Question from Jenny:

Answer from Pat:
Three suggestions come to mind for a tree to fulfill your requirements in coastal Carlsbad, one mile inland, most likely Sunset Zone 23. One is a dwarf pine. There are several possibilities to choose from among dwarf pines, such as Mugho pine (Pinus mugo) which grows slowly to 4 or 8 feet in height and 8 to 15 feet wide, dwarf Japanese black pine (P. thunbergiana ‘Thunderhead) grows to 6 feet in height but is better adapted further inland, or your could choose a Japanese white pine (P. parviflora) of which several dwarf and gray forms are available. A second suggestion is India hawthorne tree (Rhaphiolepis ‘Magestic Beauty’). This tree is easy to grow and gets ever more beautiful as it ages and never will be too large. Please read what I said about the characteristics and easy care of this tree when answering the query of another readerhttp://patwelsh.com/wpmu/blog/trees/small-drought-tolerant-evergreen-flowering-trees-for-a-parkway/. My third suggestion is Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo.) Arbutus can be trained into a great shape in age and the species is slow growing. The best place to look for trees is at tree farm, such as Briggs Tree Company or Pardee Tree Nursery, to name two suggestions, since you can find specimens already shaped and advice is likely to be more specialized than at most nurseries, where trees might have stood for a while in the can.

Related posts:

1. Tree Suggestion
2. Gold Medallion Tree (Cassia leptophylla) Questions
3. Black Olive Tree

I am very fond of Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Stricta’ , C. s.’Fastiigiata’). I know some people don’t like them, but I love the look of them and their atmospheric quality pleases me. They remind me of Italy, and fit in with the Mediterranean garden style. I have three in my own garden and have pruned off the lower branches so they look like the trees in Renaissance paintings. (But if this look is desired it should never be done until the trees are at least 10 or 15 feet tall.)

Italian cypress need good drainage. In general, since these trees are drought-resistant, deep infrequent watering is preferable to frequent and shallow watering. However, if you want them to grow fast you will need to fertilize and water for rapid growth. In heavy clay soil Italian cypress can die from root rot, so in this case they are not a good choice. Canker diseases have also been a problem in recent years and there is said to be no cure, but good health can help trees throw off problems.  It used to be said that the best time to fertilize is in March, but those rules were for synthetic fertilizers.  When fertilizing with organic fertilizers, earlier is better since it takes time for them to work. For example, applications of manure in fall before the rains are good, or apply adequate quantities of commercial organic fertilizer in late January and water in. Grow Power is not fully organic but plants thrive on it. If  you choose that, I would apply it in mid-February.

Also, mulch the trees.  Organic fertilizers and beneficial insects can help Italian cypress withstand attacks of spider mites. People who grow roses organically for example have no spider mites on their roses. My Italian cypress do not suffer from spider mites but I live near the coast so hot dry weather is not a problem. Cypress trees in the Hollywood hills are looking okay also. Strangely enough the smoke from last year’s fires probably smoked the trees in the hills and did them some good since they all got a big dose of carbon, and doubtless the smoke killed some of the pests also. Additionally flowering trees and plants doubtless benefitted from the ethylene gas in the smoke. (Nice to know that a fire that does so much harm also brings about some good.) When my town was filled with smoke for a whole week a couple of years ago, the growth and health of our trees and the number of flowers on flowering shrubs and trees were extraordinary for a whole year thereafter.

Though the problems with pests and diseases mentioned above have afflicted Italian cypress in recent years, I believe that good cultural practices (also explained above) can keep these problems under control so if these are the trees you love, why not have them? Other columnar type trees for a rapidly growing screen include several varieties of podocarpus, and as you suggested, junipers. You might not like x Cupressocyparis leylandii, but I’ve seen it growing in a narrow side yard and pruned to fit. (Their gardener did this job at regular intervals for 50 years.) It’s hard to choose between ‘Spartan’ and ‘Skyrocket’ junipers. I like the color of ‘Spartan’ Juniper better than ‘Skyrocket’, but ‘Skyrocket’ is a little faster growing, I think and it’s very narrow with the reputation of fitting into a narrow side yard with little problem. Monrovia Nursery grows both these varieties. ‘Spartan’ might be better adapted to growing in California since it’s said to grow even in Zone 10. Is there any chance you can view these varieties growing in a landscape near you? That is often a good way to make a choice.

