If You Could Live in Zone 9-10, What Would You Grow?
butterfly15_ca
18 years ago
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18 years agonorthtexasgirl
18 years agoRelated Discussions
What are you growing in your zone that they say you can't?
Comments (6)I have a small list, it was a lot longer until Mother Nature did enough "thinning" in the orchard. I am in USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 15/16. I have a long growing season but not enough heat units due to the proximity to an ocean whose coastal waters remains stubbornly below 60F. The ocean moderates temps so that most of the time we are freeze free but we get the occasional freeze. We are mild yet chilly, with anywhere from 600 hours of chill on an unusually warm year to as much as 1200 hours on those unusually cold years. I push the hardiness envelope with cherimoya, ice cream bean, tree tomatoes, lucumas, passion fruit and mountain papayas. These are all so called "Lost Crops of the Incas", they do well here except when we get temperatures that dip below freezing. Most of these trees are growing next to the house under the eaves or under big evergreen coastal oaks that provide overhead protection. I push both the hardiness and the lack of heat envelope with bananas and tropical guavas. I've only managed to get bananas to fruit here once, but the tropical guavas produce every year, they seem a bit more reliable. Most things that require chill seem happy here, including pretty much all cherries. Out of the 450 or so varieties of apples I grow, I have three varieties that aren't happy due to lack of chiil, they are French cider apples: "Bedans des pars", "Noel des Champs" and "Reinette D'armorique". I'm pretty stubborn, so I will re-graft these onto trees that are fully shaded for the Winter months, which significantly increases the chill accumulation. The bottom line is that there are lots of things one can do to push the envelope. The right spot on the south side of the house can give a full zone addition. THe right spot on the north side of the house can do the opposite and simulate a colder zone. In our transition climate, such things make a really big difference. My southwest facing patio can often reach the 70's on a sunny Winter day when the rest of the garden is barely peaking above 55F. Areas in full sun might top around 600 hours of chill when the fully shaded areas get up to 1200 hours. Lack of Summer heat can be overcome with an inexpensive impermanent plastic tunnel. In Northern zones that could make the difference in ripening figs for example. Things that have failed here and that I won't be attempting anymore include a plethora of tropical fruits like mangos, starfruit, longans and lychees, all of which don't even put on growth in our cool Summers even though they don't freeze here in the Winter. (I have a jackfruit in the ground that has suived 10 years without ever freezing but it put on a total of three leaves in that time.) A number of table grapes don't get enough heat to ripen well here, such as "Muscat of Alexandria". The bottom line is that it's possible to push the envelope with the right location in the garden, but it's also helpful to know one's limitations, because some things aren't worth the frustration and trouble required to get fruit. Of course, one can always get a heated greenhouse....See MoreIf you could grow any Brug as a tree, which would you pick?
Comments (1)I got some really nice ones from someone on ebay, Sommergardens was the seller. There are a lot of hybrids you don't see in the nurseries. I mean, double and triple flowers. I'm really pleased with his service, and with the plants he sent me. They can take the heat - our temps go up to about 100 or more every summer and they don't skipe a beat. It's the winter cold that will freeze them to the ground, at least in an area that has a mild winter. That first one is really something! They don't get that large in areas with a winter cold enough to freeze them back....See MoreWhat tree would you love to grow but your zone temps dont allow it?
Comments (23)Avocado, lemon and lime. I use more of these types of produce than I would of any other type of fruiting tree and it would be wonderful to go out into the backyard and pick fresh, ripe fruit! aquilachrysaetos, it sounds like you should consider moving to the PNW :-) And before you say anything, it would take a lot more than the availability of avocados and citrus to get me to move to SoCal!!...See MoreIf you could grow only 10 ?
Comments (28)My suggestions are varieties that I've noted are good producers and will provide lots of variety in terms of flavor and color: Cherry 1. Sun Sugar Hybrid (Orange) - mouth wateringly sweet, productive, crack resistant 2. Gardener's Delight (Red) - large 2 - 3oz crisp cherry tomatoes, great for salads 3. Black Cherry (Black) - incredibly prolific with good large cherries that have great shelf life Beefsteak 4. Indian Stripe (Black) - Great +8oz beefsteak that rivals Cherokee Purple but ripens earlier and is much more productive 5. Cowlick's Brandywine (Pink) - Huge creamy tomatoes that just keep coming and coming 6. Gold Medal (Bi-color) - consistent producer of delicious citrus-y flavored bicolor Garden Slicer 7. Celebrity Hybrid (Red) - very prolific variety that produces 5-8oz tomatoes with impressive disease resistance 8. Manyel (Yellow) - strong producer of creamy tasting luscious yellow tomatoes 9. Chef's Choice Orange Hybrid (Orange) - America's Selection winner of an tomato plant that produces tons of orange tomatoes Paste/Sauce 10. Earl's Faux (Red) - very meaty tomato that wins many flavor awards and does not suffer from BER...See Morekayjones
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6 years agostanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoFlorida_Joe's_Z10a
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