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Mars & Venus

It is much too early to distinguish gender of these carob seedlings.

Phoenix dactylifera, common date palm supposedly became more popular than Phoenix canariensis, Canary Island date palm during the 1990s for two primary reasons. Firstly, it is less susceptible to pink rot that was killing so many Canary Island date palms at that time, and continues to do so. Secondly, mature specimens became so readily available as their orchards were being displaced by urban development, particularly around Las Vegas and Palm Springs. Of course, fruiting date palms would have been too messy for the urban landscapes that they were recycled into. So, to prevent such mess, only female trees were recycled for such landscapes. Without their male pollinators, they are fruitless. Female trees are generally shorter, more lushly foliated, and therefore more appropriate to refined landscapes anyway. Besides, all but between one and five percent of trees in date orchards are female. Male trees were not completely wasted though. Although not as lush, they are taller and statelier, so were recycled to landscape remote desert highway interchanges, where their pollen does not reach female date palms that now inhabit more urban landscapes. It all works out well, although contrary to the original purpose of the date palms involved. It would seem silly to separate genders of most familiar dioecious species, such as kiwifruits and hollies. However, only female carob trees are available from nurseries nowadays because they would be messy with pollination, and also because male floral fragrance is horrid! Male carob trees are only available for agricultural purposes, or grow as feral males from seed. The problem that I will eventually encounter with my carob trees is that I grew them from seed, and will not know what their genders are until they are a few years old. I want a female specimen in a specific location, and a male pollinator in another specific location. I think that I will put three seedlings in each location, select one that matures to be the preferred gender for its particular location, and eliminate the other two. Alternatively, I could allow two genders to grow together in such a manner than the male grafts to the female to become a branch that I could prune to be a small but necessary portion of the collective canopy. Of course, there is a possibility that all within each group of three could be the wrong gender. I will not know until a few years from now.

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Madonna & Black Lace II

Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ can produce a few berries without pollination from another cultivar.

The internet never ceases to amaze with its inefficiency of providing information that should be more readily available. Old fashioned horticultural texts and even encyclopedias were more reliable. I remember reading that elderberry could be self pollinating, but that it would be more productive with another cultivar of the same species. Because I could not remember what species of the genus that information was relevant to, I more recently tried to determine the requirements of each of the few species that I grow. Ultimately, it seems to me that all are about the same in regard to both their ability to self pollinate to a minimal degree, and their ability to pollinate more efficiently with other cultivars. However, I still do not know. Furthermore, I am now confused about the identity of American elderberry, which many sources insist is merely a variety of common black elderberry of Europe.

Sambucus caerulea, blue elderberry is native and too common for me to know or care if it is more productive with other genetically distinct specimens, which, since the species lacks cultivars, are merely other wild specimens. In other words, blue elderberry specimens here can not be adequately isolated from other specimens to determine how reliant they are on others for pollination. Regardless, I will grow about four together within my garden.

Sambucus racemosa, red elderberry is supposedly native here, but I have never seen it in the wild. Consequently, I do not know if other specimens are close enough to pollinate specimens within my garden. Rather than experiment with single and potentially isolated specimens, and because there is no need to separate the four specimens here anyway, I will grow all of them together within my garden. I am considering adding ‘Sutherland Gold’ or other ornamental cultivars in the future.

Sambucus canadensis, American elderberry is not native, so could be grown in isolation here. However, I want berries more than I want to know how reliant this species is on pollination from other genetically distinct specimens. Before I grow cultivars, I will grow about four specimens within my garden from seed. I might consider cultivars in the future, but for now, would prefer to grow them as most people within their native range experience them, and as I grow blue and red elderberries.

