Growing Yuzu and Calamondin

I don’t know what possessed me to purchase the specialty citrus trees. It has been 6 months since I brought them home. The yuzu has so many thorns and there is not much information on it online or in books. I have been extensively researching information on home grown yuzu. The calamondin information is more available and people grow this citrus in their backyard.

One day, I came home to see some grafts that my husband had acquired through the program. I really wanted to graft but the research and the learning curve for me was a little too steep. He took them to see if he could graft them but I am sure they all got moldy. It's not cheap requesting the grafts either.

My search for the trees ended at Armstrongs where someone had ordered two and bought one yuzu.
It was costly but I really wanted another citrus tree. I already have a dwarf meyer lemon from 2011.
The yuzu was a sad looking specimen so I gave it a some shape and form. I have in a pot so I have to be very careful of the moisture level and the amount of nutrients it gets. It gets moved so that it gets enough light in the winter in my patio.

Nothing has been happening with the calamondin. It is another finicky tree and I gave it some shape as well. The swallowtail butterfly has been laying its eggs on it and the fingerlime tree. It is a great source of food for them in an urban neighborhood.

I am going to wait until spring. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I hope to see fragrant flowers on my ume tree as well as these two particular trees.

in October 2018

in April 2018

loss of leaves due to boron damage when I first got the tree

almost ready to pick

looking forward to this in 2019

Currants and Blueberries

I am looking forward to the longer days...the blueberries are full of blooms and the fruit is setting. I propagated two currant twigs two years ago and both are thriving. I did cut one back but it seems to be okay. Who knew it would be so easy? Last year, I did not get too much fruit but a lot of growth. The yellow flowers are very pretty for one thing. They remind me of forsythia. This year the flowers are more prominent. I will keep my finger crossed for the fruit. The birds love them!

It's really been long time...

I love it when you see an unexpected surprise in the garden.

Last year at this time, I planted the native

milkweed seeds from Theodore Payne. The plant grew and died back. Will it come back? I was skeptical. Then the other day, I looked at the planter and it was there!  The other one was bought at a garden clearance sale and it is looking very happy.

Hooray for the monarch butterflies in the garden. The rain was very steady last night. I moved all my seedlings in so that the rain would not wash away the seeds. It is so sunny today. Another wave of rain is suppose to be here tonight! I am so excited.

Yesterday, I went to look for the Minnie Royal cherry tree. It died last year and the partner is blooming in loneliness again this year. I was expecting to see the fruit trees in the nursery but the cherries are a special order item.

My seeds have been started for summer planting.  I started the tomatoes and pumpkins already. I also started soybeans and it is so easy to grow. The kids love it. Spring is fast approaching and next week we start Daylight Savings!

Plumeria

The plumerias had one week of below normal temperatures in December. Lucky, we did not lose too many but one did freeze and I had to cut the dead stump off.

It survived and now the stick has leaves growing out of the nodes on the side of the stick.

I had another stick that was only 6 inches long and no one thought it was going to live.

It is budding out as well. Plumerias are such interesting plants. It's hard not to love the beautiful flowers of assorted colors and sizes.

I used to purchase the plants/sticks from the local nursery but it's better to ask a friend if they have a tree that you can get a cutting from. Keep the stick in a pot with pebbles on top and water it once until leaves develop. I stopped using the rooting hormones. The rooting hormones are dangerous for the environment, especially for our water source. Some of the rare ones are very expensive. Unless you are a collector, don't spend too much money on them. You might ask a neighbor for a cutting as well.

Bye Bye Minnie Royal

There was a cherry tree I got last May. It fared pretty well over the summer of 2014. The Minnie Royal eventually died but I kept taking care of it thinking in due time the tree would bud out. I chose a weak one because I thought I could save it. The cross-pollinator was bought at the nursey up the street on sale. The "Royal Lee" is doing beautifully in my patio near the fruiting mulberry tree. He is lonely because there is no one to pollinate his beautiful white delicate blooms. Anyway. I haven't blogged in a while because I have been so busy with other things. The stephanotis is getting ready to bloom as well.

I bought two to place it in two different climates. The one at school just grew and grew. The one at home grew but it started to send out buds. The school one got attacked by scales and mealy bugs. I brought the school one back home after a severe cut back and I am taking good care of it. It has growth buds now.

Busier Than Ever!

The bagrada bugs are back. I have been just watering more consistently and the plants seem to be less stressed. Nothing much going on. The drought is bad. I am hooked on stephanotis vine. 

Transitional Period

Since I have been back from vacation, I have been so busy moving to a new school. Luckily, the weather has been fantastic for my cucumbers! The tomatoes are ripening and I just harvested the soybeans. The roses need their break as well. The drought has been hard. I think about all that wasted water at UCLA! How crazy is that?