Related posts:

1. Cypress Canker Disease on Italian Cypress
2. Blue Sapphire Cypress (Cupressus arizonica ‘Carolina Sapphire’)
3. Pines, Cypress, and Cedars

I kept it in a pot indoors.

I also had a potted coffee tree – it *did* bear fruit: a handful of deep red coffee beans every year. I roasted them in my oven – enough for 1-2 cups of coffee (which sadly didnt taste like much – perhaps my roasting technique was lacking).

Both of these lived around 25 years until they succumbed to the ravages of age.

Answer from Pat:
Your seed-grown citrus tree sounds as if it made an excellent houseplant. Leaves of some fragrant Tai fruitless citrus varieties are used to flavor cooking. Twenty-five years sounds like a ripe old age for a house-grown citrus seedling. If you’d re-potted it and top and root-pruned it might have gotten a new start and gone on for another twenty-five.

All citrus trees come from one genus and the seeds called pips must be planted when fresh in order to sprout and grow, so yours must have come from a fresh seed. Growing things like this on window sills was something many English kids did in the 1930′s. My nurse would sometimes help me plant many odd things from seeds on the window sill of our nursery. Many bearing citrus trees have been grown from seeds planted outdoors in climates appropriate for citrus growing but these chance seedlings may not bloom or bear fruit for many years—at least ten years and often fifteen or perhaps more—, and when they do bear one cannot guess how good or bad the fruit will be. It may be totally inedible due to hybridization between modern varieties.

All commercial and home varieties of citrus fruit are grown from special varieties grafted onto root stock. Grafted citrus trees can bloom and bear fruit only a year or two after planting, but trees from chance seedlings might not do so for ten or even fifteen or more years, if ever.

Lemons are much happier growing in pots than any other citrus tree and more likely to bear fruit even if roots are confined and plants kept small. Another interesting point is that some varieties began from a mutation on a tree of another variety. That is thought to be the origin of the ‘Moro’ variety of blood orange. It’s much darker than others. A branch bearing this fruit was found on a tree in Sicily towards the end of the 19th century.

Yes, coffee plants can be grown as houseplants and will often bear berries as yours did. You can purchase plants mail-order from a Florida wholesale house.

Related posts:

1. Choosing Citrus Trees for home garden
2. Feeding citrus trees
3. Wisteria and coffee grounds

Question from Jonnie:

Answer from Pat:
Without seeing your crape myrtle (Lagestroemia indica) or a photo of the bark I cannot tell if there is anything wrong with it. However, though it may look a bit messy now, most likely nothing is amiss. People plant crape myrtles not only for their spectacular summer flowers but also for their interesting mottled gray, taupe, pink and fawn bark. Like sycamores, the bark of crape myrtle does not stretch or become furrowed as most tree bark does. Instead, as the tree grows its bark peels off in patches, revealing the new pink bark beneath. This mottled look is actually one of this tree’s most interesting characteristics.
With this tree you get a triple whammy: spectacular fall flowers, fall leaf color, and handsome bark that is especially
attractive in winter after leaves fall.

Crape myrtles grow best in interior climate zones where summers are hot and dry. They do not like water-logged
soil and perform best in well-drained soil with deep but infrequent irrigation, and light pruning in late winter or early spring to encourage new growth for summer bloom. Crape myrtle blooms on new wood. Letting the tree go slightly dry in late summer and withholding summer fertilizer will increase the display of blossoms in late summer and early fall. It is not a good idea to plant this tree in a lawn.

Crape myrtles are not good choices for Sunset Zone 24 where coastal fog and June Gloom blankets gardens in moist air. In such conditions crape myrtles tend to succumb to mildew. Mildew doesn’t affect the trunk. It affects the leaves and sometimes also the flowers. The general guidance for planting all trees is to plant them straight into unamended native soil, since the tree will eventually have to grow there anyway. That said, crape myrtles thrive best in soil that is well drained. Gardeners who plant them in heavy clay soil would be wise to provide a raised bed.

Such a bed does not need to be very high. Even four inches will save the crown of the tree from becoming water-logged. Fill the raised bed with good quality top soil mixed with nutrients and well-composted organic matter, but before doing so apply gypsum liberally to the native soil. Next dig some of your fill into the hard ground below, to create a marriage of soils instead of a hard line between the two. Then dig the planting hole straight through the top soil and mixed soil into the native soil beneath. Add more gypsum in the bottom of the hole and some slow release organic fertilizer in the bottom of the planting hole. Then plant the tree and refill the hole. Make a watering basin and keep the roots well watered until established then gradually lengthen out the times between irrigations.