Sambucus nigra, black elderberry is a species that I find to be less interesting than the three North American species that I actually want to grow. However, I have grown ‘Black Lace’ at work for a few years, and recently got it ‘Madonna’ as a pollinator so that the two can make berries together. Because I grew several more copies of each than we can accommodate at work, I will likely grow a pair of each within my own garden. Both are ornamental cultivars that happen to also produce berries. However, formerly without a pollinator, ‘Black Lace’ has been fruitless. This year, one of the copies managed to make these few berries in the picture above without bloom from ‘Madonna’. I suppose that this is consistent with what I read about its ability to self pollinate somewhat. Now, I want to see what it does next year if ‘Madonna’ blooms well.

Four wild seed grown specimens of Sambucus racemosa, red elderberry that were a gift from Tangly Cottage Gardening have been canned for too long, and want to get into the garden.
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Madonna & Black Lace

Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ European black elderberry

1984 was four decades ago. This is happening right now. Sambucus nigra ‘Black Lace’ European black elderberry, with intricately lacy and richly bronzed foliage, and flaring upright form, has inhabited one of the landscapes here for a few years. I was initially not so keen on it, but eventually learned to appreciate it as others who saw it expressed fondness for its distinctive texture and color. It was so popular that I grew a few too many copies from pruning scraps two winters ago, with the intention of adding a few more to other landscapes. I plugged a few more last winter, as if I did not know better. Several were shared with neighbors, but so far, only one was added to another landscape here, and only a few days ago. It may not look like much in the picture above, but should be a bit bigger and more richly bronzed next year. Sambucus nigra ‘Madonna’ European black elderberry, with simpler and yellowish variegated foliage, and somewhat more rounded form, was a more recent acquisition. Although I am not so keen on its yellowish color, it happened to become available while I was considering acquisition of a pollinator for ‘Black Lace’, which has not produced berries yet. Although each can self pollinate somewhat, different cultivars pollinate each other more effectively. Doves enjoy the resulting berries; and people enjoy seeing happy doves. The original specimen of ‘Madonna’ was thrashed when I acquired it, but provided more than sixteen rooted side shoot copies before going to live in a colleague’s garden. The first of these copies was installed adjacent to and in conjunction with the first copy of ‘Black Lace’. It may not look like much in the picture below, but it is just a dinky copy from a four inch pot.

Sambucus nigra ‘Madonna’ European black elderberry
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Village Harvest redirects surplus from home gardens to those who can use it.

Surplus need not go to waste.

(This article is several years old, so some of the information within is likely outdated.)

Those who witnessed the event know that it actually happened. During citrus season a few years ago, a crew of volunteers descended upon, or should I say, ascended ladders into the legendary and monstrously large King Grapefruit Tree in a gallant but hopeless attempt to harvest the fruit. Our caravan of an assortment of smaller pickups and my full sized Ford that we drove out to confront this aberration of nature where it resided was completely full by the time we had harvested only about a third of the fruit. We left happy with our plunder, but unexpectedly defeated by the abundance left behind. I have seen many fruit trees throughout my career, but have never seen so much fruit in a single tree! 

It may have watched us leave exasperated with our mud-flaps dragging, but the King Grapefruit Tree was not solely victorious. We Village Harvest volunteers and the many beneficiaries of Village Harvest enjoyed its fruit for weeks! Village Harvest arranges for community fruit harvesting events to collect fruit that might otherwise go to waste so that it can instead be distributed to people in the community who can use it. The fruit of the King Grapefruit Tree was donated, and more was harvested later, so that it would not become an unwanted mess for the residents of the nearby home.

This is just one of many examples of how Village Harvest community fruit harvesting events benefit everyone involved. Those who donate their surplus fruit get it harvested and taken away before it becomes messy. Village Harvest volunteers get to take a bag or so of the fruit that gets harvested during the event. The clientele of the local food agencies that distribute the produce get fresh home grown fruit from the Santa Clara Valley; which is, as we all know, the best in the world.

Although citrus season is still several months away, five community fruit harvesting events are scheduled to collect summer fruit through July. On July 18 and again on August 1, two Mountain View community harvesting events will be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. Two Central San Jose community harvesting events will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on both July 20 and July 27. The Sunnyvale community harvesting event will be from 8:00 a.m. to noon on July 26. Locations to meet for each event can be determined when making reservations.

