I'm not exactly sure why these Smart Pots appeal to me, but I am a rookie just getting started, and have a twist on the questions posed above. I have a fully hardscaped front yard, 3-4" of pea gravel over landscape fabric over the native soil that used to be a grass lawn. I am looking to grow fruit trees in Smart Pots, placed on top of the gravel, and utilizing a drip irrigation system as much as possible. I will basically be following Dave Wilson Nursery's suggestions for Southern California for low chill varieties of peach, nectarine, plum, pluot, citrus, almond plus some blueberries, pomegranates, and passionfruit. If I buy 2-3 year bareroot dwarf trees, and have 20 and 30 gallon Smart Pots, what is the best growing medium to start with, Al's 5-1-1 or Gritty or something peaty? Also, would it be best to leave the Smart Pots on top of the gravel, or to dig the gravel away and have the pots directly on the landscape fabric, or even go as far as to cut thru the fabric and place the pots directly on the soil? Once I get the growing medium sorted, I will have more questions on watering and fertilizing, but I am trying to read more topics about those first.

Please read this in a good natured tone of voice. I am not being snarky. To someone whose idea of gardening is to buy a condo and let the landscaping crew mow the lawns, a fruit tree would look complicated. Growing organic fruit can be a challenge. I gave up and I spray. The upside to that is I actually get to eat fruit. When I grow fruit trees, I am producing food for my family and I literally spend less time working on the trees than it takes me to drive to the market and buy tasteless, under-ripe, expensive fruit from the produce department. Thanks to the internet and especially thanks to this forum, all the information about how to grow fruit trees is readily available. Seriously, it is simply paint-by-the-numbers to get started. Follow simple instructions. Get a couple of easy trees to begin and then you can get fancier as you learn. I'm still not ready to espalier. My veggie garden is a lot more work. I only have to dig one time to plant the tree. Did I mention that tomato horn worms are close to being the grossest thing on the planet? I'm going to agree that berries can be easy, as long as you like feeding the birds. Pruning brambles can be intimidating. They fight back. I find grapes to be easy, but I know that they take a lot of spraying in climates different than mine. The simple truth is that some people like to garden and some don't. For those who don't, that's why they build condos.

Well, for citrus, you can see if you can find some of the "Cutie" varieties that are marketed throughout the year. The two main varieties are the Clementine Mandarin and W. Murcott Mandarin. I have both an Algerian Clementine and a Nules Clementine, both of which are very good. I would suggest instead of W. Murcott, to try to find either a Gold Nugget, Yosemite Gold or the irradiated and thus seedless version of the W. Murcott, the Tango. And, if that's not enough options for you, by far and above, the best tasting mandarin I've ever had is the Seedless Kishu. It is small, but completely seedless and it is the best tasting mandarin I've ever had. And I grow many varieties of mandarins (15). Some of these mandarin varieties may be hard to come by in Florida, as several are products of the UC Riverside Citrus program, and the budwood has not made it to Florida, yet. But, several have, so do check around. Lemons. Well, depends what you're looking for in a lemon. Can't go wrong with a Eureka. It is your classic lemon. I would see if you can find a Santa Teresa (St. Teresa), which is a very nice Italian classic lemon. And, I would suggest adding an Improved Meyer lemon, which has some orange in its genetic makeup, and is a little less acidic than classic lemons. I happen to love them, and think they make the absolute best lemonade ever. I also make Limoncello from them, which does pack a kick when you make it with Everclear 150 proof (batch is finishing up right now, in fact!) They're a wonderful lemon and worth a spot in anyone's citrus garden. Citrus do not need cross pollinators, they actually can produce fruit without pollination. So no worries there. Get your citrus on either fulling dwarfing rootstock (Cuban Shaddock or Trifoliate 'Flying Dragon'), or a semi-dwarfing rootstock (there are several options, not sure what's best for your soils, but you can check with your local citrus growers). All citrus are available as semi-dwarf trees and many are available on fully dwarfing rootstocks. Several mail order nurseries in Florida will ship either semi-dwarf or dwarf trees if you can't find them locally. Apples. I am in a close zone to you. I grow many low chill varieties that should do well in your area. Anna is a monster and will usually produce two crops for me. It does not need a cross pollinator. If you have one, you may get more apples, and they'll be fatter. Dorsett Golden is the cross pollinator, and it is one of the best low chill early apples out there. I love mine. I use it for everything, including eating out of hand. Another excellent choice for later apples are Pink Lady (another consistent flavor test winner) and Fuji/Red Fuji (cross pollinators for each other and most folks know how delicious a Fuji is. Off your own tree, a hundred times better tasting). I would think these 4 varieties would do well in your area, and that would give you 2 early and 2 late apples, which is great for extending your apple harvest. Get them on dwarfing rootstocks and you can keep them in check, along with an easy pruning program. You will most likely need to spray for certain diseases and pests, so be sure to find out how to manage your apples for your area. University of Florida Extension program and your Master Gardeners can guide you there. Patty S.

There is a bit of variation in hardiness zones in central Florida, so, depending upon your exact location, frost is going to be an issue. I grow several varieties of citrus and mango in the Panhandle, but they can be EXTREMELY labor-intensive in the winter. I nearly lost the graft on my Mallika mango last winter, and sustained heavy trunk damage which will require watching. Don't bother with seed-grown fruit trees. You'll have to wait much too long to possibly see the "fruits" of your labor, not to mention the fact that you will be disappointed in the quality. The biggest bang-for-the-buck for you would be ice cream bananas. They are the best-tasting, most reliable fruiters in cooler climates. They grow quickly, get quite large, and form dense mats that are quite attractive. They tend to bloom late-spring/early summer, which means in areas with shorter growing seasons you can get edible fruit before December. -Bruce