What fruit trees?

[RalphVa]

I had peach, plum, apple, pear, apricot, fig and none fuzzy peach (senior moment; can't think of name of it).

They're all gone but one pear and one cherry that was put in after the others were removed. All the plum, peach and that one I can't think the name of got brown rot. It's very nasty here.

Apples never bore hardly at all.

Pear finally bore last year, but the squirrels got all of them. Cherry hasn't born yet.

Pears get fire blight badly; so do apples.

Frost gets apricot blossoms every year.

It was much easier growing these in NJ.

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries. Much easier to deal with. Lot less pruning. Everybearing raspberry stalks can just be cut to the ground about now for a single crop, which is the strongest anyway.

Figs are good, but get Chicago hardy. My LSU Purple have gotten bitten back by hard freezes the last two years. Was getting more and more off them until the winters got colder these last 2 years.

Ralph

 

[DFB]

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries.

That's what my boss at the orchard says too Ralph. After 45 years and thousands of trees the future is small fruit :laughing:

 

[forgeblast]

Buxus appreciate that link, Going to check it out!!! thanks

 

[forgeblast]

Larry There is a place near me Pie in the Sky orchard, and they do espalier spacing, easiest you pick place to go to. If I was going to go commercial I would do espalier. (With a deer fence)

 

[teejk]

I had peach, plum, apple, pear, apricot, fig and none fuzzy peach (senior moment; can't think of name of it).

They're all gone but one pear and one cherry that was put in after the others were removed. All the plum, peach and that one I can't think the name of got brown rot. It's very nasty here.

Apples never bore hardly at all.

Pear finally bore last year, but the squirrels got all of them. Cherry hasn't born yet.

Pears get fire blight badly; so do apples.

Frost gets apricot blossoms every year.

It was much easier growing these in NJ.

You're better off with small fruit, e.g. raspberries, wineberries, strawberries, blueberries. Much easier to deal with. Lot less pruning. Everybearing raspberry stalks can just be cut to the ground about now for a single crop, which is the strongest anyway.

Figs are good, but get Chicago hardy. My LSU Purple have gotten bitten back by hard freezes the last two years. Was getting more and more off them until the winters got colder these last 2 years.

Ralph

Guess that goes back to the suggestion about consulting with your local "Mr. Kimble" (Green Acres...loved that show...ahead of it's time humor wise I think). In our cold climate we are somewhat limited on species but don't have to worry about "brown rot" and other things. Soil, moisture and bugs are also local considerations.

 

[RalphVa]

Like I said, in NJ I had no fruit tree problems. Had apple (about 3 different kinds), pear, plum. No brown rot. No fire blight.

Only fruit tree that's fairly good without a whole lot of trouble (other than probably cutting back branches that get killed in winter) is fig in Virginia.

Lots of commercial peach and apple in the area, but they're forever fighting fire blight and spraying for brown rot. In NJ, I only did dormant oil sprays. Nothing else. Worked here in Virginia on my plum and peach for 3 or 4 years of getting fruit (fighting the squirrels for it) before brown rot came along. Then ALL the pitted fruit got brown rot.

Ralph

 

[oosik]

The USDA says my area is planting hardiness zone 6. Whatever, I know I've always had problems with 1) soft fruit blooming too early with the blossoms freezing and 2) the never ending battle with pocket gophers. I've always planted semi-dwarf trees. Apples do well - everything else, not so well. To fend off the gophers, I line the dug hole, wall to wall, with a two inch thick layer of broken glass. Seems they don't like that. Gives the trees time to establish their root system.

What with our semi-arid conditions I plant at least three trees to get one to maturity. Its the ultra dry summer, the winter winds causing "South-West" damage, the pocket gophers and just those that do not thrive. Right now I have four apple trees that are 25+ years old and I will be planting new ones this spring. At first I sprayed the trees with just about everything. I soon found that so many die from other causes that spraying was a waste of time.

I've also found that I must share any fruit with the deer and the coons. We each, kind of, get a third of the crop.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I suggest you check with your local county extension agent (may be called something else in VA?). They will know what works well in your specific area. Also see if you have a local Master Gardeners Group. They can be very helpful.

 

[newbury]

Like I said, in NJ I had no fruit tree problems. Had apple (about 3 different kinds), pear, plum. No brown rot. No fire blight.

Only fruit tree that's fairly good without a whole lot of trouble (other than probably cutting back branches that get killed in winter) is fig in Virginia.

Lots of commercial peach and apple in the area, but they're forever fighting fire blight and spraying for brown rot. In NJ, I only did dormant oil sprays. Nothing else. Worked here in Virginia on my plum and peach for 3 or 4 years of getting fruit (fighting the squirrels for it) before brown rot came along. Then ALL the pitted fruit got brown rot.

Ralph

Take this advice.

Things may have changed. When I moved from Vermont to Virginia about 40 years ago I tried planting some of my half acre with about two dozen carefully chosen apples and pears. In Vermont we had about a 1/4 acre apple orchard and I knew how to raise good apples. I'm a biologist and researched the varieties and strove for disease resistance. Despite oil spray and state of art poisons all the trees succumbed to rot and blight within 4 years.

 

[teejk]

Take this advice.

Things may have changed. When I moved from Vermont to Virginia about 40 years ago I tried planting some of my half acre with about two dozen carefully chosen apples and pears. In Vermont we had about a 1/4 acre apple orchard and I knew how to raise good apples. I'm a biologist and researched the varieties and strove for disease resistance. Despite oil spray and state of art poisons all the trees succumbed to rot and blight within 4 years.

Probably explains why the northern climates (NY, WA, CO, etc.) produce the big fruit...a hardy freeze probably kills much of the stuff that wrecks the crop elsewhere. But makes me wonder why Georgia can grow peaches.