I live in Napa, CA, zone 9b and have been thinking my yard may have a pretty unique microclimate but I haven’t done specific measurements or observations. I work in a technical and regulated field and enjoy just vibing in my hobby fruit growing. I’m on a hill and have a good amount of large tree cover. Sometimes I mutter to myself about the level of shade but over the years I’ve come to appreciate the frost protection. On cold mornings with ice on the windshield out front and frost on the ground behind my property, there is no frost on the ground or plants in my yard.
I mostly grow temperate fruits but do have some subtropicals and am increasingly growing tropical seeds. Last year I left out cherimoya and longan seedlings in pots under deciduous oaks on the slope and they had no damage. Avocados and White Sapote seem to do fine. This year I’ve left out small seedlings of Abiu, Canistel, Jaboticabas, Jack/Chempedak hybrids, and various Garcinia and Annonas. So far, the only dead seedling is a single custard apple seedling, 2 others still fine, I’m not sure the death is necessarily due to cold. One of the Abiu has some cold damage but it’ll be fine. A Geffner atemoya shows some leaf damage, but this could also be further stress from the Geffner struggling in heat waves a couple months ago. All the cherimoyas are doing better than this one atemoya so far. And a cherilata is doing great.
I’m hoping to select a handful of hardy trees to plant in ground in sheltered locations that can still receive some sun. This seems to be a necessary balance I’ll need to observe. Admittedly, I’m early on this journey but I’m starting to think it may be possible to grow many of these fruits outside in my yard in pots that can be moved to deeper shade and shelter in the winter. But it’ll be years yet before I can observe how flowers and fruits handle the winter as I expect these won’t be as hardy as the tree itself.
Even if I remain frost free, it is pretty cold, dipping below 30F based on a weather app. I don’t know how much that changes. Frost formation seems to be more damaging than cold air. I’m sure I can’t grow truly tropical fruits like Mangosteen, Rambutan, or Durian. But a lack of frost seems to be a significant benefit in growing some hardier tropical plants.
Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome! I might get more of a taste for measuring and tracking as I go, but currently I prefer to run a bit wild and free through my hobbies, so no promises, though I appreciate any ideas and who knows what might inspire me.
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