Fruit tree help needed

[Deleted]

So your driveway is only 3ft from the property line? How long is the strip?

[Deleted]

Three feet is TINY. My semi-dwarf trees are at least 5 feet wide. Would it really be so terrible if they overhang a bit? If so, you can espalier them, but I haven't tried that; it's too advanced for me

I have seen tons of lemon trees (some sort of Improved Meyer, I think) in my area that are more medium bush-shaped than tree-shaped, but they don't get tall enough to block a bad view. I'm not sure if it's accomplished through heavy pruning or breeding/grafting. Maybe talk to your local nursery (not Home Depot) about which would work for you. They'll generally have great advice about varities. Another thing you can do is buy the Sunset Gardening book and locate your Sunset zone. It will list every variety that will work in your microclimate and give you sizes.

I don't think you're going to find a peach that will work. We have only 1, maybe 2, that get enough chill hours in the Bay area. I can't imagine you get enough chill hours down there for any of them. But I could be wrong.

We use mulch around all of ours.

People around here do put some fruit in their front yards. And some of it does get lost to passersby. But really, how many lemons does one family need? With my lemon and apple trees, I end up giving a lot of it away anyway.

ETA: We still had a few bare root trees in our nurseries a few weeks ago, but I haven't been in the last couple of weekends.  What's left, though, will be the picked over trees, at least where I am.

[pamela]

I'm thinking this is not likely. We have a 2-3' strip between our driveway and the neighbors (that is all but like 2" our property) and I can't picture putting a tree there. I think you either need to go with bushes, small plants/ground covering that doesn't need mowing, or hardscaping. Even if the eventual canopy of the tree wouldn't be too bad, in the growing process you're going to have a point where branches are likely going to interfere with cars (or else the initial rootball will likely be too big to fit in the space). The general rule is the root diameter = canopy diameter.

[Deleted]

I'm not a tree expert, but 3ft is too narrow. I don't think there's any fruit tree with a spread of only ~3ft, unless you do espalier as @juno mentioned.

I'm also thinking that planting a tree in that area would encroach to the neighbor's space. With both driveways that close to the 3ft strip, it would be hard to avoid the trees and not hit them or get a scratch from them. Also, fruits/flowers/etc from the tree falling on both property/driveways could become an annoyance to your neighbor.

[treedimensional]

I think not.
It sounds like not nearly enough space, both above and below ground.
You may be able to plant a few tight, narrow shrubs, with a strict upright habit; but they'd have to withstand the extremely hot, dry conditions of living in a tiny concrete box, with no shade.

[Deleted]

Will you have irrigation there? What about berry bushes if you want to grow food? Southern highbush lowbush blueberries (we have really basic soil here, so we have to add acid, not sure about SoCal) or raspberries? If roses do well for most people there, I would think berries would do OK. They won't block the view, but could give you some extra food gardening. Or even grape vines espaliered into a fence-like structure, like they do in the vineyards, though the pruning/shaping on those is beyond my capabilities.

[Deleted]

You're welcome. You might have some luck inquiring about the lemon "bushes" at the local nursery. I have seem then fruit like crazy here in wine barrels, so they don't need a ton of room. Good luck!