More is NOT better! easy fruit pruning.guidelines

How does that old saying go? "More is always better"

There are a number of one liners that crack me up when talking to gardeners. Next to "Is Miracle Grow good enough?" The most common i hear is "More is better right?"....... "More fertilizer is better right?". "More water is better" or "More fruit on the plant is good and it means that its healthy." Typically this saying might hold true for many situations. In the garden, 9 times out of 10 i doesn't. This especially holds true trees with fruit.

Have you ever noticed 8-10 growing fruit on a 1-2 foot branch? Most people's initial thought is, wow my tree is doing great, im going to have alot of fruit this year!

Leaving a ton of fruit to develop on the tree results in many little poorly developed fruits come harvest time. Think of it as when you learned fractions.......... Dividing 100 pieces of food(nutrients) between 20 fruits is better than if you divided it between 50. Less fruits means more food to each. Some fruit trees will even take a break the next year from having spent so much energy to sustain a large harvest.

Fruit pruning is relatively easy. Painful in the beginning to do but gets easier with practice. There are many schools of thoughts to it but my general rules are

1.> No more than 2 fruit per 1 ft of branch

2.> Twist them off, dont yank.

3.> Do it when they've reach about a quarter sized.

4.> I try to keep them away from the ends of the branches, unless it is a thick branch. Having a big heavy fruit on the end of a skinny twig usually results in broken branches.

5.> If it is on a short stocky branch, I'll usually keep 2 keep them as far apart as possible(opposite branch corners)

These guidlines work for many fruit trees, I have pictured peaches but nectarines, pluots, citrus all benefit from removal of excess fruit.

Remember. There is no right or wrong way of fruit pruning. Just don't think too much about the whole process. The resulting fruit will be larger, and more flavorful and your tree is less prone to alternate bearing(every other year)

Reflection

Every year growing up in NC I'd look forward to October. It is mother natures time of winding down, a time to plant, a time to enjoy foliage and a great array of flowering plants giving the cool weather their last harrah. While most of the summer you look at verdant trees in a calm cooling light, the shorter days, cooler weather really brings out the excitement and fire in many deciduous tree.

Just a list of Some favourites.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum - the Katsura tree. Majestic when full grown, leaves turn yellow and smell of cotton candy right as they are about to fall...... Im not joking about the smell either!

Acer palmatum/japonicum - Japanese Maples. as a group you are hard pressed to find a larger variety for fall colours, many even reveal colourful branch structure once the leaves fall.

Cladastris kentukea - Yellow wood. Beautiful on its own in the summer with large racemes of flowers the leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall.

Acer rubrum - Red maple. Yes its common, but who doesnt like a bright beacon of red and orange leaves??? Also in early spring many produce multitudes of little red flowers.

Taxodium distichum/Metasequoia glyptostroboides/Larix sps. - The Bald Cypress, Dawn red wood and Larch are a group of deciduous conifers. All beautiful for fall colours and upright form.

Populus sps. - Aspen, cottonwood. Come alive in the fall with brilliant yellows

Cotinus obovatus/coggygria - Smoke tree and Smoke bush, mostly known for purple/chartreuse summer foliage. Fall will bring a large aray of oranges, reds all on one tree.

Rhus typhina. - Staghorn Sumac, extremely adaptable trees. Great texture and form that becomes a blaze of red in the fall followed by red berries.

Stewartia pseudocamellia - Japanese stewartia - Solid green foliage provide an excellent backdrop for white camellia like flowers in the summer and fall gives way to oranges and yellows with beautiful peeling bark.

Fagus grandifolia - American beech. This tree might not be a fan of everybodys, the leaves turn yellow in the fall and fade to a tawny bronze as they dry. They persist on the branch until the following spring gradually bleaching to a light tan. Personally the branch structure and bronze foliage looks amazing but to others it can look abit messy.

Oxydendrum arboreum - Sour wood, gorgeous tree with lily of the valley like flower stalks in the spring. In the fall the leaves turn a mix of yellow, red and purples.

Sassafras albidum - sassafras. Interesting shaped leaves that turn a mixture of yellow orange and reds. Leaves traditionally used in root beer and gumbo file.

