Western Fruit Gardening: A Handbook for the Home Gardener on Fruit Varieties; Climatic Adaptations; Soil, Water, and Nutrient Requirements; Pruning and Propagation; Control of Diseases and Pests

By Reid M. Brooks and Claron O. Hesse

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1953.

• Language: English
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Release date: Nov 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9780520349414

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WESTERN FRUIT GARDENING

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles Cambridge University Press, London, England Copyright, 1953, by the Regents of the University of California Printed in the United States of America Designed by John B. Goetz

Preface

This book has been written to help Western gardeners—with or without experience—to secure the greatest pleasure with fruit trees and plants in their gardens.

The variety of information you will find here is by no means the work of the authors alone. We have gathered our material from many scattered sources, representing the achievements of workers in the field of pomology over many years. With their help, for which we are deeply grateful, we are putting into your hands what we believe to be the best information on Western fruit gardening now available.

REID M. BROOKS

CLARON O. HESSE

Davis, California

June 23, 1953

Contents

Contents

Introduction

Part I Growing Fruit Plants

PLANNING YOUR FRUIT GARDEN

Varieties—What Are They?

Climatic Limitations

Site

Soil

Planting for a Diversity of Crops

Planting for Pollination

Selecting Plants

Spacing Trees

How to Plant

CARE OF YOUNG AND MATURE TREES

Watering

Cultivation

Fertilizers and Mineral Elements

Pruning

How Trees Grow

Methods of Training

Fruit Thinning

PROPAGATING YOUR OWN SELECTION OF VARIETIES

Layering

Cuttings

Budding

Grafting

GROWING FRUIT IN LIMITED SPACES

Dwarf Fruit Trees

Espaliers

Cordons

Trees in Containers

Multiple Variety Trees

Part II Western Fruits

ALMOND

APPLE

APRICOT

AVOCADOS

BLACKBERRIES

BLUEBERRY

CARISSA

CHERIMOYA

CHERRIES

CHESTNUTS

CRAB APPLES

CURRANT

DATE

FEIJOA

FIG

FILBERT

GOOSEBERRY

GRAPES

GRAPEFRUIT

GUAVAS

JUJUBE

KUMQUATS

LEMON

LIMES

LOQUAT

MACADAMIA

MANDARIN

NECTARINE

OLIVE

ORANGE

PAPAYA

PASSION FRUIT

PEACH

PEAR

PECAN

PERSIMMON

PISTACHIO

PLUMS

PLUMCOT

POMEGRANATE

PRUNE

QUINCE

RASPBERRIES

STRAWBERRY

STRAWBERRY TREE

TANGELO

WALNUTS

WHITE SAPOTE

DID YOU MISS THE MULBERRY TREE?

Part III Troubles of Fruit Plants

Kinds of Diseases and Pests

Control Measures

Implements

Index

Introduction

Trees, vines, and bushes that produce edible fruits and nuts can be especially welcome additions to the garden. Many are ornamental in the best sense of the word; all contribute greatly to the pleasure of gardening.

Unfortunate experiences with fruit production are usually based on lack of understanding of climatic adaptation, of cultural requirements, and finally of disease and insect control. For the occasional gardener some of these limitations may be a real deterrent, but even so there are some fruits which can be grown satisfactorily with practically no care. The confirmed gardener, on the other hand, will find the problems of fruit growing no more troublesome than the requirements of many of the ornamental forms he grows as a matter of course in order to have a well stocked, highly ornamental garden at all seasons of the year.

In Part I of this book, basic information about the growth habits and adaptation of fruit plants is given in sufficient detail to enable the gardener to understand why they behave as they are observed to do. This information will enable you to select fruit plants for your garden which can be expected to grow satisfactorily and produce well.

Also described are those cultural practices which the gardener must perform regularly, or occasionally, such as fertilizing, watering, and pruning. Basic information and proven practices are stressed. Commercial methods are drawn upon, but are related to garden practice in a practical way.

One of the most satisfying activities for the advanced gardener is experimenting with plants and varieties. A few widely applicable methods of propagating fruit plants are given. No effort is made to supply a comprehensive text on plant propagation; the methods given are sufficient for the propagation of all the fruit plants discussed in this book. A few proven methods, well practiced, can give much more satisfaction in successful fruit culture than simply experimenting with the many other systems of budding, grafting, or other types of propagation.

Methods of adapting plants to smaller spaces are noted, for most garden plots are too small for extensive plantings of standard-sized fruit trees. These methods also give you the opportunity to grow several kinds of fruits, with a long harvest season and diversity of products.

