Mastering Horticulture

It is that time of the year when we are flooded with peaches.  What this means is that peaches will be served every meal for a couple of...

Fig ( Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey') A t last my own fig tree bears fruits!  And it has a name - unlike the volunteer fig th...

Peaches in my garden - summer 2013  T oo much of anything is not a good thing.  There is balance to be observed between that which ...

Santa Rosa plums ( Prunus domestica 'Sana Rosa'). B askets of dark ripe plums have always been one of the defining marks of s...

Fig. 1     Pomegranate ( Punica granatum L. 'Wonderful') flowers on the ground. A star is a promise of illumination - like a...

Fig. 1    Plums ( Prunus domestica  'Santa Rosa') S ummer seems like a paradoxical blessing for the gardener.  While it is the...

Fig. 1  Valencia Oranges in the winter.  While other plants are starting a new season of production, most citrus plants are at the end of...

Peaches A week from now these fruits will probably be ready for harvest.  However, as they continue to ripen not only do they get sweeter -...

June 28, 2010  - First sign of emergence.  June 29, 2010 - The plumule is out and starting to unbend. June 30, 2010 -  The first set of tr...

Plums ( Prunus domestica 'Santa Rosa') The plum tree is laden with fruits this year.  When plums ripen it happens in one week or t...

Prunus domestica 'Santa Rosa' The plums are gradually changing color.     A promise of more "plum sauce" The California...

Cut close on the thin side of the seed to break the seed coat slightly. In the tropics where mangoes come from, seedlings can be found grow...

Malus domestica 'Fuji' After removing the 'Cecile Brunner' rose that was growing over it, the Fuji apple tree is finally f...

The excitement I had about my pomegranate died with the tree.  All the anticipation for the first leaf bud to come out slowly faded as I wa...

Germinating Avocado ( Persea americana ) Seed A fact about the avocado seed. The avocado seed is a recalcitrant or homeohydrous seed .  Rec...

Distorted peach leaf The Disease.   Leaf curl is a fungal disease that affects peaches.  It is caused by a pathogen called Taphrina deforma...

Flowering Crabapple Tree ( Malus floribunda ) Ornamental and Shade.   This beautiful crabapple tree blooms profusely every year.  It provid...

Lemon ( Citrus limon ) After giving away so many lemons, this tree still stands laden with large bright yellow fruits.  I like harvesting f...

Pomegranate "Wonderful" Tree  Photo by Petals of the Past I got a bareroot  plant material for pomegranate ( Punica granatum L. ...

Bartlett Pears still on a tree Bartlett Pears ripened at room temperature I thought that the pear tree, Pyrus communis, in my baky...