Hawthorn can be found growing in wet spots here, this might be another choice and could be used as rootstock for quince or pear (with quice interstem )
A summary of wet foot ediblesā¦
(*shade tolerant)
(~grow submerged):
Great tasting:
American Persimmon
Mulberry
*Pawpaw (understory tree, full sun when fruiting)
Asian Pear
Apple
Wild Plum
*Aronia
Elderberry
Haskapa
Cranberry
*Black currant
~Wapato
~Wild rice
Silver maple (syrup; but only 1% sugar in sap)
River birch (unique syrup)
Less liked fruit/nut:
Quince
Cornelian cherry
Pin oak
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Mayhaw.
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Well dang. Iām over here giving these things fancy raised moundsā¦
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I think Che could go on the list if they were on Maclura pomifera rootstock.
Iām still curious and am going to try jujube in poorly drained soil. Hereās a quote from a 1936 USDA Bulletin: āIt has been observed in California making a vigorous growth and producing an abundance of fruit on heavy poorly drained soil where peaches and other fruits could not maintain themselves.ā
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I donāt recommend it. I almost killed mine planting in my native clay soil. Dug it up, mounded the hole, and now itās fine.
I may just try a sucker to start since those are free. The place Iām thinking of is silt loam so maybe Iāll have a different experience.
An unexpected discovery I had was that my pomegranate trees love water to the point where I started keeping the younger potted pomegranate trees standing in trays of water 24/7 which has resulted in much stronger growth than when I was simply watering them without them sitting in trays of water.
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There are pots designed with holes an inch or so above their bottoms to create this reservoir. I suspect it benefits most plants. I donāt think itās related to the ability of plants to survive low oxygen, soggy conditions, however. I believe your tray of water affects a small percentage of your potting mixās water to oxygen ratio.
Incidentally, trees that are tolerant of wet feet can still be drowned- long ago I killed some pear trees planting them in very wet conditions. What Iām not sure of is which trees that are suggested as being tolerant of wet feet can thrive in permanent soggy conditions and which ones just withstand temporary flooding well.
The beginning of this thread suggested apples were tolerant, but many of its rootstocks are not. I once stumbled on an old apple orchard still living in a marsh (beavers may have been responsible for a change). Very little soil was above the water table- the trees were on seedling rootstock- it was a very old orchard.
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Figs will do well too
There is a transition phase that some plants are capable of going through which allows them to adapt to wetter or submerged conditions for a portion of (or the entirety of) their lives. It has to do with the formation of what is called aerenchyma cells/tissue. From Wikipedia āAerenchyma or aeriferous parenchyma is a modification of the parenchyma to form a spongy tissue that creates spaces or air channels in the leaves, stems and roots of some plants, which allows exchange of gases between the shoot and the root.ā
When I was in school I took Wetlands and Aquatic Plants and learned about this adaptation. There are terms used for different plants based on the amount of water they typically tolerate. There is a scale used to describe this called a wetland indicator status The wettest plants are called Obligate wetland, with the scale getting dryer as Facultative wetland >Facultative >Facultative Upland >Obligate upland
Acer Rubrum (red maple) is considered Facultative, for example, because it can tolerate itās roots being completely submerged in a wetland environment for long periods of the year via formation of aerenchyma tissue, and those roots can also adapt in other ways but we wonāt go into that right now. Basically aerenchyma tissue forms gas pathways which allow the roots to breathe while underwater.
I think this is what you have probably accomplished with your pomegranates.
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Or just that trees grow more quickly if they constantly have access to all the water they need. There are productive commercial orchards, or used to be, in delta areas with an 18" deep water table- until the water table, the soil is well aerated. Not sure how well the trees stand up to wind.
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P18 is a standard apple rootstock noted for being tolerant of wet feet. Also, isnāt Blueberry a marsh plant?
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Good call on the blueberries. Iāve seen them growing right on the edges of lakes and ponds. Sometimes their bases are covered in shallow water after rains.
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I am now planting persimmon and paw paw in my low ground. Besides standing water, another problem with low ground is it will take the most frost damage. Not an issue with Paw Paw and Persimmon that flower late Spring.
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On that note, lingonberries and cranberries should like it too.
Thanks for the update Mike! I was wondering what you ended up trying. How long have both species been in ground, and have they dealt with being submerged for any extended periods of time?
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Native persimmons grow on my E. Shore property in areas that are underwater at high tide. I know places I can pick them from my kayak without getting out of the boat.
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Is this in saltwater Mike!?
No. Freshwater.