Part II of this book individually treats the fruits which may be grown in Western gardens. If you have but a single fruit tree in your yard all necessary information about it can soon be found here. You will undoubtedly be intrigued by other fruits listed as you browse through this section. That is our hope!

Part III discusses the kinds of diseases and pests which may affect fruit plants, and something about equipment and materials used to combat them. No attempt is made to enumerate the myriad diseases and insect pests or controls for them. Appropriate controls have been devised for each state or region, and you can get specific recommendations from your county agencies.

The fruit garden is a long-term investment; a small additional outlay for spray materials and equipment will keep your investment sound and productive over many years. With such equipment you will find the task involved no more tedious than spading a flower bed or raking leaves—and a great deal more interesting.

A bountiful harvest is yours for little effort.

Part I

Growing Fruit Plants

PLANNING YOUR FRUIT GARDEN

The planting and care of your fruit garden can be a rewarding experience. It need never become a burden if you bear in mind the amount of time you can spare for upkeep of your garden. If your time is limited, you can grow several kinds of fruits that require little or no care, as shown in the table on the next page. Of course most garden projects repay only in proportion to effort expended on them.

The gardener must be willing to devote some time to pruning, watering, and controlling pests and diseases. Do not establish so many fruit plants that you are unable to take care of them as they grow larger and demand added attention.

There are several things to consider when planning your fruit garden. First, know your space limitation. Even the smallest garden has room for some fruit plants. If it will not accommodate a tree, there are bush berries or vines to fill a corner or climb over an arbor or up a wall. But remember, trees, vines, and bushes require a cer-

3 tain minimum amount of room to produce annual crops of quality fruit. Do not plan for more than your garden will hold when the plants reach reasonable size. If you have limited space for fruit trees, do not overlook these possibilities:

Dwarf trees of several kinds of fruits are now available. Trees on dwarfing rootstocks do not attain the height and spread of ordinary or standard trees, but with proper care they will produce ample fruit. Also, two or more trees may be planted in a hole only slightly larger than that needed for a single tree, and will finally occupy the space required by a single tree. Finally, by topworking, it is possible to

have more than one variety of a single kind of fruit on one tree, such as an early-ripening and a late-ripening apple, or to have two or three different kinds of fruits, such as peaches, nectarines, and almonds, or lemons and oranges.

A second planning consideration is climate. Some variety of most of the deciduous fruit trees (those that lose their leaves in the winter) can be grown almost anywhere in the West except in the high mountain areas where winters are severe. Many evergreens, such as citrus, may require special climatic conditions.

Another item to consider is your family’s taste in fruits. Obviously, you will want to give the most space to the fruits you like best. You will also want to take into account the size of your family, and the problem of what to do with possible surpluses. If you cannot eat fresh all that you raise, do you plan to use the surplus for canning, freezing, or swapping with friends? If you prefer fresh fruits over a long period, your garden must be planned with harvest dates in mind. You will not want to plant fruits that ripen all at the same time. Keep in mind your vacation periods, too. If you are away at about the same time each summer, plant varieties that will not ripen while you are gone.

Ask yourself these questions when deciding on a fruit for your garden: (1) Will it grow well where you live? If you have room to experiment with a doubtful fruit, go ahead. You may have good luck. But if space is limited, do not waste it on a planting that is not recommended for your area. (2) Will there be enough room for it when it is full grown? (3) Will this fruit be enjoyed by all the family?

Finally, having decided what kinds of fruits will be suitable for your garden, you will come to the question of varieties.

Varieties—What Are They?

The variety, or clone, is one of the main bases for our large fruit industry, and as special varieties or combinations of varieties are often needed in fruit culture, it is well to establish the meaning of the word as it applies to fruit trees, vines, and small-fruit plants.

Fruit trees and plants grown from seed are known as seedlings. If a hundred seeds from almost any fruit plant are grown, each will be recognizably different from the others and from the parent. Each will be potentially a new variety; each will differ from the parent variety. Some will ripen earlier; some will be vigorous, others weak—each characteristic will vary more or less among the seedlings, and no combination of characters will prove identical with another in all respects. Usually such seedlings are inferior to the parent variety, though they may occasionally prove superior, and hence become propagated as new varieties.

Practically all fruit varieties are propagated vegetatively—that is, by budding, grafting, layering, suckers, or any of the methods described on pages 59-75. A fruit variety, therefore, is simply a part of the original plant established separately (often on a rootstock of seed origin). It has identical characteristics of time of bloom and leafing; growth habits; size, color, shape, and quality of fruit; and time of ripening of its fruits. All the plants so established are identical if grown in a uniform environment. Everyone recognizes the differences that may be brought about by cultural practices, but these differences are not those that distinguish between varieties.

