General Fruit Tree Thread AMA

As it is nearing spring time now is the time to start selecting fruit trees for your property. Questions can range from tree selection, fertilizing and spraying, grafting, pruning techniques, chill hours, hybrids, etc.

I am mostly knowlegdable about sub tropicals, citrus, and decidous fruit trees. I have no experience growing tropical fruit like mamey, etc.

I'm apprentice arborist. I love fruit trees, especially unusual and native ones. I have a small grove of wild plum, a quince and some cornillian dogwood cherry trees.

Are any of the wild plums worth propagating? I have always wanted to breed my own hybrids but i dont have the space required to produce a great hybrid.

Do you make preserves with the quince and cherries?

Bump.

only fruit trees I've had are key lime, mango, and loquat. don't have a yard anymore but my landlord grows avocado, lychee, and longan that he gives to me.

Guessing you live in florida or southern california(if in US)?

Do you know what variety of mango it is?

Also is your neighbor Asian? longan, lychee, starfruit, and persimmons are very popular amongst the asians.

I personally love wild plums but a lot of people don't. The fruit is small making them pretty labor intensive. But the flavor is much more intense, they make a great jam.
The drupe from the Cornellian dogwood is interesting. So far I've only got a few of them over the last two years but they are used to make preserves or alcohol.
I love making quince jelly and candies in the fall though, they have such a high amount of pectin in them that they set up great. I'll usually boil and mash a massive pot with sugar and lemon juice then spread them in baking sheets to make a gummy like confection with that unique sweet, sour, spicy quince flavor.

Florida. no idea about the mango, my dad was the one growing it for us a long time ago, they seemed like normal grocery store mangos but I don't eat them often. Landlord has an asian gf, those lychees are the best I've had, explode with juice when you open them lol.

Interesting. I have heard that wild plums vary in taste and other characteristics from tree to tree.

Are wild plums classified as prunus x americana or salicina?

Are wild plums graft compatible with japanese plums and pluot hybrids?

Do you find the variability as big as you find in a seedling apple or peach?


Right now japanese plums and hybrids are my best producers. Have around 20 different varieties. Most of them are in a multigraft tree. In a couple of years i think im going to have to learn how to make preserves/jams.

The keitt, glenn, and kent mango are very popular in florida.

Do you remember if it was fibrous in the flesh.

They looked exactly like your pic, never ate them because I didn't like mango as a kid, just ate shit tons of loquats.

My wild plums are classified as Prunus americana Marsh.
Locally they are called potawatami plums. While the flavor of the flesh is consistent coloration and skin thickness is not. The majority of my fruit isa rosy red and 1.5 to 2 inches in size. I do have some deep purple and some yellow fruit as well. They all have fairly thick skin but the purple ones are very thick.
I know that you can graft onto wild plums very easily, I've never tried to graft onto Japanese but it should work.
The wild plums make a wonderful jam. The skin has a lot of pectin and the fruit is very flavorful. We get about 150pounds of fruit from our plums every year

Planning on planting a fuck-load of fig trees soon. Have 3 5 foot trees going in ground, plus about 90 cuttings of 15-20 different varieties rooting right now. Also have 3 peach trees and a japanese plum I am hoping will bear fruit this season for me.
I'll have to post later in the year with my progress

>quince.
I feel for your hands dealing with that thorny bush of death.

How do you feel about persimmon?

Panache fig is supposed to be an exquisite fig variety.

Do you know the variety of peach and plum? Have you gotten to taste the fruit from these trees? If the fruit quality is not adequate i would suggest grafting over the trees with new varieties.

off topic, but do you know if terra cotta pots dry out the soil faster than other kinds?

I have an African violet in a unglazed pot and drip tray and it seems like the soil gets dry twice as fast as the plants I have in resin or glazed pots

Is it the same mix?

Is it a dark color container? The dark color pots heat more causing more evaporation.

also terracota containers are pourous which may allow greater evaporation compared to glazed pots which are not pourous.

i am not 100% positive but that would be my guess.

I use heavy leather gloves on the quince.
My plums actually are thornier.

I love persimmons but unfortunately am not growing any at the moment.

Ever tried one of those "everything" trees where they graft in apple, pear, peach and whatnot into the same trunk?

whats a good stone fruit tree that grows well in rocky clay soil? Zone 6

As far as I know it is impossible to graft a pome fruit (apple, quince etc) scion to a prunus (apricot, peach, nectarine, plum, and cherry) rootstock.

However it is possible to graft different varieties of apples to one tree. I currently have a 4 in 1 apple (anna, gordon, fuji, and dorsett golden).

Also prunus is very interesting because you can technically graft a fruit salad tree, using citation rootstock, potentially having peach, plum, nectarines, and apricots on the same tree. Although these are different fruits they are in the same family (prunus).

I dont like grafting different types of fruit onto the same rootstock because they interact differently with the rootstock, which can cause an unbalanced tree.

I have also seen multi grafted asian pears, pears, citrus, and cherries.

>Heavy leather.
Heh, I use a welding vest for roses.

Would you?

>tfw too stupid for college
>tfw you will always live in shitty little apartments, working several part-time jobs at a time, unable to plant your dinky little potted fruit trees
I can't be the only one. Who else here sucks?

What do you recommend to an apartment dweller? My deck is fairly large and gets full sun but it's the only space available, I can only do pots

What about the deep south? Pear trees are popular here along with plumbs. My neighbor has a peach tree which I'm very jealous of.

What kind of chill hrs do you get? If you are not aware. getchill.net can help you find out.

Also if you are in california i would rather use sunset zones instead of usda hardiness chard as it is a little more accurate.

As for soil conditions i would look for a rootstck that is tolerant of clay soil.
For prunus maybe lovell or citation.
For cherries maybe gm61/1 or colt but cherries are more delicate when it comes to poorly drained soil.

