Jeff Warner, a UC Master Gardener and Claremont Garden Club member, will give a talk on how to select non-citrus fruit trees that will perform well in the Mediterranean climate of Los Angeles County. Since becoming a Master Gardener in 2017, Jeff leads a team of some 50 MG volunteers give gardening talks and answer questions at the LA County Fair. He is a member of the MG orchard team, volunteers at the Huntington Botanical Gardens and teaches a Grow LA Victory Garden class twice a year the Pomana Fairplex.

Claremont is part of a 1,400 square mile quarantine for a deadly disease of citrus called Huanglongbing (aka Citrus Greening Disease), which is spread by an invasive insect, the Asian Citrus Psyllid. While researchers are working on treatments, homeowners can help slow the spread of this disease by learning how to inspect their citrus trees for the insect and disease and when selecting new fruit trees, considering non-citrus alternatives that aren’t susceptible to the disease.

The workshop will explore the wide range of fruit trees that can be grown here successfully and how climate conditions and soil characteristics need to be taken into consideration in order to select trees that will be both healthy and fruitful.

Beyond Citrus: Fruit Tree Options for SoCalBeyond Citrus: Fruit Tree Options for SoCal (pdf)