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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
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Fig trees may well be the easiest fruit trees of all to grow as they are disease-free, drought tolerant, heat tolerant, fairly cold hardy, early bearing, and self-pollinating. If you are looking for a fast growing fruit tree this is it! We also have semi dwarf fruit tree varieties if you need a small fruit tree to grow in small space that will still produce full size fruit. They are perfect as potted plants! Some fig trees will stay compact at 5-15 feet tall as mature trees. A self-pollinating fruit tree variety means it does not need a second tree to cross pollinate and have trees produce fruit. The ‘Brown Turkey’ Fig tree is one of our favorites. It grows fast, gets large, is highly productive, and it is more cold weather hardy (to USDA zone 7) than most other fig varieties. If you live further Up North, the ‘Chicago Hardy’ fig is your best choice; it will survive in zone 5!
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The loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is an evergreen tropical tree that produces sweet, delicious fruit. In the right conditions, it's an excellent tree to grow. Grown either as a loquat tree or a shrub, this fruiting plant is an interesting one. A relative of the rose, it makes small fruits that taste like a blend of peaches, citrus, and mango. It has a honey note. But most people have never tasted it and know virtually nothing about this unusual fruit or the lushly-tropical tree it grows on! I will fix that because loquats are delicious, nutritious, and fun to grow if you’re in the right climate to do it. These evergreen trees are a beautiful ornamental species, and with fresh fruit, it’s worth growing!With an average top height of 30 feet, it can become a sizeable evergreen tree. However, it’s more commonly kept in the 10 to 15-foot range by commercial growers for ease of maintenance and harvesting. At the 10-foot height, it is treated more like a dense, tree-like shrub. While as many as 800 cultivars are available, they are all the same base species. Loquats are also called the Japanese plum tree, Chinese plum, or Japanese medlar. In China the tree and its fruit are called Pipa.The loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is native to southeastern China and possibly parts of southern Japan. It thrives in subtropical to mild temperate regions and has been cultivated in its native areas for thousands of years. The tree is particularly well-suited to regions with warm, sunny climates and moderate rainfall. Over time, it has spread to other parts of Asia, the Mediterranean, and subtropical regions worldwide. The loquat is now widely naturalized in many areas.The loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is native to southeastern China and possibly parts of southern Japan. It thrives in subtropical to mild temperate regions and has been cultivated in its native areas for thousands of years. The tree is particularly well-suited to regions with warm, sunny climates and moderate rainfall. Over time, it has spread to other parts of Asia, the Mediterranean, and subtropical regions worldwide. The loquat is now widely naturalized in many areas.The loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is native to southeastern China and possibly parts of southern Japan. It thrives in subtropical to mild temperate regions and has been cultivated in its native areas for thousands of years. The tree is particularly well-suited to regions with warm, sunny climates and moderate rainfall. Over time, it has spread to other parts of Asia, the Mediterranean, and subtropical regions worldwide. The loquat is now widely naturalized in many areas.The tree has a rounded or spreading crown and dense foliage. The leaves are large, leathery, and dark green with a glossy upper surface and a slightly hairy underside. Loquat trees produce fragrant, white to cream-colored flowers in late autumn or early winter, which develop into clusters of golden-yellow to orange fruit. The fruits are small, oval, or pear-shaped, with a sweet and tangy flavor. They contain one to four glossy brown seeds. In traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine, the fruit and the leaves of the loquat plum fruit tree are used for multiple different purposes. The Chinese use the fresh fruit to make a syrup to ease coughs. The leaves are used in Japan to make biwa cha, a beverage which is believed to help with skin conditions and help with bronchitis or other respiratory illnesses. Both the leaves and the seeds have small amounts of cyanogenic glycosides that release cyanide when digested. However, small amounts of these compounds rarely have any effect. It’s still good to avoid eating the seeds or the leaves, and to keep them away from children and pets.
