Plants, flowers, herbs...pictures, remarks, ets

[larali]

I just planted a "Centennial" kumquat tree (my daughter has been asking for a kumquat tree!), and an "Orangeola" Japanese maple. Before the end of the growing season, I would like to acquire a lemon, satsuma, fig and apple.

I don't have much space in my yard but I'm cramming them in as close as practical. I also have two grapefruits that my father-in-law grew from seed. Yet to see if they will produce fruit.

[Albion]

I just planted a "Centennial" kumquat tree (my daughter has been asking for a kumquat tree!), and an "Orangeola" Japanese maple. Before the end of the growing season, I would like to acquire a lemon, satsuma, fig and apple.

I don't have much space in my yard but I'm cramming them in as close as practical. I also have two grapefruits that my father-in-law grew from seed. Yet to see if they will produce fruit.

What are winters like in Alabama? Does it ever get frost or snow? If it only has light frosts then Citrus should survive, Satsumas and Lemons are supposed to be among the hardiest. I'd imagine the hot summers there would be good for them.
I wish I could grow Citrus here, but the winters are too cold and the summers not warm enough (it'd be risky, maybe they'd do okay in a good summer). They can be grown in a conservatory or in a greenhouse over the summer though.
Figs do fine against a wall, only one crop a year though (occasionally two), but in hot places they will crop 3, even 4 times in a year.
Grapefruit from seed should produce fruit, it might be a bit different from the grapefruit they were obtained from but it won't be too different unless it pollinated with like a lemon or orange or something (they can hybridize).

[larali]

What are winters like in Alabama? Does it ever get frost or snow? If it only has light frosts then Citrus should survive, Satsumas and Lemons are supposed to be among the hardiest. I'd imagine the hot summers there would be good for them.
I wish I could grow Citrus here, but the winters are too cold and the summers not warm enough (it'd be risky, maybe they'd do okay in a good summer). They can be grown in a conservatory or in a greenhouse over the summer though.
Figs do fine against a wall, only one crop a year though (occasionally two), but in hot places they will crop 3, even 4 times in a year.
Grapefruit from seed should produce fruit, it might be a bit different from the grapefruit they were obtained from but it won't be too different unless it pollinated with like a lemon or orange or something (they can hybridize).

I'm actually in Northern Florida, near the border of Alabama, but we always say "lower Alabama" as a joke. But anyway, we have mild winders with a few frosts. So we can't get the same subtropical plants that say Orlando has, but some things do well.

As far as fruit goes, there are limited things that work here: satsuma, Shell apple, and figs are fine. My grandfather has a fig tree that is very old and it fills up with figs every year. It is by a shed but not protected, really. Some people grow oranges, I think you have to protect them for the first 15 years or so but I've seen some mature trees, smack in the middle of a front yard, that do great. Not sure about peaches, but pears work here.

Where are you located and what are you growing? (Sorry if I missed it)

Edit: Oh I see you are in England.

[Albion]

I'm actually in Northern Florida, near the border of Alabama, but we always say "lower Alabama" as a joke. But anyway, we have mild winders with a few frosts. So we can't get the same subtropical plants that say Orlando has, but some things do well.

As far as fruit goes, there are limited things that work here: satsuma, Shell apple, and figs are fine. My grandfather has a fig tree that is very old and it fills up with figs every year. It is by a shed but not protected, really. Some people grow oranges, I think you have to protect them for the first 15 years or so but I've seen some mature trees, smack in the middle of a front yard, that do great. Not sure about peaches, but pears work here.

Where are you located and what are you growing? (Sorry if I missed it)

Edit: Oh I see you are in England.

Yes, I'm in Central England. It's probably most comparable to the northern part of the Pacific NW in climate, Washington or lower half of British Columbia in summer.
I have apple, pear, plum and cherry trees (all typical fruit of this climate) and a fig that alternates between indoors and outdoors and a grape vine. I also have some rhubarb and strawberries and will be growing some veg over the summer. I plan on growing peas, runner beans, potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and sunflowers this year.
I'm also going to try and grow some melons, there are some hardier varieties and I'm going to grow them out of pots and let them sit on concrete where the heat should keep them warm. Failing that I'll lay down some black plastic, anything black outdoors in summer gets extremely hot.

I grow things suitable for the climate, but I also like growing things that aren't usually grown here such as melons and figs. Pushing the boundaries of their cultivation and finding out how to grow them outside of their usual range and developing hardier varieties will push their cultivation northwards. As well as being interesting, it is also a good challenge and something that may come in use in the future.

[Graham]

Is there such a thing as being addicted to Gardening? Have went and bought millions of Saxifrage. Addicted to buying it for Spring.

They grow amazingly well, in the garden. I like the low lying plants.

[Albion]

Flora of North East Asia particularly interests me. East Asia is a biodiversity hotspot and genus not found in Europe can be found there, whilst many genus found in Europe have their greatest number of species and origin there.
North East Asia and some mountainous areas in the region such as the foothills of the Himalayas are home to species well adapted to Northern European conditions (cold winters, cool summers, wet conditions).
The Himalayas, Tien Shan desert and Siberia act as a barrier to the exchange of temperate flora between Europe and East Asia, this is why genus that would likely thrive in Europe such as Budleia don't exist here naturally (although some European species do go right up to the foothills of the Himalayas and vice versa).

My latest plant from the region is a Climbing hydrangea which I bought this week. They flower typically from may to july and are as tough as old boots, hailing from Korea, Northern Japan and Sakhalin (probably the hardiest and north-most Hydrangea species). I'm going to grow it up a wall or fence of some sort. The flowers are very good for insects and are superficially similar to lacecap Hydrangeas, mophead hydrangeas being fairly useless for pollinators. It would suit Scotland well.









I also got some free Golden bamboo, it was to be binned (got ruined in winter, cut back and will take time to regrow), it is showing signs of life though. Not sure where I shall put it yet or if I really want it, bamboo is okay but I'm not its greatest fan. I'll regrow it in a bag of compost and maybe give it a relative that likes bamboo.

Is there such a thing as being addicted to Gardening? Have went and bought millions of Saxifrage. Addicted to buying it for Spring.

They grow amazingly well, in the garden. I like the low lying plants.

I like flowering shrubs and vines mostly. I like Saxifrages too, but don't really have anywhere where they'd fit.

[LouisFerdinand]

[UkrainianGirl]

Ooh I like that this thread comes with pretty pictures lol. I do like flowers though not too much of the other things though.

[Ülev]

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[LouisFerdinand]