Okay, first crazy idea (
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=18434.0) turns out would be an absolutely horrible idea. After the discussion on that thread, I go up to my wife and said: 'did you have any idea oleander was incredibly poisonous?'. And she says: 'yes, everyone knows that'. ... I guess everyone except me. Well, this is a textbook example of why one should ask lots of questions!
So onto crazy idea v. 2.0. As stated in the link above, I have a location that has the following constraints and I would like to put a tree/plant there:
- There is an oleander between by back porch column and a block wall that surrounds my back yard (the trunk is actually two feet away from the column but roughly half of the oleander grew in behind the column). So any tree that I put in would have to occupy this space
- I went out and measured the gap and it is about 4 feet (I said about 3.5 in the last post)
- The back patio is also next to the plant. So it resides in an area between my block wall and back patio right next to the column at the corner of my back patio
- Because the block wall is about 6 ft high and my back patio overhang is about 10 ft high, the sky above is essentially a vertical space that is 4 ft wide. So it only gets about 2 hours of direct sunlight a day.
- However it does get a fair about of indirect sunlight. I have a 'rock mulch' back yard (gravel) and it is very light color. So there is diffuse reflected light off the gravel and the block wall (which faces east)
So given all of that, here is a list of criteria I have come up with for selecting a tree for this location
- Needs shallow / non-invasive root system (proximity to patio and block wall)
- Needs to fruit well in mostly shade with a small amount of direct light a day, but mostly indirect light
- Needs to be attractive (it is next to my back patio and we sit out there a lot)
- Needs to be self-pollinating (don't have room to put in two trees). However I could consider a multigraft as a way around this.
There are two trees that I have come up with that really fit this criteria: Jaboticaba and Carambola/Star Fruit
I already have a Sabara Jaboticaba, so I would really like to try something new. What do you think, would a Carambola do well in this location (keeping in mind that I would need to keep it pruned to 3-4 wide, almost like an espalier). I have looked at images and the leaves are pretty (the fruit of course is gorgeous) and the trunk looks like it has a beautiful peeling quality like a Crape Myrtle / Jaboticaba / Guava. So it would definitely be attractive.
Any better suggestions? Thanks!