Edible landscaping

I am planning to get another one. Is it best to buy it somewhere else, to get better cross pollination?

I bought from the same source twice. If it is not a named plant then it is probably a seedling which should be fine for cross-pollination.

I just purchased one of the edible crape myrtles. It is evergreen and produces yummy blue/black berries. I will let everyone know how they taste if I get berries this year. The bark is more orange than tan/brown and the limbs are contorted. They should be hardy down to 10-15F.

Luma Apiculata
Check out the flowers!

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/80411/

WOW! Why is it listed as zone 9?

The flowers sure show their relation to other members of the mrytle family. Crape Myrtles are members of the loosestrife family. No relation.

Where do you find all these strange and wonderful plants? Can you include a link to the source when you post?

The flowers look like Mock Orange to me, they are beautiful.

Here is a link with pictures of the berries. They are available in regular form or a gold varigated form. Not sure why it is listed as zone 9a since all documentation I can find says 10F-15F which is zone 8a-8b. The real test is if it can take the heat. If so, everyone will be jealous of the guy with the evergreen crape with berries.

http://www.arthurleej.com/p-o-m-Dec06.html
http://www.forestfarm.com/products.php?params=plantName:luma

Okay.... I read more about this and it will defoliate and get damage on new growth in zone 8. It also has problems if it gets really cold into the teens when it hasnt gone dormant. So that is why the zones are from 8a to 9a.



This message was edited Feb 23, 2010 10:22 PM

In the big freeze of 1983, which was the first frost of the year, it went below freezing for over seven days. I had three Crape Myrtles that I had grown as whips into standards, freeze down to the ground. A lot of plants will suffer if they do not have a chance to harden off before a hard freeze. Of course they came back from the root but they were no longer the well shaped standards I had worked so had to train.

California Floral Nursery lists it as not exciting.
http://www.chileflora.com/Florachilena/FloraEnglish/HighResPages/EH0246.htm
It seems as if it's an understory tree and needs lots of water. What have you found on it culture?

I have found a lot of conflicting data.
I am going to raise it as a regular crape and see what happens.

I was just reading that weedy purslane is delicious in salads. Does anyone know if purslane's ornamental "moss rose" relative is also edible (and tasty)?

I went to Lowes two summers ago and tasted all the purslane they had and took home the best tasting one. HA!
I have no idea about your question and I dont remember what I took home.

I was thinking about the dandelion leaves the other day . I remember seeing old ladies picking them. I wonder if they are eaten raw or cooked.

Dandelion leaves are really great in salads. I think any purslane would be edible....leaves and flowers, mainly. I prefer the taste of Goldenleaf Purslane, grown primarily for eating.

Chilean guavas are back in stock at Bay Flora. :)

Weston Gardens is having a seminar on Fruits and Berries this weekend. One of them mentioned is the Jujube!

The seminar will be held at 2pm on both Saturday 2/27 and Sunday 2/28. Of course, they'll have plants to buy, too.

Thanks for that info. I love Weston. Are you going?

I'm not sure yet. I'm working on Saturday so we might go on Sunday.

I saw pineapple guava at the nursery down the road Millbergers... So I need to buy two right to get them to pollinate? Is there male and female or do I just need two? Also, how far away can I plant them to get the pollination to work? Almost touching or front yard/backyard will work? Thanks!

Hey Stephanie,
If you are going to buy a Jujube, here are the varieties they will probably have and their characteristics.

Li: Good fresh and dried. Half to silver dollar sized.
Lang: For drying only. You can eat it fresh but the taste isnt great.
Sugarcane: They just hit this year in Texas. Quarter sized but very sweet. More thorns.
Tigertooth: Elongated good fresh and dried.

Always pick Jujube fruit in the morning and water one or two days before picking because they dump their moisture during the hottest part of the day.

Ratfood,
Pineapple Guava.
The bees really go after the flowers so they should be fine within 20 feet of each other. They will give very little yields without two. It is not a male/female thing. There is one downtown that they say has never fruited but mine did the first year. I have five.
Remember, you can eat the pedals off the flowers and they will still fruit. They are good. Just dont remove the Pistil or the pollen.
When choosing a plant, I had better luck with a dense bush with small leaves than a lanky shrub with larger leaves. I dont know why so dont ask.
Dont pick the fruit. Wait for one to drop and then you know it is ripe. After the first drops, shake the bush each day to see if others go.

