News from LAGUNA HILLS NURSERY

Laguna Hills Nursery

Discover the Simplicity and Superiority of Bare Root Trees

Greetings!

It is true that the notion of acquiring and planting a tree with naked roots sounds like you're receiving a patient from intensive care that demands constant attention.

This is far from the truth.

Most experienced gardeners prefer bare root trees because there is not much immediate care involved and you end up with a superior result. Plus, you can carry an entire orchard in your arms.

Bare root trees are dormant. They are vigorous trees harvested straight out of the ground in the Central Valley. We make certain that while they are handled and stored their roots are kept moist and cool. You keep them in the shade until you are ready to plant them. Usually they can be stored in your garage for a week or two without concern. To plant you just dig a hole in the ground and bury the roots. Water once and you can then ignore the tree for another month or two, or three.

Simple and superior!

A similar tree bought later in the year in a container will weigh at least 400% more because of the soil that comes with it. After getting it home you will need to set it in the proper sunlight and check it daily for water. When planting you must modify the surrounding soil to allow the roots to adapt to the native conditions, usually quite different from the soil in the container. After planting you must check daily for irrigation for several months.

Bare root trees adapt to your garden instantaneously when planted. This is because their roots are totally surrounded by your native soil, not the artificially coarse, soil-less soil that most growers use in containers. The roots of these field-grown trees are at home in the ground and their growth will match the growth of the emerging foliage. Typically, bare root trees grow at least 2 feet their first year in the ground.

Conventionally grown trees have circling roots that reached for the drain holes at the bottom of their containers. When large potted trees are planted their feeder roots are often now too deep to function properly. These trees may spend many months regrowing a root system suitable for life in the ground. Many of these trees grow poorly or even die before they re-establish themselves.

We have always carried the best quality, totally bare (not prepackaged), bare root trees. For the next several weeks you can buy an instant orchard. Simple and superior! Please visit us at our two farmers market locations.

The Best Apples for Orange County

Anna apple is from Israel. This is perhaps the most prolific producer we have ever seen, producing from year 1 and often producing 2 crops a year. A mature tree often produces a few apples every month of the year! During the summer (main crop in July) the fruit is large and cylindrical with red-blushed green skin. The white flesh is crisp and sweet with a bit more flavor than Gala.

Granny Smith apple is from Austalia. Commercially this is a crispy, tart green apple, but in Orange County you can leave it on the tree until it is truly ripe as a highly fragrant yellow fruit with sweet flesh. You can pick it in October or November as a green, tart fruit or after the New Year as a highly fragrant, sweet yellow fruit. Established trees get few pests.

Pink Lady apple is from Perth, Australia. Perth is on the south west coast of Australia almost identical to the climate of Orange County. Pink Lady is very crispy, sweet-tart, rose-blushed, green apple that is harvested from late November to January.

All three apples have performed very reliably and none of these seem to be prone to fire blight disease or apple worms. Apple trees don't seem to mind clay soil, but do need ample moisture. All can grow over 20 feet tall, but all can also be pruned easily to 6 or 8 feet (prune in summer)

The Best Plums in Orange County

Satsuma plum is the most reliable plum in my garden producing massive harvests of sweet, red-fleshed fruit. The literature states that it requires a pollinator, however, it fruits well even when my other plums refuse to bloom.

Burgundy plum is an offspring of Satsuma and rates in the top 10 of all plums for its eating quality. It is a larger plum with deep burgundy skin and flesh and outstanding flavor. It is self-fertile. Burgundy also has a long harvest season. It has a greater need for winter chill than Satsuma and produces good crops 7 out of 10 years in my garden. If you live in a canyon or a similar winter cold spot, you will get more consistent results.

Best Peach

Red Baron peach is the best peach we can grow. There are peach varieties that are a bit more reliable, but most of these produce fruit of mediocre quality. As a bonus, Red Baron has the best flower show of all fruit trees. The tree will bloom heavily for 5-8 weeks with flowers that resemble deep rose-red carnations.

Apricot

Goldkist has been the best apricot in my garden. Apricots are not consistent producers locally (unless you live near a river bed). It will only produce fruit about 5 out of 10 years in my garden, but serves as an attractive shade tree when not producing. Tree-ripened apricots are so tasty that I'll salvage the edible parts of fallen fruit.

Persimmons

Persimmons are reliable producers locally, but need sandy soils that drains perfectly. If you have heavy clay soil, puchase a lot of sand (at least 10 bags), mix it with your native soil and create a small hill. Plant the tree on this hill. Persimmon trees also do well in half-barrel planters filled with sand (or 50% sand, 50% Acid Mix potting soil).

Jiro Fuyu persimmon is the most popular commercially planted variety. It ripens early to mid-fall.

Izu Fuyu persimon is the earliest, ripening from late August to early fall. It makes excellent quality fruit and the tree is also naturally semi-dwarf.

If you really like persimmons plant both for an extended harvest season.

Pomegranates

Wonderful pomegranate is the standard commercial variety, an old favorite with a strong, sweet-tart flavor. Its produces well over most of the county, but is best away from the immediate coast.

All of these trees are currently available as bare root specimens at our farmers market locations.

As a side note it is apparent that this winter has given us at least 350 hours of chill, perhaps closer to 400 hours. At this moment every plum, apricot, nectarine and peach tree in my garden has buds forming or flowers opening. (I'm still waiting on my 2 cherry trees.) Even though temperatures in January were above normal, December was cool enough to promote a huge February bloom. Let's hope there are no terrible winds, heavy rains or late frosts in the next few weeks to dampen what I expect to be a bumper crop of stone fruit. If the current spell of warm, dry weather continues then we may get a rare event where the tropical fruit perform well the same year that the temperate climate fruit have a fabulous crop. Avocados, mangos, citrus, lychees and guavas all perform best with a warm, dry spring.