charis1 If I understand you right then you have about 35 pieces of fruit hanging on a tree that is only 1 1/4" caliper. If thatÂs the case then one would assume the branches are roughly ½". To me that sounds like a lot of fruit for such a small tree. On branches of that size I would only leave 2-3 fruit on each branch not more than 18-24" out from the trunk. Leaving fruit further out on the branches could do some damage as the fruit gets heavier. My tree is a 2 1/2" caliper pruned to an Open Center form with four 1+" caliper scaffold branches. I did not count but I would be surprised if I left more than 40 peaches on the tree. It may be to late to thin for size as fruitnut suggests. Even so you may still want to thin out any fruit that are to far out on the branches to be properly supported. As far as them ripening goes; sure they will ripen.

Brandy: By dying back to the ground three years in a row, your little pomegranate trees are sending you a message. That message is: Your winter climate is too cold for this type of fruit tree. You can plant them here, there, and everywhere, but the result will probably be the same. You will have to be satisfied with shrubby regrowth every spring, and blooming will be minimal. I once had a Nana pomegrante here, but treated it as a greenhouse plant. The bright orange blossoms were delightful, but the plant eventually pooped out. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Ray, according to what I have read, pomegranates have a hard time setting fruit in very humid climates like south Florida. Too much fertilizer can actually lead to fruit drop so I think you are OK there. Some varieties do much better in humid climates. The Just Fruits and Exotics nursery in the panhandle sells several such varieties. One other potential reason is several of the dwarf pomegranates are ornamental only, they never set fruit. Now that I think about it, that is probably a more likely reason. Scott

Hi Everyone. I live in SWFL and and after living here for 22 yrs. have decided that I should be producing a lot of my own fruit and veggies. I grew an avacado tree from seed (it's still a baby) and a friend told me that it won't bear fruit unless it's planted near an avacado of the opposite sex where it can polinate or it needs to be grafted? I know nothing about this and could use any advice on what to do. TIA