ca_cherry_grower: No I did not start the non-pareil almond from a seed. It's from Costco (I believe Coiner Nursery) and was a bareroot purchase. It appeared to be a branch cutting that was rooted. Unfortunately the tips on all the terminal branches on the almond seem to be dying back and I am not sure whether it will survive. It's been 3 weeks that it's been planted (7+ hours direct sun) but not sign of any buds opening. No leaves. Nothing. They only had the non-pareil at that time. I wanted to buy another almond, but since this one is having a tough time, I am not sure about getting another. Actually I am having bad experience with 5 out of 7 bareroot plants from Costco. Above stated almond may not make it. And I had bought 4 barerroot roses from them (By Jackson Perkins) and all 4 of them developed canker. 2 of them actually had fungal infections on the roots when I opened the root wraps. I just washed the roots and treated them with fungicide hoping for the best. And all of this after picking the plants up relatively early in the season from Costco, soaking the roots overnight in room temperature water, planting them per instructions and regular irrigation (not timed, but need based - am checking the soil every single time before watering). I already spoke with Jackson and Perkins on the roses and they asked me to take them back to Costco. I spoke with Costco and they said I can bring them back anytime within a year. I want to give the roses some more time and see what happens (I hate returning stuff to Costco - given their low prices and everything!). The infected branches on the roses have been pruned but it might still be a problem coz. the main stems are infected too. I am currently treating them systemically and had even sprayed them before beginning the systemic treatment. If they do show some growth, at least enough to give me a branch or two at the end of season for rooting, I might keep them - even if it will set me back by a year or 2. Two are patented, so I will need permissions from the hybridizer - which I am not sure how easy it will be. Let's see. I have a visit planned on the 6th to a nursery in Fremont, CA (Regan's Nursery). I might pick up some more roses from there and if they have the almods and lime - then I might pick those up too. I will give the current almond tree I have until then. Edlo - Thanks for the tip on pruning. I will look it up on google.

This is an extremely interesting discussion, which I came upon after reading California Melissa's comments about Hybrid Perpetuals in a thread I started and got started thinking about this topic. I want to add my comments about Mediterranean climate as I know it. Our garden is in the northern foothills of the Apennines in northern Italy. Our climate is probably pretty typical of that of a good deal of the country, a little warmer and dryer than in the Po Plain below us, chillier than on the coast. We grow temperate climate fruits, bulbs, and roses without difficulty; but Italian cypresses and pines, for example, thrive here, and olives do well in warmer areas once established. The Mediterranean climate as I know it, without achieving what most Americans would consider serious cold, offers chill hours in abundance. Most years in January and February we have week after week of temperatures in the thirties and low forties, with cold periods in the upper twenties. There have been warm winters in the twelve years I've lived in Italy, when it was possibly to go out in the garden and work comfortably for most of the winter, but I've never known the tulips to fail to bloom, or the plums, pears, and cherries to flower and fruit. A fact I like to quote to U.S. friends is that we live just south of the 45th Parallel, about the same latitude as Bangor, Maine. Many Americans don't realize how far north Europe is, including much of Italy. The climate is different here. We have a hot dry summer, but we also have a long winter and a pronounced spring and autumn, and although temperatures rarely fall much below 20F, winter is plenty chilly, in part because the days are so short and it's humid a good deal of that time. I agree with comments in this thread that the flowering of the once-blooming roses of European probably depends on a complex group of factors, and varies from variety to variety. But I do want to explain what cold is where I live, in an Italian environment of a common type. Melissa

kerrican2001(z9b CA), nonaberrie(sf bay area), sandylighthouse(7), fruithack, teajm_yahoo_com Can you tell me more about fig trees? Ive never noticed them up here in the SF Bay as much as I did in Venice/Santa Monica in LA. Which varieties do well here? Do they grow tall? Can they be pruned so that they grow tall and stay narrow? I have a small front yard that is mandated to have a tree and I just cut down our existing one and am considering putting in a fig tree on both sides of the driveway. ( I started a separate thread in this subforum for it as well)

It is green all year round. I thought perhaps I was growing it in too much shade, (though it's in full sun in winter), ==>> its a spring flush yellow ... winter sun would be irrelevant ... if you cant tell.. mine is in full blinding sun.. all day.. all year .. which is useless info for SF CA ... does joy keep missing my question about the carstens ....??? ken