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04-11-2018 05:18 PM
04-11-2018 05:18 PM
Another few plants for the collection @Smc 😀.
Was windy here last night, one of our standard roses snapped mid stem 😬.
04-11-2018 06:17 PM
04-11-2018 06:17 PM
Not good about the rose @Former-Member. If it's growing on its own roots or a low down graft, you may be able to retrain a new shoot into a standatd, but it the trunk is the "rootstock" ...
04-11-2018 07:07 PM
04-11-2018 07:07 PM
Yep, sorry to say @Former-Member
The rose will probably re-sprout from the base (they do that after damage).
The re-sprout (new growth) will probably be the rootstock - with a totally different flower-type from what you had (the top).
Most rootstock species are only once a year flowerers (not recurrent), although still gorgeous.
I love Bromeliads @Smc Although I don't have any at the moment.
A tradesman stomped over the last one, a few years ago (& it died).
My parents had many flourishing Bromeliads in the garden, where I grew up.
Adge
04-11-2018 08:11 PM
04-11-2018 09:14 PM - edited 05-11-2018 03:36 PM
04-11-2018 09:14 PM - edited 05-11-2018 03:36 PM
@Former-Member, the broms I brought back earlier in the year survived a "mild" winter here, but I'm not sure if they'll like it when we get one with -6 or lower nights. Mum kept most of them in a shadehouse, but they don't get quite as cold up their way as we do here. Maybe -3 or -4 at worst.
It's one of the odd "silver linings" about the things we're bringing back from their garden. Anything that needed care in the form of regular watering or frost protection is gone. What's left are the "tough as" survivors, and it's still a rather nice selection.
05-11-2018 06:38 AM - edited 05-11-2018 07:02 AM
05-11-2018 06:38 AM - edited 05-11-2018 07:02 AM
@Smc@Former-Member
I've got a predicament on my hands. I've got a whopping big brown turkey fig tree growing. And I'm not sure if i should let it grow into a full sized ornamental / shade tree. Or keep it pruned back as a food tree. It's the first fig tree I've ever grown, I've researched online stuff to help me understand what to do; I'm thinking next winter-i need to prune it right back to basically nothing, and get a good frame work of branches growing; I'm unsure if the second crop of figs will even be able to ripen up in this climate; I've got about 24 semi grown figs on there at the moment; at present it's about 11 feet tall and 6 feet wide, however, i think I'd like more or a shrub/bush like shape, so it's easier to maintain and harvest from. Also I'm thinking i could get the pruned pieces to grow in pots, by dipping small 10 inch cuttings into rooting hormone. And then give them out as presents. Am thinking will just have to prune right back to a 5foot base and grow a whole new frame work. Am also thinking about taking advice i got 'if you can't eat it! Don't grow it!'
05-11-2018 01:53 PM
05-11-2018 01:53 PM
Wow @eudemonism you are thorough.
The reality is that fruit trees often produce more than one person can eat. So I would not take statements like that seriously. Just someone having a bad day. Great idea to take them to a barter place or just give them away.
We had 2 figs when my girls were little and they loved climbing them. We pruned them hard but they always bounced back.
Have fun.
I am in the garden a bit at the moment, trimming and watering to develop deep roots for summer.
05-11-2018 02:22 PM
05-11-2018 02:22 PM
05-11-2018 03:50 PM
05-11-2018 03:50 PM
I'd probably go with the idea of pruning it back @eudemonism. Fruit producing trees that get too tall to pick are kind of frustrating. The high up fruit ends up attracting fruit eating birds or possums, which then continue on to raid other trees too, and when it falls the rats move in. Better to keep it to a size where you can happily reach the ripe fruit.
I do love my edibles, and would always prefer a fruit tree over an ornamental (so many are both at once too!) but keeping them small-ish often means you can put in other trees that produce at different times of the year. I've got about five varieties of peaches in our garden which all fruit at slightly different times, other stone fruits, apples, pears, figs and others. I'm trying to get enough variety that there's something fresh most months of the year. I usually get to preserving some too. Bottled fruit, jams, sauces, chutneys, sometimes dried fruit. If there's too much fresh fruit to eat and/or preserve, I try to give it to others. That in itself is well worthwhile, because it encourages people to get into the habit of sharing produce, and sometimes I've had people do likewise with their surplus. We received a very welcome box of plums last year when our trees were having an "off" year and didn't bear much, so a few got eaten, and the rest are in preserving bottles in our pantry. I've used up a couple of them, should see if I can get through most of the remainder before the next season's ripen.
05-11-2018 08:58 PM
05-11-2018 08:58 PM
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