Flower and vegetable varieties normally grown from seed are practically true-breeding; this is because they are kept under constant selection by competent plant breeders. Many varieties would otherwise soon degenerate into a worthless lot of inferior, widely variable, mongrel sorts. Fruit plants do this immediately if grown from seed.

Fruit varieties are remarkably stable under vegetative propagation; varieties handed down from early colonial days are exactly like they were originally. Occasionally, however, part of a fruit plant may show a sudden, marked variation. Growth from a bud may produce a spur, shoot, or even a limb which will bear fruit and foliage that differ from the same plant parts borne on the rest of the tree—they show a marked deviation from the characteristics of the variety. For example, a shoot on a peach tree may bear nectarines, or a tree producing striped apples may bear apples on one limb of a solid red. Such sudden changes are limited to the new growth arising from this deviating part. The rest of the tree remains as it always was.

These deviations of part of a plant are known as bud mutations or sports. Vegetatively propagated sports will remain true in all characteristics, and may be recognized immediately as new varieties if they have merit.

Fruit varieties are usually given names, as Elberta peach, Concord walnut and grape, Fuerte avocado, to name some. For most fruits, scores to thousands of varieties are known. Specific information on recommended varieties is given in Part II.

Climatic Limitations

Climate and topography are inextricably mixed; the Western states are cut by mountain ranges into several distinct climatic zones. Over all of these falls the more general north-south pattern: higher rainfall in the north, lower rainfall in the south; lower winter minimum temperatures in the north; a longer frost-free period in the south. This pattern is crossed by another from west to east: moderate climate near the ocean, more rigorous climate inland, especially where the inland area is cut off from ocean influence by an intervening mountain range—a common situation all along the Pacific Coast.

In addition, wherever the area, climate rapidly becomes more extreme as altitude increases, with falling winter minimum temperatures and longer frost seasons. High elevations far to the south often approximate the climatic characteristics of more northerly areas.

Topography has an especially notable effect on rainfall pattern for any area. Coastal regions have the greatest rainfall, especially where they are separated from inland zones by mountain ranges.

Washington and Oregon may each be conveniently divided into two climatic regions: west of the Cascade mountains and east of them. To the west rainfall is high, averaging from 40 to over 100

inches per year, with a considerable portion coming in the summer months. East of the Cascade mountains, where elevations are higher, winter minimum temperatures are considerably lower, and may occasionally cause damage to fruit plants. Rainfall is much less, averaging 10 to 30 inches in areas suitable for gardening. Most of this comes during the winter months, the summers being relatively dry.

These climatic trends are altered radically with elevation. Few

WESTERN FRUITS: WHERE YOU CAN GROW THEM, AND WHERE YOU CAN’T, IN TYPICAL UNPROTECTED SITES

WESTERN FRUITS: WHERE YOU CAN GROW THEM, AND WHERE YOU CAN’T, IN TYPICAL UNPROTECTED SITES

(Continued)

mountain locations are adaptable to fruit gardening. Where they are, only the hardiest fruits can be grown.

Because of its more complicated topography, California is marked by several climatic zones. The high mountain areas have moderately warm to warm summers, but very cold, long winters. Rainfall is high, and extends over more months than in the lower valleys. At elevations between 1,000 and 3,500 feet the climate is intermediate between that of the higher elevations and bordering valleys. The Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys (with adjacent foothill areas) have only moderate or low rainfall, all of which comes in the winter months; the summers are hot and dry, the winters are fairly cold, with all-time minimum recorded temperatures of about 10° to 15° F. The north and central coast regions are milder than the interior valleys at all times; the summers are cooler, the winters warmer. Rainfall is greater and increases rapidly in amount and time as one goes north. In this zone, deciduous trees do not suffer winter injury.

The south coast is also mild, and in some favored locations frosts are very rare. Rainfall is low, and it all comes in the winter months. The climate rapidly becomes more extreme as one goes inland in the valleys facing the ocean. The relatively warm winters are favorable to some fruits and unfavorable to others.

The true desert areas of Arizona (and California east of the Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madre ranges) are divided into two climatic zones—the low desert (below 2,000 feet) and the high desert. Throughout the high desert only the hardiest fruit trees can be expected to live, for winter minimum temperatures are too low, and water is generally lacking for adequate irrigation during the hot summers. In the low desert regions many of the deciduous and evergreen fruits can be grown. The factors which will determine their adaptability are winter minimum temperatures and sufficient winter cold to satisfy the chilling requirement of the deciduous species. In this latter case, late spring frosts may also be a determining factor.

The Imperial and Coachella valleys are somewhat exceptional, for the extremely low elevations and nearness to the coast further modify the climate; the winters are somewhat warmer.

