Get Lemon Fruit Picked No Later Than Late December

Q. I have a Meyer lemon in a container that still has lemons on it. They are not totally ripe. What trimming should be done and what time of year?

A. You should remove all the lemons by the end of December even if you don’t think they are ripe yet. If you let them stay on too long they can interfere with next season’s production and the fruit might get a bit pithy if left on too long.

            After removing the fruit you can prune the tree if it is needed. Citrus does not require much pruning. You would prune for size control, remove crossing or damaged branches, opening the canopy for a bit more light penetration inside and maintain limbs that are at good fruiting angles. Remove branches going straight up, straight down, too close together or overly vigorous. I hope this helps.

Pruning Roses Watch for Rootstock Growth That Overpowers the Plant

Q. I haven't pruned my roses back yet because there are still blooms. Should I wait awhile?

How far back should I trim; 1/3 or 1/2?  I have two favorite bushes that are 4-5 feet tall with very thick canes. How severely should these be cut back?

Strong growth from the base
can mean the rootstock has
taken over

A. You could wait a bit on the roses if you want. Wait until total leaf drop and then prune. If they do not drop their leaves, then pull the leaves off sometime in late December or very early January and do your pruning.

            Depending on how warm the microclimate is in your yard try to prune before you see any new growth early in 2012. This could be a bit tricky because in warm microclimates they might hold their blooms and leaves or continue blooming well into December and even January. 

            I would not wait past the first or possibly second week of January to get it done. If there are still flowers and leaves, harvest and enjoy them inside. Most garden roses have some scent to them, unlike greenhouse roses. If the leaves have not dropped, pull or cut them off before pruning.

            Make sure this strong growth is not coming from the rootstock. This is frequently the case on homeowner’s roses. The top of the plant dies back and they see this very vigorous growth coming from the base of the plant and oftentimes growing straight up. The dead growth is removed and the strong growth is permitted to remain. This is growth from the rootstock.

            You should still have a bud union (look for a “dogleg”) on the stem coming from the ground. If this bud union was lost (the rootstock grew and replaced or overpowered the top of the plant) then replace the plant.

Nevada rose

            The homeowner sees this strong growth and thinks “WOW, I am going to preserve this cane because it is doing so well!” The rose used for the rootstock will also produce flowers so there is even less incentive to cut it off. You can leave it on but it will have inferior blooms to hybridized roses and very vigorous growth harder to control.

            How far to cut back depends on the vigor of the plant, the type of rose and where you want to see the flowers produced. If you think the plant does not have the rootstock taking over then cut back about two feet below where you want your flowers produced. You may have to modify this if the canes are enormous.

            Select four to five major canes growing outward in different directions that you want to keep and remove the rest making clean, fresh cuts. Sharpen and sanitize your pruners before pruning. The local Rosarians usually have a rose pruning class in January so I will keep posted as soon as I hear of one.

Lots of Thanks to Floyd Zaiger for Pluots

Flavor King pluot from the UNCE Orchard

            What are pluots, plumcots and apriums? Technically they are called “interspecific hybrids”. Let’s break that down. Most people know what hybrids are. They know them as a new class of vehicles. These hybrid vehicles are a cross between a traditional gasoline or petroleum fueled vehicle and an one that gets its power from a source of energy other than petroleum such as, in these cases, electricity.

            Hybrids occur in plants. These can be crosses which occur in nature or selectively done by hand by plant breeders. When we take two plants that don’t normally breed with each other we can get a new generation in that some of the offspring are superior to the parent plants. These superior traits can be in the how they grow, how they look or how or what they produce. These superior offspring we say have “hybrid vigor”.

Orchard volunteers assisting with fruit evaluations at
Zaiger Genetics with Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson
Nursery who coordinated the event

            Most crosses found in nature occur between plants of the same species. So when a plum crosses with another plum this can be fairly common and is between plants of the same species; plums. The seed or offspring will have traits from both plum parents. But if a plum crosses with a plant like an apricot, a totally different species, then it is called an “interspecific” cross (cross between two totally different species). This rarely happens in nature. This type of cross is manipulated by people like plant breeders or hybridizers.

Floyd Zaiger with Tom Spellman describing the operations
at Zaiger Genetics

            Floyd Zaiger, a plant breeder and founder of Zaiger Genetics in Modesto, California, is one of a few pioneers in plant breeding involving fruit trees. He was responsible, by creating interspecific crosses between apricots, plums, peaches and nectarines, to create fruits never before seen on the planet. These fruits include what we now call pluot, aprium, plumcot, nectaplum, peacotum and others.

