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Fruits in the News

© Connie Krochmal

This may be the time for the gardening year to wind down, but a lot has been happening in recent months. As we look ahead to fall in the garden, here's a roundup of fruit-related news. Mock bearberry manzanita was chosen as one of the 2005 Plant Select Picks for 2005 by Colorado State University and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Plant Select promotes, distributes, and finds the best plants for the high plains of Colorado and the other intermountain states in the region with similar growing conditions. A broadleaf, waxy, evergreen shrub, this native plant is found in the Umcompahgre Plateau. It features white blossoms that are urn-shaped. Mock bearberry manzanita produces small, red fruits.

In various parts of Europe, gardeners can grow different kinds of fruit plants that are suitable for container culture. For example, those in southern France will find bonsai grape plants for sale. According to the grower, they are ten to fifteen years old. These bonsai plants could be kept indoors part of the time. But, it is likely they need exposure to cold temperatures in order to break their winter dormancy.

Cranberries may be native to America. But now gardeners in Austria can find the plants for sale in nurseries and garden centers. These are being promoted for their health benefits. The package contains the bushes along with a container of cranberry juice or preserves.

You may have thought of citrus as a pleasant fragrance. However, it also can affect your mood and actions. A group of researchers tested a number of scents, including citrus and lavender in malls. In stores that were moderately busy, they found that the citrus fragrance led to increased spending.

If you consider yourself a connoisseur of fruit, don't dismiss the lowly, common Red Delicious. A Canadian government study tested eight different varieties of apples for antioxidants. It turns out the Red Delicious had the largest amount. Those who have been peeling their apples would be better off eating the skins. This part of the fruit contains over six times more antioxidant as the flesh.

In late June 2005, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced they were funding 43 health-related projects. Among these were grants to develop more nutritional foods for developing countries, through genetic engineering. The aim of the four projects is to create bananas, rice, sorghum, and cassava with higher nutritional contents.

Recently, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the state's agriculture department did have the legal right to destroy plants that were infected with citrus canker. Owners receive compensation for the trees that must be destroyed.