# Baddest Fruit Tree Sale Date and details



## Muddskipper

We are fast approaching the fruit tree sales and if you make any of them, you need to make the

*Urban Harvest *
*11th Annual Fruit Tree Sale *
_Saturday January 15, 2011_​
It's the biggest and the baddest of them all.​
This year it will be held at U of H's Robertson Stadium, so it will be even bigger.​
Every Fruit tree you can imagine and some you could not ....​
It starts at 9am ...... so it will be a little warmer instead of 1st thing in the morning like last year ....( it was 22 degrees and the kept most trees in the trucks to keep them from freezing)​
Last year I scored some cool Citrus plants

Citron Buddahs hand​
Lakeland Limequat​
Pink Eureka Lemon​
This year they are not selling the Buddah's Hand for some reason ???

I kept them all in containers, and some produced fruit for me....​
Things I'm eyeing this year​
*Dragon Fruit*​
*Grumichama*​
*Jaboticaba*​
*Lychee*​
*Pummelo*​
*Kumquat*​
The best- thing about all of these plants, are they were grown here in Texas, FOR Texas so they can grow here. The trees you see at Home Depot and Lowes come fromout of state and most die and or never produce fruit.

Here is the link for more info and the fruit tree list
http://www.urbanharvest.org/events/fruittreeinfo/fruittreevarieties.html​​


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## Viking48

I saw an article in the Chronicle about it and it looks interesting. Are the trees grown and sold by nurseries or individuals or both? How are prices? I noticed on the site that Muscadines were in black rather than red - does that mean anything? Thanks - may have to make it.


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## Muddskipper

Local Nurseries - that do not sell to the public

Like Tree Search Farms
&
Brazoria Tree Farms

Prices are generally in the 30 - 40 dollar range, and I believe some of the proceeds go to Urban Harvest


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## Tate

Thanks for the update. I had been planning on going to that. 

I think you stil have to be kind of careful with some of the citrus trees for the first few years if you live North of 1960 because the temps drop a lot more. Things like Kumquat can go down to like 15 degrees and be okay. I was looking at a Kumquat probably and planning large containers on some other citrus types.


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## CoastalOutfitters

i have a loquat in the back yard that spits out young trees by the zillions if anyone wants one


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## therealbigman

Which of these tree's would be considered fast growers.


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## Muddskipper

therealbigman said:


> Which of these tree's would be considered fast growers.


It ard to say from my limited experince, but I know the 1st year you are wanting to concentrate more on root estiablishment than production ....

AND on that note if you see fruit pick it early so the energy of the plant goes into growing ...

My tress have all doubled in the 1st year to 4.5 feet in containers, BTW


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## therealbigman

Muddskipper said:


> It ard to say from my limited experince, but I know the 1st year you are wanting to concentrate more on root estiablishment than production ....
> 
> AND on that note if you see fruit pick it early so the energy of the plant goes into growing ...
> 
> My tress have all doubled in the 1st year to 4.5 feet in containers, BTW


Which ones do you have, I was wanting maybe a lemon and a satsuma


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## CoastalOutfitters

meyer lemon and satsuma bot hgrow fairly fast in the ground and produce early on

be careful about pruning them back hard it will really stunt next years production


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## Muddskipper

therealbigman said:


> Which ones do you have, I was wanting maybe a lemon and a satsuma


_"Last year I scored some cool Citrus plants _

_Citron Buddahs hand_​
_Lakeland Limequat_​
_Pink Eureka Lemon"_​
I might have a Satsuma as well, It was a gift, but it has not grown any fruit yet ....

There are a few different lemons there, do your research​


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## FISH BAIT

*Tree sale*

How fast do they sell out, and how bad are the lines? My dad and I normaly go to the ag extension sale every year. If you don't get there 2 hours early and get in line all the good stuff is gone by the time you get in the gate. I would love to get some good plum and pear trees.

Thanks 
FB


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## Muddskipper

IMO - I would get there an hour before opening ..... what you are after are not a hot item, but it could be gone before noon.

I think this year they are going to open at 9am, to allow it to warm up, but You can bet there will be people there at 6 ..... kind of over kill IMO


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## therealbigman

Dang , is this that big of an event, or is just no inventory .


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## redexpress

Good info there muddskipper. Couple of questions....what is the average size of what they are selling? 3' tall, 5' tall? Have you seen any mayhaws at the previous sale?


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## Muddskipper

therealbigman said:


> Dang , is this that big of an event, or is just no inventory .


It's that big of an event ! Seriously ..... there were close to 300 people in line last year before the gates opened ..... and it was below freezing last year !!! ..... so there are some seroous people that come to this one day sale ......( because it was so cold a lot of the trees had to be kept in the big semi-truck trailers to protect them, and you had to get a ticket 1st and pay for them prior to picking them up) There were approx 5 of those trucks there holding the sensitive trees

This year they are moving it to U of H's Robertson stadium, because it is suppose to be bigger....and more items.



redexpress said:


> Couple of questions....what is the average size of what they are selling? 3' tall, 5' tall? Have you seen any mayhaws at the previous sale?


I would say the Avg size of the fruit trees is 3' .... now some trees like the cheery's and pecans are taller.

I believe they go by the gallon size of the pot they are in

Don't know what a "Mayhaw" is? but take a look at the link in my 1st post, it tells you everything that will be there .....


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## Pasadena1944

I don't understand this... Are they selling the trees for like a dollar each or are they hard to get trees? Why would anyone stand in a line for hours to maybe get a tree if it not gone by the time you get to the front of the line? Help me here....