Donut pluot, a cross that has not yet made it
 to the marketplace.

            According to Floyd Zaiger out of about 5,000 crosses that he must do by hand, perhaps one of these crosses will be accepted for marketing as a new type of fruit tree, an interspecific hybrid. This is why there is a royalty charge, usually a couple of dollars, when buying these interspecific crosses. These royalties are returns on investments (ROI) in the 5,000 crosses that were "invested" in a successful cross. A small price to pay for this wonderful fruit. When a person propagates one of these crosses illegally it prevents these royalties from coming back and supporting new research which will lead to new introductions. Rumor has it that China now has over 10,000 acres of "stolen" Zaiger Genetics plant material.

Their common name usually tells you what was used in the cross; plum, apricot, nectarine or peach. We can thank people like Floyd Zaiger for giving us these new, wonderful fruits to enjoy. Many do very well in our hot, dry desert.

Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson Nursery which owns the marketing rights for Zaiger Genetic's new introductions, coordinates the orchard volunteer tour of their facility every year. Thank you Tom and Floyd for some wonderful experiences and a great wealth of information!

Thanks to Dave Wilson for the following information. I thought it might be a quick reference when thinking about these interspecific hybrids.

Pluot® is an "interspecific" - a complex hybrid of apricot and plum.

The complex, intense flavor of both the Aprium® and the Pluot® is unique to interspecifics, much like a blend of fruit juices where the mixture is an improvement over any of the separate ingredients. Additionally, the sugar content of interspecifics is much higher than in standard plums or apricots, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness. Pluots® have predominantly plum parentage and smooth skins like plums. Pluot® and Aprium® are registered trademarks of Zaiger Genetics of Modesto, California

Dapple Dandy Pluot®

Creamy white and red-fleshed freestone with wonderful plum-apricot flavor. Skin greenish-yellow with red spots, turning to a maroon and yellow dapple. August harvest in Central Calif. 4-500 hours. Pollenized by Flavor Supreme Pluot®, Santa Rosa or Burgundy Plum. Pat. No. 9254. (Zaiger)

Emerald Drop Pluot®

Medium to large size with green skin and yellow-orange flesh. Prolonged harvest: early-picked fruit is firm, yet juicy sweet. Left to hang, fruit turns greenish-yellow with honey-like orange flesh. Upright tree sets heavy crops once established. Harvest mid-July to late August. Estimated chill requirement: 400 hours or less. Tested as 7HC165. Pollinizer required. Pat. No. 14599 (Zaiger)

Flavor Finale Pluot®

Medium-to-large sized Pluot® with purplish-red skin and amber-red flesh. Exceptional complex flavor. Harvest begins in Early September and fruit is edible well into October. Upright tree sets large crops. 500 hours. Pollinizer required. (Zaiger)

Flavor Grenade Pluot®

Elongated green fruit with a red blush. Crisp texture and explosive flavor. Taste-test winner. Hangs on the tree for 4 to 6 weeks. Pollinize with a Japanese plum. Estimated chilling requirement: 400 to 500 hours. Patent No. 12097. (Zaiger)

Flavor King Pluot®

Unique plum-apricot hybrid. Remarkable, spicy bouquet and flavor. Reddish-purple skin, sweet red flesh. Harvest mid August in Central Calif. Naturally small tree. Estimated chill requirement: 400 hours or less. Pollenized by Flavor Supreme, Santa Rosa or Late Santa Rosa. Pat. No. 8026. (Zaiger)

Flavor Queen Pluot®

Greenish-yellow skin, amber-orange flesh. Prolonged harvest: mid-July thru August. 5-600 hours. Pollinized by plum or other Pluot®, (Dapple Dandy Pluot® or Burgundy Plum) but not Flavor King. Pat. No. 7420. (Zaiger)

Flavor Supreme Pluot®

Plum-apricot hybrid with sweet, richly flavored, firm red flesh. Greenish-maroon mottled skin. June harvest in Central California, about two weeks before Santa Rosa. 5-600 hours. Pollinized by Santa Rosa, Late Santa Rosa, or other Pluot®. (Zaiger)

Flavorich Pluot®

Large, dark purple-skinned fruits with firm, very sweet, yellow-orange flesh. Harvest begins late August/early September in Central California, 2-3 weeks after Flavor King Pluot®. Vigorous, upright tree. Originated from a cross of Friar plum and an unnamed Pluot®. 800 hours. Pollenizer required: another Pluot® such as Dapple Dandy or Flavor King, or a Japanese plum such as Santa Rosa or Late Santa Rosa. Pat. No. 8546. (Zaiger)

