I'd really like to plant a few fruit trees this spring. I find conflicting information. I would like to hear about your actual experiences in North Texas. I like the idea of the pretty blooms and I realize the birds and such will eat most of the fruit, but I'd love to at least make jelly someday.
What's good here? What to avoid due to pests and mess etc.?
fruit trees in North Texas
amazing no one has spoken to your post yet! What kind of jellies do you like? Flowering Quince does well, the native summer plums are good, I DON'T know why I never hear of crabapple jelly any more, chuckle, and pears, apricots, do well there, too. The pests and messes are just part of the whole, they make the fruit all the sweeter after all! Most fruits draw certain animals or birds, or caterpillars, but thats just the way the design works, Good luck!
MrsCave, I'm starting off on the fruit tree adventure here in North TX as well. It seems as if we're having some of the same ideas about what to start in our new gardens. So far I have a few fig trees and some blueberry and blackberry bushes. I've added an additional twist as I've always wanted to try espalliering (if there is such a verb) fruit trees. Starting my own and all. I've wanted to do this since I was a kid (yes, an odd ambition for a kid, but there you go). So I'm going to start with some apricots and pears. Maybe some apples, haven't decided yet. I've learned that you need to study the chill requirements of the varieties to see if you can get good production in your area. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/stonefruit/chillacc.htm and http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/stonefruit/aclickablemap.htm
I'll just be putting the wips in this spring, so I don't think I'll have any production worth speaking of for a few years. But I'm going to have a lot of fun just looking at them and pruning them until then! =D
I've got an order in with Raintree Nursery as they come highly recommened over on the fruit and nut forum. I've also been checking our Trees of Antiquity, Legg Creek Farm, and Bob Wells Nursery. There are many others. I got my fig trees from Bob Wells Nursery, but some of them got carried off in a small tornado. The ones I have left are doing well. I think figs are very easy to grow in our area.
I've been exploring jelly/jam recipes since I was a kid, too. For the figs I think I have picked out a fig/orange recipe I want to try as soon as I get enough figs going!
I'm a total newbie with the fruit trees but am willing to discuss or share any info or adventures I may have. I know there are many other fruit tree growers about here on Dave's so you should get much better info than I can provide at this point. Good luck and have fun!
You should check the "favorite fruit and nut trees" thread that is on the Texas Gardening forum ,was just a couple of weeks back lots of info there...From what little I know looks like Pears ,figs and blueberries are the best bet for producing fruit
I think it just got bumped up. I can't stop reading it!
Thanks everyone. I saw the post earlier about fruit trees and it helped. However, if I remember correctly that person was planting a fairly big orchard. I'm in a suburb with about .25 acre lot. I was hoping to hear personal experiences from someone who included fruit trees in their landscape.
Terri I look forward to this adventure together.
Kittriana- I don't think I've heard of a quince I'll have to look it up and I was leaning towards crabapple.
My first preference would be cherry, peach or apricot but I'm not getting a good vibe online about how they would do here.
I will definitely get blackberries, blueberries and raspberries eventually but its low on the priority list. I'm trying to concentrate on the trees that will need a few years before they produce for now.
Try an Asian Pear on dwarf or semi-dwarf (easy pick) rootstock. Shinki is a good disease resistant variety. They are crunchy like an apple and taste much better than an American Pear.
Dwarfing rootstocks are great because you dont end up with a 30 foot tree. You can keep them around 8 feet which means you can plant more. You will still get a heavy harvest.
Just get a heat tolerant Apple like Granny Smith or Fuji. You are correct that they do much better farther north. Apples are susceptible to fireblight.
Cherries dont like the heat.
Fuyu Persimmons on American rootstock love it up there with your soil but they can get large. They tend to grow slow and can be eaten like an Apple unlike other Persimmons.
Plums are a winner about everywhere but they are susceptible to many diseases that Peaches get too.
Jujubes will love it up there. They love the cold and heat. They will grow vertical if you dont prune them so you could have a 25 foot tree that is only 6-7 feet wide. The variety So (Contorted) is extremely ornate and has nice small fruit. It will definitely make an impression. It will stay smaller than most Jujube.
Warning...... Jujubes will sucker like Crape Myrtles.
jujubetexas, I did not see Quince mentioned. I believe they will grow well here and the fruit makes good jelly. Tree or shrub types, the flowering japanese quice can make a good hedge row according to Raintree Nursery. Low chill hours required. I want some, so that's why I'm asking. =)
Quince and jujube! I learned something new today. Thank you so much.
I have about five Pineapple Quince trees at the farm and one of the Scarlet Flowering Quince.
Quince is often used as a rootstock for other fruits and is extremely vigorous. I had wonderful production on younger trees last year. I dont promote them much because they are not very good fresh. I did make Apple and Jujube pie with them this year. They add a lot of pectin to the recipe for thickening and the taste is much better once they are heated up. The fruit is very large and has a wonderful smell. If you plan on cooking or canning, this is the fruit tree for you. I just have one tree at the house and I plan on grafting about four Pears and a few Apples to the branches and leave about two branches for Quince.
The Scarlet Flowering is very dought tolerant and dense. The flowers are just amazing but the fruit is very small with meger yields. I barely qualify this as edible landscaping because of poor taste, size and harvest. If you are looking for a nice border shrub, it will fit the bill. However, it does drop its leaves in the winter and is much less attractive than other plants at that time.
This message was edited Jan 13, 2011 3:07 PM
Mrscave, I also found this link I had saved. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/fruit_nut.html. It covers all of TX but you can pick out what you need.
More suggestions.
I was thinking of you jujube when I drove thru Dripping Springs today, I waved south when I passed hwy 12... I learned of Flowering Quince in the hi school year leaf collecting, however, I also learned a bunch from you variety listing, Pineapple Quince-intriguing. Thanx!!! I know that fruit trees do well with espalier, I'd bet that the multi grafted one of many fruits would be very adaptable as espalier, too...
There are a very few peach varieties that do ok in Rockwall, but they grow better south of you-Freestone I believe are Texas born and bred,, I think. Peach have odd planting myths, water when you plant but don't water for a year after, was one I heard in the deep south...
Thanks for the wave. I have to get up at 5:30am to drive to Houston for the big Urban Harvest fruit tree sale. It is like one of those 75% off wedding dress sales but with less pulling and scratching.
MrsCave, there are a lot of Peaches that do well in Rockwell, Ranger, Loring and Bell Of Georgia are a few. Peaches will produce the second year after planting if well taken care of. Cherries on the other hand do not do well in the south and apricots do well but bloom early and are subject to late frostbites and loss of fruit. You are a little west for Blueberries but if you work on keeping the soil acetic and keep the plants mulched and watered you should be fine. Blackberries will produce like crazy the year after they are planted, so go out and get some now, I prefer the thornless. Raspberries do well but need shade in the evenings and plenty of water. I grew several Apples in Fort Worth which has black gumbo much like Rockwell. Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious all did well. Methley plums do well in your area and there are some really good pairs but I can not give you any names.
Personely I would stay away from dwarf trees, they have root system that do not feed the plants very well, which is why they stay dwarfs. I would rather go with a full size tree and keep pruning heavily to keep them small, if you want a small tree.