cherry tree

The cherry tree is legendary throughout the world for its beautiful display of early spring blossoms and the delightful flavors of its abundant, attractive fruit. In Japan, the cherry tree symbolizes purity and the timeless bliss which gives rise to outdoor celebrations. These celebrations are spring traditions from Asia to Italy to France to New England to Washington. This beautifully delicious little fruit is worth celebrating, not to mention worth 100's of millions of dollars to the economies of the aforementioned regions. 

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Citrus Trees

Citrus is thought to have developed in Southeast Asia in about 4000 BC. Citrus probably entered Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Citrus fruits were first brought to America by the Spanish and the Portuguese. The fact that citrus trees are evergreen and cannot tolerate freezing dictated that the warm climates of Florida and California became the leading citrus producing states in the Unites States. Citrus fruits belong to the ‘Rutaceae’ family. Citrus fruits are fragrant, with or without seeds depending on the variety, and contain significant amounts of vitamin C, pectin, and fiber. They are fat free, sodium free, and cholesterol free.

The dwarf citrus trees offered by Nature Hills may also be grown inside. Dwarf citrus trees in containers can be successfully grown throughout the United States. Citrus like 8 to 12 hours of sunlight a day. Full-spectrum fluorescent grow lights are the best supplement for inside growth. They will tolerate less light in the winter than in the spring and summer. For container soil, use a light, well draining commercial soil mix. Do not put gravel in the bottom of the pot. Place the container on pebbles in a saucer or other surface that will allow air and water flow. Water them every 5 to 7 days with ¼ to ½ gallon of water. Do not keep them standing in water. The soil should be moist, not soggy. Citrus foliage benefits from being sprayed or misted with water, especially in winter months when the humidity might be low. A humidifier would also help keep the leaves lush and healthy.

Orange Trees – Most Favored in the Citrus Family

The orange tree plant, Citrus sinensis, is one of the most favored of the citrus fruits grown in the world. It is a fruit of the citrus family. Orange trees are considered a subtropical plant because they can withstand colder temperatures during their dormancy periods. Mature orange trees can withstand below freezing weather for short periods of time. Orange trees have rounded crowns and slender branches.

Gardening in the warmer climates would be complimented with an orange tree. But if gardening is done in cooler climates, orange trees can be grown in containers and moved inside during cold weather months. Some orange trees can get quite large, so if the landscape is not suited for a larger tree, use a dwarf orange tree. Dwarf orange trees can quite easily be kept to 8 or 10 feet tall. Gardening with an orange tree in a landscape will provide the grower with an evergreen tree that is long leafed, attractively shaped, has sweet orange blossoms, and wonderful fresh fruit.

 Orange juice has been used and promoted as a breakfast juice for a long time. Navel oranges have been carried in lunch boxes by school children for a century or so. Orange juice is sweet and tangy, and it delivers a healthy, refreshing drink at any time during the day. Naval oranges are easy to peel so, therefore, are favored by children with small hands, or even older folks, because of the ease of orange peel removal.

Oranges have long been a citrus fruit of choice. Portuguese sailors packed oranges for their long sea voyages to help prevent scurvy, which was caused by lack of vitamins. Orange trees were planted along trade routes of mariners so access to fresh oranges was available to sailors.

The orange and its juice contains large amounts of vitamins and minerals. Oranges contain high amounts of vitamin C. They are also high in dietary fiber, folate, vitamin B1, potassium, vitamin A, and oranges are low in calories. Being sweet and tangy, high in vitamins, and having lovely white blossoms, what is not to like about the production of these great citrus trees? Recent publications have also touted the orange as containing healing phytonutrients such as citrus flavanones, which have been reported to have antioxidant qualities.

 Growing citrus trees, such as the orange, depend on several factors. Water, soil quality, and pH levels are three of the most important. Ideally, soils for orange trees should be loose, rich in organic material, and well drained; sandy loam soil is ideal. Water can filtrate through loose organic soil and reach roots at all levels. Excess water can easily drain away from these types of soil.

Orange trees are heavy water users. Water deeply every 7 to 10 days in the summer and water less often if it rains or the weather is cool. Allow the soil to dry out between water applications. Orange trees prefer a soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5. When choosing fertilizer, add compost or manure to maintain a good pH level for the sweet orange tree. When placing a tree in a landscape, where all the ground has been moved or filled, consider amending the soils before trying to grow citrus trees.

Pruning orange trees should be accomplished before the orange blossom arrives. Prune out dead or diseased branches and remove any suckers in the lower trunk area. Cut any branches crossing over the center in order to open up the center of the tree for light and air circulation. The orange tree is an asset to a property. With little effort, it offers lovely fragrant blossoms and produces a healthy fruit that is juicy and flavorful.

Apricots

Latin, apricot means "precious," a label earned because it ripens earlier than other summer fruits. A relative of the peach, the apricot is smaller and has a smooth, oval pit that falls out easily when the fruit is halved.

Apricots originally came from China. This golden fruit has been around for more than 4,000 years. Apricots progressively made their way through the Persian Empire to the Mediterranean where they were fondly adopted. Spanish explorers introduced the apricot to the New World, and they were planted in the gardens of Spanish missions all over California. The first recorded major production of apricots in America was in 1792 south of San Francisco.

