By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! April 2025. Are You a Pine Nut? How many local pines can you identify?  San Diego County’s...

By Robin Y Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2025. Lemon Tree Arbor.  "SelecTree. UFEI. "Citrus limon Tree Record." 1995-2025. Cal...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2024. Public domain: United States Botanical Garden. (Accessed 11/16/24)...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2024. Does Your Neighborhood Have Tree Equity? Is “Tree Equity” just another political...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! August 2024. Crape Myrtles Are Not French Pancakes Amazing as it may seem, the Lagerstroemia...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2024. (Two Tree Swallows Calling. Attribution: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! April 2024. Unique Tree Selections from A to Z Although this is published on April Fool’s Day,...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2024. California Rare Fruit Growers I confess. I developed this “Trees, please!”...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2023. Sharing Mark Twain’s Favorite Fruit Holiday season is upon us. Have you been a...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2023. Imagine Eating a Rose? No kidding. Tasting a rose apple should be on every...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! August 2023. “They took all the trees Put 'em in a tree museum And they charged all the people...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2023. Forest Bathing or Shinrin-yoku "Forest bathing" does not require soap or water....

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! April 2023. Arbor Day, “Sylvan” Day or Día del Árbol? “Other holidays repose upon the past;...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! February 2023. Do Valentines Have Vesicles? Yes, red-fruiting Valentines have vesicles - which...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! December 2022. Do-it-yourself Help - Tree Pulp for Your Bookshelf. Our Mediterranean tree...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2022. “Bloody Eyeball” Tree fruit, Alectryon excelsus. Ali Undorf, CC BY-SA 2.0...

By Robin Y. Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! August 2022. Eucalyptus – Thank Them Or Yank Them? The battle continues. Do you love or loathe...

By Robin Y Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2022. Can You Bake a Cherry Pie? Miracles do happen. Twenty years ago, it was unlikely you...

By Robin Y Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! April 2022. Should you grow your tree in a pot? If I wasn’t addressing horticulturists: I’d...

By Robin Y Rivet. Contrary to what easterners believe, winter in our mild region renders many tree species naked for months, and regional...

By Robin Y Rivet, for Let's Talk Plants! December 2021. Desert Willow in bloom – Chilopsis linearis 'Timeless Beauty' cultivar © photo by...

By Robin Y Rivet, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2021. October is prime tree planting time. Suppose you’d like an evergreen with...

By Robin Y Rivet. Ficus carica - edible fig: cross section showing syconium. Did you ever wonder why you don’t see flowers on fig trees?...

By Robin Y Rivet. Is your neighborhood lined with large, mature street trees? The odds are against it. · Older communities once revered...

By Robin Y Rivet. I’m ‘fessing up. I get too many calls to identify commonly cultivated tree species, but the task is daunting due to the...

The coronavirus is on everyone’s mind. COVID-19 has caused extreme loss of life - but few people understand what a virus is - and what it is

Imagine a natural, low-water garden blooming with the beautiful and unique flora of California native plants, attracting a large diversity

Bite down carefully. If it’s meltingly soft and syrupy, or spicy-sweet and crunchy, both textures might be ripe persimmons. The Oriental per

A global pandemic is forcing humans to consider their collective vulnerability, while humbled individuals are expected to hover in place - r

The virus pandemic is creating tight budgets, but more time to garden. Planting new trees should not be costly.

Although April showers may offer some respite, most yard trees will soon rely solely on you for a drink. Unfortunately, that dependence ofte

Valentine’s Day is nigh. Do you wish for romantic gifts of silken fabric, sweet fruit or gorgeous flowers? A genuine “silk” tree could be a

Evergreens you might choose, but no larches, spruce or yews… Araucarias: Eye-catching as a towering species, the Norfolk Island pine is ope

October is prime tree planting season in San Diego County. The weather is cooling and our rainy season is due. If you are expecting to plant

By Robin Rivet. Summers in San Diego increasingly remind me of places I used to live; but I’m no snowbird. I fled the east coast loathing...

By Robin Rivet. Allergies are on the rise. Although grassy plants and food sensitivities account for much of this ascent, there is...

By Robin Rivet. Tree topping is brutal. Although the term “butchered” is frequently used, butchers are highly skilled meat cutters. Tree...

By Robin Rivet. Final exams and Southern California’s rainy season are over, but in June the jacaranda tree (Jacaranda mimosifolia) is...

By Robin Rivet. Do you avoid parking under a tree because you’re concerned that bird or insect feces might ruin your car wash? Although...