Blackberries are producing every day for the last 2 weeks. and still going strong. The blueberries have slowed to 2 fruits.. but then, i have only one producing the other is just planted.. The strawberries did ok this year. I did not get too many fruits this year. the figs are still green.. I am waiting to them to ripen.. the sour cherries.. The birds and the deer get them before i can get to them. the apple , peach and pear and plum are resting in eternity...:-(. the raspberries I just got from Ralph at the swap.. I got 4 berries from them... I am assuming it will grow bigger and produce more.. Ralph, could you tell me which cultivar it this one.? I am planning on getting a thornless one too. Still trying to decide which one.. I bought the box store ones.. Bad idea.. nothing grew even after a year. Tammy, Lisianthus, you mentioned a great place to me for buying fruit trees for less. Could you message me with the contact... address / ph # or email ..." please Thanks in advance

Camps. I didn't realize Glenburn was not talking about the States, my mistake. Got confused by the phrase 'imported from Europe' but I should have known better... lol I live in an ex-rural, ex-seaside summer vacation place that is now mostly part of the sprawling Athens suburbia, about 40 km east from the center of Athens, by the sea. Yes, I do grow citrus trees as a hobby, I got about 30 of them in my garden, various kinds and varieties and I also grow some in pots (mainly until I can bud them to some suitable rootstock). Citrus are grown commercially in Southern Greece at low altitudes relatively close to the sea. Northern Greece, mainly stone fruit country as you noticed, is already too cold for them as are places in higher altitudes and places too far inland. Citrus and England don't mix well, I know, unless one wants to grow just rootstocks like trifoliate orange and its F1 hybrids which produce inedible fruit, just for decorative purposes. Even under cold glass growing citrus in England should be very iffy, I think. Nik PS. How on earth can one get stuck in Polykastro, a small rural town north of Salonica on the road to Bulgaria? What on earth had you been doing there? That place is really hot and humid in the summer and can be bitterly cold in the winter. Pic of Polykastro in the middle of nowhere.. http://www.kilkis24.gr/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/polykastro1.jpg Here is a link that might be useful: An Engish citrus lover's interesting site This post was edited by nikthegreek on Wed, Feb 5, 14 at 8:19

It makes a big difference whether you are thinking in terms of a typical yard in the city as opposed to a restoration/maintenance of an undeveloped natural landscape. I am against planting imported species that are well known offenders anywhere. Right now I'm looking into Russian Sage, for example, since that came up recently and I hadn't thought about it in regard of invasiveness in the long term. I'm disinterested or bored with sterile hybrids or exotics that are produced and marketed as bedding plants based flower size, form etc but don't believe they are a threat except in the fact that people seem to prefer these sissy plants-- the result being more and more are being added at the expense of regional natives which I would rather see more of. The result is boring, unimaginative and extremely artificial -- each part of the country looks much the same as the next in so far as gardens are concerned. It is as if they all sprang out of a Home Depot, Lowe's or Walmart which I find creepy and more than a bit ridiculous. Knockout roses come to mind. On the other hand, some named native plants have also entered the trade providing a 'this plant is acceptable as an appropriate garden choice' nudge encouraging people to plant natives so I am, currently at least, thinking of this as a good thing. Reduced size, leaf color or other attributes seen in some named 'improved' varieties of switchgrass, bluestem, native shrubs etc are examples. Some of these plants in their natural state would overwhelm an average yard, two good examples are switchgrass and lantana. On the other hand, it would be too expensive to attempt a restoration project of any size with such plants so again its a matter of choice when planting an attractive yard in the city as opposed to restoration/maintenance of a large scale acreage where seeding with native species would be desirable. A city yard is an individual thing and should look interesting, compliment the home and be at its visual best as far as plant selections are concerned but it is by definition an artificial situation and can never be otherwise so I take that into account. Does it have to be native? No, but if you are claiming to have a native pocket prairie or a native landscape I think it should be predominantly native, say at least 95%? Invasive is often used in the wrong way but the term can sometimes be used appropriately when referring to a native species. Its usually a matter of a serious imbalance such as what has been called the 'green glacier' of cedar trees taking over the prairies or deer populations left unchecked.

I have 'Vincent' fuzzy kiwis that have done very well up until this past winter and the winter before. No matter how well I protect it the main stems get split when we get really cold. 'Vincent' is supposed to be one of the most cold hardy forms. The fruit is smaller than grocery store fruit and a bit more yellow in the flesh but it tastes the same and you get a ton of fruit in the fall. The main problem with them is that you have to store the fruit for months in cool temps with high humidity in order to finish ripening them. They are too hard and too sour otherwise. But you do end up getting to eat "fresh" kiwis at the end of winter and into the spring. I just finished the last of last falls crop. I have Annas and Ken's Red hardy kiwis also. Annas has done very well. You have to really watch the fruit and harvest immediately when they just start to ripen otherwise the wildlife gets them all in one night. I have pawpaws that fruit well. They're not named varieties but are the cross bred children of named varieties. Easy to keep happy in damp shade but all the fruit is ripe around the same time and you will get sick of them after the first week. They taste best fresh or frozen. Cooking them ruins the flavor. I am making more room for figs and I already have like ten bushes. Too easy to grow and easy to dehydrate and easy to snack on all year. They are easier to manage if you prune them to stay small. I have wild hazelnuts/filberts in the woods beside my house but there are only a few plants and they are never covered with nuts. I have a variety of muscadines, some came with the house and are ancient, some are the newer varieties. If I can get my hands on the new seedless one I will have to murder one of my vines to make room for it. I love them but get a headache if I eat too many - just too much sugar. I grow table grapes but they are really iffy in this area. So far 'Fredonia' has stayed alive but it is starting to show signs of disease. I'm trying 'Victoria Red' and another disease resistant new variety, it will be a few years to see if they will live long enough to fruit. I've got an 85 foot row of blueberries. I just mix them up and hope for the best. It can take hours each evening to pick all the berries. I never run out of frozen blueberries though. I have pineapple guavas, some I grew from seed - they are huge but seem to require hand pollinating in order to get fruit. One bush that I bought is in another part of the yard and I get plenty of fruit from it. The fruit taste richer if you let it ripen and fall onto the ground. They make a great tropical tasting jam or fruit leather. I have an assortment of haws or hawthornes. None of them are very big and so far no berries. They're not in my way so they are safe for now. I have one Medlar - cute tiny tree with cool looking fruit but the flavor is boring. Don't believe everything you read about them. I have Cornus mas - all from Edible Landscaping up in VA. they fruit. I make jelly. it isn't super special, but they do fine in the shade and few other trees will. On NCSU campus they have some that have huge berries - the flavor is so so. I also have a big greenhouse where I grow a ton of tropical fruit trees - ya gotta keep growing even in the winter!!