Related posts:

1. Chinese Fringe Tree or Crepe Myrtle
2. Fruit Drop From Peach Trees
3. Planting California Native Plants

Question from Heather:

Answer from Pat:
I also love California pepper trees but they do not fall within your requirements. They are much too large for parkways, and they are messy, invasive, fall prey to thrips, and their roots get into pipes. Regarding my advice on India Hawthorne tree (Rhaphiolepis ‘Magestic Beauty’) this is the very best thing you could plant and is basically pest-free and easy to grow.  You will love it if you give it if you purchase good ones in the beginning and if you give them the care I have already suggested. I also suggested fertilizing in March due to the sparsity of irrigation you plan to use and there is still rain usually in March. It would be better however to fertilize after the June pruning since this is when you want to stimulate growth, not before bloom in March. Just be sure to water the fertilizer thoroughly into the ground. If your house faces east, however, you have more sun than I thought. This widens your choices. See the list of small patio trees on Page 80 of Sunset Western Garden Book. Be sure to choose a drought-resistant one. Gold medallion tree (Cassia leptophylla) is a popular choice today, but the India Hawthorne trees would be far more elegant and would become in time the envy of all your neighbors.

Related posts:

1. California Pepper Tree or Mexican Pepper tree
2. California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)
3. California Pepper tree

Question from Josh:

Answer from Pat:
I am going to suggest two trees for you, but first I feel as if I need to tell you some of the facts of life regarding trees. Frequently people, especially non-gardeners, ask plants to do impossible things. The requirements you have named are nigh impossible for any live tree to fulfill.  Plants are living things, they are not machines made to jump through the hoops that humans set for them

You are asking for a tree that is evergreen, will grow 15 feet high and wide, will survive and bloom on a steep slope, with water only once or twice a month and little to no sun. Despite these difficult requirements, Indian Hawthorne tree (Rhaphiolepis ‘Magestic Beauty’) is a small and virtuous tree that might actually do what you want.  It is an evergreen flowering tree that, when mature, is exactly the size you require—roughly 15 feet tall and about 10 to 15 feet wide maximum. It has lovely pink flowers that blanket the top of the tree in spring. These flowers will usually be light pink for the first few years, then often they will become a deeper, even lovelier pink after the tree reaches 8 or 10 years of age. This tree is drought-resistant once established. It should look excellent with Victorian and Craftsman homes and it can survive in semi-shade, but it will need watering more frequently than once a month to get it established. Once established then you can lengthen out the waterings to once or twice a month but make sure the water reaches to the roots, which on a slope may be a problem. And please remember, this fine tree certainly will need a lot more water in the beginning to get it established. (Rainfall could help you here if you plant in fall.) This is a beautiful small tree, one of the finest and most trouble-free, but buying good ones would cost you quite a bit, so I caution you to take care of them at first or plant in fall and count on the rains to get them established. Purchase this tree boxed from tree farms or order them from Monrovia Nursery and get them the right height to begin with on the tallest trunk you can get. (The crown of the tree will grow taller and wider, but not the trunk.)

Plant Rhaphiolepis right now in fall if possible. (I am answering your question in November. November and December is not too late to plant.)  Don’t wait too long. Here is one guideline you must follow in order to have success with this tree: Prune it only once a year in June AFTER bloom. If you have hired gardeners, which I am guessing you do, draw them a picture of an umbrella on a straight handle. This is the shape you want these trees to have, flat across the bottom and rounded on top and the trunk is the handle. Have your gardeners shear the top of the trees once a year in June, cutting off all the dead blooms and seedpods plus a little foliage. Never allow gardeners to prune these trees before bloom or you will get no flowers! This means you must never allow gardeners to prune this tree in fall or winter or early spring you will get no flowers in spring. (I cringe when I drive around and see ignorant people pruning rhaphiolepis at the wrong time of year!) Each year when your gardeners (or you) prune in June after bloom, the correct pruning method is to shear the tops of the trees into a formal umbrella shape. Cut nothing off the bottom except to keep the bottom edge straight. Don’t let gardeners make these trees into round blobs like a row of lollypops. Shear the tops this way every year allowing the size of the umbrellas to get a little larger every year until they have reached just the size you want. Then after that shear the tops to your desired size each year after bloom. Fertilize these trees every year in March with a balanced granulated fertilizer recommended for trees and water in thoroughly unless the rains do the job for you. Also use planting pellets in the planting hole when you plant.