Apricots Today

In the United States, 95% of apricots grow in the San Joaquin Valley and other parts of northern California. More than 400 growers produce many varieties of apricots, the most common of which are featured in the table below. Growers continually experiment with new varieties that deliver sweet flavor and ship or process well.

History of Guava

The early Spanish explorers of the 1500’s found Strawberry Guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.,’ growing as a native tree in America, where they were firmly established from Mexico southward to Peru. History records that Seminole Indians were growing guava trees in Northern Florida in 1816.

Strawberry Guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.,’ can grow into trees 25 feet tall and frequently they are planted by homeowners as a privacy hedge that is easily trimmed or grown as an untrimmed windbreak. The guava tree can be trained to single or multiple trunks by pruning and will grow into an excellent specimen plant that is covered with exotic flowers during late spring. The wood is gray in color, and the grain is very hard and dense. The leaves are small, distinctly colored flat green, making the plants easily recognized at a distance.

The guava tree or shrub is slow growing and requires the planting of two plants for cross-pollination. The tree is cold hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and is salt water tolerant. Bees and hummingbirds visit the red and yellow flowers, and the pollination visits result in a heavy fruit set.

The guava fruit is classified as a berry by most botanists, and it occurs in clusters with individual berries in sizes just under one inch. Each guava berry is covered by a rough rind and the pulp inside occurs in colors of white, pink, or red.

The guava tree grows best in partial shade in acidic soils. The plants are virtually disease free, and the fruit is usually harvested by shaking off the mature guavas when the color change occurs, then, they are collected onto sheets or tarps. The fruit will keep well in a refrigerator up to a week and can be peeled and eaten as fresh fruit, as a dessert, or in salads. If the fruit is dipped into diluted lemon juice, the color of the pulp will remain bright.

The fruit is commercially made into puddings, pies, juices, and jellies, and is a rich source of Vitamin A and C, as well as many beneficial minerals. The guava is grown commercially in Florida and California, and in many southern forests the shrub has become naturalized and mistaken as a native historical plant
“Guavaween” is a traditional central Florida event and fund raiser that is held every year to celebrate the advent of the guava corresponding to parades and festivals that are scheduled near Halloween at holidays Ybor City, Florida, an outskirt of Tampa, Florida. This “Guavaween” event is celebrated during the last of October each year.

There are many kinds of guavas; one tropical guava, ‘Psidium guajava L.,’ is an important crop in Hawaii, with fruit production exceeding 15 million pounds per year.

These guava fruits are technically considered to be berries, and the trees grow in the wild on the island of Kuawai as a native plant. Before harvesting, the plants are vigorously pruned, fertilized, and irrigated. Fresh vigorous shoots grow in response to the pruning, and the delicious fruit forms within the flowers that mature on the new wood to form guavas and require about seven months to fully develop.

Most travelers to Florida last century will remember the many tourist stops on U.S. Highway #1 and U.S. 41 that have now been transformed into interstate highways I-1 and I-75. Tourist shops such as “Stuckeys” were loaded with souvenirs such as pecan logs. One of the most memorable items displayed for sale was guava jelly, jam, paste, or any other conceivable product that involved the use of the magical fruit of the guava tree. All these little jars of jelly and other guava products were visually stunning to the eye, revealing their contents in colors of mint green, red, yellow, and blue.

Apricot Trees

Apricot trees have a long history of cultivation. Apricots seemed to have originated in China and from there they were spread throughout central Asia. From there the Romans spread them into Europe. Apricot fruit is very tasty and they are now widely grown and consumed in the United States. Apricot trees flowers are white or pink and the trees produce a stone-fruit with soft flesh. It ripens to an orange-yellow color. Apricots contain good amounts of vitamin A and kalium. It is also an excellent source of minerals like calcium, phosphorus, iron and traces of sodium, sulphur. Manganese, cobalt and bromine. Apricots do not store well and so they are eaten fresh, dried, or frozen. Apricots are a staple of the jam industry.

 Apricot tree need well drained soils for optimum health and production. The soil should be moderately fertile. It is best to thin the fruit early in the season to maximize size and quality. Thin the fruits enough so each individual fruit has about 3 to 5 inches of room. Apricot trees are quite handsome trees in the summer displaying the furrowed bark and heart shaped glossy leaves. A number of apricot-plum hybrids, such as plum-cot, Pluot, and Aprium, have been developed and are gaining popularity.

Olive Trees

The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean region and dates back to the beginning of mankind. The olive tree has played a role in human history, even mentioned in the Genesis story of Noah. The olive is an attractive evergreen tree that can grow 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide. However, it usually grows short and stubby (20' x 20'). The leaves are a grayish-green with a silvery underside that makes an interesting landscape accent. The tree is easy to grow and will tolerate many soil types, but prefers the soil to be well drained. It is cold tolerant to around 10*F. The olive fruit is green, on all varieties, and ripens to a blackish-purple color. The different varieties are harvested for different purposes, usually for oil or preparing for eating. Some varieties are harvested when green for one purpose or allowed to turn brown-black for another purpose. Olive trees have been in cultivation since 2,500 B.C. so there are hundreds of varieties.