tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post8911863908365563714..comments2023-08-21T15:49:17.685-07:00Comments on In Lee's Garden Now: Nuts for FruitsLee Reichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-36548057929966964252013-05-20T18:00:03.616-07:002013-05-20T18:00:03.616-07:00Your probably right. I couldn't resist. But th...Your probably right. I couldn't resist. But this is one of the hardier ones and I did plant it in an ideal spot. Still . . .Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-51675406775612142682013-04-26T17:24:42.784-07:002013-04-26T17:24:42.784-07:00I may know that apricot grower through NAFEX, Nort...I may know that apricot grower through NAFEX, North American Fruit Explorers, an organization of fruit nuts such as myself.<br /><br />Apricots tolerate quite a lot of cold weather. The limitation on growing them is fluctuating winter temperatures, late spring frosts, and, during the growing season, insects and diseases. So Minnesota apricot growing is feasible, especially near one of the many large lakes, which would moderate swings in temperatures.Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-70561049799004154072013-04-26T15:51:16.679-07:002013-04-26T15:51:16.679-07:00A couple of years ago, Northern Gardener Magazine ...A couple of years ago, <a href="http://www.northerngardener.org/about-us/editorial-overview" rel="nofollow">Northern Gardener Magazine</a> had an article about a family in Minnesota who had quite a bit of success growing apricots. I think he had a sizable collection of varieties, too. I sympathize with the desire to beat the odds.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106962533729909868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-14635891733369504862013-04-26T12:31:51.551-07:002013-04-26T12:31:51.551-07:00I can't imagine Camelias upstate! They have a ...I can't imagine Camelias upstate! They have a hard enough of a time here in Atlanta; most years the majority of the flowers are blackened by a late frost and leaves are bronze from the same.Dale Douglashttp://daledouglas.home.mindspring.com/Douglas_Consulting/Home.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-74645821713674779792013-04-26T08:12:54.387-07:002013-04-26T08:12:54.387-07:00The good news here? Seeing an expert succumb to t...The good news here? Seeing an expert succumb to the same "I know it's a bad idea, but I gotta have it!" mentality that the rest of us do! ;-) I've got three 2-n-1 japanese plum trees from Stark Bros that I KNEW I shouldn't plant because they would be likely to have their blooms trashed by frost, and sure enough - they bloomed for the first time last year and I had zero fruits. Right now they're COVERED in blooms, and I keep reminding myself I knew this was a risk, I knew I probably wouldn't get much from them, and I was ok with it at the time of ordering.<br /><br />It's a little harder to accept when you see all these beautiful blooms and know some could be tasty fruit later in the year. ;-)Jephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02843262392217281569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-18166185890374112172013-04-26T07:42:30.500-07:002013-04-26T07:42:30.500-07:00There is a man in La Crosse, WI that has had good ...There is a man in La Crosse, WI that has had good luck with Tomcot, as far as cold-hardiness and late bloom. I do not know what disease pressures he has faced or how he has treated it. But he claims to get fruit nearly every year. I've taken my chances on the Chinese (Mormon) apricot. It was just put in last spring, so we will see how it does long-term.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03276995787173932700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-75763658791363260552013-04-26T02:37:01.435-07:002013-04-26T02:37:01.435-07:00I don't think the large rock plan will work. T...I don't think the large rock plan will work. The soil itself is a cold sink; I'm not sure how much more (or less) of a sink the rock would be. Also, keeping the roots cool does not necessarily have great affect on dormancy of the stems. Roots don't have a dormancy.<br /><br />The white latex paint -- dilute it with equal parts water -- should help a lot to keep the branches asleep later into spring.Lee Reichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01706667868301897739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827857515189667911.post-25171948017807975942013-04-26T02:20:36.989-07:002013-04-26T02:20:36.989-07:00Lee,
I was watching an old BBC documentary called...Lee,<br /><br />I was watching an old BBC documentary called Victorian Garden. In in they were growing tender fruits against south facing brick wall to capture heat and speed growth. I started thinking about how stone acts as a heat sink and it occurred to me that stone also captures cold. The cement floor in my cold cellar at this time of year is always a great deal cooler than the same floor just outside the cold cellar door.<br /><br />I wonder if burying a large rock a foot or two below the bottom of the hole before planting an apricot would provide a cold sink that would trick the tree into "thinking" that it's colder than it actually is, thus delaying the sap flow.<br /><br />We have a couple of Manchurian apricots. One is planted out and the other is in a trench layering bed so that I can produce more trees & rootstock. There is a an apricot growing next to the Capilano Expressway in Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. Periodically, it fruits. I have a friend in Edmonton who sent me scion wood which I'll graft onto the Manchurian in the orchard. As soon as there's a new Manchurian apricot available from the layering bed, I'll plant it in a hole with a large rock below it. Then I'll take some Capilano scion wood from the orchard tree and graft on to it. That'll give me two Capilano's - one with a cold sink and one without.<br /><br />And I'll paint the trees with a white latex paint since there's some evidence to suggest that this helps as well.<br /><br />Regards,<br />MikeMikeHhttp://portageperennials.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com