Must-grow fruits

General Fruit Growing
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Wait are you in VA? If yes, shouldn’t you be able to grow figs there? I am in WA where they grow randomly on the streets but I rarely see them at the market (and when I do, they are not really great). They are super delicate so it’s probably more of a logistics issue rather than if it grows locally. They are amazingly tasty but come with a lot of pain because all the animals and insects are going to be after them too.

For the must grow fruit, it’s a hard question! I usually go after apples, just because it reminds me of my childhood and because grocery store selection of apples is super boring. Also strawberries and raspberries, which I suspect have the same story as figs - tasty ones are impossible to transport so everyone grows non-tasty ones (commercially).

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Nutbush, first I want to say, that a few years ago I made a chart of everything I grow, and every time I add to it, I add in a new row so that things are listed alphabetically and are easy to find. I list the broad name of the fruit, and then the variety, from whom I bought it, in what year it was planted and where it is located–very handy if I have two or more of something. It took less than a minute to find what kind of strawberries in my Word doc. I refer to it almost weekly! This year, I’ll be adding in Schizandra, goji and passionfruit.

As far as the strawberries, I have Sea Scape (the long bloomers) and Flavor Fest (June bearing). I’d gotten 25 crowns of each back in '21 from a nursery up north. I’ll see if I can figure out how to add in the chart after.

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Here’s the list I referred to above. I was finding that I wanted to know when something was planted or which tree was which. This list has been invaluable.

(HS=Hidden Springs, CH=Cricket Hill, BR=Burnt Ridge, OGW=One Green World, Stark= Stark Brothers, ER=Elmore Roots or East Hill Tree farm, RD= Rocky Dale, NS=Northspore)

