So far, I am going to go with a Eureka and Lisbon lemon and probably a few grapefruit/hybrids like an Oroblanco, Melogold, or Cocktail. I think all of those are fairly vigorous growers and will hopefully provide some privacy in 2-3 years.
Attempt 2 - guavas. There are multiple varieties - red/white, crunchy/soft, etc. The flavor is a hit or miss with folks who didnât grow up with it - they either really love it or couldnât care for them. They should grow fairly fast in Z10
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Minneola Tangelos are cool trees too.
Young olive trees grow fast. They slow down when mature (10+ years). Plant a Frantoia olive and you will have a good-size tree in a couple of years.
Main problem with olives is olive fruit fly. Can be controlled by one application of Surround in mid-summer, but this means white-colored trees for a period of two-three months, some might not like this for aesthetic reasons.
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if you are open to growing a vegie-tree instead of a fruit tree(and if you have relatively warm winters in your part of so cal), you can try moringa. You can plant them close at two or three inches apart in a row as seedlings, and will easily grow at least 6 feet in two years. Or if your summer is warm enough, maybe 6 ft in just one year.
donât harvest the foliage until the seedlings have reached the desired height. In the tropics they are grown close together to make the friendliest of fences since no thorns and the trunk is relatively smooth, so neighbors will appreciate edible foliage and pods on their side just as you will on yours.
at~6 ft tall, the trees will tolerate heavy pruning so can be sculpted.
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I have two 7 foot tall pomegranate trees in my front yard that have been trained as trees rather than bushes. How big is the rootball on these? I had a thought that maybe instead of buying young trees, I could transplant these two into my backyard and they would provide immediate privacy. I prune them heavily each year and I think if I just let them go, they may bet 12-15 feet tall next year. Trying to figure out how successful this would be because I would hate to transplant and kill the trees. Thanks!
I havenât updated my citrus hedge post for a while but I do have one photo on my phone I took about a week or so agoâŚcrappy but it will let you see some of the growth. My fastest growers are Meyer lemon and the Red Valencia (last one in the photo). These two trees have already grown to about 6 or 7 feet and I have started to control size.
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Pomegranates have a very extensive and strong root system, so it will be a lot of work. On the positive side, they tend to survive transplantation pretty well, in my experience.
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Thanks Stan, I think since they grow pretty fast, Iâll leave them in the front yard and buy new plants for the back. Appreciate the info the roots.
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Just an update, the bamboo has been cleared out and we are going to go with pomegranates, Eureka lemon, Cocktail and Oroblanco grapefruit, and a Moro blood orange.
I have some pretty gaping pits where the bamboo was and need to level out the retaining wall area.
I have free access to compost which I would try and mix around the entire retaining wall area or can hire someone to deliver a yard of topsoil. Any opinions on those two?
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Hey mate .
A big smile on my face this morning. It is a shame though. Am always keen for both teams on Merseyside to do well.
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Hi everyone, sorry to bring up an old post but just wanted to update. The lemon trees I bought have grown 12 inches in 2 years so I am going to pull those. I did plant a loquat and pomegranate (I know this is deciduous but it is leafless for probably only a month).
Mulberries were mentioned earlier in this post and I am going to buy a Pakistan mulberry. I know this is also deciduous but I am most concerned about privacy during summer months when windows are usually open.
I know the roots are pretty vigorous. I would be planting this on top of a retaining wall. Any thoughts or concerns about this location?
Thanks!
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Just a caution on pulling the lemon trees⌠For many trees the first two years are about establishing root systems, and after that they tend to put on a lot of vegetative growth above ground. My Nikitaâs Gift persimmon did that last year (year 3). Also - have you considered rooting cuttings from your pomegranates as new trees? I hear they are pretty easy to root.
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Does it have to be a tree?
If you can put a few posts in the ground with some wires. A passionfruit can grow a lot in a short time. But it does need somthing to climb in. And a lot are evergreen. + beautiful flowers and on some varieties give edible fruit
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Mulberries have massively-sized, aggressive roots. You canât plant mulberries in raised beds/areas like yours, or, any raised bed for shrubs, tomatoes, etc.
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You need to focus on planting shrubs and/or small trees for a raised planter.
I think youâll find that to make sense. Trees arenât meant to be planted in raised planters.
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Thanks Oscar, we actually have passionfruit vines at the house but in a different location. But that could definitely be an option if we donât go the mulberry route.
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That makes sense.
The retaining wall area is large though. For instance, we had no problems with four 20 foot tall large bamboo clumps growing on the retaining wall. We removed the bamboos because they started looking haggard after about 8 years of growth. The retaining wall space is probably 8 feet wide and 40 feet long.
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Thatâs perfect for shrubs and like around here it works for Bloodgood Japanese Maple. You gotta be real careful about trees. I know you understand.
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Use that bamboo as stakes for the garden!
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