Plants, plants and more plants!




I love to grow plants, especially ones that books or people tell me will not grow in this area. Growing plants is a form of peace and tranquility for me and is a daily duty. To get information concerning the fruit trees mentioned below, click on Fruit Trees or on one of the highlighted plants below. I grow several types of tree including Live Oaks, Southern Red Oaks, Langtry Oaks and several that I have yet to identify. I also grow Magnolias. Along with the aforementioned trees, I like to grow fruit trees. These trees/bushes include Navel Oranges, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Apricots, Peaches, Plums, Dates, Several types of Apples, Mangos and several types of Avocados. I also grow roses including Heart of Gold grandifloras and a few types of miniature roses. Also included in my horticultural hobbies, I raise Jasmines, Azaleas, Dahlias and Lilies.

I have had problems raising Peaches and Plums from seeds though.

Currently, I am attempting to grow Avocados, Mangoes and Loquats. The Loquats are hard to get going though.

Many of the fruiting plants are self fertile but some, such as the Apples, require different varieties that bloom at different times to produce fruit.

Of the remaining plants that I have growing around our home are spices such as Rosemary, Strawberries and Thyme. Flowering plants include Mexican Petunias , Sweet Williams (Dianthus), Plumbagos, Evolvulus. There are also Aloe Vera and other cacti that I, currently, do not know the name of.

My grandfather on my mothers side and my great-grandfather on my fathers side were both very profficient horticulturalists especially in several areas that I wish I knew how to do. These areas include splicing, chip budding, grafting and other cross breeding techniques.

The roses are struggling. Even though I took great pains to find some "disease resistant" roses, the humidity and temperatures are tough on them and they get covered in mold in mildew very quickly. If anyone knows how to treat or cure this, let me know as I have seen many roses growing great in this are and I cannot figure out how they do it. The morning dew and high humidity also reduce the amount of time that a bloom lasts, usually no more than a few day before all the petals fall off. I have gotten a few roses to bud and now am trying to raise some Heart O' Gold roses from seed, we'll see how that turns out as I have heard that it is pretty tough. At present, I have started one Heart O' Gold bush from seed and have 3 Othello, David Austin roses ordered.


>Evolvulus and Plumbagos	Heart of Gold Grandiflora Roses	Mexican Petunias

I am still growing plants and have alot of fruits to be given away if anyone wants some. They include Navel Oranges, Ruby Red Grapefruits, Mangoes, Avocadoes, Papayas and even a few Apples are still left. Several of my personal plants are getting big now. One apple is about 10 foot tall and starting to branch, I believe and hope that it is a Red Delicious. With apples, there has to be two different breeds that flower in different parts of the year, to bear fruit. The four parts of the year are considered to be, Spring to Early Summer, Early Summer to Mid-Summer, Mid-Summer to Late Summer and Late Summer to Fall. The two parts that cause fruiting have to be next to each other such as Spring to Early Summer and Early Summer to Mid Summer, to pollinate.

Many of the current Oranges and Grapefruits are getting close to 1 foot tall now and are getting ready to be transplanted. With many citrus, many have self-pollination characteristics such as with Lemons and Limes and even Grapefruits, if I am not mistaken.

Also, as I mentioned above, do not be discouraged by books saying that certain plants such as Avocadoes, Mangoes, Apples and Papayas cannot be grown in this area. This is simply not true as my plants can attest. My mangoes are almost 4 foot tall as are the Avocadoes!

Kalai recently spoke to someone who said that their Mango was not branching or bearing fruit. Just in case that person is reading this page, Mangoes and Avocadoes need to be "cut" when they are about 3 feet tall in order to branch. Also, to bear fruit they need another plant to help pollinate them. Avocadoes and Mangoes, if I am not mistaken, are asexual and can change "sexes" according to what is required by the other plant in order to pollinate.