Information about volunteering for any of these and other events, or how to arrange for donation of fruit, can be found at the website, www.villageharvest.org, or by telephoning 888 – 378 4841. Because admission is limited, it is advisable to make reservations for any event early, either online or by telephone. (It may be too late for the July 18 event.) Parking is also limited, so participants should carpool if possible. Pickups and station wagons to help transport fruit are very helpful. So is a grocery bag to share in the harvest afterward. Covered shoes (not sandals) are important. Layered clothing is more comfortable for cool mornings that get warmer closer to noon.  

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Going Bananas!

‘Double Mahoi’ is not even a fraction of a single yet, but can grow fast.

This is not banana territory. The soil is good, and water is readily available; but the climate is a limiting factor. The weather does not get very warm for very long. When it rarely gets almost unpleasantly warm during the day, it generally gets tolerably cooler overnight. Bananas are none too keen on such comfortable weather. They want sustained warmth, with less fluctuation of temperature between night and day.

This is precisely why I should not have acquired as many as fourteen cultivars of banana. Some may never do more than generate appealingly lush foliage here. Those that produce fruit will unlikely produce fruit that is much more than marginally palatable. One of the cultivars is the oem, which is the largest banana ‘tree’ in the World. I have NO idea of how to manage it. ‘Mekong Giant’ also grows quite large and heavy. Two cultivars are unidentified, so could possibly be copies of others. ‘Kokopo Patupi’ may not have survived last winter, as it has not begun to regenerate yet. Four other cultivars were given away, but then generated pups that are now returning! I do not remember how many cultivars are here now, but I know that there are too many.

Oem is resuming growth faster than the others, but with small leaves from within pseudostems that produced larger leaves last year. ‘Double Mahoi’ is likewise regenerating dinky and pale leaves that are actually dinkier than those that emerged earlier from a shriveled carcass of a dinky pup that got frosted last winter.

I want all of the cultivars of banana to survive and thrive, but I should have planned for them better. Now, I should plan to find homes for most of them instead. Even if I could manage them all, I can not justify doing so.

Oem is the biggest banana ‘tree’ in the World!
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Simple Species

Unidentified cultivar of Tecoma stans

Tecoma stans is somewhat popular within the neighborhood where I stayed while in Arizona. It is available in nurseries also. I suppose that I could have purchased one or more for my garden. I had wanted to grow it for a long time. I refrained. I can explain.

The Tecoma stans that I can get from nurseries is an improved cultivar, or actually, about three cultivars. They are not the simple species, as it would be found growing wild. I realize that improved cultivars are known as ‘improved’ for a reason, but ultimately, I want to grow the simple species.

Crazy Green Thumbs sent me the seed for the simple species of Tecoma stans that I want to grow. That is all I need. Other colleagues have sent me seed, seedlings or cuttings for simple species of American beautyberry, American holly, American persimmon, pawpaw, red mulberry, red elderberry and perhaps too many other species to list briefly. In the future, I suppose that I could try cultivars of some of these species. I would like to get acquainted with them first though.

For most species, I suppose that I prefer cultivars. I want to grow the same ‘Moorpark’ and ‘Blenheim’ apricots that I grew up with. Eventually, I want to grow ‘John F. Kennedy’ rose. Cultivars serve a purpose also.

There are a few reasons why I want simple species rather than cultivars of some species. For American beautyberry, American holly and red elderberry, I want to grow what most other garden enthusiasts within the native ranges of these species grow merely because such species appear uninvited in their gardens. For American persimmon, pawpaw and red mulberry, I want to grow a few of the fruits that people enjoyed for culinary application prior to the development of relatively modern cultivars.

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Saskatoon

Saskatoon prefers significant chill during winter.

Of eighteen species that are native to North America, only two are native to California. Of these two, only one is native locally. However, some of the few nurseries that sell various saskatoons market them as native. Obviously, most are not. A few are hybrids. All of them are species of Amelanchier, and are still rare here. Their common names are numerous.