Flavorosa Pluot®

Deep purple-skinned fruit with red flesh. Mild, sweet flavor. Ripens at the end of May. Pollinize with a Japanese plum. 400 hours chill required. Patent # 10285 (Zaiger)

Geo Pride Pluot®

Red-skinned, yellow-fleshed plum/apricot hybrid, ranked in top 5 at both July & August tastings in 1997. Balanced acid-sugar to predominantly sweet with unique plum/apricot flavor. Medium size, very heavy production. Harvest in mid-July to early August, just ahead of Flavor Queen Pluot®. Estimated chill requirement: 400 hours or less. Pollenizer required:Flavor Supreme Pluot®, Dapple Dandy Pluot®, Santa Rosa Plum. Good pollenizer for other plums & pluots®. Patent # 10386 (Zaiger)

Splash Pluot®

 Small to medium sized red-orange colored fruit, with very sweet orange flesh. Round to heart-shaped fruit is excellent eaten fresh, dried or in desserts. Upright tree sets large crops once established. Estimated chill requirement: 400 hours or less. Pollenizer required. Pat. No 14583 (Zaiger)

Dave Wilson apriums

The Aprium® is an "interspecific" - a complex hybrid of apricot and plum. The complex, intense flavor of both the Aprium® and the Pluot® is unique to interspecifics, much like a blend of fruit juices where the mixture is an improvement over any of the separate ingredients. Additionally, the sugar content of interspecifics is much higher than in standard plums or apricots, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness. Apriums®, with their scant fuzz, resemble apricots in the expression of their parentage. Pluot® and Aprium® are registered trademarks of Zaiger Genetics of Modesto, California

Cot-N-Candy Aprium®

Early season harvest, ripening 1 week later than Flavor Delight Aprium™. Flesh is extra sweet and juicy, with a plumy aftertaste Cot-N-Candy’s size is 2 to 2 ½ inches on average. Self-fruitful. Patent #17827 (Zaiger)

Flavor Delight Aprium®

Resembles an apricot but with a distinctive flavor and texture all its own. Pleasant, lingering after taste. Early June. Bigger crops if pollenized by any apricot. Estimated chilling requirement: 200 to 300 hours. (Zaiger)

Dave Wilson peacotum

The Peacotum® is an "interspecific" - a complex hybrid of peach, apricot and plum.

The complex, intense flavor of the Peacotum®, Pluot® and Aprium® is unique to interspecifics, much like a blend of fruit juices where the mixture is an improvement over any of the separate ingredients. Additionally, the sugar content of our interspecifics is much higher than in any standard plum or apricot, yielding fruit of incomparable sweetness. Pluot® and Aprium® and Peacotum® are registered trademarks of Zaiger Genetics of Modesto, California

Bella Gold Peacotum®

Peach x apricot x plum. Bella Gold Peacotum® has a slightly fuzzy skin like an apricot, and a bright yellow color with an attractive red blush. Bella Gold has a wonderful, mildly sweet flavor all its own. Naturally semi-dwarf tree. Known to be pollenized by Flavor Grenade Pluot® and Blenheim apricot. Estimated chilling requirement 500 hours. Pat. No. 17826 (Zaiger)

Plumcot

The Plumcot is a hybrid between an apricot and a plum. Plumcots have a higher sugar content and a much sweeter flavor than plums or apricots.

Flavorella plumcot

Medium-sized fruit with translucent golden color, light red blush and slight pubescense; ripens in late May to early June. Excellent flavor with firm, juicy flesh. 250 hours. Pollenizer required. Flavor Delight, Gold Kist and Flora Gold all work well. Pat. No. 8470. (Zaiger)

Nectaplum

As the name suggests, an interspecific cross between nectarine and plum.

Spice Zee Nectaplum®

The first Nectaplum® from Zaiger Hybrids. It is slightly acidic and loaded with sugar giving it a spicy sweet flavor. One can detect both Plum and Nectarine traits with ease. Along with great flavor, Spice Zee is a beautiful ornamental tree with a tremendous spring bloom followed by dark red leaf in the spring that matures to a rich green-red in late summer. This variety is self-fruitful and very productive. Estimated chill requirement: 200 to 300 hours. (Patent Pending

Peach plum hybrid

Tri-Lite

This white-fleshed peach/plum hybrid can be eaten firm. It has a mild, classic flavor with a wonderful plum aftertaste that makes this a unique treat. Early ripening in June. Superior quality canning clingstone. Estimated chill requirement: 400 to 500 hours.

