North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

Lee,

The biggest problem avocado growers have is keeping the roots dry.  Avos
like very well-drained soil.  I wonder if even the water dish under a
planter would keep the root tips too moist, or if your planting mixture is
sandy enough.  

We live in an avopossible zone, but trees are a rarity.  It's not the mild
cold, but the 12 inches of rain we get in our Mediterranean-climate winter
doesn't drain away fast enough.  Outdoor growers need a large, raised, pot
with sandy/rocky soil, or need to dig out an area and replace the topsoil
with a custom blend.

Of course, grafting a second variety is a likely answer, as you said.  I
know you know what you're doing!  

Good luck! 

~ Stephen

-----Original Message-----
From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of lee reich
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2005 7:13 AM
To: breen@fedcoseeds.com; North American Fruit Explorers
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] potted fruit plant

I've grown a number of fruits indoors. Kumquats are among my favorites 
because the fruit is so tasty and useful -- you can eat skin and seeds! 
Also, the plants are pretty. I gave up on bananas after seeing them 
languish in my relatively cool house as compared to the way they thrive 
in humid, hot climates. Figs are also nice but they do better if given 
winter chilling.

I'm currently trying to fruit an avocado. I received scionwood a few 
years ago from a CRFG member in Texas and grafted it on a seedling I 
grew. I don't remember the variety name. The tree is in flower now and 
I hand pollinate morning and evening because the female parts of 
avocado flowers are receptive at a different time from when the males 
shed pollen. Sad to say, the flowers keep dropping. Perhaps another 
variety would help, for cross-pollination.

Lee Reich
www.leereich.com


On Jan 11, 2005, at 7:55 AM, Heron Breen wrote:

> Hi Ginda,
> I'm thinking Figs...yummmy indeed and very unique foliage. Up here in 
> Maine, we
> have one inside that does okay, probably better if we didn't ignore it 
> 8/9 of the
> year. It can go outside here in the summer. Our neglect causes it to 
> not produce
> much, but  a friend of mine in Mass takes very good care of his 10 or 
> more plants
> and gets a good batch every year. Ours has stayed small and cuddly, 
> but some of
> my friend's varieties get tall and he trellises them on a supportive 
> lattice.
> Another idea that might be interesting would be growing some of the 
> alpine
> strawberries or more tropical Rubus species types. How about Passion 
> Flower?
> Avacados can do very well inside, and I have even seen very dwarf 
> bananas making
> fruit. Pomegranate can do it too. If I had a green indoor thumb (which 
> I do not)
> Pomegranate would be my dream.
> Let us know what you decide, and whether it works!
> Heron Breen
> zone 4 Maine
>
> On Mon Jan 10 21:43 , list@ginda.us sent:
>
>> I have room for one more medium-sized plant in my bay window, and I'm
>> looking for suggestions.  (Fruity suggestions, of course.)  The window
>> has an eastern exposure, and gets full morning sun when the oak leaves
>> are down, but only filtered sun in the summer.  It also has a bank of
>> fluorescent lights on a timer year-round.
>>
>> My meyers lemon does well here in the winter, but goes outside in the
>> summer.  Ideally, I'd prefer a plant that could stay in the window all
>> year, although taking out in the summer is a possibility.  The pot
>> could be a gallon or two, and I'd prefer the plant to be no more than 
>> a
>> couple of feet high.  (A foot of pot and two feet of plant would be
>> perfect.)  Another citrus would be fun, if anything fits the bill.  I
>> was looking with interest at the dwarf citrus offered by Stark.  But 
>> it
>> doesn't need to be citrus, just a dual purpose ornamental/edible.  Any
>> suggestions?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ginda Fisher
>> eastern Mass., zone 6
>>
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