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nafex - Re: [nafex] [nafex) Olives, Fringetree, swamp privet anyone?

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  • From: Kieran <holycow@frontiernet.net>
  • To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] [nafex) Olives, Fringetree, swamp privet anyone?
  • Date: Sun, 03 Mar 2013 11:32:34 -0600



I've gotten another bee in my bonnet. First I got interested in intergenetic crosses to produce hardier citrus. BIG problems with that one, as a few living experts can tell you after nearly 120 years of attempts. The bad taste genes seem closely linked to the hardiness genes, though recent crosses may have taken them apart. I refer to US 119, though it seems there was some inside dirt about that one. I'd be curious how Nafexer's specimans have done over the last couple decades.
Anyway, the latest bee concerns a couple of native genuses that are pretty closely related to Olea and are a lot hardier. What's more they make little fleshy berries that are probably fairly high in oil. One could mess around with Spicebush which already runs 50% oil, and see if there's a way to extract it and whether the flavor, phytochemicals, etc are of use for humans. Maybe a supplement, maybe for food. But the neat thing about Fringetree and Swamp privet is that they are dioeceous. Fringetree can be grafted on ash, and I have a dozen volunteer seedlings scattered around that could work. Nobody seems to know much about the swamp privet, Forestiera acuminata, or better yet the upland version, F. ligustrina/, /which supposedly grows in our county/,/ Z6. On the other hand, Fringetree seems to be good to minus 30F, and likes acid soils and will grow in our clay. All I really need is a few grafts from female trees (a female growing in town I heard of) and then either branches or a small potted tree of a good pollinating olive. I've been looking at olive vars online, Arbequina is probably the easiest to get hold of and beg the local nursery to keep in the winters for me. Pendolino is the best long season pollinator, more likely I could get it to overlap the Fringetree bloom time. There are no fringetrees around me, so if I got fruit it would be crosses.
Any notions on this idea? Anyone familiar with theses plants or the fruit thereof? Even if the fruit is worthless, if graft compatible it could make it possible to grow olives in soils with poorer drainage or more acid soil. Osmanthus is also related, but no hardier, though some species will take swampy soils. Since I can't grow them here, they are out of the running for me. Donna /
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