receive full sun, that is, at least six to eight hours per day. Sunlight is important in drying the leaves and the fruit of the peach tree, thereby cutting down on disease. A nice blush on the peaches will depend upon the amount of sun the fruit receives.

History Of Peach Trees, Prunus Persica

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Peach trees, Prunus persica, are originally believed to have come from China to the Mideast through the trade routes known to extend to Turkey and Iran (Persia). The peach seeds could be used to plant and grow trees throughout North Africa and Europe and finally were introduced to America in the mid 1500’s. The first appearance of peaches in China may date back to 2000 BC.

Historians believe that peach trees were first introduced into the colonial settlements of the United States by the French explorers in 1562 at territories along the Gulf coastal region near Mobile, Alabama, then by the Spaniards who established Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565 on the Atlantic seaboard. The peach trees were planted from peach seed imported from Europe in an effort to establish a self sustaining, agricultural. fruit tree product to feed the colonists. American Indians spread the planting of the peach trees throughout vast territories by transporting the peach seed to other tribes that lived in the interior regions. This new crop of fruit was fast growing, producing a delicious peach two or three years from planting. The trees were so productive and vigorous that sometimes, widespread impenetrable thickets became established from the peach seeds that fell to the ground from fruit unharvested. The illusion was formed by settlers after 1600 that the peach trees were native to the United States, since they were so widely spread and grew so vigorously everywhere.

Captain John Smith wrote about peach trees that were growing in Jamestown, Virginia in 1629. William Penn recorded in 1683 that dense, native thickets of wild peach trees were full of fruit just north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The first plant nursery to become established in the United States was the Prince Nursery of Flushing, New York, in 1774 that sold grafted cultivars of peach trees to customers. General George Washington visited this nursery and had previously purchased fruit from them. An extensive group of grafted peach trees was sent to the Thomas Jefferson fruit tree orchards from Prince Nursery. President Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in the importation of many new agricultural products from Europe through his influence as Minister to France before the American Revolution. The aggressiveness and monumental fruit production of peach trees impressed him to establish a “living fence,” that encircled his expansive gardens at his home at Monticello, Virginia, in 1794. Jefferson found many other uses for peach trees such as the brewing of brandy in 1782. Jefferson wrote to his granddaughter, Martha, in 1818 that a slave “is busy drying peaches for you.” These sun-dried peaches were called “peach chips” and retained a good quality for eating, even after months of storage. Peaches were juiced and mixed with tea to form a delicious drink. In December of 1795, Jefferson planted 1151, peach trees after he had experimented with planting in 1807, the “black plumb peach of Georgia,” (Indian Blood Cling Peach). This naturalized peach wonder had been planted throughout the State of Georgia by the Indians and was a dark-red velvety color with tiger-like striping. This fragrant peach was extremely desirable because of its rich coloring and taste. Also, this peach was a perfect size to peel and pickle into a Southern holiday treat. This aromatic peach was ideal to make into jams, preserves, cobblers, pies, cakes, and ice cream. Jefferson believed that this Indian cling blood peach was a cross between naturalized peach trees and a French cultivar peach, “Sanguinole.”

William Bartram, the famous American botanist and explorer, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773 several accounts of his observations of ancient peach and plum orchards growing in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama. Bartram visited the ruins of a French plantation in 1776 near Mobile, Alabama, and recorded “I came presently to old fields, where I observed ruins of ancient habitations, there being abundance of peach and fig trees loaded with fruit.”

Peach trees are grown primarily as a fruit tree; however, great interest in the non-fruiting, flowering peach tree was shown by President Thomas Jefferson who planted a double flowered tree that spectacularly bloomed at his home in Virginia in 1805.

Flowering peach trees rate high, and desirable new cultivars of ornamental peach trees are available for planting and flowering with colors of white, pink, red, and peppermint (a mixture of red and white flower petals). These flowering peach trees are sterile in fruit production and bloom early in the spring, loaded with large colorful clusters of single or double flowered peach petals.

Peaches are less popular as a fresh fruit than a few years ago, primarily because most commercial peach cultivars (varieties) are tailored by hybridizers to grow and ship as a firm fruit. The firmness of these peaches is important when a grower considers shipping the peach fruit long distances, but not enough attention has been given by plant hybridizers to saving the ancient qualities of aroma, juiciness, flavor, and seed separation from the pulp. Another problem damaging fresh peach sales is that the labor hired to pick the fruit from the tree is not properly trained nor personally concerned in the ultimate ripening of the peach fruit into a juicy, soft, delicious, tasty peach. The peaches are simply picked too soon and too firm to provide a fruit product that compared to a backyard orchard, tree-ripened delicacy that our older citizens often experienced in their grandfather’s back yard garden.

