Okay, orange for juicing - the classic Valencia is our "juicing" orange. But, if you'd like a very delicious alternative, try the Page mandarin hybrid. Think of it as a "Minneola hybrid". It is 3/4 mandarin and 1/4 grapefruit, and it is out of this world good, especially for juicing. My favorite fruit for juicing. Or, if you're adventurous, try a blood orange, like a Moro, or the best tasting of of the blood oranges, a Tarocco (either a "Bream" or if you can find it, the best tasting of all the Tarocco's, the "Thermal"). And orange for eating out of hand would be any of the great navel varieties. You certainly can juice them, but drink the juice right away, as their juice contains a higher amount of a chemical, when exposed to air creates a second chemical that will make the juice become a little bitter. But, best eating out of hand type of orange. The classic of course is our wonderful Washington Navel. A great couple of alternatives would be the beautiful Cara Cara navel (a sport of the Washington), which is a bit sweeter, and has pretty pink flesh (lycopene), or the classic Minneola tangelo. I love my Cara Cara. Satsumas tend to grow in a more weeping fashion (very beautiful specimen trees for your yard, so maybe? a spot in your front yard to show it off), so, instead of a Satsuma (which really is not the best tasting mandarin, imho), I would suggest a Tango mandarin. More upright, and one of the very best tasting mandarins out there. Another excellent option, and the very BEST of all the mandarins (again, imho), is the Seedless Kishu. If you have small kiddos, this is the perfect mandarin for them - pint-sized, completely seedless, very zipper skin, melts in your mouth with a rich, complex, sweet flavor. Grapefruits. The best 100% grapefruit variety for us in the more coastal areas of S. California will be the Rio Red. Very pretty red flesh (lycopene, again). If you would prefer a little sweeter tasting grapefruit, I would definitely go with the Oro Blanco grapefruit hybrid (pummelo x grapefruit), or it's "sister", the Melogold (which I think is a wee bit better, sweeter, thinner skinned). And, if you really want a sweet grapefruit, the Cocktail grapefruit, which is not even a grapefruit, although marketed as such, but a pummelo x mandarin cross, and my favorite of all the "grapefruits". I believe Clausen's has all the varieties I've mentioned. But, that's a HOOF from Culver City, let me tell you. There are some great options up in your area for good nurseries: Armstrong Nurseries, and they can even special order for you. Also Burkard Nurseries in Pasadena: http://www.burkardnurseries.com/plant-lists/citrus-trees , And, Sperling Nursery in Calabasas an N. Hollywood (think they still have their N. Hollywood location): http://sperlingnursery.com/ Another option if you're in the Bakersfield area is buying directly from Willits & Newcomb. They are one of the best commercial tree growers (along with Clausen's), and they also should have all the varieties just about, that I've mentioned. Hopefully our Los Angeles area forum members can also offer up some suggestions. These options will be more expensive than either Clausen's or W&N (as they're getting their trees from folks like Clausen's or W&N), so bit of a trade off - price vs travel :-) Lastly, I would still recommend going with semi-dwarfing rootstocks. Either Troyer/Carrizo, or even C35. Your tree will top out at about 15' - still way too tall for me - but you'll be able to manage your trees much, much better than trying to get a tree that wants to be 20 or 30' down to 15'. Citrus are tip fruiting trees, so you have to be careful in how to prune them, or you can end up pruning away future fruit. You would need to be very good a drop-crotch pruning, and most folks aren't :-) Stick with semi-dwarf rootstock and you will only need to prune out dead wood every 3 to 5 years from the interior of the tree, as citrus have lovely growth habits, and semi-dwarf trees should give you the perfect height tree for your particular application. Most of the trees at the UCR Citrus Variety Collection are on semi-dwarfing rootstock, and they are huge. Patty S.

Here at SoCal costal location I have been unable to get your Delicious to set a single fruit. In comparison Sophie's Choice was early and very prolific. I thought Stupice was the cat's meow until I tried Sophie's Choice. Per tomatofest.com: "An heirloom from Edmonton, Canada and introduced by Carolyn Male in 1997. Considered to be the "best choice" for an extra early tomato. This is the earliest variety to ripen for me. Strong disease resistant short determinate (24") produces an abundance of 8 to 10 oz. globes. fruit is a red-orange outside and deep red inside. Best production in cooler climates."

Hi Had one many years ago . Came with the house . Gets my vote as the" world worst landscape plant" Was planted under power lines so had to be pruned reacted by "pupping "lol When it lifted the shadehouse I had it removed still have a two foot hole lol Could be a spectacular plant in the right place with enough room and maybe some wind protection they always look so tattered . never figured out how to prune it lol gary

Thank you all so much ... Bossy ... Gardening truly does keep you young!! Especially when Bud still wants to climb in his trees to take cuttings!! We all have to watch him so he doesn't try and use those ladders!! He really is a kind man!! His smile says it all and his hugs make you feel so warm and protected!! Thank you Roxanne!! I'm sitting here thinking of being in Southern California but I am back to reality overnighting in Michigan!! What a eye opener going from Southern California to Detroit! Ha!! Oh well... at least it's not snowing here!! We had a awesome time and I can't tell you how much fun we all had !! We visited a couple of nurseries and some home tours... which reminds me of the first time I met you!! Sigh... I'd love to see you again next time I head out your way!! Jean and I had a blast and she always speaks so highly of you!! <3 Chris... Lobe your California Sally.... or as Emerson likes to say.. " Bud's Sally!!!" It seems that both names are used quite often! Congratulatuons on your inflo .. please post when it opens up for you!! Bud loves those huge blooms.. Lololol!! Thank you k!! Thank you as well Tuna!! He was very happy with all of his friends in town for his birthday!! Kawagoe... Mahalo!! Laura Here are a few more pictures that I took at Bud's house... He also loves Epi's and Staghorns!!