Wow! 100+ fig trees! What do you do with all that fruits? Do you preserve them? My 2 fig trees give us enough for summer snacking. I find blueberries are very easy to grow despite of all that fear of not making it unless you have to do something to make soil more acidic. I just bought bigger size plants and planted and mulched with some pine nidles and it's doing great and ate the fruit from it the very first year. Good luck with your blueberries.

What part of Houston are you in? I have an Okitsu Satuma Orange tree, a Moro Blood Orange Tree, a pineapple guava bush (i need another one for a pollenizer though), and a loquat tree. None of them had any trouble with the ice and freeze in January (the citrus were covered for protection).

Last week I put out tomatoes and squash (summer squash grows really well here in late spring).

I am running out of room but would like to add another pineapple guava, persimmon, limequat, pomegranate, and fig. What nurseries do you shop in Houston?

Is your strawberry guava in a pot?

bjs496, what pomegranate is the best for Houston. I have heard "Cloud"...do you know anything about that?

Hi john bonzo, I think pinapple guava is self firtil that's what I heard and read from my research. Mine is only 3 years old and had one bloom last year. seems we are all running out of room but with careful planning you can still grow fruiting plants that will provide fruit in every season. Have you tried JRN nursery in houston? They have many selections and choices then other places I've tried. I think pomegranate is very easy to grow and "cloud" is a good choice. My grandmother had a pomergranate and I remember loving the sweet and sour juicy part but many tough seeds I wasn't very fond of. My strawberry guava is in the ground it's about 5' tall and of bearing size. I never had this fruit but I'm looking forward to getting first harvest this summer.

Wow - I just went and read about JRN Nursery and it sounds like a great place. I will have to visit one of these upcoming weekends. I go to Houston Plant & Garden World a lot, and they have an excellent selection of peaches, apples, pears, figs, etc. Their citrus is very disappointing, so far at least. Are the prices reasonable at JRN?

I would say it is pretty reasonable. I bought 5-6 ft jujube tree for $39, and nurseries on the internet will charge you over $100. And most of their fruit trees are not seedlings, lot of them bear the first season. to me it is better to pay little more and get the bigger size trees for they will be hardier to weather elements and you don't have to wait years to see the fruit.

I am not much for preserving/canning/etc. I prefer fresh fruit. I travel a bit so the birds have been getting most of my fruit. I'll eventually net the trees.

I haven't done nearly as much research into pomegranates as I have figs. I haven't seen anything to indicate one variety does better in the Houston area than another. It is probably a bit more humid than the pomegranate like, but the trees in the surrounding neighborhoods seem to do well enough... but then again, I'll probably know more in a few years.

~james

I'm in Clear Lake and I caught the gardening bug last August. I'm in the middle of completely redoing my backyard. I took out nearly all the trash trees, overgrown hedges, and leggy oleander and put in lots of edibles. I've gotten almost 2 dozen different berry brambles (black, blue and rasp), 5 muscadines, a barbados cherry, cherry of the rio grande, asian pear, persimmon, meiwa kumquat, kashmir pomegranate, red silk pomegranate, grapefruit, sanguilli orange, 2 mandarins, a banana fig, and an opal avocado.
I also made a 20+' herb garden. and a 10x30 veggie garden which are both still empty. I haven't had the free time to work on as much of this as I would have hoped since I work full time but I am still doing what I can.

Scottamuss, Good for you! I respect all gardeners especialy food growers they are the people using their yard as resorce to make life more fufilling and rewarding. Some spend 100s of dollars to just grow grass to mow on the weekend but my garden gives me more then just abundant havest. This is the place where I learn quietness, patience, and reciving joy in full masure. Have gotten some fruit from your trees yet?

Scottamus -

I'm interested in your Barbados cherry and Cherry of Rio Grande. How are they doing in your zone 9?

We have been able to grow low chill varieties of many fruits, but I have been a bit apprehensive about cherry trees.

Any helpful information?

Bejay

I don't expect to get any fruit this year since I just put everthing in the ground. Even if any do produce, I will grudgingly pick them off so they can allocate that energy to root growth.

