Prescott eNews

Fuji Apples grow very well at the higher elevations of Yavapai County and sweeter when picked right off the tree.

If you followed my suggestion to plant wildflowers a couple of weeks ago you timed it perfectly.  The abundant moisture combined with the freezing and thawing of late winter will make for a very nice wildflower show.  If you didn’t sow your seeds before, check out the garden column for January 9 because you still have time to plant a nice wildflower garden from seed. 

We have started shipping spring inventory, beginning with the year’s best choices in roses and the best selections of fruit trees.  Today’s article is about fruit trees; I'll write about roses later.  If you want your rose information now, come by the garden center where I would be glad to help you.

The fruit trees in my yard set fruit almost every year and grow some of the sweetest apples and pears you have ever tasted!  We also grow very good pitted fruits like peaches, plums, cherries, nectarines, and apricots.  We even have a nice fig tree happily flourishing in the warmer part of the yard.

Choosing the correct tree variety is crucial if you want consistent fruit at this altitude.  Of course, it also is important to know which varieties need another tree for pollination.  This is where it pays to ask for help from nursery professionals. 

Common sense can direct you in choosing where to plant fruit trees.  If your home is built on an elevation choose the uphill side of the property if possible.  Stay away from creeks and drainage areas.  The reason is simple: cold air sinks and follows the natural drainage of the land.  You are at less risk of frost damage to spring bloom if trees are planted uphill. 

The soft fruit trees most likely to bloom first are apricots then nectarines, followed by peaches, cherries, and plums.  Each tends to produce heavily most years.  I have an apricot tree that sets fruit about every other year.  When it does, it loads up with hundreds of fruits.  My mouth is watering just thinking about how juicy and sweet they are.  Fruit trees are much like tomatoes bought from the store.  They taste so much better when ripened in your own garden.

Apples and pears are the last fruit trees to bloom in spring, which means they are at least risk of frost damaging the blossoms.  This is the reason they set fruit more often than other fruit trees.  You should know that virtually all apples and pears need another variety of apple or pear to carry out pollination.  In other words, it takes two different types of apple trees to have fruit on either of the trees.  You might like to get professional advice in choosing the varieties that are best suited for each other.

If frost is expected and fruit trees are in bloom, cover them with a sheet with a shop light under the sheet and you will avert fruit loss.  The magic number is 27 degrees.  If the air around a fruit tree in bloom reaches 27 degrees all blossoms will be damaged and fruit will not set.  The tree will be fine, but that year’s fruit will be lost. 

Also, Christmas lights with the larger C-7 or C-9 size bulbs strung through the branches will throw off enough warmth to protect most blossoms.  The neighbors may think you are crazy for having your Christmas lights still on, but when you share that first peach cobbler with them in July they'll understand that you’re really on top of things. 

Pitted fruits produce well without pollination from another tree.  For trees that do take two, they can be planted anywhere on your property and still pollinate each other.  Bees help pollinate trees even from a neighbor’s yard.  If pollination has been an issue in the past try planting some rosemary close to your fruit trees.  Rosemary is an early blooming that bees are drawn too at about the same time your fruit trees are blooming.  It really works.

As usual, this Saturday’s gardening class meets at 9:30 a.m. at the garden center’s greenhouses.  The people in the group are ever changing but always energetic with probing questions requiring detailed answers that often bring on follow-up questions!  You are welcome to join us for a gardening good time.  This Saturdays class is titled, “Mountain Roses made Easy”.

In-depth gardening tips also are available each week by tuning in to my weekly radio show, ‘The Mountain Gardener’.  This local program is aired every Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:00 on KJZA 89.5 FM.  The show also can be heard from 11:00 to noon each Saturday on KQNA 1130 AM and 99.9 FM.  I guarantee you’ll learn something from each show.  ‘The Mountain Gardener’, it’s the program where people who love to garden love to listen.

Until next week, I'll see you in the Garden Center.

Ken Lain, who says, "my personal mission is to help local homeowners garden better in our mountain landscapes," is the owner of Watters Garden Center at 1815 Iron Springs Road in Prescott. Lain is also a master gardener and certified nursery professional who has gardened extensively throughout the mountains of Arizona, and the host of "Mountain Gardener" a weekly radio show found every Saturday from 11-12 noom on KQNA 1130AM and 99.9FM.