On 10/8/2009 1:11 PM, julie wrote:
Hi there,

For the first time in my life I am buying trees, specifically fruit
and probably citrus.

Is Home Depot any good for this? There are a number of terrific
nurseries around here but it is a matter of time not money, if there
is even a difference. I am not sure. I was kind of caught by surprise
here.


What do you all say?

Take care,
Julie in SFBA

I might buy tools, fertilizers, and other supplies at a hardware store
or lumber yard; but I alway buy my plants from a nursery. Hardware
stores and lumber yards generally fail to give live plants proper care
while waiting to sell them. In fact, few such stores even employ people
who know how to care for live plants.

If "SFBA" means San Francisco Bay area, forget the citrus. It will grow
and thrive, but you are unlikely to get enough heat to ripen the fruit
properly.

If you are buying deciduous fruit trees, wait until they are available
bare root (about January). Bare root trees generally adapt to your
native soil better than canned trees. (The same is true with roses, but
few (if any) nurseries sell bare root roses any more.)

Also, be sure that the varieties that you buy is indeed suitable for
your climate. Commercial varieties of apple, pear, and the stone fruits
(e.g., peaches) generally need more winter chill than is found in much
of the Bay area. However, non-commercial varieties of many fruits --
often better tasting -- are available for mild-winter areas.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary