Our Ruby Red Grapefruit Tree

Back in May in THIS BLOG POST we chronicled an addition to our little citrus grove by adding a Ruby Red Grapefruit tree.  I am somewhat ashamed to admit that the tree itself looks worse right now than it did four months ago.  Right after we planted it, we went into a severe drought with high temperatures and the tree was obviously stressed.  Despite the fact that it never grew or added any new leaves, it clung to life and after the recent rains, we were greeted with this sight:

Blooms!

I think that the tree appreciated a respite from the sweltering heat and dry conditions and responded with some very sweet smelling blooms.  I must admit I was a little surprised at blooms on the tree at this time.  None of our other citrus trees are blooming, as they are loaded down with fruit that will ripening in just a few months.

Sweet smelling grapefruit blossoms

If you look real closely in the photo below, you can see a tiny greet circle just above the center of the picture.  That is the baby grapefruit.  Now, I learned from reading a few interested things about the grapefruit tree.  First it takes somewhere between 8 - 11 months for a grapefruit to mature.  Grapefruit do not continue to ripen once you pick them and they get sweeter the longer you leave them on the tree.  The Ruby Red is a delicious, sweet fruit that I really enjoy.  When I was younger, I would cut them in half and spoon sugar on top of them to make them sweet.  There is no need to do this with the Ruby Red!  Finally, in order to promote growth of the tree, you should remove any fruit that set for the first two years.  So, I'll watch the tree and if any fruit sets, I'll pull them off.  I've already noticed many blooms falling since I took this picture.

Tiny fruit forming

The first production of fruit on these trees in the third year averages 25 pounds, but increases to 250 pounds by the tenth year!  The tree doesn't require pruning, except to remove dead limbs and mature trees are even cold-tolerant with temperatures in the mid-20's!  In cold weather you can throw a tarp over the tree to protect it from the low temperatures and I've read about building a "soil bank" around the trunk of the tree from Thanksgiving until March.  You want to be real careful removing the soil in the Spring as the trunk will be real tender:

Image Credit

I've never tried this practice of building soil banks before, but it is one I'll explore if/when the cold weather gets here.  The soil forms a barrier that protects the tree from the cold and even if the entire tree is killed from the cold, the tree will re-sprout above the graft.  Many times I've lost a tree in the cold, only to have it re-sprout, but beneath the graft.  That's no good as the growth is from the root stock, not the productive fruit tree.  This practice of soil banking is supposed to be an effective tool and I'm going to employ it.

Removing competing grass around the base of the tree

Finally, This Article gave me some additional insight into caring for the tree. Grapefruit trees don't like competition from lawn grass, so you are supposed to keep a 1 foot circumference area around the tree free of grass. The trees don't like to be mulched as they'll get foot rot for which (unlike foot rot with our cows) there is no cure.  

Looking forward to Ruby Red Grapefruit from our own tree.  Like most things, though, I'm gonna have to be patient...

Name That Flower

I'm not a real big "flower-type" of guy, but some of them are pretty.  While walking around the yard, I captured some photographs of different types of blooms.  Some will be only ornamental and some are blooms of plants that produce food.  See if you can guess the names.  I put the answers at the bottom of the post:

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

Answers:

A. St. Joseph's lilies

B. Irish potatoes

C. White Amaryllis

D. Confederate Jasmine

E.  Red Amaryllis

F.  Black from Tula Tomato blossom

G. Yellow Cactus Flower

H. Endive blooms

I.  Yellow crookneck squash blossom

J.  Cardoon Bloom

K. Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile)

L. Hydrangea

Springtime Blooms & New Growth

For most of my day, I sit on my rear-end in an office job looking at a computer.  Now that the days are getting longer, when I get home on our little family farm, I can actually go outside, breathe fresh air and live!  Sometimes I like to just walk around and take in sights that I might otherwise overlook.  In the posting yesterday, I showed you the dewberries that are in full bloom along the fence rows and ditches.

On my way out to feed the chickens, I had to set my feed buckets down and admire a navel orange tree that is absolutely covered in blooms.

Future oranges

Here is a close up of a few orange blossoms.  There was a strong east wind blowing and I stood on the west side of the tree and enjoyed the wonderful fragrance.  There are few fragrances on this earth that can compare to that of an orange blossom.  

If only this picture was a 'scratch and sniff'

This picture is blurry as my camera couldn't figure out what to focus on, but what I'm trying to highlight are the blueberry blossoms.  If all of the blooms hold, we'll be in for a record harvest on our little blueberry bushes this year.

I found my thrill, on Blueberry Hill...

A tree that we planted in the side yard that we call a Japanese Magnolia is beginning to bloom.  It puts on big striking, pinkish-colored blooms in early Spring prior to putting on foliage.


Japanese Magnolia or Magnolia liliiflora

Here is a close up of the Japanese Magnolia flower.  It smells pretty good, too.


Japanese Magnolia bloom

Although not quite as pretty to look at, the next picture is what excites me - White Dutch Clover.  I think it excites the cows, too.  Clover is a member of the pea family and is widely used as a pasture crop.  It is also a very beneficial thing to have for your soil as this plant has an ability to fix nitrogen in the soil, thus generating fertilizer.  I can remember being a kid searching for the elusive 'four leaf clover' amongst the leaves of this plant while trying not to get stung by the honeybees that are attracted to the white blooms.


White Dutch Clover

This moss growing under a live oak tree caught my eye.  I have no idea of what it is called, but the sun setting in the western sky made it light up. 

Mystery moss

 Here is another shot of it from ground level, catching the setting sun's rays:

Finally as I was heading back inside from enjoying the scenery, I noticed some new growth on one of our peach trees.


Peach tree growth

It's pretty neat how the seasons change.  Plants that have been dormant are now exhibiting new life with fresh growth and gets me itchin' to start the Spring Garden!