Serviceberry, sarvisberry or sarvis may be some of the more common of common names. Shadbush, shadwood or shadblow may be less common. Juneberry, chuckley pear, wild plum and sugarplum are likely regional names. They are more familiar where winters are cooler. Some sorts do not perform well locally because they prefer a bit more winter chill.

Saskatoons are locally popular primarily for their fruit, and only among a few enthusiasts. They are more available online than in nurseries. The fruits are pommes like tiny apples, but are only the size of blueberries. They ripen to blackish purple for summer. Their early spring flowers are like wispy apple flowers. Most Saskatoons grow less than ten feet tall. Some rarer types can grow thirty feet tall in favorable climates.

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Raspberries Are Similar To Blackberries . . . But Different.

Like these dormant fruit trees, raspberry canes should go into the garden during bare root season.

            My grandmother would have gotten better results by sending me out to the garden for zucchini. She should have known better than to send me out for raspberries. I could have brought in as many zucchini as she wanted in a short while. With raspberries though, I was gone too long, and returned with meager spoils and diminished appetite.

            Neither raspberries nor zucchini will be exploitable for a few more months. Raspberries though, can get planted about now. Also, established raspberry canes should be pruned about now to promote abundant production later. Just like most deciduous fruit trees and blackberries, raspberries are not ‘low maintenance’, and require intensive specialized pruning.   

            New bare root plants should be spaced about two to three feet apart and mulched to insulate the soil until they develop enough foliage to shade their own roots. Their canes can then be cut back so that only a single bud is visible above ground. Because raspberries spread, root barriers are sometimes useful to keep them out of neighbors’ gardens.  

            Through summer, new plants should produce three or more new canes. These canes should be able to support themselves, but are less rampant if tied to a trellis or wire. I like to train them onto a fence like grapevines, because there are not many other uses for a fence.

            The more popular everbearing cultivars like Heritage, September, Summit, Golden Summit and Fallgold may develop fruit on the tops of their new canes during their first autumn. During the following winter, the tops of the canes should be cut back as far down as fruit developed. The remaining lower portions of their canes that did not develop fruit in the first year will do so during their second summer, and should get pruned out as they finish producing.

            At about the same time, about five to ten of the best new canes should be selected, and trained if desired. Superfluous canes should be cut to the ground. Like their predecessors, the remaining selected canes should fruit on top during autumn, get pruned in winter, and fruit again during the following summer before getting pruned out. This process should be repeated annually.

            Summer bearing cultivars like Willamette, Canby and Tulameen should not fruit in their first year, and should be pruned to about five feet tall during the following winter. Every subsequent summer, many new canes emerge as the older canes bloom and fruit. Every subsequent winter, about five to ten of these new canes should be selected, tied to support if desired, and pruned to about five feet tall, as all spent canes and superfluous new canes get cut to the ground.

            Black and purple raspberries are shrubbier, so get pruned differently than the more traditional red and yellow raspberries do.  During their first summer, canes should be pruned back to about two feet to promote branching. All except about six or seven of the best of these canes should be removed over winter. The side branches of the selected canes of black raspberries should then get pruned to about half a foot long. Side branches of purple raspberries can be twice as long. After these canes finish fruiting during the following summer, they should be cut to the ground. New canes can then be pruned like during the first summer so that the process can be repeated annually.  

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Blackberry Canes Need Specialized Maintenance

Dormant blackberry canes are now available with other bare root stock.

            One of my favorite modern California impressionistic paintings depicts suburban gardening of the post agricultural period in the Santa Clara Valley. It is a finger painting that I made in kindergarten at Bucknall School in about 1972 or 3, to illustrate some of my favorite features of my grandparents’ garden in Santa Clara. To the left is a vertical brown stripe below green squiggles with black spots; the avocado tree. To the right is a similar image with red instead of black spots; the cherry tree. Between and below these, and lacking a vertical stripe, is a flurry of green squiggles with more black spots. These are blackberry canes.

