Oceanwave, If you ever find out what variety of fig that is, let me know via email. I have the same tree. Email dgiasi@yahoo.com. Where, in Sac, are you located? I am in Placerville.

Monsoon article: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/general/monsoon/ Enough of that. By definition, the seasonal shift in wind brings moisture (humidity/higher dew points) to our area which in turn provides the opportunity for heat-of-the-day thunderstorms. OK, tropicals to grow. Click on my ID name to see what I am growing here. We may have another 1 month of banana growing weather. Either plant them immediately or wait until March when the soil warms up (although in a raised bed that will occur much sooner). http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Musaceae/Musa_acuminata.html I am growing Bananas, Avocados (4 trees), mangos, guavas, pineapples, apples, white sapote, Key Lime, Grapefruit, Tarocco Blood Orange, papaya, passionfruit vine, etc in Phoenix. They grow Keitt mangos commercially in Coachella (low desert near Indio/Palm Springs) and sell them in stores. I've eaten one and they taste great. Avocados are very tricky because they are sensitive to salt and sunburn easily on the branches until they grow up enough where the leaves shade the stems. Drainage is key and mulch is very important too. They will need sunshade the first year and eastern exposure with west-sun shade is better. I don't agree 100% with this info but it's pretty good (forget the rocks for drainage part). My trees began on a raised bed and then I broke it down so they are on a mound for better drainage. http://www.azrfg.org/avocados.pdf I grow palms including Royal Palms (take full sun), Foxtail palms, Dypsis Lutescens, dypsis baronii, ravenea glauca, etc. Good luck.

MrCaballus, how do you like eating the Emerald Beaut and the Loring? They're both great. But then, everything fresh off the tree is. I originally was scared away from peaches and pears due to the fireblight issue. (And of course, last year, what got fireblight? The Asian pears! Nothing else!) It wasn't until years later that I found out that it's more of an issue in humid areas. Fortunately I was still slowly expanding the orchard, so that's when I impulsively picked up the Loring. O. M. G. I'd forgotten how incredibly good a real peach is! After 30+ years of stuff from the store, I'd forgotten about the incredible fragrance and flavor. Added bonus is that every one of the peaches last year was probably over a pound. (Never thought to weigh one.) So I now have two peaches, and three European pears. Fantastic stuff. Wish I'd done them earlier. Oh, and: Spray your trees! We've got a borer around here that loves the cherries. I lost over half of my original 10 tree planting within two years trying to be wholly organic. The cherries were the first to go. One has survived, but if I were smart I'd put it out of it's misery and just replant.

I’m in So Cal, and my Madame Alfred Carrier doesn’t often show much pink. It sometimes shows a blush of pink upon first opening, but even in quite a bit of shade, it disappears VERY quickly. MAC’s blooms are a creamy white most of the time. I’d say the fleshy/pinkish blush is normally gone by day two, if it’s there in the first place. The blooms in the picture below are in lots of shade, since this is the very bottom of the plant. MAC has never read to me as a pink rose at all. Mine is a creamy, off-white color. The blooms in the most shade, AND those in the most sun are off white. I think MAC would be gorgeous growing up and into a tree. I hope MAC doesn’t smother your tree, since she’s so eager to grow. I’m trying to keep mine somewhat under control, size wise. She really likes to grow and bloom! MAC should do well for you. I think you should go for it! She’s certainly stolen my heart. I have a feeling she’ll steal yours, as well. Edited to add; I just found these last two pictures in a text message I had sent someone before our heatwave hit. As you know, we had cool, mild temps right up until it practically turned hot overnight. Even in the cooler weather, mine doesn’t exhibit much pink. Hope this helps:) Lisa