[gardeners] Macadamia, Pollenizer, Winter chill

olin (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Tue, 7 May 2002 16:32:59 -0700 

Hi Ron and all,  Thanks for your reply.

I live NW of Phoenix AZ and I believe the Macadamia Tree might grow
okay.  But is it self-fertile?   Most nut trees require a pollenizer.
Would it need to be of the same variety or should it be different.  I
have one Western Schley pecan tree and it is said to be self fertile but
production has declined noticeably since we removed a second tree.  I
don't know if one could apply the same sort of reasoning to nuts as to
citrus.  But as an example, tangelos are often alternate bearing but if
there is a mandarin nearby, both will produce more abundantly and
usually each year.  We see this with our Mineola tangelo and Algerian
(Clementine) tangerine.

And what about winter chill.  Low chill deciduous fruit trees (under 400
hours) like peach, plum and apples do okay.   But apricots with chill
hour from 600 up are pretty iffy.  Do Macademias also have a winter
chill requirement.

We have been picking ripe tomatoes for a few days now.

Olin


Original Message ----- From: "Ron Hay" <ronhay@pacbell.net>
To: <gardeners@globalgarden.com>
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2002 12:24 PM
Subject: Re: [gardeners] Sunday in the garden


> Hello, Olin,
>
> We have been enjoying artichokes from one group of plants for about 3
> weeks now, but none on that clump grew as large as the ones on the
> adjacent clump. Both clumps started out as single plants 3 years ago,
> but have died back and multiplied many times, much to our delight:)
>
> I am told that one can grow macadamias anywhere one can grow avocados,
> if that is a help.
>
> There are macadamia orchards/groves (never sure which term applies),
> down in eastern San Diego County in Rainbow, near Fallbrook, at the
very
> northernmost edge of San Diego County before it turns into San
> Bernardino County, IIRC. Summers there are quite warm, and the area
> enjoys a typical inland California climate, where summers are warm and
> winters are cool, but not cold.
>
> An acquaintance of mine recently opened a Brugmansia nursery in that
> area, so it can't get all that cold.
>
> Where in AZ do you live? I will forward your question to one of the
> macadamia mavens on the macadamia list to see what their considered
> opinions are.
>
> Our tree is now in the ground 3 years, this past month. It began to
> flower last year and bore two, count them, two, nuts:) This year we
may
> get a dozen or so; but remember, it is a juvenile tree and the
> flowers/nuts are borne on the previous year's fruit spurs. Since the
> tree, at this stage, is expending so much energy on growth and
producing
> new wood and foliage, the fruit spurs will gradually increase with
time.
> I suspect we will start getting a smallish crop of nuts after about
the
> 5th year, as was the case with our citrus, planted in December of '98.
>
> Mac is a beautiful tree, an evergreen, which has about 3 flushes of
> growth per year, and will eventually reach a height of about 30 feet
and
> of a similar spread. I am told that if one practices "canopy
> management," when the tree is mature, the bees can spot the strings of
> blossoms more easily, and sunlight will benefit nut production.
>
>
> Well, it's off to a meeting at the association of realtors and off to
my
> office after that.
>
> I look forward to hearing from you again shortly.
>
> Ron
>
>
>