Garden sites often offer sheltered areas such as walls or patios which receive high radiation, or where plants can be easily protected when the need arises. There is, then, no reason why the tender-fruited trees might not be grown to advantage here in otherwise adverse climatic situations.

The further your climate differs from that of the recommended area, the greater the need for special care. Precaution as to site, requirement, or variety can be determined by deciding how your known climate differs from that of the area in which the fruit in question is shown to do well. For example, in the mild-winter south coast area peach varieties with a low chilling requirement must be chosen; inland at high elevations nearly all peach varieties will do well. Also, many European grape varieties can be grown successfully in eastern Oregon and Washington if given adequate winter protection in this otherwise too rigorous climate.

Such special protective devices as glass houses are not considered, though with their use, almost any fruit listed can be grown in almost any place.

In any given area, fruits grown commercially will be best adapted to the garden. If you dwell outside such an area there may be other fruits that will suit your needs.

A few fruit plants are peculiar in that there are areas where they will grow well but will not ripen their fruit, or only rarely. The date palm is one such tree; many grape varieties need a specially favorable climate to produce anything but poor berries.

Frost Damage.—Growing tissues are sometimes injured by temperatures below 32° F in the spring when growth is starting, or in early fall, at temperatures much higher than they will withstand in midwinter. Such damage is termed frost damage.

Frost damage most commonly occurs in the spring as trees start growth. The tissues of the plant vary in their susceptibility to frost. Flower buds are more susceptible than leaf buds and small twigs (more extensive damage would be classed as winter injury). Deciduous species are not considered adapted to regions where the vegetative growth will often be damaged by frost.

Flower buds become more susceptible to frost damage as they open; young fruits are more susceptible than flowers in full bloom.

12 Western Fruit Gardening

For example, 30° F may kill young apricot fruits up to an inch or more in diameter, whereas the open flowers will withstand a temperature of 26° F.

Damage can be determined the day after a frost occurs: the pistil of damaged flowers turns black; the seedcoat in young fruits turns brown—a sure indication that the damaged part has been frosted and will fall from the tree.

Trees still holding their leaves in late fall may be touched by frost. The tender tissues may be frozen; they are killed if they turn black on thawing.

Evergreen plants also suffer from frost damage, often in midwinter in the areas where they are widely grown. The leaves and young twigs are killed, turning brown or yellowing, and finally falling from the tree. Under such conditions the trees soon send out new shoots, and recover rapidly. More extensive damage is termed winter in

jury. Many evergreen plants are in fruit during the winter—as are citrus species—and fruits are more susceptible to frost damage than the foliage. Some evergreens can withstand 20° F, but citrus species are damaged at higher temperatures—from 22° to 25° F. The fruits of most evergreen species are damaged at 27° to 28° F, or even higher.

The gardener may care to endure the loss of an occasional crop to frost for the pleasure of growing a species somewhat outside its recommended zone. The use of protected garden sites for this purpose has been mentioned. Other methods may also be used.

You will probably not want to bother with heating trees. But espaliered, dwarf, or tubbed plants can be effectively protected by covering them with a canvas or blanket. In frost situations the greatest benefit is derived simply from protecting the plants against radiation of heat to the night sky. A cover supported over the plant is quite effective. Even better, a large cover can be brought down to the ground, open to the soil, thereby trapping heat radiated from the ground. Do not wrap just the top of the plant in a cover, for frost damage will be greater than if it were left unprotected.

If you want to go all out, a light bulb or heating element may be put under the cover. This will afford a great deal of protection from even severe frosts.

Winter Hardiness and Winter Injury.— Winter injury, as opposed to frost damage, usually occurs when the plants are completely dormant and showing their maximum winter hardiness. Hardiness characteristics vary with species and with the climatic situation just before the temperature falls. Thus, plants that have grown late in the fall may be severely injured by the sudden onset of low temperatures which would do no damage at a later time, or following a long relatively cool period. Similarly, low temperatures after a relatively warm period in midwinter may cause damage which would otherwise not take place.

Plants, however, have a limit below which all are injured in greater or less degree. For evergreen plants this limit is quite high, and their culture is limited accordingly. Even the deciduous fig will withstand temperatures to 0° F, but most evergreens suffer winter injury at 20° F and below. Some will be quite seriously injured at even higher temperatures.

Deciduous fruit trees will normally withstand considerably lower temperatures at maximum hardiness. Temperatures as low as —20° to —30° F will not kill the tops of most fruit plants, such as apple, pear, most plums, peaches, and apricots.

