bil

Yep. You just can't trust the labels all the time.

ForHotspot

Unfortunately I've no choice except to accept 3 oranges (same type) & 1 lemon. Will be nice if they offer me 3 different types of oranges. What is nisperos?

Can you please translate this in Spanish - "please dig up all the rock before planting"? Thanks Bil.

I'm exhausted after digging 7 holes for the fruit trees. When the builder comes with the citrus I want to make sure that he digs up all the rocks before planting.

Planting soft fruits like raspberrries may be easier. Anyone with raspberries living in Rojales, wanting to swap for some plants please PM me.

bil

Off the top of my head, 'Quando cava el suelo para los arboles, puede recoger todos las piedras grandes?'

Someone can probably give you a more precise translation.

Be warned, this is a crap time to be planting. My advice would be to water morning and night, and above all shade the tree from direct sunlight, or your chances of success will be radically reduced, especially if the trees are the usual weak rooted ones. (ie have been put into that pot recently and don't have enough roots to hold the soil in the pot firmly around themselves.)

They need ideally to be planted not less than 5 metres apart, or they will grow into each other which will REALLY cut down on fruit production.

Nispero are a delightful tree/fruit. The tree is very hardy and is very typically Spanish. It is a loquat, a bit like a medlar, but much bigger and good to eat.
We had a poor crop this year, but the fruit was far superior to those on sale in the markets.

Find a Spanish friend and beg a few off them next year, but as I say in your shoes, I would plant one tree. So far mine have failed to have any problems (that's asking for it, isn't it?) whereas almost every other tree has had at least one problem.

Don't ever plant azufaifos (?) without trying them first. We did because everyone here raved about them. I assume that's because they are all masochists. The tree is as thorny as anything with curved thorns that make it incredibly affectionate as soon as you touch it. The fruit is like a tiny apple, with a cherry stone in the middle. When ripe it is dry and almost tasteless, with brown blotches on the skin that make it look diseased.

In taste tests, I rated it marginally more attractive than eating my own toenails.

ForHotspot

Thanks Bil.
My neighbors think it's OK to plant them now though I wanted to wait. These are 1 year old trees not like the builders' which are half the size.

I've them 2 meters apart which I think is ample. I think my neighbors are overcrowding theirs.

bil

OK, but bear in mind what I say. If you get a drying wind and a hot, sunny day, you will find that their root systems just can't supply the tree with enough water for the leaves.

As regards two metres apart, bear in mind that they will grow. 5 metres apart gives a metre gap between each tree and allows the tree to grow up to 4 metres in diameter. I certainly wouldn't go below 4 metres apart, as a three metre diameter tree isn't all that big.

Fred James

Agree with you on that bil - I can't think of any trees that you could plant 2 metres apart - apart from a hedge!

elspeth sinclair

In Andalucia they always called the white figs brevas even though they are usually later than the black ones. A friend of ours in Oliva had 54 fig trees and about 8 different types of both black and white with a season from August to October.

Fred James

Well I live in Andalucia and where we are the black ones, irrespective of season are called Brevas. We rarely see the white ones in the markets.

elspeth sinclair

I lived in Alhaurin el Grande in 1963 and never knew there was such a thing as a white fig (very pale green) until then. Where I live now there are loads of black figs and only one white fig tree which is about a month later than the black ones but the owner and his family pick the lot the first day. Like you I've never seen them in the shops or market.

Fred James

We had one initially but the builders buried half of the trunk and it didn't last for more than a year.

Lovely green figs, a lot smaller than the black ones but I preferred them, especially eaten straight off the tree.

Thinking about that maybe it's time I planted a new one!

bil

Trust my trees to be arse about face. We have had the first crop of green figs, we are half way thru the second crop of greensm and the blacks are just coming ripe.