Most of the peaches grown by commercial orchards today are fruits that are harvested while too firm with a seed that clings to the pulp called a “clingstone” peach. The best flavored peaches ripen soft and the seed easily separates from the edible portion, and these are called “freestone” peaches.

Peach trees grown in the United States differ greatly from the aggressive, disease resistant, tasty, aromatic fruits grown by the early Americans. Over the centuries, the immune qualities of the peach trees to insects and diseases have been bred out by hybridizers, and these qualities have been replaced by inferior genes that make it difficult to buy a good flavorful peach at the store. The alternative to this problem is to buy tree ripened soft fruit at a fruit stand, pick-your-own orchard, or to grown your own backyard garden peaches concentrating on planting and growing old cultivars of the non-commercial home garden types.

Peach trees in American have steadily declined in vigor in the past 300 years, to the point that the life expectancy is only 15-20 years or less. This factor has been explained by some fruit tree observers as due to an array of incremental factors, such as disease and insect weakening of the tree and leaves, nematodes, and improper soils and drainage; however, these problems pre-existed in the environment, when peach trees were introduced into America. The likely explanation of peach tree decline is more probably connected to the weak gene immunity that has appeared in peach tree hybridization focused toward commercial tree production that ends with an early, firm peach, clingstone, with shipping advantages to distant markets.

The peach tree grows into a handsome canopy of dark-green rich foliage to a height of 6 to 10 feet. Most peach trees available in the United States are adapted and grown successfully in over 30 states. The grafted semi-dwarf peach trees are self pollinated, even before the flowers fully open, and the tree is cold hardy to negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit; however, the red to pink delicate flowers can be damaged by temperatures below 28 degrees Fahrenheit. Some orchardists like light frosts that will thin the bloom set, producing larger fruit. If extremely heavy flowering occurs, the excess flowers can be removed to 6 inch intervals, or by a chemical thinning that results in a much more marketable crop of fruit.

A developing peach can grow in various sizes of individual fruits on the same tree that requires considerable grading before marketing. The peach is covered with a characteristic fuzz that some growers prefer to reduce or removed mechanically before sales. A nectarine is nothing more than a fuzzless peach, even though certain distinct cultivars of nectarines are offered. In his classic 12 volume book of botanical insight in 1921, Luther Burbank in Fruit Improvement believed that the peach had evolved from a nectarine-like ancestor with the fuzz developing as a shield of protection, unlike the fuzzless nectarine. He theorized that the fuzz shielded the fruit from sunshine, moisture, wind, insect, and disease damage. The nectarine, he felt, was repressed by evolutionary restraints, because the nectarine lacked fuzz as a protective armor. The cousin of the nectarine, the almond, was crossed by Burbank in order to create a nectarine fruit with an edible almond pit, thus two crops from one hybridization, a fruit and an edible nut. Burbank also performed many interspecific crosses of peach with nectarine. The peach is quite fragile and subject to bruising if handled roughly.

Peach trees require a certain number of chilling hours in order to break dormancy properly and set a good crop of fruit. During a season most States will experience 500 chill hours in the winter; however, in many states, like central and southern Florida, the trees will not fruit properly unless cultivars are planted to fulfill low chilling requirements. It is very important to plant and grow peach trees on well drained soils. The fruit tastes better if trees are planted in the full sun, so that the early morning light will dry the dew on the peach leaves and fruit. Peach trees should be planted 12-15 feet apart in rows and will benefit by the application of lime and phosphate fertilizers around the ground beneath the branches. Weeds will be prevented in backyard orchards by heavily mulching, but otherwise the weeds should be mowed or sprayed with herbicides. Several kinds of peach varieties are usually planted to extend the availability and ripening of the fruit on the trees. Many cultivars are recommended for planting, such as: the Belle of Georgia, Elberta, Hale Haven, Harvester, Indian Blood Cling, Red Haven, Reliance, Gala, May Gold, Southern Pearl, Suwanee, Florida King, Florida Dawn, and many other low chill Florida fruiting cultivars.

Peaches contain antioxidants that are important health considerations in maintaining healthy bodies. Many websites that recommend eating pits of peaches or apricots to prevent cancer should be urged to research the fact that the seeds contain a poison organic chemical, cyanogen, which produces fatal cyanide poisoning that has caused sudden death for many people, including Steve McQueen, a famous movie actor of the last century.

Peach fruit has been demonstrated to contain healthy portions of Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and Niacin. Peaches also contain the minerals Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, and Potassium.

Peach trees may be planted in various semi-dwarf sizes and ages for backyard fruit gardens and occasionally larger trees will grow fruit the first year of planting, but small trees usually begin bearing in the third year.