Fruit trees don’t benefit from winter sleep

For those of you waiting to find out if my fruit classes will start this fall, I do have enough people interested in setting up some classes. I am now in the process of deciding when to have them; what time during the day or night, on weekends and which days of the week are very important to many of you. If you have some particular ideas, let me know at morrisr@unce.unr.edu.

Q: A couple of weeks ago I asked about pomegranate watering. You said cut the water by one-third. Today, I read some information that told me to stop watering all together. Which is right?

A: I said to cut water by one-third by eliminating one irrigation per week as it gets cooler. You do not cut the amount of water you apply by one-third. Whenever reducing water, do it by eliminating an irrigation, not by cutting back on the number of minutes if you can help it.

There is an idea out there that during the fall fruit trees should be "put to sleep" for the winter. This is done by cutting back (not eliminating) the total amount of water and slightly stressing the trees. This also may encourage a more even harvest of late-bearing fruit trees.

There are dangers to this. You do not want to stop watering, that is for sure. That could be disastrous to the trees. Reducing water in the fall is tricky. You want to reduce the applications of water since the trees are using less as it gets cooler, but at the same time you have to balance this with giving the trees enough water so they remain healthy.

With pomegranates it may be even trickier since uneven watering may cause the fruit to split. By the way, splitting fruit also means the fruit is ready for harvest. In Central Asia and the Middle East pomegranate selection at the market favors split fruit since the consumer knows the fruit is at its peak maturity.

I would not stop watering if it were me. If you elect to continue to water, water evenly and do not let the soil get overly dry between waterings. If it gets uneven watering, oscillating between wet and very dry, the fruit will split before it is mature.

Another indicator that the fruit is nearly maturity is located at the bottom or blossom end of the fruit. As the fruit rind matures it does not expand as much. Swelling of the fruit and drying of the rind causes the woody projections at the bottom (looks like a woody flower) to flare open. Less ripened fruit will have these projections still in a cylinder.

You can also rap the fruit against a hard object and the fruit will split when ripe. Fruits will mature at different times, but for most fruits I would still guess you have a few weeks yet.

Q: What would be the best type of tree to plant near a pool? I have a low wall behind my pool that I built to plant various types of plants. On one end, the low wall is about 8 feet away from the pool. On the other end, it is 4 feet away. I would like to plant an evergreen tree, if possible, but am not sure what I can plant that will not damage the pool in the future.

A: I try to avoid specific plant recommendations since there are so many plants out there. The usual response I get from people after I recommend two or three plants is that they can't find it so I do not make recommendations unless there are so few choices that will work. In your case, you should have quite a few choices.

However, I will give you some ideas of the types of plants to look for, which might aid you in your search at the nurseries.

First, consider flowers. Remember, flowers attract bees so if bees make you nervous, do not plant a flowering tree unless it flowers during a time of year when you aren't using the pool.

Secondly, consider the size. The smaller the mature height of the plant, the less likely it will be to cause damage to cool decking and walls. Keep plants as far away from hard surfaces and walls as possible unless it is a vine or small perennial plant.

Select a tree with relatively large leaves, leaves that are easy to sweep from the pool or that will collect in the skimmer and not drop to the bottom so easily.

Fruit trees are not that big of a problem near a pool, in my opinion. We use so few pesticides in our climate and the pesticides that are used are usually applied during seasons when people aren't swimming.

Try Bonanza, Eldorado or Pixzee peaches if that hits your fancy. They are self-fertile and do not need pollinators. The smaller trees should not be a problem on the walls or cool deck.

If the area is only 4 feet away, you could plant grapes or you can espalier most fruit trees. It is more work but can be done easily in the 4 foot area. The espalier should be away from the wall on its own trellis, maybe a foot away from the wall.

Bob Morris is an associate professor with the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. Direct gardening questions to the master gardener hot line at 257-5555 or contact Morris by e-mail at extremehort@aol.com.