I am glad your tree has blossomed. I grew up near Moorpark, CA where the former Williams Ranch hosted acres and acres of Moorpark Apricot trees. That is long since gone and now filled with thousands of homes ironically called "Peach Hill" (I never could figure that out). When I was 5 years old I went to the Williams Ranch with my family to pick apricots. They were so juicy, big and sweet. I liked them so much my Mom let me plant a seed in the back yard planter (loaded with planter mix). No special preparation! About a year later it was about a foot tall. My Dad transplanted it and staked it up. We made a big berm and filled it up with water and then let a soaker hose sit there overnight on slow drip. It took 5 years for the tree to bear fruit but it was WORTH the wait. It didn't produce every year but rather about every other year. There were no other trees around it. I am sure that had something to do with it's pollination. We had that tree from 1961 to 1978 until they widened the city road and a fire engine sideswiped it!!! DONE! The damage was too traumatic and it was chopped down. We are left with many years of good memories and great fruit. The tree was a fantastic shade tree and beautiful piece of natures work. We had many family events around that old tree. I am now 55 years old and going to start growing a couple of apricot trees for future generations. Thanks for the great posts and memories!

ATTACK of the red spider mites except yours look HUGE!!. that tree is infested with them. if its warm enough outside you need to blast that tree with water on all sides of the leaves and trunk. if its too cold I guess you could do the same in the shower. you could also use an insecticidal soap if you cant take it outside. Once you get the pest under control continue to water when the soil almost dry and fertilize lightly once a month or so until spring.

It's okay to have grass or other plants growing beneath your fruit trees. For the home gardener, that won't affect your crop enough to matter (it's different for farmers, who need maximum production). I've grown fruit trees in our lawn in Southern California, Wisconsin, and Indiana. For grouping the trees, I think it looks more pleasing to group deciduous trees with other deciduous trees, and citrus with other citrus. I like having citrus planted along the route we take from the car to the house, because that way we can enjoy their fragrance as we come and go. One way to plant deciduous fruit trees in a more natural arrangement is to plant similar trees in groups of three, here and there in your yard. (I'm not talking about the three-in-one-hole method; you'll still space them out some). For instance, you might have three apple trees in one area, three peaches in another, and so on. That also helps with fertilization if you're growing apples or plums or other trees that are not self-fertile. When you plant the groups, don't put them in rigid triangles; if you stagger them a little, they look more natural. You might want to have one or two pairs of trees, too, to help with the natural look. Blueberries make a very pretty hedge, so you might want to plant those along the front or side of your property. Blackberries can be very unruly. I would put those where they're not particularly visible. Raspberries make quite a nice hedge. In Wisconsin, we planted the everbearing raspberries, because you can just mow them down once a year --very easy care! We had them as a border between our lawn and flower garden (they will spread, though, so we kept a strip of lawn on each side of them and mowed it regularly to keep them in check). Cherries will definitely need bird netting. It's good you're using dwarf trees! I'm not sure about blueberries. You live near my favorite nursery, Annie's Annuals and Perennials in Richmond. She carries a grape called Emeryville Pink that will succeed in your area. It's listed in her online catalog under Vitis Emeryville Pink. It's not available all the time, though, so you might want to call them and ask when they'll have it next. I hope this helps. Good luck with your garden! I'm sure it will be beautiful and fruitful. Jennifer Here is a link that might be useful: Emeryville Pink Grape

Thank you so much for your inputs. I did not cut off the entire branch, but I got rid of a few smaller ones arising from it. For the others that are curling back in towards the body, I am going to roll soft steel wire around the joints and point them outwards (kind of what you do with bonsais). Would you guys be willing to take a look at my other thread? It has more pictures: http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3066108/worried-about-my-citrus