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If you’re selecting new trees for your yard this fall, lucky you! You’re adding value and enrichment to the landscape visually, ecologically, and economically. With so many variables in tree form, growing conditions, and features, a few guidelines help winnow down the field. Hone in on the best trees for your yard with gardening expert Katherine Rowe. Trees form the “bones” of the garden. They’re the first considerations to work with when creating a landscape design – starting with the largest, whether new or existing, and working our way down to detailed plantings. Trees impact the arrangement the most in size, light affectations, and framework. As the largest plants in a collection, they carry the most visual weight in addition to their hefty canopies and root systems. Trees offer big rewards ecologically, ornamentally, and even economically. Choosing these landscape anchors is a long-term commitment. With so many variations in form and features, we’ve got a few ways to narrow down the best tree options for your yard. The main factor in selecting trees is ensuring enough room for their mature growth. Planning for maturity means accounting for limb expanse, height, and root systems. It sounds obvious, but we sometimes overlook or underestimate their full size to meet short-term aesthetics. Ideally, our trees will live a long time and reach their maximum height and spread. We don’t want to squeeze them into a spot now only to remove them down the road. The right situation to accommodate tree size makes all the difference regarding future maintenance. Will limbs encroach on the house, roof, or other structures like power lines? Is there enough room for root development without compromising the foundation, walkways, or tree health? Using size as a parameter helps guide our choices toward tall, mid, or small specimens. While trees benefit from pruning as they age, they won’t need it to regularly manage size with the right tree in the right spot. Trees, whether large or small in stature, have a bearing on the balance of the landscape. As the most sizeable and lasting landscape contributors, they also yield the most structure and visual heft. Among the tallest features of the planting arrangement, their size and form draw the eye. Their visual weight plays into scale and proportion: how we experience a place, its readability, and overall pleasing aesthetic. It’s the essence of curb appeal, where the home blends seamlessly into the landscape through a connected built and natural environment. Proportion is how all of the elements of a space relate to each other in size. Plant material and garden structures should be considered relative to the size of the house and the area to plant. A proportionate garden feels harmonious and balanced. If you’re working with a large site, consider adding bigger trees to punctuate the space with vertical interest. Think of an alle, a bosque, a small grouping, or a single large tree to dominate the space. Intimate spaces allow us to relish the details, where small specimen trees become focal points (taking care not to overcrowd the area). The scale of your house and yard will determine whether to go with a single tree, a grouping of understory trees like dogwoods, or rows to line your drive. Your selection goes back to the home’s guiding proportions. Opt for small to mid-sized, multi-trunk specimens like Japanese maple, sweet bay magnolia, or serviceberry to anchor foundation plantings for scaled variation near the house. Give plenty of space between the home and the tree (six feet or so, depending on the variety). To choose the best trees for your yard, consider their roles. Maybe you’re looking for shade, fall color, flowers, a focal point, or all of the above. Deciduous trees offer leafy canopies that provide cooling shade in summer. They help reduce air conditioning usage (and costs) in summer. In winter, they allow the warming sun to shine through bare branches and warm the home or patio. Evergreens provide year-round privacy, screening, and windbreaks. Fruit and nut producers enhance the edible landscape and provide forage for birds and wildlife. Flowering and fragrant selections bring color and heighten seasonal interest. Shade trees and evergreens have dramatically different forms, both equally valuable. Trees become architecture in the landscape, from vase-shaped to multitrunked to pyramidal. If you’d like to screen a view or block an unsightly feature, a dense evergreen may be the choice. Sturdy evergreens also help block winds throughout the year, whether as singular large specimens or a series of conifers. Shade trees offer broad coverage to shade a patio, frame the front of the house, or cool the streetscape. Multiseason interest is a fun one to plan for as you install new selections. We know trees shine in spring and summer, and choosing for fall and winter characteristics adds lasting interest. Deciduous species delight with leaf shapes and colors that transition to autumnal tones. Their bare trunks, branches, buds, and seeds add winter interest. Shapely conifers do the heavy lifting in cold weather with structural branching, dynamic foliage, cones, and berries. Factoring in a species’ natural attributes helps gauge placement and maintenance, too. Nut producers like hickories, buckeyes, and walnuts are best away from active zones like play areas, walkways, and driveways to avoid those heavy massing (and dropping) seasons. Fruit-bearers