I realize all these trees are best suited for Mid-west, Eastcoast or the Northern west..... Ive learned people here want year round greens which is a shame since there are a few trees adapted to the So Cal area that will reliably produce fall colour. Change is good.

Fraxinus sps - Ash trees. Great shade trees while there are a few that are semi evergreen, most will turn yellow in the fall.

Populus fremontii - Fremont cottonwood. Native to the Southwest, It reliably sets yellow foliage in the fall. In higher elevations even quaking aspen is possible(populus tremuloides)

Pistacia chinensis - Chinese pistache tree. Forget about any sort of edible nuts. But this tree will grace you with solid green in the summer and is one of the only reliable trees for a brilliant scarlet fall show.

Liquidambar styraciflua - sweet gum tree. East coast native that has adapted surprisingly well in So Cal. Star shaped foliage of solid green give way to a mix of reds, oranges, yellows and even purple come fall. Look for the gumball less varieties!!!

Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo tree. Upright deciduous conifer known for its fanshaped foliage of a medium green will turn a brilliant yellow come fall. Get male clones to avoid putrid smelling fruit.

As with any plant here in California keep up with watering. Many people will notice their trees starting to turn colours early on in late summer or early fall. Alot of plants will do that as the result of heat and water stress to conserve energy and water. And when watering remember, deep thorough infrequent soakings will go alot longer ways than 5 mins every other day. And DO NOT even think about fertilizing it...... It will respond with growth but it puts more stress on your plants when in actuality you want to to get ready for a rest so it can perform better next year.

For me Autumn is a time to reflect on what I've done in the yard, re-evaluate my life and everything inbetween. I slow things down a bit to really think about what has worked, what hasnt. Dont be afraid to pull things that are not working out. Yes you bought the plant but alot of times its going to take alot more to nurse it back to health than its worth your time and effort. Just think of it as an excuse to go out and buy another cool plant.

Catching up on Lost time.

So my parent's yard when I got there 2 years ago seemed almost like a lost cause. 150 avocado trees, dead lawn, ugly queen palms, 20 various fruit trees and more dead lawn and about 5 half dead rose bushes as "colour" for the front. It was pretty embarrassing to tell people "Im a landscape horticulturalist" and for them to see "lack of horticulture" pulling up to the house.

The beginning of " Its too late to turn around."

as of mid march

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic,
always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward
to doing something better than they have ever done before.

~ Vita Sackville-West

Personally gardening comes first before Landscape design. For me it is about trying new or uncommon varieties or species. Trying something and examining how plants do in certain situations is the best way to learn and figure out what works and what doesn't

sneak peak of the back.

Fast forward 2 years and Im guessing most people would think the yard as a horticultural explosion of a mess. Ill be the first to admit, I am a collector. Working in the Nursery industry, I want to get and try many different plants that comes in. Which usually makes a yard come out looking kind of like a patch work quilt made from random tie dye shirts. I tried various plant combos so there are little vignettes with certain plant combinations that read great together but then as a whole, they get lost. Right now the yard is making a progression of green and gold blending into silvers..... I realize that too much Silver can wash things out and too much gold can make the eyes do crazy things. Who doesn't like silver and gold?

Old and the New and a bit of history.

So I haven't really been keeping up with my blogs but thanks to my friend Jonathan its all about to change.

Ive been here in San Diego for just about 2 years. Most people would probably think, "Wow California, you can grow anything and everything!" and for the most part, it is true.

Southern California runs a wide range of horticultural/hardiness zones(8-10)

A relatively mild climate. The closer to the ocean the more even keeled and cooler the climate. The further east towards the desert, the dryer and hotter it gets in the summer and in the winter often hits below freezing.

This mild climate DOES allows for a multitude of plant varieties to be grown here. Plants in California, over a period of thousands of years have adapted to yearly climate cycles. Winter rains followed by mild springs and extremely dry often hot rainless summers until cooler foggy autumns are followed by winter rains again. Coastal scrub, Chaparral, and inland woodlands have evolved around drought. After the rains, many plants bloom and put on ALOT of growth leading up to the summer. Then as the summer drags on with no rain, growth slows and often leaves and other parts get smaller in response to decreased moisture. Other plants often die back to main stems, in the way a perennial does in the winter. Depending on how the year has gone this can last for many months until the rains come and the cycles starts over again.

