Radio Show: Planting fruit trees

This week's show on Blog Talk Radio was about planting fruit trees. Brandy Cowley-Gilbert  of Just Fruits and Exotics in Crawfordville, Fla., joined us for a discussion about the importance of site selection when planting fruit trees, including water needs, available sunlight and fertilizer requirements. Although Brandy and I both garden in North Florida, her tips on site selection apply anywhere. Click on the following link to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All/2009/09/09/Ms-Grow-It-All Brandy will be back in a few weeks to talk about growing specific kinds of fruit trees and shrubs, so watch this space for  more information on her next appearance. Our show next week will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and the topic will be preparing your lawn for winter. Please join us.

Radio Show: Preparing for hurricane season

In our first broadcast since we moved our show to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, Eastern time, UF/Leon County, Fla., forester Stan Rosenthal joined us to talk about how to plant a landscape that is hurricane-resistant, as well as what to do for an existing landscape. For a list of the trees he talked about, go to http://treesandhurricanes.ifas.ufl.edu/lessons.html. You can download the show by clicking on the link in the right rail for one week after broadcast; after that, go to my Home Page and click on the radio show archive link. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comment section below.

Radio Show: What plants like

Today, frequent co-host Stan Rosenthal, Leon County forester, and Ms. Grow-It-All discussed a little basic botany: what trees and other plants like. Most problems with trees, shrubs and other plants can be traced to one of their basic needs.

Radio Show: Choosing trees

This week's broadcast featured forester Stan Rosenthal of the University of Florida/Leon County Extension Service. As a follow-up to last week's program on pruning crape myrtles and other summer-blooming trees, we discussed mistakes people make in selecting trees to plant. He offered advice on trees that make good candidates for home landscapes, and he mentioned a few to avoid. Click on the link to Blog Talk Radio on my site to listen to the show. An archive of all our shows can be found at http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net/.

Times vary for fertilizing fruit trees

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Should I fertilize fruit trees now or in mid-April when I fertilize my lawn? I have a variety in my front yard including lemon, kumquat, blueberry, grape vine (scuppernong and a dark purple variety), plum and satsuma.

A: First of all, bravo for waiting until April to fertilize your lawn. Many people want to give their grass a boost as soon as the air warms, but the soil is still too cool for it to start working. You’ll simply turn your grass yellow if you fertilize before April.

As for your fruit trees, there are slight variations in formula for the different types, but basically each of them should be fertilized three times a year. The recommended time for fertilization varies slightly, based on when each tree or vine bears fruit.

You should fertilize the citrus trees – lemon, kumquat and satsuma – in March and again in May and August. If your citrus is on trifoliate orange rootstock, the rootstock recommended for North Florida because it encourages the trees to remain dormant in winter, use a slow-release 12-4-8 with micronutrients formulated specifically for citrus. You can find it at most garden centers.

Each time you fertilize, use a pound of fertilizer for each year of the tree’s age, so a 2-year-old tree gets 2 pounds of fertilizer on three occasions this year.

For the blueberries, use a similar formula (slow-release 12-4-8) but one with a different blend of micronutrients. A blend formulated for azaleas and camellias contained the proper mix. Use one-quarter pound for year of age, and make sure you keep it away from the trunk of the bush. Fertilization schedule is similar to that of citrus -- February, May and August.

Plums prefer a slow-release 10-10-10 and an early fertilization schedule -- February, April and July. Use a cup of fertilizer for each year of age. As with the blueberries, keep the fertilizer away from the trunk of the tree.

Grapes need fertilizing in February, May and July with a 12-4-8 and the same micronutrients the blueberries need: iron, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, boron and copper. The amount doubles each year for the first three years, from half a pound to a pound to two pounds, in an ever-larger area around the plant. Add a pound each year for the next two years, and then continue to apply four pounds a year as a maintenance rate.

You can search the Web sites of the Cooperative Extension Services in Florida (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/) and Georgia (http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/) for more information about fertilizing fruit trees in Zone 8b. Just Fruits and Exotics nursery in Wakulla County also has comprehensive information about caring for fruit trees on its Web site, www.justfruitsandexotics.com.

Select the right fruit tree for your climate

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I would like to add fruit trees – apples, pears, etc. -- in my yard, and I was told back in the spring that I should wait until fall to plant them. Now that it’s fall, what varieties should I plant?

A: Fall is indeed the best time to plant trees here in North Florida. With our mild winters and the growing list of hybrids developed for our climate, it’s possible to grow fruit trees historically limited to more northern climes.

Although fruit trees require a lot of maintenance to keep them producing – mainly annual pruning and vigilance in checking for pests and diseases – they do make lovely additions to the home landscape. But don’t expect to grow fruit that looks or tastes like the specimens in the grocery store. Homegrown fruits here tend to be smaller but have a better flavor.

The key is to plant the right low-chill variety for the climate. A certain number of hours below 45 degrees – chilling hours – are needed to produce fruit. The varieties that produce in North Florida have been bred to produce on fewer chilling hours than varieties that grow up north. Most of North Florida gets between 540 and 700 chilling hours, with the western Panhandle tending to get more hours than the Big Bend.

The two most common apples grown here are Anna and Ein Shemer, both Israeli hybrids introduced into the Florida market in the late 1960s.Anna, a red blush, is more tart than Ein Shemer, which is yellow and sweet. Dorsett Golden, which legend says is the result of a Mrs. Dorsett tossing away the seeds of a Golden Delicious apple at her home in the Bahamas, and the seeds taking root and producing a fruiting tree, also is popular here. TropicSweet, a hybrid bred from Anna, is a newer release that offers blush fruit that is sweet.

All four produce tasty fruit that are smaller than the apples you find in the grocery store, most of which have been commercially grown up north. Most apple trees don’t self-pollinate, so plant two varieties that bloom at the same time. Traditionally, gardeners have planted Anna with Dorsett Golden because they bloom at the same time. Dorsett Golden will also pollinate TropicSweet.

If you want to plant pears, Flordahome and Florida Bosc produce soft pears suitable for eating fresh. The variety called Pineapple produces hard pears, the kind more suitable for preserves and chutneys.

Most local nurseries have knowledgeable employees who will help you choose the right tree for your yard. Use caution when buying fruit trees at big-box stores, which often buy in bulk and sell the same tree in Tallahassee that they sell in Toledo. If that tree does survive here, it won’t bear fruit. Know your cultivars before you shop.

Make sure your newly planted trees get enough water the first year, at least 3 or 4 inches per week, and fertilize in January and again in June.