Are there any trees that are self pollinating that I can just set and forget and enjoy in the spring and summer?

Look at this post Chill hours usda hardiness/sunset zones are important in picking a fruit type/variety.

Your happiness. =]

Your post depresses the hell out of me.

I checked out that link and it gave me 0 chill hours for the area/time I want to plant, what would recommend going off of that info? I'm a very novice gardener, this would be my first time trying to cultivate a tree

Below 45 Model: 1623 chill hours
Between 45 and 32 Model: 1044 chill hours
Utah Model: 1034 chill units
Positive Utah Model: 1203 chill units
Dynamic Model: 61 chill portions

I will recommend trees from dave wilson nursery since that is the nursery i am most familiar. However feel free to check out a local nursery supplier that supplies your area. Chances are they will have trees that cater specifically to your climate.
Honey blaze nectarine is probably one of the finest pieces of fruit I have ever tried but im not sure it is sold to the public.

Mericrest nectarine on lovell in a late frost tolerant tree.

Harko nectarine on lovell seems a good fit.

Elberta, O'henry or harken peach. On lovell.

Flavor king pluot is one of my favorite fruits and its superior to any plum I have tried. It does require a pollinator such as late santa rosa, another pluot, or burgundy plum.

Just make sure to pick the right rootstock for your soil. A proper spraying program is essential to control diseases and bugs.

Do you live in the US? In the desert? Do you live around citrus growing area? What do your neighbor grow in their yards?

Chill hours are the amount of time the temp is between 35 and 45 degrees fahrenheit. This is important because most decidous trees need this to flower and fruit.

A general area state if in US as well as usda hardiness zone or sunset zone is needed to make a recommendation.

Yes. Guavas, Citrus, Peaches,nectarines, and pomegrantes are usually self-fruitful. There are some varieties of apples, plums, cherries, that are self fruitful.

Set and forget is a difficult thing because most fruit trees need a spraying regiment to control for diseases, as well as fertilizing schedule. Watering is also necessary if you live in a dry area.

Without knowing your usda hardiness zone or chill hours i cant make a specific recommendation.

good answer ty

My understanding is that growing good quality peaches in the south is difficult because of the humidity. Eventhough states like georgia are known for their peaches the growers have to be really good at having a consistent spray program to prevent brown rot and other diseases and pests that plague stone fruits in the deep south. If your neighbors tree produces great fruit without management, i would ask him what variety is the tree. If he doesnt know,then i would suggest, researching a rootstock that is compatible with your soil conditions. Purchasing the rootstock then asking your neighbor for a scion cutting and grafting them together. Look up grafting techniques. There are plenty of videos on youtube demonstrating how to do it.

I live in Charlotte NC, dunno about citrus growing areas but I doubt it, my neighbors don't really grow anything other than herbs and tomatoes

I think you input the wrong data into the chill hour calculator.

I just checked knccharl279 and it did say 0 chill hours. However i thing there might be something wrong with that weatherstation, knccharl168 the next nearest station gives me around 600 chill hours. It doesnt make sense that a location that close to each other have such drastically different chill hours.

Morning bump.

To help people who might want to choose the right fruit tree.

1) contact your local county extension to get an idea of what fruit varieties do well in your area.

2) pick a spot on your property that receives at 6-8 hrs of sunlight. (Make sure you know where you are digging in order to not plant or accidentally hit a gas line, water line, sprinklers, or sewage).

3) Figure out the soil type. If you want to know exactly your soil profile you can send some samples to the lab. Amend the soil as necessary. Usually fruit trees thrive in loamy sandy well draining soil. To find out if you soil is well draining dig a 1x1' hole and fill with water leave over night. If there is still water your soil is not well drained. Then refill hole with water and measure drainage every hour. The hole should ideally drain in 6 hrs but 8-10 is acctable anything less and you will need to amend soil or make a mound and plant the tree.

4) choose the type of fruit tree. Then pick a variety that will receive adequate chill (if necessary). Consider if the tree needs a pollinator. Select a rootstock that is compatible with the soil and has good resistance to pests and diseases in your area.

5) When going to a nursery pick a tree that looks healthy. If trees are bare root, choose a tree with a good looking graft union, i like to choose trees with less than 1/2" in calliper. Smell the roots it should smell earthy. Do not expose roots to sunlight. If not planting tree immediately take moist newpaper and pack it in the root, cover with a bag. If it is not going into the ground for weeks, heel in the tree. For citrus and subtropicals, pick a tree with good looking leaves with no bugs.

6) dig a hole that is 24" across and atleast 12" deep. If your soild is hard clay or very rocky dig a larger and deeper hole to avoid the roots becoming bound. Plant the tree so that the graft union is above ground. A good rule of thumb is to try to plant it at the same level the nursery planted it.

A good indication is the color different between the above ground and underground level. Make sure the graft union is exposed to sunlight. backfill with the same soil. Tamp down soil carefully. Water in to make sure all airpockets are removed. Do Not Water Again until tree starts leafing out or actively growing., the number one killer of fruit trees is overwatering.

8) in order to encourage low branching ( which i prefer due to space limitations) in decidous fruit trees i prune a small calliper tree at around knee height. Just make sure there are live buds below where you plan to make a heading cut. I would not encourage this technique on trees with thicker trunk diameter.

Some Sub tropicals especially guavas are very resistant to heading cuts. Mangoes and avocados also do well with these types of cuts (google pugging mangoes). This type of pruning is beneficial as it allows the tree to put energy into establishing a good root system. Also makes the tree less susceptible to tipping over.

I would not recommend cutting citrus trees in this manner.

Grape vines also require a deliberate pruning methods.