Here is a new chat thread for people in the northern Mid-Atlantic Region. @dpps this was your idea, I also added in my state.
Here’s a few familiar people I see from the map: @PharmerDrewee @ampersand @ANDY_C_SE_PA @Susu @growjimgrow @tjasko @PatrickMD @kakasamo @franc1969 @SteveMD @zendog @hambone
I’m on the north side of Baltimore myself. My orchard is on a steep south-facing hill so I get as much heat as if I was a couple hundred miles further south.
Hey All,
I’m in Ellicott City, which is nearby Baltimore. I just updated my profile with some of the fruits I am growing and will be be creating a Sheet with the varieties I have.
Thanks Scott!
I’m in SE-PA, just outside of Philadelphia. Looking forward to chatting with you all about what works/doesn’t work in our area! I have a list of what I grow in my profile, for anyone who’s interested.
As an FYI, I also have access to scion wood from two mystery peaches that my neighbor grows, one white and one yellow. They are of unknown age and variety. They were already fully growm when she bought the house about 8 years ago, and were about 15-20 feet high and totally uncared for when she moved in. She has never ever, not even once, sprayed those trees or managed them in any way, and they give giant crops of peaches every year. No diseases, minimal insect damage. Delicious peaches (when compared to grocery peaches. I haven’t tried enough other varieties of peaches to know how they compare to other home-grown peaches).
Those two trees were a big part of why I decided to start growing fruit in my yard in the first place, because I was so jealous of my friend’s peaches. At the time, I thought that growing all fruit must be so easy. I now know better 
BUT, I also realize that my friend must have some serendipitous combination of the right trees, in the right area, that just WORK for those two trees in those particular conditions. Since people in this region might have similar growing conditions, the two mystery peaches might work for you all too! So, if anyone is interested in mid-atlantic unicorn peach scion wood, please let me know!
I’m in Ellicott City like Patrick. I grow blueberries, cherries, apples, peaches and pears in addition to a greenhouse and a regular garden. Will be interesting to see how this regional format works. Only one way to find out.
I’m just north of Baltimore. Maybe a few miles northeast of Scott. I’m into pears and muscadines mostly. Low maintenance, no spray is the game for me.
I’m in NW Baltimore County near the PA line. We grow blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, black raspberries, watermelons, almonds and hazelnuts plus a few failed attempts at saskatoons, apples, cherries and bush cherries. Those plus lots of squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic, spinach, chard, scallions, snap peas, and various herbs, with asparagus scheduled to join the party this spring. Looking forward to the conversation!
Oops right I saw you on the map but forgot to type you in!
Hello,
Last year @jcguarneri helped me develop a Google data entry form to collect ripening data on persimmons. The posting was titled:Persimmon Ripening Data - Now With Forms! It can be found for review and reference or data entry with the search glass.
We did not however get many members responding in 2021 to enter their ripening data. Possibly because the members who have valuable data may not have been aware of the form.
We are most interested in getting data from those members successfully growing any persimmon variety in the northern cooler climates with short growing seasons, so that we can compile a record of useful data that can be used to select varieties most likely to actually ripen in our areas.
I am sending out this invitation very early this year while many members are considering ordering scions, and wondering about the potential of new persimmon varieties, thinking “will they grow or produce fruit in my area?” If you are one of those forum members who is growing any persimmon variety in the northern cooler climates with short growing seasons, or you know someone who is, and you would be willing to assist us this fall to collect ripening data, please let me know.
Ideally we can identify many forum members who may be willing to participate in data collection during this Fall-Winter season, to help compile data very useful to other members who desire to gain more insight on the varieties most likely suitable for their area and climate. Please advise
Dennis Dowdy
Kent, Wa
I’m in the DC/MD/VA region, just west of Dulles airport. Looking forward to placing myself on the map!
