i can grab some Monday when I head out there. Pink Zlemon Meyer Lemon and Eureka lemon got beat up by leaf miners pretty bad same with my Persian lime and ponkan tangerine. Everyone else oranges, pummelo, grapefruit, tangelo, and the other tangerine varieties have really taken off. I have a photo of my Meyer lemon as it looks like it might have canker. I really hope not

I've just planted my orchard 2.5 years ago, but so far I am having the best success with: Cortland apple / B.9 dwarfing rootstock Honeycrisp apple / unknown semi-dwarfing rootstock Black Gold sweet cherry / Gisela 5 dwarfing Willamette raspberry I haven't had any real disease problems with any of these (yet), and I don't spray, although I did bag each of my apples this year. My baby Cortland tree (it is only 6 feet tall) is most precocious and flowered each year, this year producing its first 3 apples. I got many many pounds of raspberries, with basically zero care or watering required, so I am very happy with the Willamette variety. No fruit on the other trees yet but tons of fruit buds for 2013, with the trees growing very well and filling out nicely. The apples I got from Cummins and Lowes, the dwarf cherry from Raintree. I have not had very good success with: Sweet 16 apple / G.16 dwarfing Chester blackberry The Sweet 16 is not vigorous to begin with, and has certainly not recovered well after my puppy unfortunately attacked it in 2010. The Chester blackberry (I have just one plant) produces only one new primocane each year, for a grand total of like a dozen berries for the whole season. Boo. So of course I'm still wanting more blackberries, and I will try some other variety. So.... Based on tons of research, I have recently purchased the following berries for planting in spring 2013. These are some of the hardiest varieties I could find that seem suitable for testing for at least a couple years in my 5a climate: Illini Hardy blackberry Triple Crown blackberry Hinnomaki Red gooseberry Also based on much research but no personal experience yet, if I were to get more fruit trees at some point in the future, I'd be interested in: Montmorency tart cherry Reliance peach Peaches would have to be pruned and thinned 4 or 5 times a year to keep their size manageable. And from what I understand, Montmorency tends to be a smaller tree all on its own. Why do I like dwarfs / small trees so much? Well, because I don't want to wait 5-10 years before getting fruit! Two to three years is a long enough wait. And I don't need huge trees. Small bushy trees where the fruit is easy to pick is perfect for me and my family. Of course, tree size is an individual decision. If I had a lot of land and a lot of time, I would plant some standards for their beauty in addition to the fruit. But for a small yard, standard size trees are not practical IMHO. Self-pollinating varieties can also be important if you only want one tree of a certain species. Stone fruits and berries have lots of options. Apples and pears, not so much. Pawpaws would need two varieties, I believe. Keep it in mind. Hope my experience helps provide a few ideas.

I already wanted to attend this from the post in gulf coast forum, but how can anybody not want to meet a guy brave and friendly enough to holler "Free BBQ" in the AL forum? All the way over to Panama City should be part of AL anyway, but this probably isn't the place to start such a mini-rant. "Want to attend" is a done deal for me, am trying to attend, that's as much as I can commit at this point at my end. Nothing against the swap in N AL, which I'd like to attend just as much, just a lot farther away from me in an area much less familiar.

This question has been asked before - my mom lives in Treasure Island, on the waterfront & has a pomegranate shrub that my dad planted over 20 years ago - it seems to do fine w/ little extra care, & if it were properly cultivated, I imagine it doing great. She gets @ least 6-8 large fruits every year from the remaining plant (there were originally 2). Sorry but I've no idea what variety; flowers are the classic red/orange & fruits get very large & are pretty sweet. I believe he got them from Park Seed, if that's any help. Somebody else nearby is growing pomegranate as well. Here is a link that might be useful: Punica granatum