are beautiful and functional additions. If you live in a wildlife-prone area, they may require an early harvest to avoid overripe attractants (or leave enough to share). Some fruits, like pears and apples, benefit from regular pruning for best shape and vigor. Deciduous species drop their leaves in autumn’s cool temperatures, leading to an excellent source of soil nutrition through leaf mulch and mold. Removing thick layers from turf and putting them to good use in garden beds is a beneficial fall task. While trees produce shade, their scale also affects the way light moves through a site. This benefit of casting a shadow alters the light beneath them and the amount of light nearby plants receive. Observe how light moves through your yard and take this into account when planning future beds. Existing plants may adapt to partial shade or may need transplanting as a new tree grows and creates shadier conditions. Matching the tree to the site is essential in setting up a healthy foundation. Make sure the selection is hardy in your USDA growing zone. Take lighting observations into account to know whether the site is full sun or partially shaded by structures or other trees, and match the tree to the exposure. New trees need water as they establish. Once they have a robust root system, they’re usually self-sufficient. There are water lovers (like willow, cypress, or tupelo) for moist zones, and many drought-tolerant species (mesquite, cedar, juniper) well-suited to areas without supplemental irrigation. Like all plants, the leafy growers have different soil preferences, many thriving in organically rich, humusy loams while others prefer sand and even tolerate clay. Knowing your soil type with a soil test helps determine any amendment needs. Fall is ideal for amending soils before the spring growing season. Native species are well-adapted to their local growing environment, including soil types and climate. They flourish in localized average conditions without a lot of extra resources (water, fertilizer). They grow in partnership with surrounding plant communities and provide wildlife and pollinator resources.
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Windy weather and harsh rains threaten weak trees! Their young, thin trunks bend under the pressure. Some saplings need the pressure to grow strong, while others require staking to reach tall and wide. Learn when and how to stake your trees alongside seasoned landscaper Jerad Bryant. Not all trees need staking, but some do. Stakes allow young saplings to grow strong and thick if they struggle to stand straight. Most trees are fine, as they correct bends in their trunk when they mature and grow thicker. Others aren’t as lucky and require some extra help before they mature. You’ll want to stake these three types of woody plants: young saplings, new transplants, and weak trees. They benefit from some stabilization early in life. After a season or two of staking, their trunks will be thick and sturdy enough to handle wind, ice, and excessive rain. These staking steps guide you through the process whether you have a new transplant or an established specimen. Sideways saplings will be towering, straight trees after a season or two of support. Follow along to get your species looking tall, sturdy, and vigorous! Does Your Tree Need Staking? Not all trees need staking! They develop stronger trunks if they don’t receive support when young. The natural sway and shifting that occurs in windy conditions causes the plant to release chemicals called cytokinins. These chemicals cause the trunk’s cells to expand and grow thicker, creating strong and woody plant tissues. Staking won’t hurt your specimen, though, as most trees recover after a few seasons of rapid growth. Stake yours if it is growing in an intensely windy location, if the trunk is too weak to stand without support, or if the topmost branches are larger than the bottom half of the tree. Young Sapling Perhaps you grew a cherry tree from a seed, or there’s a young specimen in your yard from last year’s planting. Young saplings generally don’t require staking, unless they’re weak or have a lopsided structure. Bendy trees are okay, so long as they straighten after the wind subsides. If your saplings bend and stay bent, they’ll need stakes for extra support until they can handle their weight. Tying them to stakes while they’re young allows them to grow straight before they start thickening their trunks. New Transplant The best time to stake a tree is when you transplant it—you’ll already be digging a hole where you can drill in the supporting poles. Some transplants won’t need staking, while others will. If your transplant bends over in the wind or has a small root ball that pulls out of the hole, you’ll want to tie down your tree. The process for staking new transplants differs from staking ones with roots in the ground. Fear not, as we’ll cover what to do in both situations. Weak Tree Older specimens sometimes need support if their tops grow heavier than their trunks can manage. Help them grow straight, and they’ll stay robust without aid for decades to come. Trees that recently lost some of their roots from digging or animal activity are also good candidates for stakes while they recover. The rule of thumb is this: if the tree bends but rights itself without help, it doesn’t need staking. It needs stakes if it falls over, grows sideways, or leans excessively. Step 1: Bury Two Sturdy Stakes The first step involves planting stakes