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Should You Add Bare-Root Fruit Trees to Your Organic Garden?

Posted by San Diego Landscaper on Wednesday, 21 December , 2022

Organic gardening is something San Diego residents can enjoy practically year-round.  With our mild, sunny climate and temperate weather, it is possible to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs practically every month of the year!  However, there are some months that are better than others for certain organic gardening activities.  Purchasing and installing bare-root fruit trees, for example, is an activity that is often best done during January when temperatures are at their coolest.

Why Bare-Root Fruit Trees?

Fruit trees can be purchased almost any time during the year, but January is a very good time to do so.  This is because January is generally when commercial nurseries receive their crop of bare-root trees, and the selection is at its best.

A bare-root tree refers to one that has no leaves or foliage; in fact, it looks very much like a stick!  It is difficult at this stage to tell exactly what the tree will look like, but the process of preparing bare-root trees is often the best for later producing abundant fruit.

First, the bare-root trees are grown in a large field.  After these small trees lose their regular crop of leaves, they are dug up and the roots are washed with water.  This removes all of the dirt and leaves the roots bare, giving these trees their name.  The trees are then packed carefully to protect the roots and transported to nurseries. 

Bare-root trees are much easier to graft with other trees than full-grown varieties.  The roots, called “bottom stock,” are grafted together with different tops to isolate traits that are most desirable for a given fruit.  This allows nurseries to easily combine the very best traits of different species to produce trees that will be hardy and give plentiful fruit.

What Are Chill Hours?

One thing that is important to understand before you select a fruit tree is how many chill hours are necessary for that particular variety to produce fruit.  Different species have different tolerances for heat and cold.  A “low-chill” variety is generally one that requires less than 200 hours per year of cold temperatures.  These varieties are often best for San Diego gardens near the coast.  For those in more elevated areas, fruits may be produced from trees with as many as 500 chill hours per year.

In order to select the right tree for your organic garden, it is important to understand which species are best for your particular microclimate, soil, irrigation abilities, and other factors.  A professional landscape designer can often help you choose the right trees for your needs, allowing you to produce fresh, organic fruit that your family will love!

At Juniper Landscape Company, we work with our clients to design and build the right landscape based on individual needs and preferences.  If you are interested in starting a thriving organic garden in your yard, contact Juniper Landscape Company today.  Our professionals are ready to help you begin growing your own organic produce and enjoying a beautiful, healthy outdoor space.

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Juniper Landscape Company is a provider of professional landscaping services in San Diego, we strive to make San Diego a beautiful place by doing business with integrity and creativity.

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    Juniper Landscape Company is great. I have used them for landscape design, and they have transformed my yard into a garden retreat. Now they keep it up every week, and it looks gorgeous. They are the best San Diego landscapers! I would highly recommend Juniper Landscape Company if you are looking to landscape your... Read More
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    Our commercial property is located at 5150-5250 Murphy Canyon Road (the corner of Clairemont Mesa Blvd and Murphy Canyon Road). Please be advised that we have maintained a landscaping contract with Joe Cryns for 16 years. Also, he was the landscaper for our property before the Chou’s purchased it. We have found Joe and his... Read More
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    Thanks to the entire team at Juniper Landscape Company for a Great Job!!! It was a pleasure working with everyone…and Gabe did a great job leading the activities on-site. We were very satisfied with how the whole project progressed. The service was great...and we love the finished product! We wish everything could have gone... Read More
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    I have a side strip of yard which is on the street. The original landscaping was VERY high maintenance and not attractive. I was always out there cleaning up the leaf litter or be fined by the HOA. I hired Juniper Landscape Company. They came out and actually listened to what I wanted. They... Read More
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    Juniper Landscape Company has been fantastic. Before them, we ran through three or four other lawn and landscape maintenance companies who did spotty and sometimes outright poor work, were not always reliable and who ended up creating problems for us in a variety of ways. That experience led us to subscribe to Angie's List... Read More
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    Jesse & Gabe, I want to extend my thanks to you and your crew for participating in the Yard Crashers project the past few days. I know we are all exhausted due to the demands of filming and the logistics of the project with so many people involved. One of the positive elements I found in... Read More
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