I'd like to hear about your "own" experience about growing fruit trees in my zone 8a.
Sadly, I will need to remove all my roses by my back driveway. They are all infected with Rose Rosette Disease and I am tired to hope they will get well, instead they are just dying.
This is the reason I have decide that the area will be prime real estate for fruit trees: FULL SUN
Do you have a good fruit tree variety to recommend?
I was thinking maybe persimmons, plums, peaches or even pomegranate.
Thanks in advance
Suggestion/HELP on selecting the FRUIT tree for Dallas, TX
Apricots do extremely well here.
We never could get Granny Smith to succeed.
Figs do great ! Ours is about 6-7 feet tall.
BajaBlue thanks for the suggestion. I love both apricots and figs.
Do you have any varieties in mind?
Fig, pear and peaches all do well here.
Any variety of fig that strikes your fancy ! We have grown several varieties, all successfully.
We grow Moorpark apricots, but I have had luck even planting pits from fruit purchased
at Wal Mart.
Sadly though, the season at the grocery store is very short, unless, perhaps, some are available at Whole Foods.
Thanks
My local nursery will be having a series of classes on fruit trees at the end of the month. Lucky me !
Keep sending ideas.
I had a Meiwa Kumquat bush that produced well for years, but alas it perished in last winter's frigid cold. I will give it another shot at some point, though, as it yielded delicious fruit.
Carla
Loonie1
thanks for your suggestion.
How large was your Meiwa Kumquat bush? and how old?
I always thought that citrus in Dallas need to be indoor in the winter ... I am definitely very ignorant about fruit trees/shrubs, but now excited about the possibilities.
I got the Meiwa from a nursery down near Houston in fall of 2008, planted it in spring of 2009. It was about 3 feet high at the time of its demise. It's my understanding that Meiwas can tolerate cold down to 15 degrees. I think it may have been a combination of cold + my lack of watering that did it in. When I plant another one, I will take better care.
Carla
That is great.
Do I need a male and a female tree for this Meiwa ?
I will attend the FRUIT TREE class at North Haven Garden at the end of this month and I hope to learn a lot.
Thanks so much for your suggestions.
I just found this list from my local nursery:
http://nhg.com/pdf/FruitList.pdf
I'd like to know if anybody has experience with any of these varieties.
Apples need a pollinator, so 2 are needed but dont have a long lifetime in our heat. 1 of those listed is your pollinator. blackberries grow wild north and south of you.
I am growing blackberries already and they are doing great.
Thanks
No, Meiwa Kumquats do not need a male/female. One bush will produce fruit all by itself.
Carla
Thanks
Does anybody grow PERSIMMONS?
I'd love to have these tree.
This Thursday I will sadly remove the infected roses ... These are so large, just like trees. So sad !
I'm on my third attempt to grow jap non astringent persimmon. Have had to work hard at making my clay soil hospitable so something to consider.
Ck out Orange Frost Satsuma. might work for you and NHG might have it but it's "hot" now so might be hard to find. http://www.klru.org/ctg/plant/10553/
Grow Mid Pride and Artic Snow peaches but young trees. If they work for me, they will work for you in z8. Red Baron peaches have the most beautiful rosey red blooms in spring. It won't produce fruit for me but it might for you. So ornamental as well as edible. Another thing to consider are ornamentals in the Prunus family. Sooner Plant farm has a very good selection.
You've gotten great suggestions here. Plums also.
vossner
thanks so much.
Fantastic suggestions
Today I attended a fantastic "fruit tree" class at North Haven Garden (www.nhg.com)
The speaker was amazing and she gave me all the information I needed to select my fruit trees.
The best and easy 3 fruit trees to grow in the DFW area are:
Persimmon, Pomegranate and figs.
Persimmon is a very hardy tree, with fall colored leaves, plus the fruit fall down when it is ready ! = a dream tree for me. I bought Fuyo variety.
Pomegranate is a shrub, with spring flowers and red colored leaves in the fall. Huge fruits like at the store with the "wonderful" variety.
I will grow fig has a short shrub, easy easy.
I bought all I could fit in my car: 1 persimmon, 2 pomegranate and 1 fig.
But I think I might go back again for more.
Thanks for everybody help.
Some fig cultivars get HUGE, and some are disappointingly puny, even as container plants so keep that in mind.