Welp, decision was made for me, more or less. The big box stores have their fruit trees in. My cherry trees could seriously use some grafting to help fill them out (as well as help with pollination). While I was looking through the trees I found one with a very character filled graft union that would look great as a bonsai. So, I'll be chopping the top part of the new tree apart for scion wood, and turning the bottom half into a bonsai.

Base your decision about whether to leave the fruit, which is actually the inflorescence (flower) of the plant, on the current vitality of the plant and how badly you want to look at them. Fruits are strong energy sinks and the tree WILL direct energy to the fruit that would otherwise be utilized to push a larger flush of new foliage when the tree begins growing in earnest. IOW, leaving the fruit on has a price, which is paid in energy outlay. If you think the plant strong, leave them on. If you think it is struggling, removing them is best. Whether or not they attract insects depends on whether the insects are in your home or can make their way to the plant, for one thing. The other deciding factor is whether the fruits present something edible or a convenient spot to lay eggs. It's unlikely the skin of the fruit will rupture and expose anything decaying, which probably would attract insects. They are more likely to wither/die on the plant & then drop off, as noted. Advice about when to fertilize is difficult to give on a forum. I can tell you it depends on the level of salts currently in the soil, but that isn't very meaningful. The best strategy is to grow in a soil with sufficient aeration to ALLOW you to water profusely at regular intervals (at every watering is best) without risking root rot and fertilize often with a weak solution. This keeps the level of (fertilizer) salts very low, but still high enough so deficiencies do not develop, which is ideal. Al

I'm not sure what sort of research you turned up on the winterberry, but it is not anything I'd grow for edible purposes. As noted above, holly berries, Ilex species, contain toxic alkaloids that, while not likely to produce any serious or potentially fatal outcomes, can certainly result in significant gastrointestinal distress. The only notably edible portion of the plant is the leaves, which can be used for a tea. There are only a few of those included on your original list that I would consider good for eating out of hand - the walnut, hazelnut, aronia, malus and amelanchier excepted. The rest require some sort of processing due to the fruit being unpalatable if eaten fresh or because the size and quality of the actual edible portion of the plant is so small on the individual fruit as to make it impractical for fresh eating.

So, I just bought a 4x8 stand with a commercial grow light. We are selling our house, which means that the garden outdoors is going bye-bye, so indoor gardening is the only option right now. Anyways, this thing is huge and the only place I can keep it is in the garage. While the garage is generally a neutral temperature, in zone 9b the garage can get quite hot sometimes (sometimes 85-90+ degrees). This is perfect for tropical fruits, which I have been growing for awhile now, but what about traditional garden fruits and veggies? I only have 32 sq. ft. of space not including floor space, and would like to pick crops/varieties that: - require as little space as possible - do well in containers - can tolerate heat - can tolerate humidity - can be hand-pollinated or are self fertile - produce high yields - produce as quickly as possible, or have a very short time to harvest - enjoy full sun and could grow alongside tropical fruits - are preferably a bush type or do not require a trellis Currently growing ginger, figs, papayas, dragon fruit, citrus, carambola (star fruit), acerola, and a variety of other funky things. I'm new to indoor gardening with standard vegetables though. The stand is designed for hydroponics, but I'm using soil. The plants have a fan for air circulation, and also have a humidifier. Will strawberries do well, or will they not like the heat/humidity I need to provide for my tropicals? Can some cool-weather crops be grown like root veggies or salad greens? Mainly I'm curious about: - artichokes - arugula - beets - cantaloupe - corn - cucumbers - eggplant - garlic - lettuce - mushrooms (not psychedelic ones) - okra - potatoes - radishes - raspberries - strawberries - summer squash/zucchini - sweet potatoes - tomatoes (beefsteak) - tomatoes (cherry) - watermelon Any personal experience on growing these indoors would be very helpful. Does anyone have any knowledge on growing these crops in a "tropical" environment indoors? Varieties, container size, and chances of growing in these conditions would be great to know! Thanks, Maddie