fruit tree

Learn how summer pruning can be an effective way to control the size of your fruit trees.  Fruit thinning and espalier techniques will also be demonstrated.

Followed by Open Garden and tours of the gardens with Master Gardeners, from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Learn which varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, apricots, apples and pears are the delight of connoisseurs.  Master Gardener Nancy Garrison will introduce you to the best of the best-tasting deciduous fruits that grow in this area and you'll learn where to find sources for the plants.

To register, call 650-493-6072

Join Master Gardener Nancy Garrision for her fabulous introduction to the best tasting deciduous fruit trees that grow well in Willow Glen. Nancy has decades of experience growing almost every fruit tree imaginable, from the apples and oranges that come immediately to mind, to exotic subtropicals and also unusual varieties of more common fruit trees that have special properties -- particularly great taste, or long-lasting on the tree or in storage, or other special characteristics. You will be inspired to start or add to your own home orchard! And check out http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu!

The Master Gardeners also have these upcoming talks about fruit trees:

1. Getting Started to Plant Bare-Root Fruit Trees in January, Tuesday, November 25

2. Pruning Dormant Ornamental and Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 6, 2008

3. Grafting Fruit Trees, Saturday, December 13, 2008

4. Fruit Tree Pruning, Saturday, January 10, 2009

Master Gardener Bader Kudsi will teach gardeners of all skill levels how to graft different varieties of fruit trees.  Grafting involves joining two genetically distinct plants so that they unite to continue growth as a single plant.  A short section of a shoot taken from the type of fruit tree that you want to grow is inserted into a limb or trunk of a seedling tree - the rootstock.  The rootstocks have desirable characteristics that make them preferable to growing a tree on its own roots.

Some species cannot be propagated by techniques known as cutting or layering, but can be propagated by grafting.  You can also graft several varieties onto one rootstock, and the resulting tree will bear several varieties of fruit! 

See also the University of California guide for home orchards at http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu

To sign up for the workshop please contact RitaB@metroed.net or call the MetroEd office, Monday through Friday during business hours, at 408-723-6450.

January is the time to plant fruit trees and other plants such as: berries; rhubarb; shade trees; roses; onions; asparagus and more! These, and many other perennial plants, are sold as bare-root plants.    What does that mean?  Master Gardener Roberta Barnes will describe the best practives in finding, choosing and planting various bare-root plants.

Why plant fruit trees at home?  Some reasons are:

* The advantage of having tree-ripened fruit in your own yard.  (It's not possible to get ripe peaches, for example, in the supermarket.)

* The ability to grow the tastiest varieties, many of which are not available in the supermarkets because they are not grown by commercial growers.

* The freedom to select varieties that will give fruit many months out of the year.

The best way to plant a fruit tree is to plant a bare-root tree in January.  Come learn how easy and fun it is!  The technique of espaliered fruit trees will also be discussed.  And check out http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu!

Learn which varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, aprictos, apples and pears are the delight of connoisseurs.  You will be introduced to the best of the best-tasting deciduous fruits that grow in this area and learn where to find sources for your own plants.  Nancy has been conducting and attending fruit tastings for the last 26 years in her diverse home fruit garden and in research facilities around the state.  She has collaborated with Andy's Orchard and Dave Wilson Nursery and oversees the rare fruit plantings at Prusch Farm Park in San Jose.