I think we probably have an Ace Hardware in the city. We had a cherry tree at our old house but the birds always got to it before we did.My wife is the farmer, I’m just the hired hand.
Wife says dig a hole right here we will plant this tree, I dig.
Seriously, my wife knows her stuff for sure, and she gets her fruit trees at the Ace Hardware in town.
They are four to six feet tall in 5 gallon buckets, I don’t know brands or anything.
She leaves the little variety ID tags on, if I remember I’ll go out and look at them for you.
The important thing is to find out which varieties grow best in your area.
She uses Ace because we live fairly remote, to go to a real nursery would be at least an hour drive away.
You're doing pretty good. We had a cherry tree at our old house but while we waited for them to ripen the birds picked it clean. I know they sell nets that go over the trees but it's extra work. I want to grow raspberries and blackberries too. We made out good with them at our old house. The soil is not so good here though so we'll have to work it and maybe get some topsoil. Ugh. I hate snow. I know some people like it but the older I get the less I like it.We have a decent sized orchard up here. We have cherry (3 types), apple (4 types) plum (3 types), and peach trees. It's important to choose your trees from a local nursery so that they'll climatized for your area. That may not be an issue in a more mild climate. We also have 4 varieties of grapes, 3 varieties of raspberries, strawberry, and blackberry bushes. We have a big problem with hornets, grasshoppers and birds. Every year we lose a tree or some vines to snow, freezing temps or grasshoppers. Last spring our last snowfall was June 22nd. Many years our first snowfall is in September. Weather and vermin are always a big challenge for us.
I didn't know that about TN - thanks for the tip!Until 2015 I had a 200tree commercial peach orchard. I, like most commercial growers buy from companies in McMinnville Tn. There are more than 300 nurseries in the area. It’s literally the nursery capital of the world.
Some are whole sale only, they supply retailers like tsc, lowes, h. depot. Others sell retail to the public. I don't remember who I bought from, too long ago.
Run searches on McMinnville tn nurseries or peach trees etc. You can get any kind of shrub, tree or flower you're looking for. Look for companies who've been in business since the 50’s or 60’s, old and established. There are plenty to choose from and they all ship.
This one specializes in peaches, plums and apricots, and has been in business since 1959.
https://vaughnnursery.com/
are you moving to Florida? If yes, oranges, mangoes, guavas, tangelosI want to plant some fruit trees and am at a loss at where to start. Has anyone had luck with planting fruit trees and do you use a certain brand?
The birds get all of our sweet cherries too. They leave the pie cherries alone though. Plus they never touch the choke cherries.You're doing pretty good. We had a cherry tree at our old house but while we waited for them to ripen the birds picked it clean. I know they sell nets that go over the trees but it's extra work. I want to grow raspberries and blackberries too. We made out good with them at our old house. The soil is not so good here though so we'll have to work it and maybe get some topsoil. Ugh. I hate snow. I know some people like it but the older I get the less I like it.
Birds can be pests. We have them constantly making nests over our porch for some reason. Never heard of choke cherries. I don't want to put work in and then feed the wildlife. I thought of getting a greenhouse but they're probably expensive. I have to look into it.The birds get all of our sweet cherries too. They leave the pie cherries alone though. Plus they never touch the choke cherries.
We're going to go back and look and make a decision. It's really hard but I love the long growing season. I don't know how you could leave there! I would love to grow all those fruits.are you moving to Florida? If yes, oranges, mangoes, guavas, tangelos
I was thinking of the dwarf variety too because it would be easier to pick fruit.I bought fruit trees that were standard, and even with attempts at pruning, they got too big for me to handle. If I was doing it over, they would be dwarf or possibly mid sized that I could reach the top or throw netting over.
My first investment when we bought this house 40 years ago was a small orchard. No regrets. Stark did right by us, good stock. I’ve been told that bare root is better to start off than one in a pot. From my experience, that’s true.
Birds love mulberries, so I planted one in hopes of getting more of the cherries. Didn’t work. We just got more birds.
