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Photograph by Shari Kaplan
The gnarled valley oak, a California native, can grow to 70 feet tall and live several hundred years--better suited to parks or schools than urban gardens.
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Caring for a pet lemon tree kindled fondness for citrus
By Tony Tomeo
When I was about 5 years old, many of my friends had pet dogs. A few had pet cats. However, I was the only kid I knew of with a pet lemon tree. My grandfather gave it to me when it was just a pup in a No. 1-size can. It grew well in the garden, but eventually my family moved down the road and it was adopted into a new family.
During the few years together, I learned much about citrus, how to care for them and how little care they require. During winter, I remember seeing piles of debris from the pruning in the apricot orchards near our home, but the lemon tree required no pruning.
I remember seeing large-scale spraying in the cherry, apple and various other orchards in the Santa Clara Valley, but the lemon tree was only afflicted with aphids, which could be blasted off with water. Yet even with minimal requirements, the tree would still produce plenty of fruit, which it could hold long after ripening. Perishability was an important concern since my mother's lemon meringue pie, which is the best ever made, is even better during warm weather.
The various species of citrus and Fortunella (kumquats) have always been very useful in the Santa Clara Valley. Aside from producing the various citrus fruits, the small trees or large shrubs are very ornamental. The deep green foliage is glossy and dense. The fruit of some cultivars is very showy. Although the flowers are only showy with a few types, most are very aromatic. If drainage is good and irrigation generous, the plants will thrive in endemic soil and climate.
Some cultivars require frost protection during cold winter nights. Mexican lime is the most sensitive to cold. Grapefruits, lemons and other limes are not as sensitive; kumquats are the least sensitive. Because roots are just below the surface, mulching is preferred. Fertilizer may be applied monthly through the summer, but not after September. Later fertilization delays dormancy and promotes new growth that will likely freeze in winter.
Citrus are often infested by aphids, scale or mites. Ants, which farm aphids and scale, spread them around and eliminate their predators. Clearance from surroundings and simple barriers, such as grease around the trunk, blocks access for the ants, but the predator may still fly in to control the insects. (It is helpful to blast aphids and scale with water or even spray them with insecticidal soap for aphids or oil for scale.) The barrier also prevents new infestation of mites.
Because almost all citrus are grafted--although the most common, Meyer lemon, is not grafted--it is important to watch for suckers. It is very common for the understock to outgrow the desired part of the tree.
People who move into homes where this has happened may be perplexed by a mysterious "lemon" tree that produces watery bland fruit large enough to make jack-o-lanterns with; or are aggravated with an "orange" tree that produces bitter fruit no matter how well it is cared for. The "lemon" is actually a shaddock, which is used as a dwarfing understock. Older standard citrus were grafted onto seed-grown bitter oranges, which, as the name implies, produce unsavory fruit.
Tree of the Week: Valley Oak
For some time now, one of the editors has wanted me to feature the valley oak, Quercus lobata, also known as the California white oak. Then David Simons of Sunnyvale told me of how he organized the planting of several valley oaks at the schools in his area and why it was such a good choice.
This particular oak was once native to the Santa Clara Valley, so it is well-suited to endemic climate and soil. Unlike the evergreen coast live oak, it is deciduous, but may drop its three-inch-long, deeply lobed leaves slowly over the winter. It tolerates more abuse than the coast live oak, but still prefers to be away from generously irrigated areas. In small gardens, it is difficult but not impossible to accommodate its massive scale, up to 70 feet tall. However, it is very suitable for large areas such as school yards or parks.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be reached at 408.358.2574.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
