Hi there!

I'm a new member to this amazing site and so excited about the information I've found already. I live in Morgan Hill, CA and am just able to start planting as I just moved into an apartment that has it's own backyard! Before this I was limited to balcony planting so container gardening or failure should I say is the little information I know.

I've worked for an Agriculture Dept for 4 years now and have great access to seeds and information just never really was able to use it personally until now. I have seeds that I'm willing to share and trade with others. (Pumpkin seeds, Flowers, Peas and others)

I'm currently really limited in space so I'm looking into dwarf fruit trees such as figs, persimmons and jujube trees. Other interests in dragon fruit and papaya. I live in a usda zone 9 so i think the majority of what I'm looking at can grow here. I'm just learned that some of these trees can be grown from cuttings... Great for a budgeted gardener like me. If you'd like any seeds or could give some advice I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!
Joanna

I have successfully grown trees, shrubs and groundcovers. The bad news is that June seems to be the best month. You want cuttings from "newish" growth. Not too new and not hardened. On the other hand, I'm in Zone 7. You may have more flexibility of time.

There are complicated things (like scraping the bark and wrapping it in damp moss). I prefer taking new growth cuttings, dipping the cut ends in root hormone powder, and sticking them in damp potting soil. I have 3 dozen azalea, 4 Knockout rose cuttings, and 4 dwarf butterfly bush cuttings doing quite well that way.

Welcome, newbie! I have good and bad news for you. In my experience, trying to grow trees from cuttings is a loooong process. If you're willing to wait five or more years for your first fruit, give it a try. You've got nothing to lose. But, if you're not that patient, the good news is... Fall is the best time to plant trees. The weather is cooler and so there's less stress on them. Also, the nurseries and places like Home Depot etc that sell trees often have them marked way down in the Fall.

Fall is the best time for almost all plants. They go dormant. In Spring they wake up a check their list.

Soil, yeah
Sunlight, yeah
Water, yeah.

OK, good to go!

If they don't know they've been moved, they don't care...

We do have a great Plant and Seed Trading forum you may be interested in. http://garden.org/forums/view/...

Joannakin said:Hi there!

I'm a new member to this amazing site and so excited about the information I've found already. I live in Morgan Hill, CA and am just able to start planting as I just moved into an apartment that has it's own backyard! Before this I was limited to balcony planting so container gardening or failure should I say is the little information I know.

I've worked for an Agriculture Dept for 4 years now and have great access to seeds and information just never really was able to use it personally until now. I have seeds that I'm willing to share and trade with others. (Pumpkin seeds, Flowers, Peas and others)

I'm currently really limited in space so I'm looking into dwarf fruit trees such as figs, persimmons and jujube trees. Other interests in dragon fruit and papaya. I live in a usda zone 9 so i think the majority of what I'm looking at can grow here. I'm just learned that some of these trees can be grown from cuttings...

Hi Joanna. Welcome to NGA!

My first thought was that you might enjoy participating in, or just watching, a seed swap. You can find them by pulling down "Tools&Apps" fro m the menu at the top o0f the screen, then selecting "Seed Swaps". After that, find a swap you might be interested in and read some of the threads or browse the swap lists. Of course those are "under construction" and will be added to right up to and into the swap itself.

My second thought was that you might be interested in articles, posts and plant lists by @ediblelandscapingsc (Daniel Erdy). I think you're both interested in perennial edibles. He might have suggestions about edibles you can propagate by cuttings.

I hope to see you around the website and in seed swaps! I mostly trade vegetable seeds and have an interest in Asian greens (Brassicas) and spinach, chard, lettuce and corn salad.

Hello Joanna and welcome to Garden.org. Rooting jujube cuttings is not a common practice, because it's so difficult. Grafting is the preferred method, many people have tried rooting them and failed. I only know of one person to root a jujube cutting and it took a whole year before it started putting on new growth. persimmons will not root from cuttings and must be grafted. D. lotus is the preferred rootstock on the West coast but there is no true dwarf persimmon. Jiro is more compact than others but you can prune any persimmon tree to keep it smaller. Persimmons don't make good candidates for growing in containers but jujube can be grown in containers as long as it's large enough.
Figs, papaya, and dragon fruit will root from cuttings and can all be grown in pots. With fig cuttings you can get figs in just 1 year but papaya and dragon fruit will take longer. Figs root best from dormant cuttings. Other good dwarf fruiting plants for your zone would be pomegranates, black mulberries (Morus nigra), Mysore Raspberries, dwarf bananas, kumquats, and other dwarf citrus. Pomegranates, mulberries, and raspberries can all be grown from cuttings and can be grown in containers. pomegranates & mulberries root best from dormant cuttings. Kumquats can be grown from cuttings also but they are hard to root and are often grafted. Most other citrus is grafted on a dwarfing rootstock to make them dwarf but kumquats are naturally dwarf. You can't root bananas but you should be able to buy some pups for cheap.
I keep bringing up containers because you said you live in an apartment and I wouldn't think they would like you planting trees in ground but if they don't mind then go for it. Just don't expect to get them back when and if you move. If you want to try some fig or pomegranate cuttings feel free to message me by clicking on my screen name then clicking on Send ediblelandscapingsc a Tree-Mail and we can work something out. Just know that not all fig trees are dwarf either but just like persimmons they can be pruned to a manageable size.