Cherry plum

Delight cherry-plum

Hybrid of cherry-plum and Japanese plum. Flavorful, tangy, clingstone. Heavy crops. Very productive, even under adverse conditions. 400 hours. Pollenizer required. Interfruitful with Sprite. (Zaiger)

Sprite cherry-plum

Japanese plum x cherry-plum. Sweet, freestone, not tart. Flavorful, refreshing - wonderful fresh eating. Ripe fruit holds on tree 3-4 weeks. Adapted to most climates. 400 hours. Pollenized by Delight. (Zaiger)

Come Help Me in Nevada's First Commercial Harvesting of Olives for Olive Oil

Do want to be a part of southern Nevada's historical re-emergence in small-scale, high value (really it is horticulture) agriculture? Contact me at Extremehort@aol.com

Preparing Your Equipment for Pruning

I know most people dont sharpen, adjust or sanitize their equipment but plants are alive. You are cutting into living tissue. Would you like it if your doctor didn't have sharp or didn't sanitize his/her equipment? You are now a plant surgeon. Sharpen, adjust and sanitize your equipment before pruning. If a plant is obviously diseased, sanitize before moving to the next plant. Do these three steps at the beginning of each new day pruning.

Pruners should be the bypass-type, not the anvil-type. Bypass pruners cut by passing the sharpened flat blade past a bar. The other type, called an anvil pruning shears, is not preferred. An anvil type pruner cuts by pushing a sharp blade through a stem by pushing against the opposite side of the stem with a bar. The anvil type is not prefereed by reasoning that this pushing of the bar against the stem damages the stem where it is being cut.

Hand shears and loppers. Recommended brand names include Corona, Felco and Fiskars.

• Sharpen. Sharpen one side of the blade only (the beveled side) holding the stone at a consistent angle and running it along the beveled edge as you slide it across the bevel. If you are not comfortable using a stone then you might consider something like an Accusharp Gardensharp tool designed for pruning shears. These can be purchased for $10 or less and are much easier to use. Make sure you buy one for garden shears NOT the one for scissors or it will ruin your pruner's blade. It sharpens only ONE side of the blade unlike the one for scissors which sharpens BOTH sides of the blade.

http://www.accusharp.com/products/index.html 

If you are doing alot of trees you might have to stop and "put an edge" on the blade (just a two or three slides across the blade).

• Adjustment and Lubricate. An adjustment nut that holds the pruners together is tightened or loosened to allow for easy opening and closing of the shears and lopper. Too loose and the shears or loppers tears the branch. Too tight and it creates early fatigue of the person pruning. Use a wrench to tighten the bolt until the blades move with some very slight resistance. You may need to tighten this nut a few times during the course of a day's work so carry the wrench with you.

• Sanitize. Alcohol is sprayed or wiped on the cutting blades of the hand shears and lopper. You can use bleach but be sure to oil the equipment after its use or it will corrode the metal. I sometimes just use alcohol in spray bottle. A chef friend had no alcohol when we were pruning his fruit trees so he used Absolut vodka.

Now you are ready to prune.

Pruning Fruit Trees to Control Their Size

These full-sized peach trees are 17 years old and lowered
each year to 6 1/2 feet tall

Pruning at our orchard is a two step process: first for size control and secondly to enhance production. Pruning for size control is done the same way for all the fruit trees but pruning for production varies among the different types of fruit and how and where the fruit is produced on the tree.


We keep the size of all fruit trees so that the orchard is ladderless, easy and safe to perform work and harvest. This also allows us to plant trees closer together and get more fruit production in a smaller area. It also reduces our work load so we can get it done faster.

The tallest branches are identified visually.
These branches are visually traced to where
they join another branch somewhere
around 6 to 6 1/2 feet off of the ground.

Initial pruning for size control can begin before leaf drop, usually in November when leaves are beginning to turn color and we are sure all tree growth has stopped for the remainder of the year. If you have only a few trees to lower then you can wait until after all the leaves have dropped. If leaves are hanging on even into December you can turn off the water to the trees for two weeks and then turn the water back on again. This will stress the trees moderately and accelerate leaf drop.

Trees heights are lowered to 6 to 6 ½ feet tall using vutually all thinning cuts. The tallest limbs are identified, followed visually down to a point of attachment around 6 feet off of the ground and lowered to the proper height with thinning cuts.

The pruning cut is made at a "crotch" or
where two branches come together. This leaves
terminal buds intact to resume growth next spring.

