Today and yesterday were and will be banner days. We are allowed to go in cars with other people now and so I made the trip yesterday to my favorite nursery Botanic. Of course I bought more trees than I should have for my terrace but they were huge, beautifully grown and great varieities. They will be arriving today with seven Anduze pots (pots made famous by potters in the town of Anduze that grace the gardens of Versailles and the Tuileries (and others). Very beautiful. I bought seven fruit trees, they are all over six feet tall except for the lemon.
I purchased: 1 Montmorency Cherry, 1 Rouge de Roussillion Apricot, One white flesh peach (forgot the name, but it has the word Giant in it), One Gris de Reinette apple espalier for my terrace wall, 1 Caville Blanc d’Hiver, 1 Mirabelle de Nancy and 1 Citron (Lemon) Four Seasons (the easiest and most prolific Lemon to grow here). 12 huge bags of soil for the very large pots and a different soil for the Lemon. I also bought bags of what almost look like marbles, but they are lava rock (very light) to be put in the bottom of the pots for drainage. Saucers for the pots were the big trick. They have good colors here so I bought a beige color to blend in better with the beige tiled terrace.
The entire nursery is what they call BIO, or Organic, so no real fungicides, pesticides. I forgot about oil. I bought a small sprayer and one box of fungicide. Our water acts like Surround because it is filled with ‘Calcaire’ white powdered limestone calcium and when sprayed covers the fruit and leaves with a white film that is very hard to rub off like Surround and is a bit gritty. Our house has a filtering system for drinking the water. It tastes really good. No bleach here!
So, being the fan of pesticides that I am, I will be on the hunt for a French equivalent of Triazcide, to kill mites, aphids and scale should they appear. I will include pictures as soon as the trucks arrive. They will only drop off all of these heavy items, now I must find strong young guys to carry it all to the third floor!
Being originally from Poland, where the Mirabelle plum has become quite naturalized, and as a child having partaken of its bounty each August, I have bought five or six different cultivars, to plant in my Maryland orchard.
But the pathogens here are reportedly atrocious. Both insect, as well as fungal . My trees are still a little young to produce any fruit. I understand it will be quite a battle to help them get to that point. We will see
@kakasamo,
I am a zone colder than you. I have Mirabelle de Nancy and Mirabelle Parfume de September. They are very productive.
I’ve come around to like these sugar balls. It has not been attacked by many pests. I have several other E plum varieties which have bigger fruit aka bigger targets. Those get attacked relentlessly. And it could be why my mirabelles have fewer pest damage.
Looks great, and I’m pretty envious of those pots and trees. They’re all so gorgeous!
If you haven’t done this already, I would advise against it. It actually makes drainage worse rather than better. See this video for a demo and explanation:
Very impressive pots, definitely works of art and so glad things are going good for you there!!
What i would like to request is one of your perfumed peaches please!
Why not keep going with Bio stuff they have many good rosemary sprays that can replace triazicide, europe also has predator insects and plays much more off the natural system. Triazicide kills predators for a long time but most pests just a few days maybe a week. You can easily get great weekly coverage with rosemary sprays and those will not affect the beneficial insect population. You can also get Thyme and vegetable oil sprays or sulfur for fungal issues.
Oh Lois, I miss you! Nope didn’t arrive. They have more there to ask for a delivery again, but, the pots are far more expensive than the trees so six will suffice. Also Montmorency in the south of France, the season is very, very short and I will buy them at the market and make jam. I have ordered my canner, jars and maslin jam pot, I am ready to go! Come visit!
The pots are really very large, remember the scale of a renaissance kitchen that is their holding pen. My house was used for the set of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ for the marriage scene. The holding area for my trees and pots is Renaissance period and a very large courtyard, kitchen and grand hall. The pots might look small but they are huge and take two men to carry. Not to worry, I did my homework, like you! Xxoo Mrs.G
Oh Tippy I cannot wait either. I really hope it all works. I will send pictures when the trees are planted in the pots. I am so glad to have an orchard back, I so have missed growing fruit. Xxoo Mrs. G. Aka Moi!
And Mam’s Mirabelle de Septembre son delicieuse! I made jam out of these Mirabelles that she sent to me In RI and they were the best ever! Thank you forever Mam!
