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gunnarmcc

Looking for some ideas

gunnarmcc
11 years ago

Hello all, new to the forum and i was looking for some ideas on what to plant tree wise in irvine, ca. I live in shady canyon just on the other side of the first costal ridge. we get a decent amount a "cold" in the winter due to being at the bottom of the valley but i am still in southern california sooo..... Having said that i am looking to plant 2 fruit trees in my back yard. I already have two avocados, two lemon trees, a lime tree and a Burgundy Plum. I love stone fruit and was hoping to get a peach or nectarine that would do well and maybe something else.... anyone have any recommendations for me?

much thanks

Gunnar

Comments (7)

  • Randy31513
    11 years ago

    What zone are you in?

  • calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
    11 years ago

    Most stone fruits do not produce very well without full sun. I also live on the north side of the mountain with little winter sun. We are always late warming in the spring and seldom get a good set on plums,Apricots, peaches, cherries. I took out the nectarines after regular crop failures. Our honey bees are late sleepers, seldom seen at less than 60 degrees. Al

  • gunnarmcc
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    i live in 9b sorry for not specifying. my plum trees has done well so far and has a nice fruit set currently so maybe i just have an unjustified hope that i can maybe grow other stone fruits

  • hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
    11 years ago

    gunnarmcc, you can add your zones to your GW signature line (see mine). And, as long as you can get some decent sun for your stone fruit, there are a fairly large number of stone fruit you can grow. I'm probably in a nearly identical zone (Sunset zone 23) as you. I'm about 6 miles from the ocean in the hills of Vista, but ocean-facing. I would suggest you go to Dave Wilson's web site, and read up on all their stone fruits. A large percentage of their stone fruits will do very well in the coastal to near-coastal areas of S. California. I have about 25 different stone fruits. Almost all require 500 chill hours or less. That's probably my limit, although I do have a couple that are in the 700 ch range, but those are my experiments :-) I, too, have a cold spot in my yard, and that's where all my stone fruit are planted. I planted them last year, so this will be my first year for fruit. All have set fruit, some I have had to considerably thin. So, we'll see which will be the best performers for me. You can even grow cherries in our area if you plant a Minnie Royal and Royal Lee, cultivars specifically designed to produce fruit in very low chill areas. They even do well right at the coast and they are quite good.

    Let us know what stone fruits you are particularly interested in (peach, plum, apricot or the interspecifics: apriums, plumcots, pluots, nectaplums, etc.) and we'll offer up some suggestions that have worked for us. There are quite a few of us in OC and SD county that are on the forum and grow stone fruits :-)

    Patty S.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Dave Wilson Nursery: Home Fruit Tree Grower

  • blazeaglory
    11 years ago

    Plus there are alot of cool little nurseries in Irvine. I used to work in Irvine as a Mortgage Broker for some years. I loved the open space. I do know that most parts of Irvine got a little over 400 chill hours this year. Im sure some micro climates got more/less but I go off of the average. There are all kinds of cool trees and things you can grow down there :-)

  • gunnarmcc
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Do any of you have any nursery recommendations in orange county or north san diego for me to go to tomorrow to look at fruit trees? is it to late to plant a new tree this year? are there any dwarf varieties that are able to be grown in a large pot half wine barrel or slightly larger?

  • hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
    11 years ago

    You can check Armstrong (various locations), Ganter Nursery in Vista and Andersen Nursery in Poway. Andersens probably has the best selection in N. county as we're very late in the season here for stone fruit. I would consider ordering online too.

    Patty S.