November 10 , 2020
Homegrown: Citrus and CTG Viewer Gardens
It ’s been a mighty sweet workweek as we ’ve get down harvesting our satsuma Beijing dialect . My ‘ Miho ’ is still pocket-size but mighty with three absolutely yummy fruits . You really ca n’t wash up the preference of fresh - picked fruit ! InTexas A&M examination , this miscellany stand 14 ° , though young plants should be protected and containers moved to warmth . A type of orange , mandarin include tangerine , satsuma , and the ‘ clementine tree ’ variety that you find oneself in stock as Cuties , Sweeties , and Halos . Satsuma mandarins are just as sweet as ‘ clementine tree ’ and much gentle to unclothe . They’re also one of thecold hardiest citrus varietiesfor Texas . I implant my ‘ Mr. Mac ’ satsuma in 2008 , and although nipped a few times , it always bounces back . Texas Superstar ® ‘ Orange Frost ’ satsumais a cross between insensate sturdy , seedy Changsha tangerine and a satsuma variety show . ‘Arctic Frost’is another Mandarin loan-blend with frigid hardiness .
Here ’s aTexas A&M usher for growing all sort of citrous fruit , like Meyer lemon . My container - grown calamondin rarely block pumping out wads of fourth - sized fruits . Rather sass - knit ( like lemons ) , mainly they ’re used in marmalades , drinks , sauces , entrees , and desserts . Craving a SweetTart zing , I just ate one while write this . FromTexas A&M ’s templet to growing calamondins(press internal connection to calamondins ) , I learned that they ’re used as a coughing remedy , hair conditioner , and deodourant . They can take the itch out of worm bites and bleach ink from fabric . What a deal!Although calamondins are blackleg to 20 ° , they can get nipped in wintertime . Now that mine ’s established , I do n’t bother to cover it , since it ’s on a sun - warmed Harlan Fiske Stone patio near the menage , though container are definitely more susceptible to freeze . Last February , after days of warm conditions , we acquire a surprise free fall to below 30 ° . A few fruits “ set off , ” but others were okay and it kept on producing . Some persimmon tree , like ournative Texas persimmon(Diospyros texana ) , are just as tart until they edulcorate up when completely ripe . After noshing into a juicy Asiatic persimmon tree last December inJane and John Dromgoole ’s garden , I vowed to embed one . Sigh , still on the list . “There ’s always next year , ” we gardeners say , and that ’s coming ‘ round the bend . January and February are the best sentence to institute fruit trees . Some Asian persimmons like ‘ Hachiya ’ and this ‘ Tanenashi ’ at Lake Austin Spa are astringent until right . They’reTrisha Shirey ’s favoritesfor eating , broil , and warehousing , and in fact , she just constitute a ‘ Tanenashi ’ in her new Ft . Worth garden . Others like seedless , non - astringent ‘ Fuyu ’ , can be feed while still firm . retrieve out more about persimmons , including the Texas indigene .
Now that my native turk ’s cap flush have mostly pass off , a few plump piffling fruit beam from drought - stressed stem . Although edible , I ’m leaving them for hungry wildlife . It ’s been almost two months since we ’ve ascertain measurable rain after weeks of record high temperatures . But in late September , 14 inches fell in just three days outside Meridian northwestern United States of Waco . Ten - year - old Isabella Strickland was on the slur between online classes to snap up a shot of these mushroom-shaped cloud that benefit the ground . She and her gramps , Don Fisher , watch CTG together every Saturday!That ’s just one of the many fantastic CTG witness finds across Texas this fall . To polish up up contribution through October from our hands - on gardening neighbors , Daphne and Augie went in front of the camera again , albeit this metre behind Daphne ’s phone in her living room . We got some interesting question , too . In Van Alstyne , SE of Sherman in north Texas , Jennifer Vince - Recksiek and her husband establish gorgeous red - orange canna this summer . Then , they noticed that one flower with a small section of white-livered petals with a smattering of cherry-red - orange splotches . Jennifer reports that this only go on once and that later blooms have all been the original color . Then Ivan transport in a shot of his beautiful old maid ( beloved by butterfly ) . One gorgeous loss start up clean petals blotch with red . Daphne tells us : “ The anomalous conduct in both plants is the result of a somatic variation , spontaneously come for nameless reasons in only one or a few cells , result in those cadre expressing different forcible characteristic than the residue of the plant . In horticulture , this new tissue paper , especially if it is esthetically or otherwise pleasing and can be propagated asexually and maintain , is sleep with as a ‘ sport , ’ or a Chimaera . Somatic mutation are n’t heritable , so their characteristics are n’t fleet down to any offspring , and this anomaly may or may not ever appear again . ”
Several gardeners submitted shot of theirStapelia giganteaflowers that are indeed gigantic , as we see in Terry Biegler ’s photo . They ’re also know as “ carrion plant ” for their rotting inwardness bouquet , enticing fly ball to pollenate them . Different strokes for unlike dirt ball folk , you know!A molting American chameleon waits to catch one of those tent flap in Somer Pugliese ’s Horseshoe Bay garden . Watch now to see unlike plant life call in “ belle de nuit , ” fabulous dark - blooming cereus , bang-up jibe of pollinators , and design ideas from fellow gardener to revolutionize our visions !
Thanks for hold on by ! See you next week , Linda
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