Fruit Trees

[Treehouse]

I have the oportunity to put in several fruit trees.

What apple, pear and peach varieties do you suggest? What things must I look out for with them?

I have over an acre to work with.

Thanks, Jan

[littlejohn]

Well if your not gonna constantly spray them its difficult to grow fruit trees. What we used to get the most out of was the early summer apples like Lodi. They arent great for eating and only fair for pies but grandma always made the best applesauce out of them. Thier so early they have a lot less brownrot and bug problems still some though.
If you are gonna babby them one of my favorites for flavor is Grimes Golden. Its the best for eating and pies has a spicy flavor almost like it has some cinamon in it already and has good texture when baked in pies too.
Pears used to be another good one for the neglected orchard but thier hard to get going now with the fireblight problems.
One thing that is nearly always trouble free is sour cherries thier probably the most reliable producers here of course it takes a lot of sugar but they make the best cherry pie. Also good for some puddings and jam.
You might want to check the thread on figs its surpriseing where they will grow.
You might want to look into Pawpaws some love them some hate them but be sure you get named varieties or at least seed from named verieties.

[redbrick]

Well, I would recommend semidwarf trees, whatever varieties you choose. your per-tree yield will be lower, but your per-acre yield will be much higher. And really, who can pick the top of a standard apple (30+feet high)?

There are some wonderful old apple varieties if you can find them. Here are a few of my favorites: Ditlow's Hardwinter, Old Smokehouse, Paradise Sweet, Winesap to name a few.

[tabitha]

we're putting in a small group of trees this spring- apples, plums, peach, and cherry. i can share our choices for where we live, in southern missouri.

apples: grany smith, golden russet, & gravenstein
peach: redhaven
plums: santa rosa & dapple dandy pluot
cherry: english morello

we opted to order from http://www.treesofantiquity.com , somewhat because we could get organic trees, but mostly because the people on the other end of the phone actually know what they are talking about. we walked through each variety and chose these over a long phone conversation.

we do not intend to spray vile chemicals- Gene Lodgson has a book, Organic Orcharding, which is handy, and i also have The Backyard Orchardist. we don't mind a flaw or two (or 3...) in our fruit. especially when we consider the alternative.

i highly recommend TofA, or another company like them- where when you call, you speak to a real orchardist.


best of luck!
tabitha

[Lamb Abbey Orchards]

I have the oportunity to put in several fruit trees. What apple, pear and peach varieties do you suggest? What things must I look out for with them?

http://gurneys.com/images/prodimage_large/65793.jpg

Jan,

This is such a tough question to answer because there are SO many variables that come into play, such as your climate, your site, your soil quality, how long you're willing to wait for your first crop, potential disease problems in your area, whether or not you plan to grow organically, not to mention your own personal taste in fruit and how you plan to use them. Will you be attempting to store fruit in a root cellar or using it all up immediately? Remember, the perfect pie apple has a whole different set of characteristics than the ideal fresh dessert apple. Moreover, some apples varieties aren't at their best until they've mellowed in storage for a month or two.

One recommendation I'll make is that you consider planting an apple variety known as Williams' Pride (pictured above). It's one of the best of the early apples, highly rated for both flavor and disease resistance, is an annual cropper and is very productive. It's immune to apple scab and resistant to mildew, cedar rust and fireblight, none of which you want to have to face, especially if you're a firsttime fruit tree grower. Williams' Pride is also an early season bloomer with unusually long lasting blossoms. You'll find additional information about this variety here (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/pri/coop23-3.html). If you're just looking for a few trees, I highly recommend getting them from Raintree Nursery (http://www.raintreenursery.com/). They're not the cheapest place to get trees, but the trees you get are always top quality. If you're looking to buy in quantity (more than 10 trees), I highly recommend Adams County Nursery (http://www.acnursery.com). I don't believe however that Adams County offers Williams' Pride. Remember that few apples or pears (or sweet cherries, for that matter) are self-fertile. You'll need to plant another variety nearby to assist with pollination. Peaches with few exceptions are self-fertile so just one tree will get you fruit.

Regarding rootstocks, you're probably at the mercy of what's being offered, unless you're set up to graft your own. I think apples on a Semi-Dwarf rootstock like EMLA 26 are the perfect size and should produce their first fruit in three years. They will need to be staked for support. If you're more interested in having a huge, majestic apple tree that will produce for generations, I suggest going with trees on either EMLA 111 or a rootstock called Antanovka. Raintree offers Antanovka for a number of their apples. EMLA 111 (or sometimes MM 111) is pretty readily available in the industry. They're both VERY hardy and trees on Antanovka can withstand winter temps down to -40F. Just know that you won't see your first fruit on these trees for probably 5 years or so. They'll also require a lot more space, which doesn't seem to be a problem for you. As a very rough estimate, you'll probably end up with 3 to 5 bushels of apples/year on an EMLA 26 tree at maturity, whereas the same variety on either EMLA 111 or Antanovka could give you anywhere between 10 and 20 bushels/year. But you'll need a ladder for the latter. :D A rough size comparison for trees on different rootstocks can be found here (http://www.acnursery.com/roots.htm). Antanovka isn't listed on this chart. However it's a full 100% standard size tree against which these other rootstocks are being compared.