Since we have our trees in rows, we must create space around each tree so that we can spray and harvest. We create space between trees by identifying limbs that are encroaching on a neighboring trees "space" or need to be removed so we can get between them. We trace these limbs back to a point of attachment (crotch) with another limb and remove it with a thinnning cut, not a heading cut.

Limbs that do not support fruit high enough to keep the fruit off of the ground or out of the reach of rabbits is removed with thinning cuts.

What Kind of Pruning Cut Do I Make?

Pruning Cuts. There are only two types of pruning cuts; thinning cuts and heading cuts.

Thinning cuts are made where two
branches or sems come together.
No stub is left after the cut is made.

Thinning cuts are made anywhere where two branches come together. The thinning cut totally removes one of the branches without leaving a stub. Thinning cuts result in a less dense canopy and less regrowth since terminal buds of the remaining stems remain after the cuts. New growth easily grows from the remaining terminal buds which helps minimize growth from side or lateral buds.

Heading cut - removal somewhere
along the stem just above a bud

Heading cuts are made anywhere along a branch NOT at a location where two branches come together. Heading cuts result in several new branches at buds growing immediately below the cut since the terminal bud is removed. Heading cuts are used to shorten the past season’s growth to increase a branches girth. Heading cuts encourage the development of short shoots that support fruit called spurs in fruit trees that grow fruit on spurs. If you do not cut back too severely and you make the cuts at the right time of year (around July or August) you may be able to get spur producing fruit trees to produce fruit a year or so earlier.

This growth resulted from a heading cut. Once the terminal bud was removed the side or lateral buds grew to replace it, fighting to see which might take over and dominate the new growth. The buds closest to the cut usually grow more erect (more straight up) than buds lower than this one. The lower buds tend to not grow as erect as the one closest to the removed terminal bud (the cut).

45 degree angles above horizontal
are the best angles for fruit production.
Here limb spreaders are used to push
the limbs into a 45 degree angle.

The most productive branches for fruit growth and development are at 45 degree angles above horizontal and should be preserved whenever possible. Branches are less productive as they are grow more vertically (more upright or downward). By the way, a branch that is at a 45 degree angle can be directed to be more upright and its growth will actually speed up (at the expense of fruit production, the energy goes to growth rather than fruit) and branches directed to be more horizontal will have slower growth (you can actually slow down its growth but it will still not put its energy into fruit production).

Vegetable Gardening in Southern Nevada

Here is a publication which is also posted at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension website on vegetable gardening in the Moapa Valley. The Moapa Valley is located about 60 miles outside of the Las Vegas Valley, on the eastern edge of the Mojave Desert, with a very similar climate to the Las Vegas Valley. Planting dates will be similar but the soils of the Moapa Valley are typically much better than those in the Las Vegas Valley.

Open publication - Free publishing - More desert

Here is the planting calendar that I pulled out of the publication so that you can use it without having to open the publication.

Open publication - Free publishing - More calendar

Learn About Hydroponics and Aquaponics April 9 -14, 2012

Sign up for this course at the University of Arizona if you have been wondering about raising fish in the same environment as a hydroponic greenhouse.

Open publication - Free publishing - More greenhouse

Which Roses Do Best in Hot Desert Climates?

Roses do well in the cool times of our hot desert Mojave Desert climate. They struggle during the heat but rebound nicely in the spring and fall months, about 7 to 8 months of the year. The lack of humidity and relative isolation helps keep insect and disease problems low. Here is a recommended list of roses from Weeks Roses, Inc., a top quality producer of garden roses.

Open publication - Free publishing - More care

Rose Insect Pests

This is a presentation I made to the South Valley Rose Society in Las Vegas, NV, on November 17, 2011.

Open publication - Free publishing - More control

Watering a Lawn May Not Be Enough For Trees Growing in a Lawn

Q. My tree is 30'x 25' and it is in a lawn area. We follow the SNWA guidelines for watering our lawn. Very little die back has occurred on this tree, and the only fertilizer it gets is what it steals from the lawn.

Tree dieback after the lawn was removed and rock
landscaping replaced the lawn.

A. Watering enough for a lawn is not enough for a tree planted in the lawn if you are not overwatering the lawn. Watering a lawn is enough for the lawn only if you are watering it correctly.

            When you put a large tree on it then you must deep water the tree as well as water the lawn. Different types of trees require more or less water than others. Tree water use is dictated by the size of the tree and the type of tree. Size is most critical. The only time trees do well in lawns is when the lawn is overwatered. The reason trees did well in lawns in the previous years is because lawns were overwatered.

