Anyone in 8b have fruit tree suggestions?

This fall I'm planting Meyers lemons trees and Mandrin orange trees. Those should grow in my area. Plums should grow but I don't like plums that much, anyone have a suggestion for a fruit tree that will grow in 8b. It's not as easy as it sounds. I'm about 1 mile from the ocean and 10 miles from Savannah Ga. Peaches, apples, pears don't get enough cold days to fruit around here and on the other hand it's to cold for most citrus trees.

This message was edited Jul 10, 2006 10:03 PM

You need to contact your local extension agent to get the following information:
The average number of chill hours your area gets.
The last frost date.
The first frost date.
A list of fruit trees recommended for your area.
Some trees, such as almonds and apricots have very low chill hour requirements, but are not recommended because they break dormancy before the last frost date. Even when you grow trees recommended for your area, a late frost, such as the one we got this spring, could mean a year without fruit.

You probably have a good nursery in your area that can tell you what will grow well for you. Visit them and see what they say. In addition, you might want to consider purchasing now and planting later. Again, check with your local nursery (not HD or Lowes) and they can advise if you should wait to plant in the ground. Have fun!

Betty dee good idea, I'll check with the ext. office.

As far as nurseries around here it's hard to find anyone who knows local plants, most of the people are from the north and have know idea what grows here. In fact I usually end up teaching them something. As far as planting time the fall is the best for just about everything around here.

There are some peaches out there with low chill requirements, I think one of them may be "FloridaPrince". As far as pears are concerned, the only kind that are successful here are the sand pears. They taste good but they are crisp like an apple. There are also some low chill plums available. Some of them were developed by Auburn University here in Alabama.

This message was edited Jul 8, 2006 6:10 PM

Check out this website
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG374

That Fla. link is useful thanks. I'm planning on planting in the fall so I'm in no hurry. I just want a well thought out plan. LOL.

Core
Just returned to KY from HHI last night! Lovely place!

There are a number of 'low-chill' apples, pears, and stonefruits that will work for you in Bluffton. Asian persimmons & pomegranates should work for you, as well, and there are some really good mulberries that might work in your setting.
Just Fruits & Exotics, in Crawfordville FL should carry a number of these, as would Edible Landscaping Nursery, in Afton VA, and then there's always the infamous Nursery at TyTy (DO NOT, under any circumstances, order anything from TyTy, but it's fun to look at their cheesy, doctored photos); probably some other good sources - and check Clemson & UGA Cooperative Extension websites - there should be recommendations at both sites that would work for you.

LLP

Lucky, you are sooo right. Those TyTy photos are awful! LOL

Double post. Deleted.

This message was edited Jul 10, 2006 8:42 PM

Escambiaguy,

You got me curious, so I went to the TyTy site. Just amazingly awful. I was going to post some of the worst ones, but I just suggest anyone curious go to TyTy and see for themselves. There must be some strange people running that business.

I don't see any negatives about TyTy at Garden Watchdog. though.

TyTy is a very popular nursery, but some of the photos they have don't even have anything to do with the plants they are selling.

CJ,
TyTy used to have about 99 & 44/100 % pure negatives at GardenWatchdog - the only positives being those posted by TyTy folks masquerading as real people. Then, the TyTy folks threatened lawsuit because Dave's was allowing all those negative - but TRUE - reviews, so they were all pulled. There's a huge list of pseudonyms that TyTy also goes by that also should be avoided like the plague. They're constantly under investigation by the GA Attorney General because of the many complaints against them.

If you dare, you could go over to the GardenWeb forums, where many of us here originally came from(I maintain 'dual citizenship' at Dave's and GW), and search for TyTy to get the skinny on 'em. Mostly tales of dead, dry sticks with no roots being profferred as 'plants', and non-existent customer service - or their requirement that you return the dead plant(at your own expense) before they'd send you another dead replacement(you pay the additional shipping).

My one experience ordering from them amounted to a number of dead, rootless sticks(I forget what they were), a couple of bareroot plums(I'm still not convinced they were even grafted/budded plants - probably just seedlings) in full leaf arriving in KY in February, and a 'Black Giant' mulberry that was nothing more than an unselected, small-fruited M.alba seedling - just like any other weedy one I could pull up out of any fencerow or untended flowerbed here in town. They got me once, but never again.

Have you considered figs? There are many varieties of various colors and levels of sweetness, and they can be dehydrated for many uses, as well as the usual methods of preservation. They produce abundantly here, often with a second fruiting in the fall.

