Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration – Sunday, January 19th, 2PM to 4PM

Do you have fruit trees or fruiting vines you are interested in pruning?  Do you have questions such as: How do I plan and prepare for an orchard?   How do I get a bountiful crop?   What do I need to know before pruning? What are the best times to prune?   What is winter chill?   How is it effecting your crop?

If so, join Greener Way Associates, located at 10708 Northgate Street, Culver City 90230 for a pruning demonstration.  Landscape Architect and Consulting Arborist Pieter Severynen will hold a fruit tree pruning demonstration in the Culver City Greener Way, which will include tree shapes, long-term health and maintenance techniques, pruning tools, and decisions to make before pruning.  Stay for refreshments and Pieter will answer your questions!

Pieter has been pruning fruit trees for over 50 years. He teaches arboriculture at UCLA. He has represented the American Society of Landscape Architects in the preparation of the recently published 10th Edition of the Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers, prestigiously rated “Guide for Plant Appraisal” which shows tree appraisers how to evaluate trees. He maintains an active consulting practice, writes tree reports, advises homeowners on planting and maintenance of fruit and shade trees, holds tree pruning demonstrations, and lectures on climate change.   In this hands-on demonstration, Pieter will welcome questions specific to your trees!

This is not a CRFG activity; however, it is highly recommended!

Suggested donation for this jam-packed session is $20.  To RSVP for the Culver City address or for more information email: Suzanne@GreenerWayAssociates.org or Phone/text: 310-204-0570

Field Trip to La Verne Nursery! November 9th @ 9 am (Note new time)

This field trip is for WLA and LA chapter members ONLY.   The online address per Google Maps is WRONG.   The nursery has been without electricity due to wind/fires. Specific directions and actual available plants will be emailed to you as soon as the nursery can get them to us.

We will have a tour of La Verne Nursery at their huge Piru Facility.  La Verne is one of the premier sources of tropical and subtropical fruiting plants in our area.  We all probably have at least a plant or two from their nursery.  Daniel Nelson, Director of Nursery Operations, will be our tour guide.  He will discuss such topics as mass propagation, container culture, and specific care instructions for various fruit trees, as well as answer any questions our members may have.  This is a rare chance to see how a large nursery goes about producing many thousands of plants a year and to learn from Dann’s professional expertise.  We will be able to see their propagation facilities and techniques.  Perhaps we will see how their nursery grafts new scion wood to rootstock.

Although La Verne Nursery does not sell retail, as special guests we will be able to purchase trees after the tour at near-wholesale prices.  The last time we purchased trees from La Verne Nursery, the plants were large, healthy, and beautiful!  Everyone was immensely pleased with the plants purchased.

You can pre-order any plants that you want (before we get to the nursery).  Go online to see what plants are available at: http://www.lavernenursery.com/current-availability.html.    This list shows what plants the nursery has in abundance and may not include all the possibilities you will find when you are there.  As noted above, we will receive a more complete list of available trees by the end of this week and that list will be emailed to you as soon as it is received.  Please note that you cannot order online. Select your plants and email Susan Guggenheim to tell her what plants you want to order.

All sales will be cash; buyers will be responsible for paying for and transporting their own purchases at the end of the tour.

The nursery is some distance from West LA, so plan to carpool.   Members of the LA Chapter are welcome.  Only CRFG members may attend the field trip.

 

If you missed the Long Beach VA trip…

…this is what we saw and did.  Now aren’t you sorry you didn’t make it?  Don’t miss out on Ben Farmer’s talk on the 12th.

Long Beach VA gardens

Party! Party! Party!

Chapter members, just a reminder: our holiday party is Saturday and the plant raffle is really starting to shape up,. Gros Michel banana pups, rose apple seedlings, and a one-gallon ice cream bean tree are among the offerings. This is a pot luck so bring your best dish (as well as plants to include in the raffle if you have them)  See you there!

Paradise Nursery address

Yup, forgot it in previous post:
10943 De Soto Avenue,
Chatsworth, CA 91311

This is just south of the DeSoto exit on the 118 at Rinaldi.  Entrance is easy to miss, so keep eyes peeled.

Plants available today only (10-15-18!)

A member living in Brentwood has to vacate her apartment suddenly. She has many many rare plants, some in 50 gallon containers and she is making them available to anyone who wants them. Because she is sight-
challenged, she cannot accept texts but call her at 310-936-3150 if you can take them today. For the bigger plants, you will need a dolly and truck.

Black jacket

It was left at our October 13th meeting (Edgar Valdivia on Cherimoyas and Figs).  Please let me know if it’s yours.

Badges

Because many of you have asked about the attractive permanent name badges some of our members wear, we are going to have a sign-up for them at the October 13th meeting.

To order a badge give a check or cash for $15 to our treasurer Andreé at the time of the order, i.e., before the order is placed. The West LA CRFG name badge has the distinctive CRFG logo and two lines of engraved black text (see badges worn by Sofia Ames and Jane Beer).  The badge is roughly 2″ x 3″ and has a magnetic clasp, although you may request a pin clip if you prefer.

More about our October 13th meeting

Cribbed from the excellent newsletter Margaret Frane writes and sends to our members:

“Edgar is well known in the CRFG throughout California for developing great tasting (and beautiful) dragon fruit (pitahaya) varieties. You can purchase his dragon fruit varieties, such as Tricia and Edgar’s Baby, in many specialty nurseries.  Edgar grows well over 100 other fruit such as at least 20 varieties of cherimoya, lucuma, mulberry, and figs.  You can see a small smaple of them on the CRFG, Inc., “Let’s Find Out” series #12: https://www.crfg.org/piwigo/picture.php?/4733/category/53.

To hear other examples of Edgar speaking, listen and watch him on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZtoyxK-Fqs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR-Zt-c0gu0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqrOkUAxYCE

 

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