Plant Planted/fruited Bought from whom and where planted on property
Apple—Granny Smith ‘21 Stark In front, between other two
Apple–Honeycrisp ‘21 Stark In front, closest to driveway
Apple—Zestar! ‘21/’23 (6 apples) Stark In front, closest to Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry
Apricot—Wenatchee Moorpark 2023 &’24 OGW-northeast of pool near pump in tree garden
Apricot–Harcot ‘23 OGW-east of pool
Aronia—Viking or Nero? ‘21/’22 ER In front garden west side in front of Viburnum
Asian Pear-Chojuro-butterscotch ‘23 OGW-east of pool
Asian Pear—Korean Giant/Olympic ‘23 OGW-east of pool
Asparagus—10 Jersey Knight 4.20/’23 Stark west side of vegetable garden
Asparagus 25Millenium/25Purple Passion 5.1.21/’23 ER Planted along sidewalk in front.
Blueberries-40 plugs-Patriot, Blueray, Nelson, Elliott $3.05 ea. ‘98 DeGrandchamps-West of veg. garden & around perimeter, east of front driveway.
Bush Cherry 5 each: Jan and Joel ’21 Hartmann In the stump garden west of pool. 11/25/2024 Transplanted 4 to back hazelnut garden in front of bed and east of Gerardi mulberries starting with Jan (west) alternating with Joel.
Cherry-Northstar Pie cherry ‘23 OGW East of peach tree in front of sunroom
Cherry–Sam ‘21 Stark Front garden on west side
Cherry-Stella ‘18 Walmart by clothesline and vegetable garden
Cherry-Napoleon Royal Ann (dw 8’-14’) May4, ‘24 Stark—planted out on curve of porch.
Che—Seedless Female 9/22 HS on western border by picket fence
Clove Currant–Crandall 9/22 HS In front east garden by driveway/lampost
Cornelian Cherry-- Elegant 2023 CH West fence garden by Cranberry Viburnum; it’s the south one
Cornelian Cherry–Redstone 2023 CH West fence garden viburnum It’s the northerly one
Currants –Pink Champagne ‘21/’23 ER Front garden on west side
Currants—Black Risager ‘21 ER Front garden on west side
Currants—Red Lake ’21 and older ER Front garden on west side, behind arbor-moved by hazels
Currants—Red Viking ’21 and older ER Front garden on west side
Currants—white Imperial ‘21/’23 ER Front garden on west side
Elderberry—Instant Karma ‘23 RD Between Johns and Nova-moved to make room for Hawthorn 4/24
Elderberry–Johns ‘21/23 ER northerly of Nova in west back border garden
Elderberry—Nova ‘21/23 ER South side of west back border garden
Fig—Chicago Hardy x 5 ’20/same year Agway
Gooseberries –Black Velvet x10 ‘21 Hartmann Along north fence on east side behind hazelnuts
Gooseberries—Captivator x2 9/22 HS/BR
Gooseberries—Pixwell x2 ’21 & ‘23 Stark & OGW
Gooseberries–Shefford ‘24 OGW—Northern edge of tree garden: east of pool
Goumi-Tilamook x 2 ‘24 BR billed 4/9/2024 North fence garden in front of Hazelnuts
Grapes–Concord With pool in ‘91 ? SW&SE side of chain link pool fence
Hawthorn-‘Winter King’ Apr. 20, ’24 ER Planted SW corner of side fence by Berry line N. of Kousa dogwood.
Hazelnut—Jefferson (tree form) ‘21 BR back North garden between evergreens west side
Hazelnut—McDonald (shrub) ‘21 OGW in back, farthest west
Hazelnut—Webster (tree form) ‘21 BR in back easterly
Hazelnut—York (shrub) ‘21 OGW more southerly/easterly in back garden
Heartnut-- Simcoe ‘24 Grimo-NW corner in front of evergreens
Heartnut—Campbell CW3 ‘24 Grimo-NW corner in front of evergreens
Honeyberry- Blue Moon ‘21 OGW East front garden
Honeyberry-Blue Forest ‘21 OGW In front, farther SW from Stewartia
Honeyberry-Indigo Gem ‘21 BR East front garden
Honeyberry-Indigo Treat ‘21 BR Near Stewartia in front garden
Jostaberry ‘21 ER Front garden—west side to the west of Sam Cherry
Kiwi—Anna + Male pollinator ‘20 Stark? On arbor; female is S/ male is North side.
Lemon–Meyer ’18? Gardener’s Supply; in sunroom
Lingonberry @25 ’21 & ’22 Some out front, some on west side of vegetable garden
Lingonberry—Koralle, Erntesegen x10, Magenta x10 ’21 & ‘22 BR& Hartmann Out front on western side and west side of vegetable garden by compost and blueberries
Medlar—Puciumoi 9/22 HS back tree garden by grapes on East side
Medlar–Sultan ‘21 CH Front West side garden near sidewalk
Mulberry-Dwarf Everbearing ‘21 Stark- Stump garden
Mushrooms-Wine cap-4 kits ’22 & ‘23 NS North garden 1 north and 2 west of hazelnuts, 1 east of pool
Mulberry-Dwarf Gerardi ‘21 Stark-North garden between evergreens in front of apple stump
Paw Paw-Mango 2 ‘20 Stark- north side of pool
Paw Paw-Penn. Golden 2 ‘20 Stark- 1 north side of pool/ one out front
Paw Paw-Shenandoah ‘24 OGW- north of pool—closest to witch hazel
Paw Paw-Sunflower 2 ‘20 Stark- Both out front
Paw Paw-Susquehanna 2023 OGW (I think I replaced with the Shenandoah; maybe it lived?)
Peach-- Redhaven ‘18 Walmart—in front of peony garden. Fruit 2024
Pear (Bartlett and Bosc?) ’85? Either side of well head SW of vegetable garden
Pear Moonglow dw. 8-10Hx6-7W May ‘24 NW side of pool; it’s the more southerly.
Pear Starkling dwarf 8-10x6-7 May ‘24 NW side of pool; it’s north between paw paw and Moonglow. pear
Persimmon Valeen Beauty ‘21 CH—In front, most westerly.
Persimmon- Yates ‘21 CH In stump garden—north side
Persimmon-100-46/Lehman’s Delight x2 ’21, ‘22 CH One in front, east from other one. / By evergreens on East side
Persimmon–Meader ’21, ‘22 CH By east pool fence in line with filter.
Persimmon–Prok ‘21 CH In Stump garden—South side
Plum –Italian Prune 2023 & 2024 OGW Northeast of vegetable garden replacing hydrangea; 1st died
Quince—Meech’s Prolific 2021 CH By front porch
Raspberry Shortcake x 6 2023 Stark- In back tree garden by medlar
Raspberry-Arctic (groundcover)x40 2021? Hartmann’s plugs; NW corner in front of witch hazel
Rhubarb Forever Stump garden, by well, in veg. garden and in front-west side
Serviceberry—Autumn Brilliance 9/1/19 RD—East front garden
Serviceberry—Regent x 28 ‘21/’23 ER(8) & BR(20) Near sidewalk front perimeter
Strawberry—Flavor Fest x25 ‘21/’21 ER June bearing on west side of front garden
Strawberry—Seascape x25 ‘21/’21 ER Everbearing on east side of front garden