New growth is often a different color from
the older growth

            As the price of water has gone up, people have chosen to conserve more and follow lawn watering guides more closely. This has caused some trees to be underwatered even though they are in lawns.

            Lawns are big fertilizer hogs, particularly nitrogen. If you apply fertilizer to the lawn then the lawn is what is going to get the fertilizer due to its extensive fibrous root system. Trees should be fertilized separately from the lawn with applications in the rootzone, just below the rootzone of the lawn so that the lawn does not burn.

            You can judge if the tree is growing enough by looking at its new growth this past year. It will be a different color than the older wood. Or you can see where the previous year's growth stopped. On a tree that size you should get 12 or more inches of new growth each year. If not, then something is wrong. It might be a lack of water or lack of fertilizer or both.

Modesto ash decline

            I don’t know the type of tree you have but make sure you do not have Modesto ash decline if the tree is Modesto ash. I sent to you a picture of Modesto ash decline and have posted it on my blog. It is common here but does not hit every Modesto ash. I have been working with this problem for over 25 years with other professionals and no one has been able to determine its cause. This is why I no longer recommend this particular ash tree.

Several Options Available When Fertilizing Plants in Rock Mulch

Q. I know that this is not the time of year to fertilize plants, but I have a few questions regarding that subject now that it is on my mind. Do you have any suggestions for good way to apply fertilizer to plants that are in rock mulch? It's somewhat of a hassle to move the rock from around the plants, apply granular fertilizer, work it into the soil, and then replace the rock. I've used Miracle-Gro for foliar feeding, but they recommend that you feed the plants every 7 - 14 days. Is there another liquid option that only needs to be applied once or twice a season?

A. Let's cover a few options that you can use to fertilize plants in rock mulch.

            The liquid drench method. You can take a fertilizer which is soluble in water and dissolve it in a bucket of water and apply it to the root area where it is irrigated. This works very well with iron products that should be applied to the soil provided the product dissolves or is suspended in water.

            The dry fertilizer drench. Apply a dry fertilizer to the rock mulch between the plant and its source of water. Take a hose with a nozzle and wash it into the mulch. Make sure the fertilizer is not applied too close to the plant or the fertilizer might damage or even kill a plant.

One type of fertilizer stake with a plastic cap for driving
the stake into the wet ground with a hammer.

            The fertilizer stake method. Take a fertilizer stakes and either push them or hammer them into the soil after an irrigation and in the area close to the source of water. Of course you will use the plastic cap that comes with the stakes when you hammer them into the soil.

            Foliar applications of fertilizer. This works quite well but as you mentioned it is short-lived compared to a soil application. Make sure you use a wetting agent with the foliar spray.

            Install a fertilizer injector. These can be very pricey. Remember that with an injector the fertilizer is applied in proportion to the amount of water that is given to a plant. Those plants which receive more water, receive more fertilizer. It is important to have an irrigation system which applies to water correctly if this is to work well.

Increasing the Size of Pomegranate Fruits

Q. We have a pomegranate tree which grows fruit but not to the size of those that sell in stores or larger, they are very small.  This tree is growing on a slight hill and gets watered for about 20 to 30 minutes a day, plus my wife gives it an additional 2 gallons of water almost every day during the summer months.  What can I do to get larger fruit and more of it?

A. Increasing the size of your pomegranatefruits is more about pruning, watering and fertilizing than anything else.  Larger fruit will be produced on older wood so pruning a pomegranate to be more like a tree than a shrub will help. 

            During fruit formation it is very important to make sure pomegranate receives adequate water.  Water shortages during fruit development will result in smaller fruit at maturity or split fruit before the fruit matures.  Irrigations should not be daily but they should be applied in larger quantities but less often.

One fruit has already formed. The flowers arising from
the same point of attachment are removed to cause
the remaining fruit to get larger.

            Fertilize pomegranates lightly or in moderate amounts in February.  More fertilizer does not translate to more fruit or larger fruit.  But adequate amounts of fertilizer will.  Mulching with organic mulch around the tree will help.

We do some thinning of the trees when the fruits are about the size of walnuts. The only thinning done is when the fruits are arising from the same point of attachment. Then they are thinned to just one fruit. This has to be done all through the flower and fruit development period and not just thinning once but several times.