With fruit trees it's primarily the rootstock that determines size; that's one benefit of grafting. Any variety could be a standard size, semi-dwarf, or dwarf. That means when buying trees consider the not only the scion (the tree above ground) variety but also the rootstock variety.I was thinking of the dwarf variety too because it would be easier to pick fruit.
I think this is fairly common for fruit trees to be grafted to rootstock. On most fruit trees you can see the location of the connection of the two. I thought that they are usually grafted to apple, but maybe they are grafted to crabapple.The standard apple tree won’t survive in Alaska, so the trees we got were grafted to crabapple rootstock.
The birds around here won't touch the choke cherries, but bears seem to love them. We have probably 5 acres of choke cherry trees here.The standard apple tree won’t survive in Alaska, so the trees we got were grafted to crabapple rootstock. Local knowledge is paramount.
I went out to harvest our chokecherry tree. Most of the robins flew away but one sat there and cussed me out the entire time I was there. I didn’t know that robins had such fowl vocabulary.
Are chokecherry black & the tree grows to thirty feet tall with trunks as large as 14 inches in diameter.The standard apple tree won’t survive in Alaska, so the trees we got were grafted to crabapple rootstock. Local knowledge is paramount.
I went out to harvest our chokecherry tree. Most of the robins flew away but one sat there and cussed me out the entire time I was there. I didn’t know that robins had such fowl vocabulary.
Thanks for the link! We only tried a cherry tree once and I was looking for something that didn't require a lot of maintenance - like you said, disease-resistant, but also something that birds couldn't eat before we got to it.With fruit trees it's primarily the rootstock that determines size; that's one benefit of grafting. Any variety could be a standard size, semi-dwarf, or dwarf. That means when buying trees consider the not only the scion (the tree above ground) variety but also the rootstock variety.
Variety/rootstock selection is very important for success. Bloom timing, disease resistance, culinary aspects can all vary and lead to success or failure. Just because the tree is sold by a local nursery or retail location does NOT means it's suitable for that area. Consult with extension as Pearl suggested above.
https://extension.org/find-cooperative-extension-in-your-state/
I'm afraid of attracting coyotes and bear with compost - unless I buy one of those big drums. I was thinking of having topsoil delivered since our ground is clay. A family member had chicken feed stored in one of those large sealed plastic containers and a bear bit it right open and ate the chicken feed. I am afraid of bears because of what happened to that woman in CA. How did you test your soil - are there testing strips or did you send it away?Yo need a soil test, then compost & how much sunlight does the area get.
Then you can buy plants based on your hardy zone.
I have low PH so blue berries love my soil, blackberries are less fussy.
I'm going to look into them. You're really all set with 5 acres!The birds around here won't touch the choke cherries, but bears seem to love them. We have probably 5 acres of choke cherry trees here.
My chokecherry fruit is black with a big pit. The tree is tall but not yet 30’ and I doubt that you could cut a usable 2X4 from it with all the branches coming off it. The tree starts out the summer green then the white blossoms cover it. The rest of the summer the leaves turn a dark purple. The birds seem to ignore it till the fruit matures which is how I know it is time to harvest. The only birds that I’ve seen in it are Robins.Are chokecherry black & the tree grows to thirty feet tall with trunks as large as 14 inches in diameter.
If so, that what we call wild black cherry, which is grown for lumber.
Bees & birds love them, they make good jelly also.
Prunus serotina
They grow wild here, and are un-edible, at least in my opinion. I do know some people who make jelly from choke cherries, but it takes more sugar than cherries.I'm going to look into them. You're really all set with 5 acres!
My tree gets to 60 feet.My chokecherry fruit is black with a big pit. The tree is tall but not yet 30’ and I doubt that you could cut a usable 2X4 from it with all the branches coming off it. The tree starts out the summer green then the white blossoms cover it. The rest of the summer the leaves turn a dark purple. The birds seem to ignore it till the fruit matures which is how I know it is time to harvest. The only birds that I’ve seen in it are Robins.
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