PTP_2008_10_Bare

Plants That Produce

The Bare Essentials, Part I

By Richard Frost

As the summer draws to a close and fall begins it is time to think about … what bare root plants to order! And as you think about fruiting plants, consider when the fruits will ripen. There is no need to choose a variety that ripens when you are usually on vacation, and also no need to have all your fruit varieties ripen at once.

On the subject of “when things ripen”, those who live in a zone of significant coastal influence need to exercise special caution. If you live in an inland area where a wide north-south running ridge of hills is between you and the ocean then no need to worry (and no, the Del Mar-La Jolla rise doesn’t count as a ridge of hills!). Otherwise, be cautious with fruit varieties that (1) are late-ripening, and (2) require many warm days to ripen, and (3) are deciduous (go dormant in the winter). A fruit cultivar with all three of these characteristics will likely blister, crack, or rot instead of ripen in your area.

Specifically, let’s consider table grapes. The flame grape ripens beautifully out in El Cajon, Poway, etc. but can be a real chore to coax along in the “coastal zone”. Instead, consider the seedless Black Manukka and the ultra sweet black muscadine cultivar ‘Ison’. The white ‘Perlette Seedless’ is also worth trying. If you live inland, the fox grape ‘Delaware’ and vinafera selection ‘Ruby Seedless’ (aka ‘King Ruby’) are great choices.

At the moment it seems that many people are riding the tidal wave of Pomegranate craze. Have you noticed that the popular ‘Wonderful’ variety is commercially grown in the intense summer heat of California’s central valley and not along the coast of Santa Barbara County where artichokes thrive? Let me introduce you to one of my heroes – John Chater, who bred Pomegranates in Santa Barbara. His top cultivars ‘Eversweet’ and ‘Golden Globe’ will fully ripen in all but the most extreme of our coastal areas (e.g., La Jolla Shores). An independent nursery can easily order these varieties bare root for you at this time of year. Inland, try to obtain a rooting of ‘Parfianka’ or ‘White Flower’ from a local CRFG member nursery (www.crfg.org/nurlist.html).

Figs are a popular fruit which you should also be careful with in the coastal zone. The most awesome tasting of the white-barked, coastal-tolerant figs is ‘White Greek’. Another variety that works great and ripens late in the year is ‘Janice-Kadota Seedless’. For dark fig lovers in the coast zone, ‘Vista Black Mission’ is the way to go. Often overlooked is ‘Celeste’, a purple-skinned variety that reproduces reliably along the coast or inland. Those growing figs inland with long, warm or hot summers should plant ‘Black Madeira’. If you can’t obtain these at your favorite nursery, then you should definitely contact SDHS member Jon Verdick at www.figs4fun.com (click “contact” at the bottom left of the web page).

Another factor to be careful with in all areas of the county is the infamous “chill hour” rating for some fruits. We’ll look at that in-depth in next month’s column.

SDHS member Richard Frost is also member of the California Rare Fruit Growers. For more information, see www.plantsthatproduce.com.