Wind A Problem for Fruit Trees But Maybe Not for the Reason You Think

Q. I am writing you in regards to a problem I'm having with my fruit trees in the spring when the winds are here.  I have a tree that grows 5 kinds of citrus fruit; Pink Lemonade, Bearss Lime, and 3 varieties of oranges (Washington Navel, Honey Mandarin, and Valencia).  I also have two other trees, a lemon and an orange, but do not know their variety.  My problem is the winds in spring when they lose their blossoms which then causes them not to bear fruit.  These trees are planted near the south wall in my backyard.  How is it best to prevent the loss of the blossoms in the spring due to wind?  How is this done in your orchard?

A. I do not believe that wind is blowing the flowers off of your trees.  In order for that to happen, you would need it gale force winds.  It is more likely that there was a dip in temperature causing a little bit of freezing damage. 

            All of these trees you mentioned cannot withstand cold temperatures.  Just the slightest freezing temperatures will nip them and cause them not to flower or drop their flowers. The most cold tolerant in the group is probably the Pink Lemonade which is most likely Eureka lemon which may withstand 26° F.  Just the slightest freezing temperatures will nip them and cause them not to flower or drop their flowers if nipped during flower formation. 

            All of these trees must be in a warm microclimate if they are to produce any fruit in the Las Vegas Valley.  And even if you have a warm microclimate, the chances of production will be iffy due to late spring freezes.

            The best advice I can give you is to provide some wind barrier to the area of the yard where they are planted. Wind combined with low temperatures can make freezing damage worse in the spring.

Full-Sized Peach Tree Not a Good Container Idea

Q. In March of this year I planted a 2 foot tree with few leaves.  It now has grown to 4 feet with a wide spread of branches. It is planted in an 18 inch pot in the southeast section of my yard.  Will this tree continue to grow in a container?  If so, should I transplant it to a larger container? I grow citrus trees in containers and in the ground successfully.  This is my first attempt to grow a peach tree.

A. I am not sure that putting a full sized peach tree in a container is a good idea. It is going to get REALLY big in there unless you can get a huge container.  A better selection would probably be one of the miniature peaches like Bonanza, Bonanza II, Eldorado, Garden Gold or Pixie. There are others but I do not know how they might perform in our climate. The fruit is okay, not great and that has been the problem with miniatures.

            I do not think a standard sized fruit tree will live as long in a container and will probably have to be replaced sooner than one in the ground. But if you do not have the room then go for it but put it in a very large container. The larger the better.

First Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop This Saturday, November 12

I will be holding the first pruning workshop of the season at the UNCE Orchard in North Las Vegas at 9 AM on Saturday, November 12, 2011. This workshop will talk about how to lower fruit trees to make them more manageable from the ground and hopefully eliminate the need for ladders. We typically begin this type of pruning before leaf drop in the fall because we have so many fruit trees to do. The homeowner can wait until after leaf drop in midDecember.

The Orchard volunteers are asking for a $5 donation to help support educational programming at the orchard.

You will learn:

• how to sharpen, adjust and sanitize your pruning instruments
• how to make the right kind of cut and where for all fruit trees

Bring your pruning tools and you can help the volunteers lower some trees after you learn how.

RLLM
aka Extremehort
Extremehort@aol.com

Cutting Back Tomatoes for Fall Harvest in the Warm Desert

Q. In late February I planted in containers three Hawaiian tomato plants which grew to three feet, produced an abundance medium-sized sweet tomatoes.  By the end of July plants showed signs of dying.  Being from New England I assumed it was the end of the plants life and removed from pots. 

            A friend told me I should have slightly cut back the plants and continued watering. These plants would have made a comeback and produce new flowers and fruit during our fall season.  Would you elaborate on this subject?  I have never heard about tomato plants producing 2 crops.

A. Tomatoes stop setting new fruit as soon as temperatures get into the upper 90’s and so you will harvest these early fruits until usually in July and then it produces no more new fruit until fall again when the temperatures drop back into the lower 90’s.

            I often recommend cutting tomatoes back in late summer when it is no longer producing if you have a warm microclimate in your yard. If you do not have a warm location free from strong winds you probably shouldn’t bother.

            It is very touch-and-go when we do this at the orchard since we are fully exposed to cold northwest winds. Just depends on whether we have a warm fall or not. Late summer is when we begin some of our fall crops and is a good time to plant corn (bet you didn’t do this either in New England).

            So here we can have two springs, one before summer and one after summer (actually fall but acts like spring sometimes). I frequently call our summer “Las Vegas winter” since this is the time of year so many things struggle due to heat and lack of humidity.

            Winter can be a fabulous time for growing fall and spring crops again if you have a protected location or provide some protection if it is exposed.