Bejay,

So far the Barbados cherry and Cherry of Rio Grande are doing fine but I've only had them since Jan. I've been reading that the Cherry of Rio Grande doesn't put out much fruit (sometimes none?!) so if you are tight on space and you are looking for good production may want to skip it. It would be great if you need it in an ornamental spot.
Neither of them are actually cherry trees (Prunus) in the taxonomic sense, they only produce cherry-like fruit. I'm pretty sure they are both tropical actually.
http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/cherry_of_the_rio_grande.htm
http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/acerola.htm

On my particular specimens, I think they are both around 2-3 years old.
The Cherry of Rio Grande is the prettier of the two. It has a lot more foliage and a fuller shrubbier appearance.
My Barbados on the other hand looks much more like a tree in the sense that it has much woodier branches and is grown from a central leader. If you are going for production, the Barbados is probably a better bet. "The tree may have 3 to 5 crops per year"! -http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG041

-Scott.

I also forgot that I had taken some cutting from my grandfather's fig trees and stuck them in the ground too. I hope they come out well so I can use them as gifts or for plant exchanges.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MG041

I am a recent homeowner in Friendswood. I have lived in the CLear Lake area my whole life but now I have the opportunity to grow some things. I have a small backyard that came with an orange tree, which I love. I saw a recent ad in a flyer from Houston Garden Center in Webster that advertised peach, plum, and pear trees. I absolutely love fresh peaches and was wondering if they will do well in Houston. Any reccomendations on these type of fruit trees?

If you are new to growing fruits I sugest that you start with something very easy to grow. I think peach tree is not that easy though it can be done with determination and devotion. But you will need to spay and prun and also watch for many desease that can attack at any time of it's grwing season. Why not grow trees that give sweet fruit without all that headache like Jujube, persimmom, mulberry,strawberry guava, meiwa seedless kumquat and more. These trees in our area will practically grow by themmselves. I hope this help.

kumquatlady

What does a kumquat taste like?? I think I would like to plant some trees. also how big do the trees get? I have a peach tree but it doesn't bear fruit, only buds. I think it needs a pollenator even though it is supposed to be self fertile.

Does anyone know a good place (Austin or Houston) to get a jujube tree (sugar-cane or Honey jar) and a kumquat plant? Thanks.

I had a Kumquat for the first time last weekend. They are excellent. It has a mild citrus taste. Most of the flavor is in the peel. I was thinking about getting one, but my neighbor complains he has more than what he know what to do with. So, I'm going to help him out ;)

~james

Theres this nursery off I45 north and 1960 exit that i think carried the jujube trees last time i checked. They also had native and fuyu persimmons, lychee, and a few other uncommon trees.

-ivan

scott home, I was not able to find sugar cane or the honey jar jujube tree in my area. I just plant my Li jujube tree this year and I heard it bears bigger and very sweet fruit. The best place to find Meiwa seedless kumquat(which is best tasting kumquat) is JRN nursery in Houston. They have many trees and usually let you taste the fruit too. Kumquat is so unique that you can eat the skin and all, it is citrusy but not much like orange either, it's delightful that's all I can say, plus you do not have to harvest whole bunch at once and store, it will stay on the tree through frost and cold and does not change texture or taste so just pluck some eat all through the winter.

kumquatlady,

I believe I ate some Li jujubees in California last summer. My neighbor gave me some olive-like jujubees last year. Compare the two, I like the small jujubees better. They were sweeter and more crisp.

I had kumquats all the time in Hong Kong when I was a kid. People sell the plants during the Chinese New Year (around January and Feberuary).

I will definitely check out JRN nursery in my next Houston visit. Thanks.

Scott

Scott

This is for others who want to grow jujube trees. The fruit you tried sound like sherwood. Do some research on Li jujube you will find that it is the best fresh eating jujube which is very crunch and sweet. Have fun with your kumquat tree hunting!

Hey fig growers of Houston, How is your fig tree comming along? Mine is very healthy and lush but I don't see any fruit forming. If I remember correcally I had some small figs aroung this time last year. We are having kind of wired weather this spring and I don't know if this is causing delay. What do you think? Does anyone have fruits on their tree?

I'm from Chicago too. Don't know anything abut gardening, but would love to convert backyard into an edible garden. Any help appreciated.