Selecting Fruit Trees for Your Neighborhood
If you decide to plant an orchard, or just one fruit tree, it is advisable to do some research prior to your horticultural experiment. I say experiment because the growing conditions — soil typ...
Category Archives: Fruit Trees
A Short History of the Hass Avocado
Q: We have saved the seeds of some exceptionally good supermarket tangerines recently whose label says “FLORIDA – Sunburst.” If we were to plant the seeds, would we get trees that w...
Persimmons, Mangoes, and Figs
With the recent precipitous rise in fuel prices and the forecast of a dry winter – which could lead to increased water prices – the cost of food could suddenly increase as well. Perhaps t...
Split & Misshapen Citrus
If your oranges or lemons are cracked or split, take heart – you are not alone. The proliferation of this condition is not yet another Los Angeles disaster. It is something we can live with, an...
Lemon Trees
We have a lemon tree in our backyard that bloomed very late this year. The lemons on the tree are still green and we do not know what to do. Should we take them off or leave them on the tree? Are gre...
Ficus Wears Many Hats
A Ficus tree means different things to different people. For the office employee, a Ficus is an indoor tree with downcast, yet glossy leaves. For the homeowner, the word “Ficus” conjures ...
The Tale of the Etrog
It was the morning of the first day of Succot and the moment of the Hallel prayer of praise and supplication, recited while holding the lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow, had arrived. Yet instead of li...
How to Grow Pomegranates
USUALLY WHEN people think of exotic fruit trees, their thoughts turn to tropical species such as star fruit, cherimoya, miracle fruit, banana and sapote. These trees make you think of rain forests, l...
Best Fruit Trees
For a gardener, the only experience more frustrating than planting a fruit tree that does not bear fruit is planting a fruit tree that produces a very small crop. A tree that never bears fruit –...
How to Prune — or not to Prune — a Citrus Tree
Q: We have an orange tree that looks more like a bush. How do you prune the bottom branches without damaging the tree? – Leon Callahan, Northridge A: Pruning bottom branches on fruit tre...
