Altitude is 5777ft , Lakewood
Great tip on the honey berries!
I planted a black satin blackberry from Home Depot in the spring and it grew about 6 feet along our trellis on one long cane. Pretty concerned about winter dieback though, we’ll see
I’m hoping mulberry and hardy kiwi are successful OGW says the varieties I listed are down to Z4, but we have some atypical swings here in spring…
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Welcome, BerryColorado!
I will be curious to hear about the hardi kiwi. While I haven’t tried any, I’ve heard our arid climate may make it difficult for them here but would like to hear a different report 
Hey, Front Rangers! Anyone growing Rainier cherries? I’m posting here because I live in a similar environment, the same latitude but east of the Sierra at 5600’ elevation. Erratic spring temperatures are the main issue. I’m thinking about trying a Rainier cherry, having read that they’re “bud-hardy” (which seems even more important than late blooming).
Joy
Joy, I had definitely looked at Rainier a few years back and ended up going with white gold on G5 in a container in 2022. I first set fruit last year and only got to sample a few small ones, but for first fruit, they tasted pretty good to me. Fruit looks very similar.
In this moment, I can’t recall the specific reason Ranier wasn’t a good fit for me (maybe it was that they fruit later in the season, that they are self-sterile (further reduces the chance of a crop here in CO), or something else like whether it can do good in a container. I chose to put it in a large container because 1) sweet cherries don’t typically do well in CO 2) I want to have 1/3 of my fruit trees in containers, so in bad weather years, I have a chance of still getting some fruit consistently. For the most part, it lives outside during the winter, though given the whacky weather and tree confusion, I brought it in the garage last night.
If I recall correctly, @RichardRoundTree grows a sweet cherry in the ground here. He might be able to share his successes with that.
Thanks for your thoughts! My Benton sweet cherry has grown well and the blossoms are supposed to be frost-resistant, but it hasn’t even bloomed yet. Napoleon Royal Anne and Lapins are too young to judge. So far my Evans sour cherry is the only cherry of any kind to produce, and it’s been great!
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I’ve joined you folks on the front range. I’m in Arvada. Anyone nearby?
Anyone near here growing in a greenhouse? I’m starting to miss mine.
Can’t believe this weather. It’s more like Texas than what I was expecting in CO. Maybe I’m wrong but I think buds are swelling on some trees. I imagine some fruit trees will be swelling soon. Anybody seeing any activity in fruit tree buds?
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Holy moly Steven, you pulled the trigger! Well, congrats or condolences - which ever feels right in the moment. Probably the latter, with your greenhouses left behind. You’ll be closer to some family, right? Regardless, welcome!!!
This weather is just awful and not before seen… should be 20 degrees with snow in this moment, with a dramatic warming coming March 1. We’re all really hoping for a wet spring, as we’re otherwise looking at a smokey summer (or maybe spring). Yes, the last week I’ve been a bit on edge as I haven’t pruned my trees yet, and afraid I’ll miss it… haven’t checked them since last week.
Despite wanting one and not having the right space+sun, no greenhouse. However, I have some young trees I’ll keep in containers, and many of those are swollen. The El Dorado peach has pink peeking out and the figs are starting to leaf out. I have a few trees to up-pot, and better get it done this week.
Did some of your livestock make it here with you?
I’ll PM you location… don’t usually post that publicly.
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No livestock. Just some fig trees in 20 gal containers. Hopefully we still get some snow. And as you say a wet spring would be nice. The sooner the better. We already had power cut off once in anticipation of high winds. I hope there isn’t a need for two much more of that.
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My Plums/Pluots broke dormancy about a month ago. A few of the peaches look to be showing signs of waking up now too.
Yeah, the power cuts are a little crazy. The way the wind blows down from the mountains and across 93 (if you haven’t seen it - a literal dust storm, which actually affects power), I suspect you’ll be the recipient of more of that. I just bought an 3rd propane BBQ tank for the generator, in the event we have an extended power cut and it’s 5F out… keep the place heated and refrigerators from spoiling. When we had the first cuts last year, some people were 3 days getting power back, though I think they are trying new tactics to reduce that timeframe. It used to be they’d have to manually visually inspect the lines after a PSPS before they could re-energize. But with the new equipment to check the lines and drones, I think they’re trying to reduce the duration. Luckily, our longest outage has been 30 hours, with most around 4.
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Same sentiments as @rossn, both condolences and congratulations @fruitnut. Selfishly I’m glad to have you in our area providing sage guidance. I’m in south Denver, so pretty close to you all things considered.
I got on tonight to see what peeps in the front range are seeing. When I started growing around 2015 we had a pretty nice stretch of weather, overall, for a good number of years. I had many good growing seasons and kind of dismissed traditional wisdom about cold hardiness and zone pushing… That said, last spring left most of my trees blank and this year looks absolutely abysmal! No need to go into all the details because we know this winter has been beyond normal. My tulips are coming up (squarely an April occurrence) and my plums are all starting to show bud swell. We’ve got, at minimum, two more months to go before any threat of frost has passed.
Thinking I might focus on my vegetable garden this year so that I get something from the backyard.
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Welcome to Colorado, @fruitnut !
It’s a challenge to grow fruit here some years, but still fun. Most of the greenhouses I see here are hoop houses and most don’t make it through windy years. The glass and plexiglass ones seem to fare somewhat better.
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There are a multitude of commercial greenhouses in and around Arvada. Some a few bays and some dozens of bays. So far, I haven’t gained access to any of them. But maybe someday I can get inside and see what’s going on.
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High Plains Environmental Center in Loveland (I25 & US 34) has one that has survived for years and they grow native plants in it. No fruit trees. I’m pretty sure you could set up a visit if that’s of interest. A guy named Stephen runs it. Let me know if you’re coming up- I volunteer for upkeep of their heirloom fruit orchard and would love to get your input.
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