University of California
Cooperative Extension Ventura County
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LinkedInMaster Gardener shares rare fruit source with Chron readers
A Master Gardener with UC Cooperative Extension in Santa Clara County, Laramie Treviño, turned San Francisco Chronicle readers on to a source of fast-producing, unusual fruit trees in a feature story printed over the weekend.
Treviño profiled C. Todd Kennedy and Patrick Schafer, rare fruit enthusiasts who run their online-only nursery as a "personal charity," the story said. Tree prices are $19.50, low considering they are already a good size and most will produce fruit within one year.
Kennedy and Schafer have constructed an unusual business model for Arboreum.biz.
- Two dozen varieties are offered each year, and then those types are unavailable for a few years thereafter
- Only enough inventory is propagated to ensure that its stock sells out
- The company has no catalogs, no printed growing tips, no listed fax or telephone numbers
- Surplus fruit trees will be available at Filoli Garden Center when the estate reopens Feb. 9. Filoli is a historic country estate about 30 miles south of San Francisco that is open to the public.
Among the trees being offered this year are:
- 'Mericrest' nectarine
- 'Turkey' apricot
- 'Silver Logan' peach
- 'Howard's Miracle' plum
Arboreum.biz wasn't working for me this morning. Perhaps the additional traffic generated by the San Francisco Chronicle article was too much for the Web site.