My second suggestion is Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo.) As with the Rhaphiolepis suggested above, you will need to purchase these already pruned and trained and boxed in tree form. Again, go to a tree farm to look for these. Do not allow them to talk you into the Arbutus ‘Marina’. It is too big for your needs, and the fruit is messy.
I have a third suggestion which is yew pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus), but these need regular water. If you cannot water them more often than your requirement states, they most likely will die. A smaller type of yew pine Podocarpus ‘Maki’ is also another elegant choice. These trees are evergreen and have a dark green characterful look. They are narrow growers and they take wind. They do well in shade and are heat resistant, but they do not bloom. However, podocarpus trees need regular irrigation. Unless you can give them regular irrigation once a week, don’t choose yew pine. Otherwise this would be a good choice.

Related posts:

1. Evergreen Trees for Median
2. Flowering Subtropical Street Trees
3. Small Patio Trees

Answer from Pat:
You don’t mention where you live. The best way to find out if there is a law against pruning any tree would be to ask the city government where you live. For example, there is a law in Del Mar California against cutting down Torrey pines (Pinus torreyana) but none against intelligently pruning them. However, one can cut down a tree when it is too close to a house or another building. A permit is required to cut them down.

No permit is required to prune Torrey pine trees, and in some cases it’s necessary to prune them for reasons of safety. Torrey pines are not damaged by sensible pruning and often helped by it. Where there is plentiful ground water they have even survived unwise pruning such as topping, which is never a good idea with any tree. A Torrey pine, or any tree for that matter, should not be pruned in such a way that it becomes unbalanced. It is best to prune them in the cool weather of late fall and winter months, not in summer.

Torrey pine trees often invade pipes. In the wild, they are attacked by beetles during droughts, but if growing in gardens or on irrigated hillsides they are usually healthy. They easily throw off beetle attack and can grow to enormous size. Basically, they are not a good tree for irrigated gardens since their roots invade pipes and they grow too large, sometimes with shallow roots making the trees dangerous. There are many cases of large Torrey pine trees crashing down to the ground because of shallow roots in irrigated soils. Sometimes they fall on houses and other structures. Unusually long and heavy limbs can also fall off or break and hit the ground, though still attached to the tree. For this reason it is wise to remove any branches that have stretched too far out from the trunk with a heavy load of foliage at the tip and none down the branch.

There have been some cases of Torrey pine trees in gardens suddenly crashing down to the ground in the middle of the day or night when there is not even any wind. However, trees growing in canyons where roots can grow deep to get water rarely fall and often grow to immense size, creating a phalanx of foliage that can indeed cut off views and drip quantities of sap and needles on the ground below. Wise pruning may in some cases benefit the tree and the safety of your property. (Please see the article on Care of Torrey Pine Trees elsewhere on this website.)

Related posts:

1. Save Torrey Pine Trees from Boring Insects
2. Torrey Pine in La Mesa
3. History and Care of the Torrey Pine

From Dave:

Reply by Pat: Sounds good, though chicken manure is a little strong for planting medium. Usual instructions are for planting out of containers straight into un-amended native soil. However, when planting in clay it’s always a good idea to work some gypsum in the bottom of the hole to increase drainage under the root ball. Any fertilizer can be added later on top of the soil. You will probably be okay but keep in touch. I hope the roots won’t be burned by direct contact with chicken manure.

Beaumont trees are good for home growing but all nuts should be picked off the tree once a year, whether or not they fall off naturally, at the time and in the way as described in my book. Emptying the tree of nuts this way prevents them from getting smaller and smaller each year. Other varieties fall off naturally.

Related posts:

1. Planting Macadamias
2. Beaumont macadamia nut tree
3. Pruning Macadamias

Question from Tony:

I hope to get your help with a new problem.  For many years I’ve had a dwarf bay tree in a large pot, and it does very well.  Within the last few weeks, the leaves have gone brown and feel somewhat dry.  I first thought it was lack of water, but deep watering and fertilizer have not made a difference. There are new leaves coming out, and soon they get a rusty edge.  Some have a black spot on them.  I fear some kind of disease.  Please advise.

Thank you for always being generous with your knowledge.

