Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[phoenixtropicals]

I had an email exchange with a friend and want to share this info with everyone...

Good to hear from you. My plants are doing well. I am always trying new things. I tried a Fuyu Persimmon this year but it did not make it through the summer. Seems like they need almost full shade. This summer was really tough on the plants because it was hot and so WINDY. I think it was the toughest summer yet because of the winds, and that also seems unusual to me. I think usually it’s pretty calm here in summer other than the high winds that happen before a monsoon storm.

Yes, my fig is doing really well. It’s a black mission and gives two crops a year. One in late spring and the second in mid summer. The spring crop is bigger and easier to harvest because they don’t become overripe as fast as in summer. What is a VDB?

I have really been impressed with an Asian Pear I am growing. It looks super healthy, almost like a plastic plant. It has 3 varieties on it (Chojuro, Hosui, and 20th century). The really impressive variety is the 20th century. It is very nice and sweet. Hosui is not bad either and very productive. I’m not sure if I have every gotten any fruit from the Chojuro branch. This is the first year I got the 20th century fruit. That plant has been in the ground maybe 4 to 5 years. Doug says he cannot get an asian pear to grow and blames it on Texas Root Rot. I haven’t had any issues. Mine is on a bubbler and gets water 3 times a week in the summer. Doug flood irrigates his yard so maybe the differences in the way we water is a factor?

Here is a description of the 20th century:

http://www.davewilson.com/product-information/product/20th-century-asian-pear

[darkcoolboo]

Honestly, I thought the monsoon was a bit underwhelming this year, or maybe it's because Chandler doesn't get nearly as much rain was Tempe or Mesa do . Persimmon grow very slowly and are best planted bareroot so that it can acclimate to the soil better. Maybe some B1 to help establish? To help cope with heat, whitewash and shade. In any case, most trees need shade their first year. I think its best to just try again.

VDB or Violette de bordeaux is a red fleshed fig, considered to be up there with the best, if your tree is grafted. It is considered much like or maybe marketed under a different name as Negronne and Petite Negri. It's best quality however, is its dwarfish character, so it is better suited to container growing than other figs. It is described as having a "sweet rich berry flavor described as "jammy" can be raspberry like flavor" in the Bordeaux berry fig category over at Figs 4 Fun Forum.


That's surprising that Doug can't get Asian pear to grow, considering most people find it easy. Maybe the chill hours are too low in his yard, so the tree gets weird dormancy cycles.