Introducing a horticulture / gardening club Based In Orange County CA

Introducing you to a horticulture / gardening club Based In Orange County
California Rare Fruit Growers South Orange County chapter
https://southoccrfg.org/

It is a 501C3 nonprofit educational / public benefit club .

The chapter hosts club meetings where various subject matter experts will give a talk (usually 30 minutes to an hour), followed by a question and answer period. Members also share information informally.

Rare Fruit is within the reach of most people. For example, there are over 1000 varieties of Avocados, 120 of which grow well in Southern California. Similar options are available for other fruit types.
The subject matter is locally focused, geared toward growing better and healthier plants and trees in the Orange County area. Meeting Topics may include pruning, grafting, propagation, maintenance of edible trees and plants, insects, both harmful and beneficial, pests, and diseases with expert presenters.

The chapter also holds several Scionwood / plant cutting exchanges throughout the year.

There are also social meetings to meet others with similar interests in gardening and growing fruit trees.
Grafting demonstrations / classes are typically held multiple times a year. Some classes and tours may be open to the public while others may be for members only. Sometimes companies give us tours that are not available to the general public.

We have a Propagation Group that meets every 2-3 weeks at a location in Irvine. Various propagation techniques are practiced, as well as raising plants for sale to provide scholarships for agricultural/horticultural students.

Grafting is attaching a cutting of a specific variety of plant to an existing compatible plant. You might think of it as the botanical equivalent of an organ transplant. The rootstock and cutting grows together and produces the fruit of the variety it is from. You can have multiple varieties on the same tree, sometimes called a fruit cocktail tree. Grafting can sometimes be used to overcome inhospitable, untreatable soil conditions, possibly due to pathogens. A rootstock that is known to resist the specific conditions can be used to ‘host’ a different, more desirable variety, thus allowing that variety to thrive where it would otherwise fail.

Air Layering is also a hot topic among members. Air layering is growing roots on a tree branch which will later be cut off and planted in the ground. This method of propagation is typically used on specific plants.

For example, a member recently hosted a group of members at his home where he demonstrated the propagation technique called Air Layering. He showed first hand how to air layer Lychee, Mango, and Wax Jambu. For some fruit trees, Air Layering is the most frequently used method of propagation since other methods won’t work well.

There are group purchases on some things garden related.

We also encourage members to write articles on their garden experiences or topics they are familiar with. We then help with the proofreading and review by other members and experts in that subject. Then we submit to our state organization for publication in the organization's bimonthly magazine.

We also strive to discover not just why some plantings succeed, but why they fail and what actions can be taken to be more successful.
California Rare Fruit Growers
Parent organization -California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. – pushing the limits and the range of fruit growing world wide (crfg.org)

There are currently approximately 20 local chapters.

Volunteers are always welcome.

Various Fruits which have been discussed in meetings, most grow and product fruit in our area, some do not produce fruit in our climate.

Achacha , Ackee , Allspice , Annona , Apple , Apricot , Atemoya, Avocado, Banana , Barbados Cherry , Barbados Gooseberry , Bay Leaf , Bay Rum, Lemon Bignay , Bilimbi , Black Pepper , Black Sapote , Blackberry , Blood Orange / Blueberry , Boysenberry , Breadfruit , Calabash , Cambuca - Plinia Eduliscanistel , Carambola , Cassava , Cashew , Cedar Bay Cherry , Cherry / Cherries , Eugenia Reinwardtiana / Cedar Bay Cherry , Cecropia , Cherry Of Rio Grande , Cinnamon Tree , Citrus , Orange , Tangerine , Grapefruit , Lime , Lemon , Kumquat , Pommelo , Citronella plant, Clove , Cocoa Tree , Coffee , Custard Apple , Dovyalis , Dragon Fruit (Pitaya / Pitihaya) , Elderberry , Fig , Garcinia , Goji Berry , Governor’s Plum , Grape , Green Sapote , Grumichama Cherry , Guanabana , Guava , Hog Plum , Ice Cream Bean , Ilama , Jaboticaba , Jackfruit / Jakfruit , Jujube / Chinese Date , Jambolan / Jamun / Java plum , June Plum , Katuk , Kiwi , Longan, Loquat , Litchi / Lychee , Lulo Naranjilla , Macadamia Nut , Malabar Chestnut , Malay Apple , Mamey Apple , Mamey Sapote , Mango , Mangosteen , Melon , Miracle Fruit , Monstera Deliciosia , Moringa , Mulberry , Everbearing , Nance , Noni , Nutmeg , Orange , Otaheite Gooseberry , Pandan Pandanus , Papaya , Passion Fruit , Pawpaw , Peach , Pear , Pair , Pedalai , Peppers , Persimmon , Pineapple , Pitomba , Platains, Pomegranate , Prickly Pear , Purple Taro , Quince , Rambutan , Raspberry , Rollinia , Rose Apple , Ross Sapote , South American Sapote , Salak , Sapodilla , Sausage Tree , Soncoya , Soursop , Spanish Lime , Squash , Star Apple , Strawberry / Sugar Apple , Sugar Cane , Surinam Cherry , Table Grape , Tamarind , Tarap , Turmeric / Tumeric , Watermelon , Wax Jambu , White Sapote , Yakon
, Yucca , Nectaplum , Asian Pear , Pluot , Pluerry , Aprium , Apricot , Prickly Pear -Tuna-nopal , Pumice , Perlite , Soil , Clay , Organic , Natural, Beneficial Nematodes , Succulent