Answer from Pat:
Bay tree (Laurus nobilis) is subject to Phytophthora root rot http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.forestryimages., a disease of certain species of plants especially when grown in poorly drained soils. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r107100111.html

When a plant suffers from this disease it usually collapses and gets brown all over or on one side. Looking at your photo, I fear this may be the problem, because I note that part of the plant is brown all over. Additionally you remarked that there are some black spots. This is one characteristic of Phytophthora. Unfortunately there is no known cure for this disease. If this is the problem, willy-nilly the plant will die. Watering it more would only make it sicker and fertilizing was not the correct solution either. (More on that point in a moment). If the plant dies, bag it in a black plastic trash bag and tie  up the bag. Then throw it out in the trash including the soil so your garden does not get infected. Be sure to disinfect any tools you may have used on this plant and also the pot with a solution of Chlorox and water so that the disease does not spread to other susceptible plants in your garden. Then go out and buy another bay tree and grow it in fresh soil with good drainage and pot it on gradually as it grows larger. Bays are big trees and they need root pruning annually once their roots have filled a large container. If you do not do this the plant will always die eventually, but by root pruning, you can keep a tree growing indefinitely in a container. I will try to make a video of this process on a camellia sometime if I can find a root-bound camellia in a pot. I must remember to ask my garden club if anyone has one.

The crisp brown tips and edges of older leaves shown in your photo are also classic signs of severe salt damage. I hope this is the problem since there is a cure for it. Salt burn usually results from a build-up of salts in the soil from too much fertilizer and not enough flushing out with clear water. In this case flushing with water would have been a good idea but fertilizing more was not. There is a rule of thumb that says “Never feed a sick plant.” Salt damage can also result from watering too lightly with hard water, such as softened tap water or simply water from the hose. Light watering means salts stay in the soil. That’s why we must always irrigate with adequate water so that water flows freely out the bottom of the pot. Then let the soil dry somewhat between waterings. Also, never use softened house water for irrigating house plants since it is full of salts. Purified water is okay and ordinary hose water is okay despite it’s being alkaline, but then plants need rain water in winter to set things right again.

It is a great idea to put some buckets outside and collect some of this good rain water that Mother Nature is pouring down on us from the sky right now. There is no salt in it. Fresh rainwater is great for flushing out the salts in pots of house plants and other salt-ridden potting soil.

Another problem that can lead to wet and salty soil is when the drainage hole in the bottom of the container is filled with roots thus preventing the water from escaping, so they stayed wet. Often a pot left standing on a patio makes a mat of roots beneath it. Make sure this does not happen by placing it on small pieces of broken pottery or on ceramic “pot feet” made especially for the purpose. Once roots have filled the soil, slide the plant out of the pot and prune the roots. If you can catch some rain water in a bucket, wash the roots thoroughly with rain water to wash out the salts. Then repot in a larger container with fresh soil, with a piece of broken pottery over the drainage hole so the plant has good drainage. Use humic acid mixed in the irrigation water, if you have it to encourage fresh roots to grow. Humic acid is the most effective of all transplanting fluids but it is not absolutely necessary.

Related posts:

1. Sick Olive Tree
2. Reed avocado, root rot and bacterial leaf spot
3. Honeysuckle Dying

Question from Jane:

I live in Fallbrook

Answer from Pat:
No, I do no suggest bloodmeal as the best fertilizer for deciduous fruit trees. It is strong nitrogen and can burn. Not right thing at all. I suggested it as one way to go when feeding avocados, which are heavy feeders. (See February chapter for details.) I suggest several different ways to fertilize deciduous fruit trees. I am truly sorry I can’t repeat two columns of detailed advice here, though I would find a way distill it down and give you a complete answer if I were in better shape. You may have noticed that my answers to questions have been a little shorter the last few days. I’m making them succinct as possible due to fact i’m home with a nurse after total reverse replacement of left shoulder and I’m typing with one finger to keep up my blog every day. My left arm is immobilized until shoulder heals.

My new organic book is available online or at any book store. Why don’t you go to a library or a bookstore and read up on this subject on pages 86 and 87? You have plenty of time to do this since you do not need this information until next February. Now is not the time. If our odd weather has produced blossoms on your trees that does not mean to feed now. Now is the time to encourage your trees go into dormancy. Feeding now would produce a surge of growth, the opposite of what you want.

Related posts:

1. Fruit Trees
2. Vegetables, Eucalyptus, Clay Soil, and Fruit Trees
3. Fertilizing Passion Fruit