Different tissues of the plant show different degrees of winter hardiness. Normally, poorly matured shoot growth, flower buds, twigs and small shoots, trunk and limb crotches, and main limbs are decreasingly liable to damage from low temperatures.

Thus peach flower buds may be killed at temperatures from —15° F to as high as 25° F, depending upon the stage at which the low temperature occurs. However, the hardiest peach varieties will withstand temperatures below —15° F when the trees are completely dormant. At 25° F, damage will not be likely except when the tree is in bloom, and will more commonly be called frost damage.

Trees badly injured by low temperatures commonly show cracking of the bark on main limbs and the trunk. When the bark thaws it will separate from the trunk wood, and wide cracks will appear. There is usually considerable killing back of small wood throughout the top. As the cambium is the hardiest of all the tissues, very badly damaged trees may still start new growth from remaining living tissues the following spring.

Proper care of a badly winter-injured tree is simple. Do nothing to it until early summer or later. Allow all living tissue time to grow, new shoots to develop, and the tree to accumulate such reserves as it can. Then cut out all dead wood. Keep all foliage on the tree and delay reshaping to the desired habit until the following dormant pruning. Keep the tree growing as vigorously as possible during the summer following winter injury.

Severe heading back of winter-injured trees may weaken them to the point where they will be extremely susceptible to injury the following winter; they will never regain their maximum hardiness until two or three damage-free years have passed.

Trees may be protected against the very lowest temperatures to some degree by the same methods suggested for protection against frost damage. However, severe winter temperatures are usually widespread, often accompanied by winds, and go so low as to make protection impossible; therefore protection against low-temperature damage is likely to be more a matter of keeping the tree in such condition that its hardiness is at a maximum. Vigorous trees which have been allowed to go dormant in early fall are normally most resistant.

Minimum winter temperatures and spring frosts are primary factors in choosing species for planting in a given area. The former are more important with evergreen fruit species, which must have a relatively high minimum temperature (usually about 20° to 25⁰ F) even under the most favorable situation. Degree and frequency of spring frosts are more critical in successful production of good crops of deciduous fruits.

In the colder areas of the Pacific Northwest, and at high elevations elsewhere, winter minimum temperatures may become important for the more tender deciduous fruit trees and vines. However, most of the fruits will do well in the principal fruit districts of all the Western states. Limitations for specific kinds of fruits are covered in Part II.

Chilling Requirements.— Another important climatic factor in the case of deciduous fruit trees is their need for winter chilling, the amount depending upon the species and variety. Such trees are harmed when grown in areas with winters so mild as to afford too little winter chilling to meet the requirement of the plant. The buds start growth irregularly and may not develop new foliage until several weeks after the normal time in spring. Blossoming is irregular and protracted. This condition is known as delayed foliation or prolonged dormancy.

Delayed foliation is particularly noticeable in southern California. Insufficient chilling may cause dropping of the fruit buds of apricot and peach just before blooming time. The only practical way to control this trouble is to plant a variety that has a low chilling requirement; such varieties are discussed in Part II. If you are already growing a variety affected by delayed foliation, you may wish to topwork the tree to another variety suitable for your specific location.

Evergreen plants have no chilling requirement, and are not subject to delayed foliation and fruit-bud drop.

Site

The commercial orchardist is always cautioned to select a site having the climate, soil, water, and marketing facilities that will promote his financial success. The gardener, on the other hand, must use the site he has, whether all conditions are favorable or not.

If there is a choice of site in your garden, by all means seek a spot with good natural air and water drainage. Air drainage is very important at high altitudes, or in other places where there is danger of late spring frost. Cold air sinks to the ground at night and flows away like water to settle in the low areas. A difference of 2⁰ or 3⁰ F in night temperatures may determine whether the blossoms are killed or survive.

Another point to consider is the neighboring property. Fruits do not grow well in competition with shade trees. Plan so that fruit trees and small fruits will not be shaded—now or in the near future —by large ornamentals on adjoining properties.

Walls and sides of buildings can be utilized as special sites because of the protection offered or the greater heat reflected from them (see drawing, p. 11). The plant may have to be considerably modified; for example, it may need to be trained as a natural or formal espalier. The use of such sites greatly increases the number of species that may be grown in unfavorable areas.

Soil

The best soil for fruit plants is one of medium texture, such as a sandy loam or loam. For fruit trees, it should be at least 4 to 6 feet deep, but with care much shallower soils can be effectively utilized. Fruit-tree roots are not present in large amounts below 6 feet, even in deep soils. However, deep soils permit free water to drain from the upper layer about the tree roots.

Coarse soils, such as sands, do not hold much water; ordinarily, they must be irrigated more often than fine-textured soils.

If the drainage