Nutbush, first I want to say, that a few years ago I made a chart of everything I grow, and every time I add to it, I add in a new row so that things are listed alphabetically and are easy to find. I list the broad name of the fruit, and then the variety, from whom I bought it, in what year it was planted and where it is located–very handy if I have two or more of something. It took less than a minute to find what kind of strawberries in my Word doc. I refer to it almost weekly! This year, I’ll be adding in Schizandra, goji and passionfruit.

As far as the strawberries, I have Sea Scape (the long bloomers) and Flavor Fest (June bearing). I’d gotten 25 crowns of each back in '21 from a nursery up north. I’ll see if I can figure out how to add in the chart after.
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I’ve killed 6 of them. I have 2 more currently (grown from cuttings) at work with me so I can keep a close eye on them.

I’ve had flowers, but never any fruit.

My personal rule is I will try until I’ve killed the same plant 3 times. If I weren’t successful rooting these I’d be done with them.

Even if I get fruit this year, it will still be among the most expensive fruit I’ve ever had

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It can be super tempermental in a pot as well. It hates drying out.

I’m in zone 6b and i’m tempted to drop my remaining 2 into the ground and build a cold frame around them for winter (and my climate is super mild for a zone 6 due to being very close to a large lake)

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I’ll have to try to get some of those varieties. Strawberries would fill a big early gap in my fruit season. Plus my son loves “bawbewies”, especially when he can pick them outside. They’re also a fruit I’m almost always disappointed with at the store. I don’t even taste bought strawberries anymore. Hard and bland should not describe strawberries.

The chart is a really good idea. Wish I had started when I bought the place. I did chart a lot of the fruit in a notebook….I just don’t remember where the notebook went. I’m starting to do a lot more in google doc and excel. I like that I can setup the document on computer and do most of the typing there, yet refer to it and make quick edits on my phone.

Hopefully going forward I’ll continue to do better. I’ve kept tags on most of my woody plants, but unfortunately I didn’t write the dates so now all I have is “I think I remember planting them around the time that…” It sucks and there’s nobody to blame but me.

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If that was directed at me, I am growing figs. My established but neglected Marseilles is doing ok. I got a few ripe figs last year. Trying to line and fertilize it more now though. My potted figs seem to be doing better. I think it’s my acid soil. Any new figs I put in ground will get a healthy dose of line dug in with them. I only know of a few fig trees growing around here other than mine. I think it’s just not something people commonly do. I think more people actually grow them in northern va ironically. Climate isn’t as good, but what we grow is largely cultural. Folks tend to grow what they’ve always grown…except weirdos like me who have decided they need to try and grow everything. :joy:
I’ve never seen a fresh fig for sale in a grocery store here. Probably like you said a logistics issue. I also have only a few times ever bought a strawberry worth eating from a store. Fruits that are soft when at peak quality and don’t ripen after harvest are the best reason to grow fruit in my opinion.

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I wish you good luck! I wonder why six died… Do you think cold or something?

I think three tries is a good rule but yes, sometimes it is too hard to give up and let it beat you…

So far the difficult plant for me is Chilean myrtle (Luma apiculata). I bought two and one died fast, the other is still alive but it keeps dying back. It is almost ⅓ of its original size.

But I am growing closely related Temu cruckshankii which is growing tall and doing well here. I think the berries may taste similar to Luma, I’m not sure.

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Overwintering is difficult as I do it in my basement. I’ve found using water polermer crystals to prevent overdrying is a easy insurance policy, but not before losing my first 3 plants. Its difficult overwintering indoors sometimes because too much water and your roots rot, too little and they dessicate.

I actually fruited Luma Apiculata and wasn’t thrilled with the fruit, so I didn’t keep it.