            Cutting tomatoes back for fall production usually begins in late July or early August. The plants are trimmed back to invigorate new growth and reign them in if getting too large. A small amount of fertilizer is applied at this time to invigorate new growth.

            Foliar sprays are usually best since they don’t last very long but a small amount of quick release fertilizer (straight nitrogen) will work. Let them grow and begin flowering again and set fruit when temperatures drop.

            Be careful not to overfertilize. You should get a nice fall crop of tomatoes. If there is a threat of a freeze in mid December (usually) then cover the tomatoes at night if it is to be a light freeze with a light covering like a row crop cover or old sheet. Remove it in the morning when danger of frost has passed.

            If it is projected to be a hard frost pull the entire plant and hang the plant in the garage or sheltered area and let the tomatoes ripen on the vine in the garage. They will ripen more slowly if not removed from the vine allowing a more sequential ripening than if  you removed them all. Or use green tomatoes.

The Basics on Pruning Apricots and Persian Lime - the basic tree architecture is the same

Q. Could you send me a couple of directions relative to pruning Persian lime and apricot?  Also, any schedule of classes on pruning that might help me.  I am a chef and have some limited time.

A. I will give you my best shot at it without seeing it. Pruning is not a hard science and there are a lot of decisions that have to be made that are very specific to each tree.

Apricot spurs

            Apricots fruit on short flowering branches called spurs. It is important not to remove these short shoots. You will want to open the tree canopy to admit sunlight into the interior. You do this by eliminating the trunk at about 4 feet off of the ground.

            This should result in about eight or so major limbs that come from the trunk. These major limbs should originate from the trunk starting at about the height of your knee and ending around 4 feet off of the ground. These limbs should radiate from the trunk, ideally, so that about two limbs occupy about one fourth of the canopy (about eight total limbs).

            These limbs should radiate from the trunk in a pattern similar to spokes on a wheel so that they do not shade each other. The spacing of the major limbs coming from the trunk is such that hopefully there is at least a foot or more between limbs that originate on top of each other to prevent shading.

Young apple tree showing how limbs radiate from the trunk
using a birdseye view of the young tree. Yes, we prune
apple trees in our moderately high density orchard in an
open center fashion.

            These major limbs may have fruiting spurs coming from them but their primary purpose is to support smaller limbs that have the majority of the fruiting spurs. These smaller limbs should be at a 45° angle, as close as possible, from vertical. This provides the perfect angle for creating flowering spurs.

            Limbs that grow mostly up or mostly down should be eliminated at their source leaving no stubs. As you are finishing your pruning these major limbs should resemble a fan that radiate from the trunk in a fashion so that they do not shade each other, give balance to the canopy and allow filtered light to penetrate to the interior.

            Persian lime is also known as Tahiti lime or a selection of Tahiti called Bearss which is nearly seedless. Regarding the lime, it should be pruned in a similar fashion but the fruiting does not occur on short spurs. Rather, the fruiting occurs on new growth, frequently in the spring after new growth begins to emerge but it can flower later in the year.

            The biggest problem you might have will be protecting the tree from early freezing temperatures and the loss of fruit production because of these freezing or cold temperatures. The concept will be similar in arranging your major limbs to the apricot.

            Citrus usually does not require as much pruning so after you get the major structure established on your tree, you will mostly remove growth which is growing downward, upward or crossing each other besides any broken or damaged branches, limbs or stems. I hope this helps.

Proliferation of Flies in the Las Vegas Valley Causing Havoc (maybe a little exaggerated)

Q. My husband and I spend four months away from the Valley during the summer. When we returned in late September we could not believe the number of flies in our yard.....and because we are used to leaving our doors open....in our house. We have always bragged to those less fortunate than we are and live elsewhere in the country, mainly in the East, how we have virtually no flying insects in Las Vegas. I've had to eat my words this fall....along with some flies. I have not been able to even sit outside and read without being bombarded in the face with these nasty insects. We live in Sun City Anthem....the far southern end of the valley. Is there something blooming/growing in my yard that flies really like? Has anyone else noticed this proliferation?

A. Yours is the first report I have seen about an increase in flies this year. I do not know the products that are used for flight control, which is not an area of expertise for me. I would suggest however that somewhere, someone may be using a source of compost or manure products that are attracting flies.

The best advice I can give in the safest is to find out what is attracting them and where and address the problem there. If you do not do it this way and simply spray to control flies or use some sort of sticky trap you will not solve the problem but just work on the symptoms of a problem. I hope this helps.