I have Meyer lemons and a tangerine. I'm the envy of the neighborhood when I start harvesting in December (I do share...the crops are prolific.)

Yuska

CoreHHI
If you're still looking into apples, be sure to investigate 'MonArk' - rated for zones 6-9; it's an 'early' season variety - but still a month or so later than Yellow Transparent; I picked my first ripe one this week - they're GREAT!!! A big, red over green, firm, crisp, pleasingly tart apple - and this one, unlike most of the early season apples, will keep under refrigeration for 6-8 weeks without becoming mealy. Additionally, it's relatively disease-resistant.

sorry pic would not transfer



This message was edited Jul 25, 2006 11:46 PM

Got a hold of the ext office and he's sending me a list of fruit trees they recomend. He doesn't do citrus but he gave me a name of a guy in Port Royal that sells citrus trees and knows what he's doing.

We get 750 chill hour according to the office. I'm making good progress.

try super dward cavendish in a 15 gallong or larger if you want to try your luck at bananas...in case of frost or freeze you can two wheel it into a garage or shed to protect it...and it will give you a medium bunch of 4 inch bananas...

Once in a while some one will get bananas around here, it pretty rare to get the right conditions though. I don't want to fool with a pot, everything is going in the ground. Here's what I'm looking at now.
Myers lemons, two trees for sure.
Japenese persimmon, american will grow well but their bigger than I want.
Mandrindrin orango
Nectarine
Pomegranate
Fig tree

Pears take to long to produce
Plums, don't really like them
Peaches take more work than I want to do

All these will grow but I'm narrowing it down. i have room for 8 trees and maybe a couple of blueberry bushes.

Hi, I will let everybodyelse answer your original question. But I thought that I would share my little bit of research with all. There is a place called Aaron's nursery aaronscanna-amaryllis.com 1-800-913-9347 that has 5' pecan trees for $9.95. I do not know anything else about them, but I am probably try them for pecans. For my other trees, I will probably get from Vernon Barnes 931-668-8576. They do not have a web-site, but they have good ratings with the watch dog. I just recieved their paper flyer in the mail and they have good prices, but most of their trees are 2-4 feet, and not a whole lot of variety. Take care, Mike P.S. I have read of similar bad experiences with TYTY in the forums also.

Hi, I just wanted to add to my above comment. I just got off the phone with Aaron's and their shipping is 25% of your order and they will not take orders until the first of November. I asked if their prices will be the same then and he said that he does not know. Vernon Barnes has free shipping on orders over $50.00. Sample of their prices since you have to wait for a flyer: 3-4 foot apples, plums, and peaches are 5.49 each and pears are 7.98 each. Orders over $45.00 get 10% off. Combine that with free shipping and I got to try them. Take care, Mike.

excel,
Don't do it!!!

Aaron's is a pseudonym for the horrific TyTy nursery, as are all of the following(and probably more):
Blackberry Plant Nursery
African Amaryllis Bulb Nursery
Apple Tree Nursery
Bunch and Seedless Grape Vine Nursery
Pecan Tree Nursery
Tree Nursery
Aaron's Bulb Farm(part & parcel of TyTy) also does business as:
Aaron's Amaryllis & Canna Bulb Farm Nursery
Arron's Flower, Tree, and Shrub Nursery
Arron's Nursery with other listings
Aaron's Bamboo Nursery
Aaron's Daffodil Nursery
Aaron's Leucojum, Tuberose, and Eucomis Nursery
Aaron's Allium Nursery
Aaron's Clivia Nursery
Aaron's Agapanthus Nursery
Aaron's Elephant Ear Nursery
Aaron's Aroid Nursery
Aaron's Iris Nursery
Aaron's Ginger Lily Nursery
Aaron's Hymenocallis Nursery
Aaron's Crinum Lily Nursery
Aaron's Banana Tree Nursery
Aaron's Perennial Nursery
Arron's Fruit Nursery
Apple Tree Nursery
Blackberry Nursery
Blueberry Nursery
Fig Tree Nursery
Grape Vine Nursery
Pecan Tree Nursery
Peach Tree Nursery
Persimmon Tree Nursery
Plum Tree Nursery
Citrus Tree Nursery
Pear Tree Nursery

The best I can say about placing an order with any incarnation of TyTy is...CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!
I would never, ever, purchase from them again. I've been burned and have seen WAY too many other tales of horror from folks who've ordered and received dead, rootless sticks in place of plants - and good luck getting a refund - if you'll ship the dead sticks back to them(on your own dime) they *might* send you a replacment dead stick - but you'll have to pay the shipping for that, too.