in the ground that act as sturdy anchoring bases. They create two more reinforcing structures for the sapling so that it stays straight despite stormy conditions. How you bury the stakes depends on what type of tree you have. When transplanting woody shrubs or trees that require reinforcement, you’ll want to bury the stakes into opposite ends of the hole near the root ball. Drill two wooden or metal stakes so that they oppose each other with the tree in the middle. Arrange them so that the strongest winds flow through the space between them. Existing trees are much easier to help. Simply bury or drill two stakes on opposite ends of the tree. Like with new transplants, arrange them so that the strongest winds flow through the space between them. Use stakes the right size for your trees—they should be a little taller than where the topmost shoots branch off the main trunk. Step 2: Determine The Support Point The support point is where the ties attach to the tree. It’s where tying cables to your plant will best help it stay straight. Find it with this simple trick: Start three feet above the ground, putting two fingers behind the trunk to raise it. Keep raising your fingers higher until they fully support the tree. Mark the spot on the trunk. The support point is six inches above this mark. This point is generally low on young saplings and taller for existing specimens. It’s crucial to tie cables to the support point and not lower or higher on the trunk. A high placement leads to wood snapping, and a low placement doesn’t keep the canopy upright. Follow this trick to find where to tie cables, no matter how old or young the plant is. Step 3: Tie Tree To Stakes What type of ties you use greatly impacts how well they work. Wires or soft-coated wires never work, as they eventually girdle trunks after digging into their wood. Use fabric, canvas, or rubber collars that are sturdy but giving. With some flexibility, your specimen can wave in the wind while benefitting from additional structure. Easily tie up your tree once you have stakes in the soil. Attach one end of the tie to the metal or wooden stake and the other to the tree’s support point. Stagger the second tie below or above this one on the trunk, and tie its other end to the second stake. You’ll want the ties to be tight with some leeway. Create enough slack on each tie for the trunk to move two inches in any direction. This extra room is crucial for strong trunk development—it partially triggers the release of cytokinins that thicken and reinforce the wood. Step 4: Remove Stakes and Ties Six months to a year later it’ll be time to remove those stakes! The supports are temporary aids that boost the tree to grow well on its own. Leave them too long and they’ll start to hinder growth rather than support it. So, how do you know when to remove them? Trees are ready to live without stakes when they survive wind, rain, or snow without gaining a permanent bend. If you remove the ties and notice your tree still leans, refasten them and check on the sapling in a month or two. Stakes are ready to remove when the tree doesn’t bend or lean on its own and the roots seem to have a strong base. Push the tree a bit to see how it reacts, and make your best judgment call based on how it moves. After six months the support point may have shifted—you can use the test with two fingers to redetermine where it is. Step 5: Repeat for Weak Trees Sometimes, woody species struggle to establish themselves in harsh conditions. Or, extreme storms damage them so they need fastening again. Whatever the reason is for a weak tree, there’s no harm in refastening stakes and ties to help it another time. Repeat this staking process as often as necessary until the saplings grow up and out without help. Some species sprout weak, quick-growing wood, while others are hardier but slower-growing. Adjust your staking period to match the trees’ needs and they’ll thank you with sturdy growth! Follow up with yearly additions of compost on top of the soil, and prune dead or diseased wood. Your trees will grow happy, healthy, and sturdy as they structure themselves in their best shapes. You’ll marvel at the old specimens and remember how they were once weak, young saplings that needed your help.
Read MoreFind and share everyday cooking inspiration on Allrecipes. Discover recipes, cooks, and how-tos based on the food you love and the friends you follow.
We’re hot and spicy… literally!
Unbelievably CREAMY and just melt-in-your-mouth AMAZING!!! Loaded with sun dried tomatoes, spinach and basil.
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Best kind of weeknight meal! Tender chicken, roasted butternut squash, creamy orzo and sneaked in greens!
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"This is an excellent way to enjoy your gas grill, use up some leftovers and cook up something beautiful and delicious in just a few minutes. Great for the day after a barbecue party when you discovered you made too much of something! This one is leftover grilled chicken, but I think it would work with any leftover grilled meat (except, perhaps, hot dogs). I made this today for lunch, after we finished, my daughter said it would have been better with some fresh basil, so I have added that to the ingredients."
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"I'm a thin crust person and I found this on a web site (not sure which one). Very easy and bakes up crispy not soggy."
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