            Blackberries are not at all ‘low maintenance’ since they require rather intensive specialized pruning. Most of the work that they need gets done during summer; but bare-root blackberry plants become available and get planted this time of year with other bare-root plants. Blackberries produce fruit on biennial canes which grow during their first year, and then bloom and fruit during their second year before dieing out.

            Once the tough roots are established, there is no shortage of fresh new canes to replace the old canes. In fact, surplus young canes can be dug and divided with roots to propagate new plants during winter. Because they have a way of spreading outward, blackberries should not be planted too near to neighbors’ fences without root barriers to keep them contained.  

            The most popular blackberries locally are ‘trailing’ types such as ‘Boysen’, ‘Marion’ and ‘Olallie’, which are also known as ‘Boysenberry’, ‘Marionberry’ and ‘Olallieberry’.  Less common ‘erect’ types, such as ‘Arapaho’, ‘Chickasaw’, ‘Choctaw’ and ‘Navaho’, are more tolerant to cold winter weather, so are more popular where winters are more severe. Hybrids of trailing and erect blackberries are ‘semierect’, and are generally treated like trailing types.

            After they get planted in winter, trailing and semierect blackberry canes can do whatever they want to through their first year. In their second year, canes should be trained onto trellises or wires until they have finished fruiting in summer. When the fruit is finished, these canes should be cut to the ground.

            Some of the canes that were growing on the ground below the trellises while all this was going on should now be trained like the canes that were just removed. For trailing types, about ten to fifteen of the best canes should be selected, trained and pruned to about six or seven feet long. About half as many canes of semierect types should be selected and pruned about a foot shorter. All remaining canes should be cut to the ground. (A few of the smallest remaining canes may be left intact through summer to be divided for propagation in winter.)     

            Side branches grow from the pruned canes through late summer and early autumn. At the end of the following winter, these side branches should be pruned to about a foot long. New growth from these stems blooms and fruits during the following summer. Again, when fruit is gone, the spent canes get cut to the ground so that the process can be repeated.

            Erect blackberries do not need to be trained onto support. Canes that develop during their first year can be cut to about two and a half feet tall in the middle of summer. Resulting branches should be cut about a foot long in winter. During the following summer, these fruiting canes should be cut to the ground as fruit is depleted. New canes can then be pruned like the previous canes were.

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Ponderosa

‘Ponderosa’ for the Ponderosa

Citrus ripen through winter. This ‘Ponderosa’ lemon is taking its time, probably because it is still growing. Individual ‘Ponderosa’ lemons commonly weigh two pounds, and can potentially get a bit heavier than five pounds. That is heavier than some of Rhody’s chihuahua friends. I doubt that this particular lemon will get much larger than it is now, but it is already bigger than an average ‘Eureka’ lemon. It is about as big as a baseball.

The problem with this fruit is that it is on a tiny lemon tree in a #1 can. It is one of two fruits. I should not have allowed them to develop as much as they have. I should have removed them when they first appeared in order to divert resources into vegetative growth, rather than fruit development. Now that they grew this much, I sort of want them to finish ripening. It would be a waste to remove them now. After they ripen, I can prune their stems from the tiny tree, and process them as cuttings to grow more new trees.

I would like to install this little ‘Ponderosa’ lemon tree into a landscape at Ponderosa Lodge. Not only is its name appropriate, but the weirdly huge fruit might be interesting to the children who come to ‘Outdoor Science’ school there. Contrary to the huge size of its fruits, ‘Ponderosa’ lemon trees do not grow very large or very fast. However, a mature ‘Eureka’ lemon already inhabits the garden there, and we recently installed a ‘Bearss’ lime. Another lemon tree would redundant. We would prefer to grow a more edible citrus within the limited space that is available, such as a sweet orange, Mandarin orange or kumquat. For now, we will just enjoy this tiny lemon tree with its huge lemons right here.