A corner of my property is subject to occasional flooding however, so far it drains after a day or two. I was wondering what fruit tree would do the best here? I just planted a couple quince trees in the lowest spot because I read that quince love water. I read that in a 80 year old book ironicaly called “pressent day gardening”. I have no idea what kind of rootstock they are on.
I don’t know of any fruit trees that like “wet feet”, but if there are any I’d guess they would be tropical of some kind.
Of the mainstream fruits, I believe that plums tolerate it better than most. I’m sure that is very dependent on variety, rootstock, and species though.
I didn’t know that about quince liking water, I don’t have any quince but I do have a pear on quince stock and it’s planted on the highest best drained soil at my place. Not by design…just how it worked out.
Quince is closely related to pear and pear roots do better than most in wet conditions (at least seedling pear roots). I’m not sure what clonal quinces are grafted on, but probably the ones from fruit nurseries are grafted on some kind of pear or seedling quince itself. It is hard to find specific info on quince tolerance of poor drainage, but these documents might be helpful and indicate quince is relatively tolerant of periods of extreme wetness but not constant sogginess.
http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/documents/treefruit/pnw341e.pdf
http://fruitandnuteducation.ucdavis.edu/fruitnutproduction/Quince/QuinceOrchardMgt/
It’s not a fruit tree but elderberrie bushes love water and can be a nice 8-9 foot bush. I have not grown the 30’ tree type of variety myself though it is the healthiest according to experts. It’s worth investigation. Some elderberry are poisonous when not cooked. There are tame varieties with larger berries offered. The ones I grow are the tame types. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/elderberry
Sambucus nigra - Wikipedia
Elderberries for Home Gardens
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I plant what is wanted wherever it is wanted by using mounds. Works every time- just needs to be a higher, wider mound where it is most wet. I’ve established healthy peach trees in literal marsh land with standing water during the entire growing season on the flat ground. Nothing I grow is less tolerant of wet feet than peaches.
Mounds are like muck boots for trees.
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I was saying that quince rootstock might better tolerate wet conditions. What about cherrys? I always see mahaleb growing in marshy areas by the river that flood from time to time. What about hardy kewi?
The kiwi hate wet feet but like to be damp. Cherries and kiwi will not tolerate standing water for anytime. I’ve killed both with the same idea before. I grow my cherries on mounds now as Alan suggested above.
May be PawPaws? They grow in the low areas along rivers. I also have seen American persimmons on the river banks, very close to water. Black currants also prefer to grow along streams.
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I’ve noticed that my plums have put on the most growth in years were we have had a very soggy spring . So, I assume they are very tolerant (possibly thrive) with moderate water-logging. My soil has the tendency to repel water until it gets saturated. Then it retains water for long periods of time. After a couple weeks of persistent rain it could take up to a month for it to get firm enough to drive on again.
Cherries have been stunted in these conditions. Even my peaches have done better in these conditions. I now plant both in a spot on a steep slope that doesn’t get much runoff. Apples and pears seem to tolerate the saturated conditions, but they don’t respond with growth spurts like the plums. It could be just the faster growing nature of plums.
Of course, you don’t want a lot of water during fruit development for most drupes and pomes. Cranberries are the first thing that come to mind when I think of fruit grown in a wet environment, but I’m not sure how they do in an environment that isn’t wet all the time.
I can attest that apples on M111 do exceedingly well and will tolerate
even flood conditions. My orchard flooded six times this past fall and
my entire apple orchard, which is all on M111 tolerated it very well.
It was under water from 2 days up to 2 weeks, while other root stocks
didn’t do so well.
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I think it’s got a ton to do with turnover and water movement rather than water level. I have pomegranate and mulberry growing in a boggy area of the yard. If the water is stagnant and rich in organics it’ll fester and not have enough oxygen. Having flow through the area helps.
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I would second paw paws as something worth exploring. They grow wild where I am and I frequently find them right at the edge of streams or in occasional flood plains. I don’t see them growing anywhere with long-term standing water but they clearly don’t mind a little bit now and then.
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My Asian pears are planted in a very similar area as you describe. They’ve done very well here - good growth, precocious, ect. unfortunately, I don’t recall what rootstock they’re on. The only caution I’d give is to consider flavor of the fruit. We had a very wet summer a couple of years ago, and the pears from the tree that gets the most standing water was exceptionally bland. No flavor at all and like eating a ball of water.
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In their little catalog,Burnt Ridge Nursery lists only one fruit tree,the Pacific Crab Apple as a tree for wetlands and a shrub,the Pilgrim Cranberry.
Unless these others have fruit:Red Osier Dogwood,Dawn Redwood,Oregon Ash,Willow,Cascara,Bald Cypress,Bamboo,Black Cottonwood,Red Alder,Aspen and Gunnera(I looked this one up,the stalks are edible,but mostly grows where the temps don’t get too cold.)
I’d try Pawpaw also. Brady
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Hmmm, how bout grafting regular apples to a Pacific Crab?
Pawpaws. You want to grow pawpaws there.
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That may be a possibility.I looked further to their online site and this is what was given there.
“Pacific crab apple is able to grow in very wet sites, hence the alternate name SWAMP CRAB APPLE. Suitable as a rootstock for apples on sites otherwise too wet. Widely adapted West Coast native from California to Alaska. It doesn’t require wet ground. Tiny tart fruits for jelly or for the birds. Zone 5 - 8.”
I’m not sure what zone 39thparallel is in. Brady
Good idea. I will order a couple next year.
Flooding or not, the water table is not deep there. Maybe perry pears fruit would be less watered down.
I like the idea of old home farming dale rootstock being that tolerant. I have a spot where there are springs several months of the year. Could use that spot to grow scion wood for future grafting.