Thanks Jujube, I have only 2 spots for trees on the back and they are closer to 40' apart. That being said there is a lemon tree and a bradford pear between them so that may or may not make a difference. Will bee's travel 40' through other plants?

I think you will be okay. You can always buy a little paint brush and "BE ALL THE BEE YOU CAN BE"!

Bees are amazing...they'll find them! I worry about that disease that is threating them, however!

I saw more bees last summer than I had seen in the previous 4. I'd hate to be my own bee. I would need pygmy trees.

Which type of kiwi vine grows here? The ones I have grown in the past needed both male and female plants.
C

OK I reread the thread and my questions are already answered. I have very limited space and because I love ornamental plants so much I usually don't want to make room for edible ones. I want to try the pinnaple guava and the carpet raspberries this spring. The guava will go into very large pots and be placed in full sun along a wrought iron fence that unfortunately divides my yard in two. The raspberries are a challange. I am not sure where I have room for a sprawling ground cover.
C

Sprawling groundcover... use it as a green mulch in your large pineapple guava pots...

Any idea how much it sprawls....?

Everything I've read about this little ground cover states that very few fruit are produced. It is sold as an ornamental. The fruit has been described as bland. Why not try strawberries?

Have tried strawberries and they don't do well for me. Is there a variety that is better in the heat?
C

I finished pulling up all of the indian hawthorne along one side of my house, have prepped the new bed with compost, and the plants are on the way! Now that I had so much extra space, my wife talked me into replanting a few blackberries so I ordered a couple of Kiowa, which seemed to get great reviews and I don't have any need for thornless.

So now I just need help on spacing! I guess I should have checked earlier, but I got caught up in the excitement, and things are getting a bit tight in there. :)

It is hard to find consistent spacing recommendations. For anyone who has experience with this plants, what is the closest you would recommend planting goji berry, goumi berry, and pineapple guava? And I bought 3 blackberries and 2 pineapple guavas - would you recommend planting them in a single groupings, or intersperse then with the other plants?

Goji:
Although they are a shrub, they act like a shrub/vine mix. They need very little space. You can plant them 2-4 feet apart. They dont like wet feet and shade.

Pineapple Guava:
They can get tall if you dont train them as a hedge. You can put them close together like a normal hedge but you may suffer a little in fruit production. I would say four feet apart if you want a continuous hedge and 6-8 feet apart for better fruit production.

Goumi:
These guys are cute when they have fruit. If you want to train it as a little minature tree, I would set it apart. If you want it as a hedge, then close together. The spacing should be the same as the Pineapple Guava. These plants are "nitrogen fixing" so they will improve the soil nutrients where you plant them. Just dont eat them before they are red and fully ripe or you will regret it.

BLACKBERRIES:
I know very little about Blackberries. However, the thing I see repeated again and again is that the fruit grows on year old canes. You should prune canes after they produce making sure not to also prune the new growth that will give fruit the following year. Correct pruning is the key.

For more info on the blackberries, see the blackberry thread on this forum.

Anna, just got back from Marshall Grain and they have their pineapple guavas in - plus they are almost half the price as Calloway's.

Is there only the one Marshall Grain on Lancaster Ave.? I go there to get our wild bird feed when we are in the Metroplex, which is not that often. We also need to go to Metro Maples.

There is also one in Grapevine. That location opened last year.

Thanks so much...I have to go there for dogfood so I will clean out the trunk for the guavas.

Haven't seen anybody from around Houston on this thread, but maybe they have been lurking like me. I spoke with Cornelius nursery today and they have 5 gallon Pineapple Guavas for $29.99.

I went to Marshall Grains today.They said they didn't have any and put me on the order list. Luckily I gave them my #, and called me when the saleslady asked someone else after I had left. They are not sitting with the other fruit trees. They were $16.99 for 3 gal. and unmarked. Thanks Dennis again. I would not have insisted they they had them if you didn't tell me.

I should have mentioned that they were unmarked. I wouldn't have recognized them if I hadn't seen the ones at Calloways. Glad you got one!

I won't be there until Easter weekend, I hope they are not sold out. If they are not marked, I may have a chance, if all the Dave Gardeners don't beat me to them.