Inside a rustic outbuilding at One Green World Nursery (www.onegreenworld.com) in Molalla, Oregon, affable owner, Jim Gilbert, presided over a tasting table piled high with enticing fruits. I wanted to grow every single thing I put in my mouth. Yellow cherries, aptly named 慓old? were so tangy and juicy I had to restrain my hand from leaping out for more, even as I savored my first sampling. Plates of red, black, pink and white currants displayed names like 態lank釖, 慡wedish White? 慠evada? and 慓loire des Sablons? Each one carried a flavor as distinct as different wines. Jim offered me edible blossoms of pineapple guava梩he petals surprisingly soft and sweet. I stood there, trying not to gobble the delectables, and made a vow梩he next tree or shrub I buy will feed me. Why not have landscaping that gives you food? Especially when the plants are so unusual and beautiful.
I found the perfect plum in the sale yard. Prunus 慛ichols?shows off bright red foliage and deep red fruit, inside and out. It was hardy to minus thirty degrees. Less hardy dwarf pineapple Ananas comosus 慡ugar Loaf抴as a great candidate for greenhouse culture. Fruiting tropicals can spend summers outside, and then reside in a bright glasshouse for the rest of the year.
I asked Jim for a tip on how to determine which plants would be happy growing in greenhouses. He told me to look for those less-vigorous varieties that are naturally dwarf or grow slowly. The small fig tree, Ficus carica 慛egronne? with its dark red-fleshed fruit, flourishes in container culture. Jim also liked dwarf citrus. He gave me terrific advice for growing citrus in containers梪se acid potting mixes梩he kind for rhododendrons. The acidity of the free-draining soil mix allows plants to take up more essential nutrients, including iron. (For other tips on citrus, see my column, 揥hat抯 Wrong with my Plant??
Ten fruiting plants to try in greenhouses

Citrus junos 慪uzu Ichandrin??lemon-lime flavored fruit
Citrus latifolia 態earss??juicy lime
Citrus meyeri ?easy-to-grow Meyer lemon
Eriobotrya japonica ?loquat, light orange fruit
Feijoa sellowiana ?pineapple guava, for fruit and those delicious petals.
Ficus carica 慉treano??dwarf fig, light green fruits with pink flesh
Punica granatum 慡ochi Dwarf??dwarf pomegranate
Musa acuminata 慡uper Dwarf??eight-foot tall banana, for fruit, leaves
Olea europaea 慉rbequina??compact Spanish olive
Ugni molinae ?Chilean guava, small tasty fruit.