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Ya know, I didn’t start the chart until years after! I’m thinking that I didn’t start it until 2023. I had random tags which I could ‘Columbo’ backward and look up the nursery and perhaps find an on line record or receipt, which helped fill in some of the gaps. Just like on Amazon, there is usually a record that can be accessed if you have an account or ever charged anything. I have a huge folder where I’d throw in various bits and pieces that I went through to add in information. It took me weeks to compile it, and I promised myself that I would keep up with it. So far, so good. It was another winter project!

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Did the fruit taste bitter or resinous or something? I think maybe I won’t purchase a new one if mine dies away.

I have seen many people who share your view that the fruit is not great. But a certain number say it is nice…

I think there is very high variability in fruit quality between plants due to lack of breeding work and most of us are not lucky enough to have a plant with decent fruit characteristics.

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One day I need to go through all my random notebooks and figure out which one has it lol. I doubt I’ll get many dates though for the early stuff.

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I found that I was able to piece a lot together from information around it or remembering what else I planted the same year and having dates for those. If you order anything mail order, then there probably is an online order history under where it says “account”. It took me a number of weeks to peck away at…and, something is better than nothing! To have it all in one space has proved invaluable though. I know, for example, that one of the red currants is Red Lake, but the other is a mystery. I thought it had red in the name, so I grabbed a name from one listed in one of the catalogs. I never thought I’d know when I planted all of the blueberries, and then I found the catalog out in the living room bookshelf. Some of the info on my chart was added a year or two after I created it, but I am always referring to it, and now that it’s there, it’s nothing to add on to.

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I wrote a longer post about how my must grow fruit had come to be everything possible and it gave me unreliable variety throughout the season, and I had even come to eat things I didn’t like. It seemed like it might be a bit much to dump on you guys so I’ll reduce it to this.

If I had to tear out the hundreds of plants I have, I’d keep blackcurrant. No-one really eats it here. You can’t buy it really in unprocessed form. Maybe you can buy blackcurrant drinks or some frozen superfruit package from the supermarket. I never ate it. I planted it because I watched British victorian gardening shows and they grew it. Now I’ll sit there for 10 hours to hand pick 20 kg and it’s the fruit I eat the most.

It’s easy to pick and process relatively speaking (nut cracking by hand is tedious, red currants take way more work). Sure it goes well in a sweet slice, or cake. But mostly I stew it down until it is jammy, and spoon it unsweetened into unsweetened yogurt as a low calorie desert.

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Yep- Black Currant- if you want it you must grow it yourself.

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I’m hopeful mine will do well! What variety are you liking and where are you growing from?

Of the Ribes I planted last year Consorts are doing significantly better than my Tatran red or black velvet gooseberries. They didn’t like the heat. Moving them to shade this year.

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I live in the South Island of New Zealand so heat is not an issue for any Ribes. The only thing I do is net them for birds. In my old patch are haphazard plantings of Magnus, Cotswold Cross and Goliath and have been in for about 10 years. In order to reduce harvest time I am going to tear out the old patch and replace it all with Goliath. If I can work out which is which out of the Magnus and Cotswold Cross I might put in two plants of each just to have the varieties preserved.

The new patch is about 2 rows of 20 plants of Goliath. This picture is perhaps from the Spring and they produced kilograms of fruit this year. Someone else sprayed the left hand row with something (round up?) and didn’t do the right hand row. Regardless of a stance on pesticide, it shows what a difference effective grass suppression makes. Goliath is easiest to pick, takes less time for more volume and tastes the same to me.

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All Ribes do well here. I have two or three varieties of Gooseberry (Invicta, Farmer’s Glory, Daelyn Early). Then there’s my bird sown seedlings which have turned out really well.

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It looks like you are in canterbury… You don’t grow Murchison or Ben Ard or others? They are good black currants for the South Island aren’t they? :grinning:

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:man_shrugging: Just having productive bushes 10 years ago was good enough for me and I stopped looking. I’d never heard of those to be honest.

It must be nice to live in larger countries with better options, perhaps even more commonly vetted. I don’t trust the stores or nurseries any more, I’ve had too many plants that don’t grow as advertised, or that despite having marketing spiel that seemed appealing can’t be told apart.

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I think any fruit counts…the ones you raise and care for are so important. You have the opportunity to harvest at just the right time when it comes to figs, blueberries, raspberries (especially), peaches, apples, tomatoes, peppers, etc, etc. It’s the reason we grow these fruits.

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