Grove or lawn?

[garyknowz1]

Howdy!

I live in Redlands, CA (citrus country). In the last 30 yrs, citrus has sort of disappeared, though. We have a big front corner yard of 18,000 just as people enter the city from the north. And we are penalized for water usage. So....taking those notes into account, I want to uproot my yard and make an orange grove. However, is it cost effective in terms of water? I don't want to go desert. We, like Riverside are proud of our citrus heritage going back 200 yrs. Your thoughts?

Best, Gary

 

[DirtMechanic]

Grow what is native to the area. If you have or develop a good understanding of your microclimate, you can also take that understanding and pluck plants from other countries or places that have plants that do just fine without our help. Other than travel and planting of course. A maritime environment does not get arctic cold waves in the winter for example, which allows Australia to grow eucalyptus in zone 8 but I cannot grow them here in my zone 8 because the maritime reality is different than mine on that go-nogo margin for the plant.

 

[cpp gardener]

Skip the grove. With Citrus Greening and water restrictions there's just no point in putting out the effort, time, and money. You don't need to go 'desert', you just need to go xeric. California natives, Australian natives, and climate adapted plants will give you just as much beauty, color and gardening joy as anything else.
I know of whence I speak: I live in the Wood Streets neighborhood of Riverside, am a Gardener Specialist at Cal Poly Pomona, and one of the biggest plant nerds in the area. Go to the UCR botanic gardens or the Arboretum in Arcadia to get some ideas.

 

[garyknowz1]

Skip the grove. With Citrus Greening and water restrictions there's just no point in putting out the effort, time, and money. You don't need to go 'desert', you just need to go xeric. California natives, Australian natives, and climate adapted plants will give you just as much beauty, color and gardening joy as anything else.
I know of whence I speak: I live in the Wood Streets neighborhood of Riverside, am a Gardener Specialist at Cal Poly Pomona, and one of the biggest plant nerds in the area. Go to the UCR botanic gardens or the Arboretum in Arcadia to get some ideas.

Thank you so much. And the UCR botanic gardens is such a fantastic idea. I'm an old UC Davis alum, and the Putah Creek arboretum walks have inspired so many journal entries. Sage advice.