The Cupertino Courier

Gardening

Ah, nuts! Fruit, nut trees are just tough to take care of

By Tony Tomeo

The orchards that formerly filled the Santa Clara Valley were famous for their production of apricots, prunes, cherries, walnuts and several other fruits and nuts. The local climate and soil are ideal for growing more types of fruit than are commercially grown in any other region of the world.

Although the orchards are now almost completely gone, even more varieties of fruit continue to grow in home gardens. "Wenatchee," "Garden Annie," "Sungold" and other varieties of apricot that were not even available decades ago, as well as such apricot hybrids as pluots, plumcots and apriums, are now as popular as the traditional "Blenheim" and "Moorpark" apricots. The self-fruiting "Stella" cherry is perhaps more popular now than the "Bing" cherry was when it dominated the area around the southern end of San Francisco Bay.

All this abundance takes a bit of work, though. While dormant through winter, most of the deciduous fruit and nut trees require pruning that is much more specialized than what most common landscape trees and shrubs need. Without proper pruning, these trees become overgrown and develop serious health and structural problems. Regardless of how much I would like to recommend replacing much of the urban sprawl in the Santa Clara Valley with orchards, fruit and nut trees simply are not for everyone. Of the more popular fruit trees, only citrus do not need to be pruned in winter.

The tree surgeons who maintained the orchards many years ago are about as rare as the orchards. I am actually not aware of any professional gardeners, and am only acquainted with very few arborists whom I would trust with my fruit trees. Consequently, anyone wanting to grow fruit and nut trees in a home garden should know how to care for them, and particularly how to prune them, without the assistance of a horticultural professional.

The best way to learn about pruning fruit and nut trees is by doing it. The best way to start doing it is by reading about it in a book written about the subject, such as Pruning Fruit Trees by Sunset. Unfortunately, pruning of fruit and nut trees is more than can be adequately described here in only a few paragraphs. After studying the basic techniques, and pruning for the first time, pruning becomes easier every winter, as the personalities of each particular tree become more familiar.

Every type of fruit and nut tree responds to pruning differently. Cherry, plum, prune, peach, nectarine, apricot and apricot hybrids are generally pruned similarly, but each one has particular needs. (They, as well as almond, are all of the genus Prunus.) For example, cherries need only minimal pruning, and can even do without pruning when young. However, peaches need rather severe pruning to remove about a third of the canopy. Most apples and pears are pruned similarly, but more vigorous cultivars need more vigorous pruning. Walnuts may not need pruning at all.

The main reason these trees need to be pruned is that they have been bred to produce unnaturally large fruit. If too much of this fruit is produced, it can become too heavy and break limbs. This is why peaches need more pruning than relatively light-weight cherries. Excessive fruit can also overexert the trees that produce it. Pruned trees can concentrate their resources into less, but superior quality fruit.

Vine of the week:
Carolina Jessamine

Compared to most vines, Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens, is relatively docile. It grows at a moderate rate to only about 20 feet tall, so will not overwhelm shrubbery the way potato vine and honeysuckle often do. It climbs with "twining vines" so will not attach onto paint like Boston ivy and creeping fig. These twining vines are loosely wrapped and do not expand much, so do not constrict their support like wisteria does. Carolina jessamine blooms in late winter with inch-long, tubular, yellow flowers. The paired, 2- or 3-inch long leaves are glossy light green.

Carolina jessamine is not demanding. It wants only the same regular watering that the rest of the garden gets during the growing seasons. Bloom is best in full sun. Vines that get too congested on top should be pruned back severely after bloom.

Listen to Tony Tomeo's 'New Image Garden Report' Friday mornings at 8:10 a.m. on KSCO-1080 AM (or online at www.ksco.com). He can be reached at www.ttomeo@newimagelandscape.com or 408.358.2574.