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## Muddskipper

Good question, and I think I can address it.

These trees are from local nursurys that graft them on root stock for our area. They are the premium tress, and some are in such short supply the local growers, are only able to sell them at this sale.

The local growers/ nursery's are not for the public and only sale to retail stores, for you and I to buy from. You generally never find these tress, local nursery's selling to any of the big box stores or even the big chains, like houston garden centers.

These tress have the best opportunity to grow, produce fruit, and fend of disease.

The sale has become a very popular and you don't have to get there super early, but don't be surprised if you show up an hour after it starts and some of the things you wanted are gone.

With that said, if you show up 1.5 hrs after it starts there will not be a line, and you can look around to get the feel for next year.

Do your research on the trees you want prior, you might get lucky


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## Muddskipper

It's this weekend ... so if you're thinkin about a tree, this weekend is your chance


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## Shellbank Island

I think I may drive up for it. Thanks for all the info Mudskipper!


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## Pcwjr4

*Tree sale*

After going to several of these sales and being a member of Urban Harvest for several years, my thoughts are that this is possible a bit overrated.
Listen to the woman from TreeSearch farms and she will attempt to convince you they are the only legitimate growers around.

I have over 50 citrus trees, with maybe 1/3 being purchased at these sales. Ther has been no measurable difference in the health, growth or production from the trees purchsed at this sale.

This is a great event to attend and purchase particular items, but it is not the end all - be all. By careful shoppping you may find just as good a product at various other locations.

Do your research, know what you want and how much you want to spend. It is easy to get caught up in the 'circus' atmosphere and spend much more than nece$$ary.


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## tngbmt

> Do your research, know what you want and how much you want to spend. It is easy to get caught up in the 'circus' atmosphere and spend much more than nece$$ary.


i was thinking that these prices arent that special either


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## charlie23

ok i missed this event.... any idea who these "local nurseries" are? Might just pay them a visit directly.


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## Muddskipper

charlie23 said:


> ok i missed this event.... any idea who these "local nurseries" are? Might just pay them a visit directly.


No you did'nt .... ITS THIS WEEKEND ...lol

But most good nurseries will start getting the new ciitrus in the next few weeks.

Joshua's Native Plants in the Hieghts is getting a huge shipment in the next 2 weeks


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## charlie23

sounds good, will try to make it.

you know any other local nursery that carries variety of citrus or exotic/tropical kind of citrus plant, mudd?


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## WilliamH

Local Nurseries- I'm sure there are others.

http://www.caldwellhort.com/

http://www.arborgate.com/

http://www.rcwnurseries.com/

http://buchanansplants.com/


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## Mantaray

I have a question on the exotic fruit tree, leeches or mango trees for example. If you cannot protect them in the winter, how do you grow in pots, where to get these big pots? Despite my covers & insulation pipes around the tree trunks, 2 of my mango trees died last year, so did my meyer lemon tree. Now I only have a satsuma, persimmon, an apple tree and a guava tree that died and grew back from the ground. I vowed not to get those exotic fruit trees that would not last through a winter. Now I even built a little greenhouse to surround my guava tree.


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## charlie23

my wife and i love lychee, but gonna be a challenge to grow those babies.


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## Tate

I went to the sale and got the following:

Improved Meyer Lemon
Mexican Lime
Republic of Texas Orange
Red Baron Peach
Celeste Fig

The lemon and lime I plan to grow in large containers (molasses tubs) so I can move them into my garage if needed. I believe the other 3 should be okay. We will see.

Tate


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## therealbigman

Tate said:


> I went to the sale and got the following:
> 
> Improved Meyer Lemon
> Mexican Lime
> Republic of Texas Orange
> Red Baron Peach
> Celeste Fig
> 
> The lemon and lime I plan to grow in large containers (molasses tubs) so I can move them into my garage if needed. I believe the other 3 should be okay. We will see.
> 
> Tate


So what was pricing like.


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## Tate

therealbigman said:


> So what was pricing like.


My total tab was $166. Might be a little high, but I am an Urban Harvest member and support what they do so I don't mind.


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## therealbigman

Tate said:


> My total tab was $166. Might be a little high, but I am an Urban Harvest member and support what they do so I don't mind.


That don't sound bad to me, actually I've never bought a citrus tree in my life, thats why I was asking,

so was the selection plentyful with loads of varieties,

What size was the lemon, Thats what I am thinking about ,

also , someone was telling me you can't plant just 1 citrus tree that you need at least 2 for pollination, or something to that effect.

Thanks


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## Tate

Here is a list of the varieties they were selling. You can click on the types to see them. They have descriptions for each.

http://www.urbanharvest.org/events/fruittreeinfo/fruittreevarieties.html

My lemon is about 3 - 4 feet tall. You don't need 2 for pollination. I know apple trees need two for sure. They were selling a couple of apple varieties that grow well in the Houston area. A guy I was standing in line with bought two a couple years ago and gets loads of apples off them. I might try that one next year.


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## fangard

Look around a bit and you will find that the surrounding counties all have events. We went out to Fort Bend for theirs last year. Good selection not too crowded. You do need to get there early for some of the more sought after. I have my eye on a 3 in 1 apple. Three varieties grafted onto one tree. Pretty cool.


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## Farmer Jim

I've been meaning to go see this guy's open house for the past four years and always forget about it. He only does it once a year in December, but it looks like he has some really neat citrus (and other stuff). Haven't got a clue what his prices are, but I've written him on the calendar again for this coming December.

http://sites.google.com/site/johnpanza/


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## charlie23

anyone have experience growing guava and lychee?


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