Are they all trimmed down to a shrub or hedge?
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Yes.
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I have a pancho and Lila both grafted but I’m not sure what the rootstock is. To me the pancho seems hardier of the two, but avos in general don’t seem worth the trouble, if these fail I’ll likely not try again with them. Unless I get some seeds and scions and try to make a few of my own
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You must have to cover them on plenty of nights, no? Have you considered trying them in a greenhouse. I know of a lady who gets fruit from her greenhouse avocados in British Columbia. I have a few greenhouse avocados too, but so far no fruit. Lots of blooming so maybe soon the fruit.
How often do you have to cover your citrus?
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I have covered the avos about 7-8 total nights last year, same for the citrus and so far none this year, but I don’t recall two years ago, likely 10-20 nights as I was more worried and with the new trees. I have Christmas lights on them that automatically cut on at 35* just to keep the frost off them. The first year the avos just got bartered by sun and not enough irrigation. So they got burned back pretty bad but this year was better, yeah just one year of blooms so I don’t expect fruit for a couple years. They are just fragile (damaged by wind and sun), whereas citrus has been bulletproof for me
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Amazing!!!
I’m not sure if you’re asking me that question but I only cover them when we are predicted to go below 38F. Otherwise they’re just on their own. Most of the time I’m too lazy to go out there and uncover them during the week when I have to work and if it’s a sunny day it will warm up into the '70s and '80s under the frost cloth. The amount of Christmas lights I have to heat them usually raises the temperature about 20° over outside and air. If I need to hold more heat in I will use a heavy duty tarp over the frost cloth. My goal is just not to let them go below freezing.
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Thanks Stan. Years ago when I found what you were doing with citrus it really inspired me to give it a go here. Obviously I have to work a little harder to keep them alive but it gave me the inspiration to try.
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Your system is very impressive for being in a zone 7. Not letting them go below freezing probably keeps them from going into dormancy, no? So you have fruit ripening all year? Up here our meyer lemons and satsumas get exposed to lots of freezing temps. Mine have handled temps down to the high teens and been just fine. Meyer on a trifoliate rootstock is much hardier then I’ve seen listed at nurseries. Those labels say 26, but the mature meyer trees can definitely handle temps much lower.
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impressive. where are you located?
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Those trees are in Northern California.
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What do you use to feed them?
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That made my day! Saying that you were inspired to grow citrus because you saw what I was doing. I always said… I wanted to be the Johnny Citrus seed… instead of Johnny Appleseed! Merry Christmas!
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Still in the business,Stan?I’m probably going to visit my sister in Myrtle Beach,during April and was thinking about getting her a tree or two.
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He’s got an Etsy shop, too! Though it says currently closed for Christmas:
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Yes. The are always pushing new growth. I only get ripe fruit November to Feb/march.
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Nothing special. Just whatever granular I have on hand. Usually a triple 10 or 13.
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Just harvested half my meyers and some Miho satsuma. Dekopon is a still under ripe. I have some oro Blanco grapefruit also but I’m replacing it will a ruby red. Don’t care for the taste.
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Those are some healthy looking leaves. Mine get a tinge of chlorosis this time of year.
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Hey Stan…
Hope you and your family are having a nice Christmas.
Could you offer an appraisal of Carrizo orange taste? I realize it isn’t a sweet fruit, but I’m curious if it has any ‘off’ trifoliota taste? Or is it just sour?
I find the flying dragon fruit inedible, and if the Carrizo is at all like that I would probably graft something else onto it. I have a four year old seedling about five feet tall.
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