It's important when you're buying trees through the mail that you know in advance what you're getting. Way too many places will send you a 'one-year whip,' which is basically a 30" stick with no branching to speak of, and in some cases will charge you an arm and a leg for such a tree. When you order your trees, see if you can obtain trees that are 'feathered,' meaning that they'll come with at least a few branches.

I've ordered trees from at least a half dozen nurseries in the past and was floored at the range of the quality, size and health of what I received. Don't let yourself be surprised. Ask questions in advance. If you're not sure of the reputation of the nursery from which you're considering to purchase trees (or seeds for that matter), check out a website called Garden Watchdog (http://davesgarden.com/gwd/). It's a terrific information source which compiles reviews for practically every seed or plant-related company in business. When you go to their main page, simply type in the name of the nursery in the 'Search by company name' box in the upper RH corner of the website. If you like what you read about people's experiences with that company, you're probably good to go. Not surprisingly, Baker Creek is quite highly rated. You'll find their reviews here (http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/14/). In comparison, check out the unfortunate reviews for THIS (http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/1483/) particular nursery. Forewarned indeed IS forearmed.

Finally, if you're interested in getting serious about having a home orchard, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a copy of Stella Otto's paperback The Backyard Orchardist (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0963452037/qid=1136580143/sr=8-2/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-0131786-9173658?n=507846&s=books&v=glance). It's a terrific and very accessible guide for beginning and maintaining a productive home orchard. She's also got a great book available specifically for growing berries. Also consider subscribing to the many free GardenWeb Forums (http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/). They're a great place to ask gardening questions and exchange information with fellow gardeners.

Happy Growing!

John

[TastyofHasty]

I've been reading up on Missouri U horticulture pages & they have really good info about pests, climate problems, etc. for fruit trees in Ozarks area. Here's their site: http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/hort/index.htm

Just read another site about pears for around here ... woman named Yaeger (nice old Arkansas name I gather) says Kieffer is hard but doesn't get messed up like other pears; she also recommends Orient pear.

Apparently this area is really hard on fruit trees, what with one thing and another. I have two peach trees that have peach borers :mad:, one I planted about two years ago ... went out and found this spiral rip right up the trunk ... webpage about it said "dig out the peach borers from the trunk." Like, yeah. Sure. Like, with what?? How do you know you've got "it?" Isn't it likely there's more than one? I did throw wood ashes around both trees, but a bit too late I'm afraid. If there is a spray I will use it, rather than letting the trees die. (Oh, heretical me! :eek: )

Here's a list from notes from the MU webpage I made up about what appear to be good resistant varieties for around here ... it doesn't include the ones I already HAVE, just the ones I'll be looking out for in future:

Apple
Goldrush
Liberty
Enterprise

Strawberry
Earliglow
Surecrop
Redchief
Allstar
Jewel

Plum
Shiro
Ozark something (Premier?)

Walnut
Carpathian walnuts (from Poland) 2 cultivars needed
Champion
Lake English

Grapes
Niagara
Buffalo
Concord
Steuben
Canadice

Gooseberry
Welcome
Pixwell

Now, do I actually HAVE those kinds of fruits? Not. Well, I do have an Ozark Premier Plum bought at Home Depot last year that is doing well. Have a Golden Russet apple doing quite well, something called "Pixie Crunch" apple that's doing fine so far ... (I planted it on TOP of the hill before I realized dirt is THIN there! and things dry out and die there!) a Maxine pear that's recovering from being chomped by a deer; my pride and joy, a "Chinese Edible Hawthorn" got eaten down by the horse (I think) but he missed a branch which is coming back!!! A mulberry (can't remember the kind) that is just doing fine ... Manchurian apricots are doing great ... bush cherries (Hansen, something else) doing well (but they only produce teensy cherries), Hall's Giant hazelnut was doing fine till something broke it off when we went on a trip ... a couple elderberry bushes (john and harry or something like that) doing good, Gingkos ... one I've grown from about a 10" stick is doing well, mainly because I planted it halfway down a slope, I think, where dirt is thicker and better protected from sun and drought. Two others planted on top of hill dried out in the drought last year and (I think) died. Thornless blackberries growing GIGANTIC, what with oak leaves, chicken poo, cut grass, horse manure, wood ashes, thrown on 'em at various times. Red raspberries sort of okay. and Li Jujubes ... two of 'em, doing well. Surprise, surprise. Oh yeah, and AllinOne Almond (or something like that) doing okay so far, about 2' tall, putting out blossoms and leaves right now.