Mid may Julian CA.

For many of the western states water is an issue. Make that a Large ISSUE, water is scarce. Water sources are scarce as well, with only a handful of rivers available to feed large urban populations and an even greater agricultural needs. This wouldn't be so bad if there was reliable summer rain. But given the ecological history of the region most introduced plants need weekly waterings and often even the "Native" varieties do as well.

Ive definitely learned that just cause you CAN grow something, doesn't mean you should. California you can can grow everything..... But, many people will find that it often takes alot more than just sticking the plant into the ground and watering.

Roses, mostly old

Roses - So I have an affinity for old fashion and antique roses, theres just a sort of grace and stature that the modern HT's just don't have...... So my weakness is finding these "lost" roses and buying them, whether I have a place for them or not. Luckily the lend pretty well to pot culture.

Working in the nursery industry does have its quirks. Surprisingly, Evergreen Nursery did have about 5-6 varieties of antiques...... They had obviously been there for a number of years. Im guessing from back in the Early 2000's when there was a peak in antique rose interests. 'Comte de Chambord', 'Rose de Rescht', 'Souvenir de la malmaison', 'La France', 'Cecile Burnner', 'Zephirine Drouhin' and I'll toss in 'Buff Beauty'. The latter 3 being popular still used as climbers. All these weren't labled and tossed to the "past seasons" roses corner. Its interesting that people have pushed these older varieties out for the newer, less disease resistant, less fragrant and more labor intensive cultivars.......

'La Biche' - Noisette, Trouillet (France) in 1832


'La Biche' makes a great potted rose, the flowers come out more tea shaped with a lemon-tea scent. Oddly once it was planted in the ground, blackspot moved in, the growth got rangy and the scent disappeared. I bought it off some folks in TX on ebay, yes ebay! There isn't much online about 'La Biche' so im constantly digging in books to find information. The flowers tend to bloom in clusters about 2-3 inches wide. During wet weather it often balls up and refuses to open.
<---- In a pot, in Vegas. Neat flowers, clean noisette foliage.

Plans

Here are the Plans for the Front when i originally planned it like almost 3 years ago......

So Far, Only a couple of the plants that are listed are original, Most have been replaced or changed out cause we found some other pretty plant to put in its place.

Broussonetia papyrifera 'Golden Shadow'
Canna 'Minerva'
Caryopteris incana 'Jason'
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Summer Sorbet'
Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Worecester Gold'
Chamaecyparis thyoides/obtusa.....?? lost the tag
Cornus kousa 'Milkyway'
Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire'
Hedychium 'Daniel Weeks' and another un-named/unflowered variety.
Jasminum officinale 'Fiona Sunrise'
Miscanthus chinensis 'Little Kitten'
Muhlenbergia capillaris
Nepeta faassenii 'Walker's Low'..... 2007 Perennial plant of the year... btw..
Ophiopogon japonicus 'Golden Nugget'
Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues'
Rhus typhinia 'Tiger eyes'
Rhododendron 'Hotspur Yellow'Rosa 'Souvenir de la Malmaison'
Rosa 'Marchesa boccella'
Rosa 'Madame Plantier'
Senna multiglandulosa - From JCR arboretum....... seedling.
Sporobolus airoides

There are some other things im forgetting...... the goblet lily, angels fishing wand.... thyme, opuntia cactus. Brugmansia........ ill get a list one of these days.

Lazy,

So ive been pretty lazy about putting up pictures of Reggies finished product yard.... here it is. Yes the lawn was a good 1-2 inches higher than his neighbors. You cant see it from this photo.

The Jist of his yard.... L shaped Lawn in the front. Facing the house, the left side of the Driveway has a narrow 1 ft strip of Gravel, a walkway to the mailbox. Since theres usually more than one car parked in front, its an extended walkway as well. Heading to the front door theres a gravel courtyard from which the Front porch over looks. Ill add pictures when i can find them. This setting opens up the yard and adds privacy to the front porch. Instead of lookingout onto grass and the road. You're in a semi secluded "room".
Yes the grass is uneven........
I didnt have the time to take a roller to it before the rains set in...... Figure that it would settle on its own... or leave it to Trip or people who walk on the grass to compact it.