by Greg Alder | Jul 7, 2017 | Avocados, Fruit |
Believe it or not, avocado bark is like our skin and gets sunburned. If left unprotected, a branch that is exposed, especially to the south or west sun, will burn. The branch in the photo above is on a young Pinkerton avocado tree that grew out a long limb which...
by Greg Alder | Jun 22, 2017 | Avocados, Fruit |
There are tiny cults surrounding a few types of avocados here in Southern California, home of the now-worldwide avocado industry. Fuerte Some people remain forever fans of the original commercial avocado variety, Fuerte. It has a cool (or should I say, strong) story...
by Greg Alder | Apr 17, 2017 | Citrus, Fruit |
My impression is that most of us think that, as a general rule, all fruit trees need to be pruned. It’s simply not true, especially regarding citrus. In contrast to this mistaken notion I’d say that, as a general rule, citrus should not be pruned. I can...
by Greg Alder | Mar 22, 2017 | Avocados, Fruit |
Kids grow fast, as do avocado trees — especially when planted over a power-packed placenta. Oddly, prior to looking through the retrospective below, I had felt rushed for both of them to hit some developmental marks even faster. As of today, Cass can legibly...
by Greg Alder | Feb 21, 2017 | Avocados, Fruit |
I just planted the avocado tree in the photo above, on February 10, 2017. It’s a Hass from a five-gallon container. How long can I expect to wait for an avocado tree like this to bear fruit? Short answer: three to four years. I get such an expectation from the...
by Greg Alder | Feb 2, 2017 | Fruit |
Opinions on how to prune deciduous fruit trees are innumerable. I have just one: Keep your tree small. I believe it’s the single best thing you can do if you want your tree to produce fruit and you want to pick and eat that fruit. A small tree’s fruit is...
by Greg Alder | Jan 26, 2017 | Avocados, Fruit |
My grandpa once asked me when to start picking fruit from his Hass avocado tree. I said February. But it’s true that I’ve been picking one every now and then from my Hass tree since November. They’ve tasted acceptable, but I know that from...
by Greg Alder | Jan 7, 2017 | Citrus, Fruit |
Can you tell? Hint: the purple blush on the back sides of the petals gives it away. See the comments section for the answer. ShareClick to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new...
by Greg Alder | Jan 2, 2017 | Fruit |
There are so many options. In Southern California, we can grow pears, bananas, oranges, persimmons, figs, peaches, plums, nectarines, jujubes, cherimoyas, sapotes, pomegranates, tangerines, grapefruit, apricots, pluots, mangos, just to name a few. How do you choose?...
by Greg Alder | Dec 23, 2016 | Citrus, Fruit |
I suspected that when I pointed out to my son Cass that the Kishu mandarins were ready, it would be a whirlwind of peeling and chewing that wouldn’t stop until the tree was bare, and I was right. The photo above shows Cass on December 3rd with the final fruit....
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