Perennial Berries and Vines

• Blackberries and Raspberries - Don't let the vines get away from you. Thornless varieties are available. I have a blackberry bush that does not get much water so it stays small. It is like heaven when you eat blackberries from your own vines.
• Blueberries – Full sun, choose southern highbush varieties. Varieties from Maine will not work here. Needs soil to stay moist, so mulch heavily. Use acidic fertilizer. Great shrub!
• Grapes – Beautiful on an arbor or pergola. We had grapes growing on an arbor when I was a kid.
• Strawberries – A lot of types to choose from. They can be grown as an annual or perennial. They have many diseases and pests.

Fruit Trees

If you are going to plant a tree, why not a fruit tree? Fruit trees are easy to keep small if that is what you want. If you have excess fruit, share with a neighbor. I know I would prefer to get figs instead of zucchini!

• Apples – Many varieties to choose from. Codling moth (the worm in the apple) can be a problem.
• Apricots – Many varieties to choose from.
• Avocados – These can be a hit or miss in our area. Your neighbor can have a very fruitful tree and you get nothing. If you are going to plant an avocado, you will need an A and a B plant.
• Cherries – Need lots of chill hours. They need a pollinizer. Birds love cherries, so you may not get many.
• Citrus – grows well in the valley. Oranges are so cheery in the middle of winter.
  
• Figs – bears 2 crops a year. These trees can be huge but they are easy to keep small. I have 2 fig trees in my yard.
• Kiwis – great on an arbor, pergola or trellis. Be careful what variety you purchase. Some are self-fruitful and some are not.
• Olives – loves our hot dry summers. They are a beautiful landscape tree.
  
  They do have a problem with olive fruit fly.
• Peaches and Nectarines – one of the easiest trees to grow here. Lots of varieties! Need to spray for peach leaf curl. I have 2 nectarine trees. One ripens in July and the other in
  
  August.
• Pears and Asian Pears– need winter chill. They need a pollinizer trees. Pears have a problem with fireblight.
• Persimmons – Make sure you get the kind of persimmon you want (eating or baking). Beautiful fall foliage.
• Plums – Lots of varieties, sizes and colors.
  
• Plum Hybrids – Many to choose from and many different flavors. My favorite is the green pluot that comes from a prune variety.
• Pomegranate – Can be a shrub or tree. Beautiful flowers and leaves.