Anyone have any fruit tree that seems unstoppable, I.e. easy care, early bearing and reliable year after year?
If so, what is it and how is fruit quality?
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Honeyberry for me. Fruit quality is good, but it is not primarily a fresh eats fruit. They are very low maintenance. Immune to most pests.
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That’s cool, I have never tasted a honey berry.
Are they a tree or a bush?
I will research them, thanks.
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They are a non-invasive woody shrub in the honeysuckle genus.
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Jujube z6 or warmer if you pick the correct varieties for your climate.
Honeyberries are very bird susceptible, they must be netted.
Elderberries are easy for me; Aphids tried to destroy the trees last year and the ladybugs, wasps, and hornets took care of them in short order with no intervention by me.
Cornelian Cherries are supposed to be easy
Persimmons and pawpaws should be easy
Aronia is bulletproof.
Some apples and pears are easy if you select the right varieties.
Basically, if you create biodiversity and habitat for beneficial insects and animals to help you, you can grow lots of things with minimal intervention. It really depends on your location as to what works best.
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Currants and Gooseberries. I agree with Ryan about Honeyberries, they must be protected from birds or there will be no crop (in Pennsylvania).
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That is true. Here we have so many, and I think have a lower bird count than you further south, that it’s not been a major issue. Even after the robin’s stuff themselves, we usually have plenty. Ditto on the Aronia. Also gooseberries, elderberries, and currents are pretty easy.
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My most disease and pest resistant apple is Liberty, hands down. Fruit smells and tastes good, too, and bears annually.
We have scads of introduced Himalayan blackberry and it does so damn well here I can’t get rid of it. Goats like it, but I can’t exactly put goats in the orchard. It grows in soggy lowlands, dry hills, and along fencelines. It sneaks along in the grass waiting to flatten lawnmower and cart tires.
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Hands down here. Silver Buffalo berry. No matter what the year brings : always tons of berries. Though I can not seem to figure out when to pick them at the right time. They seem to have a very short perfectly ripe/sweet picking window. But will hang forever.
It helps to have an 8 year old kid who loves to run out and sample the groups of trees…lol
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Cox’s orange pippin. Just kidding, this must be the most disease and pest prone organism on the planet.
Pawpaws are easy once established. The first 1-2 years are really hard until you figure it out. It took me too long to figure out. Basically they need water and shade at first. It’s also way better to plant from young saplings than from larger trees. Do those things and you are home free. Once established pawpaws require no pruning, they are mostly immune from disease or pests. Deer don’t bother them.
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My three most reliable are. Blueberries (very good taste), muscadines (good taste), and Goumi (good to me but others might not like).
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Nanaimo peach tree. I live on the foggy lost coast and have had too many curl resistant peaches curl up and die before ever producing, but I buy more every year anyway. I do not believe Nanaimo has ever had a curled leaf. The peaches are very good, not the best ever, but significantly better than anything from a grocery store. Heavy bearing, reliable and spray free.
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This is intractable in many metropolitan areas of the U.S. The pest and disease pressure is too high.
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birds aren’t bad up here as well. seems the closer you get to cities and go south, the more you run into fruit and nut theft. i let all my fruit ripen and hang till they fall off when i touch the bush and rarely do birds eat any. my hazels are the same.
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They are. I have a Cornelian cherry planted in zone 6 in really heavy clay soil. It shows terrible signs of nutrient deficiency and most of its leaves appear damaged. I know it’s from nutrient deficiency because spraying weekly with a variety of pesticides doesn’t help at all.
It somehow fruits like crazy every season with no spraying at all and manages to ripen on schedule. The only caveat with Cornelian cherries is that they have to be picked exactly on the right day to be delicious.
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Haskap, saskatoon, raspberries, gooseberries, currant, silver buffalo berry, and elderberry are quite bomb-proof in my zone 3 location. The fact that a vast majority of this list are native species explains why.
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like @disc4tw said. It really depends on your location.
What’s unstoppable for me. Might be a pain to grow for you.
I think @Kaartinen hits the nail on its head. Look for natives as inspiration.
It it grows wild without any care near you. Chances are it won’t need much care in your back yard either. Although that can also backfire. (the wild native plants might be a disease reservoir)
Cultivar choice is also important. There is a huge difference in disease susceptibility or resistance in apple cultivars for example.
For fruit trees. Easy care and early bearing, while not mutually exclusive. Don’t always mix. Apple’s for example. generally the more dwarfing the earlier it bears fruit. But the more care (irrigation etc) it needs.
Not all tree’s suffer from this. Figs for example can both grow huge and fruit from the first year of planting.
If you want early bearing and easy care. Most fruit bushes and vines are good contenders.
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@DragonflyLane
Given your location, I believe Cornelian Cherry suggested by disc4tw and Brisco is worth trialing. It is an eastern hemisphere dogwood.
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My favorite is blue forest. Blue moon and blue pagoda are also getting tastier as the shrub matures.
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