Actually – is Speedster1 still the go to person for adding our location to the community map? edit: tagging @scottfsmith
I am near New Market right at the edge of 7A. If you look at the maps at the most granular I’ve found, it breaks up around us. I am converting most of my plantings to fruit from ornamental. My apples and apricots died of old age, and I removed some trees I hated, so I am reworking the whole yard. Figs, mostly Mt Etna types, are doing awesomely in our south front yard. Blueberries, grapes, muscadines, raspberries, blackberries partially planted. Working on apple and pear from grafts, will likely get those in their places starting this year, and more grafts. Kiwis, more currant and gooseberry are rooting or quite small. This spring, I am going for tart cherry, peach and Asian persimmon.
I have an acre, but intend to have very little grass left, except where I drive and have to keep clear for the septic system. I do love lilac, ninebark and my Joe Pye, so figuring out where to put everything. My herbs are basically weeds, so they will move around easily.
I’m in Lancaster, PA. It’s right on the border of 6b/7a. Mostly 6b around, but my mind wants to confidently put myself somewhere in 7 
. I have pears, jujube, pawpaw, figs, various cane berries, and mostly Asian persimmons with a couple higher maintenance stone fruit mixed in to keep me busy. The pears, figs, berries, some persimmons, and some jujube are the most productive here. Pawpaws are starting to look better as they mature. It seems they take longer for me to establish at this property than other growers nearby, so it’s probably a me problem. It seems I can grow decent peaches when I remember to spray.
Berries and figs are the most reliable though, and sail through late frosts while everything else flops if it came out dormancy like in 2020. Figs are not frost tolerant, but still produce a crop even if their buds get frozen, since they resprout and fruit on new branches.
I hope to narrow down my favorite persimmons out of many I planted to test for cold hardiness. I need a colder winter to wipe some weaklings out!
Looking forward to hearing from others nearby, and hopefully this regional thread encourages more shy locals to participate on the forum!
Also add in @Yoda, I live in northern Chester County, PA where it meets the Lancaster County border. Started growing persimmons last year, and will try new varieties this year. Also branching out gradually to other fruits, beginning with apples.
Edit: I forgot to add I’ve also had a good history with grapes, raspberries and blueberries. The last has been particularly trouble-free for me, as long as I use a bird net.
A few other members I recall around this region are @RUenvsci @Ruben @mvfd801 @timclymer @Orange120OD @Naeem @hoosierbanana
Hi all,
I live in Bergen county NJ, old map 6b, new map 7a . Im growing pears Asian and European , persimmon Asian American and Hybrid, figs, jujube, blackberries, gooseberries, a few plums mulberry and 1 cherry tree.
I’m adding more persimmon and trying out honeyberry this year.
Dom
While I’m technically in the New England region, my conditions are more like the mid-Atlantic. I’m in the SW corner of CT, on the line between 6b and 7a on the map (parts of NJ are colder at 6a). And I have plantings at a number of near-by rental properties, most of which are firmly in 7a (~1 mile from coast vs 5 miles for my house). And like Scott, I’ve got a South-facing slope in my backyard, which warms things a bit.
Just that 4 miles seems to make a difference for things like figs. While I’ve got more figs planted at home, I’ve seen more success at the rentals. Of course, part of that could be that everything is squished in a bit more here, but I think the winter lows also make a difference. I’m hoping that the same can be said for non-astringent persimmons, something I’ve mostly (still trying Chinebuli) given up at for my house, but am now trying at the rentals.
Hello neighbors! I’m located in the northern part of Montgomery County, MD a few miles west of Germantown. I focus heavily on figs but also grow apples, european pears, asian pears, persimmons (asian, hybrid, native), pawpaws, jujubes, blueberries, elderberries, aronia berries, blackberries, raspberries, hardy kiwis, goumi berries, gooseberries, and probably a couple I can’t remember.
I’m in zone 7a and grow most of my figs in the ground. They have really gotten large after the past two mild winters. However, I am anticipating significant die-back from this winter.
I finally decided to cull several of my apple varieties and switch to the most disease resistant varieties available (e.g. Empire, Enterprise, LIberty). I never get around to spraying very much and have never had a decent crop. I’m hoping by switching varieties and spraying more I might have some success. I should spend less time on the fig forum and more time on this one so I can learn more, haha.
The cicadas did a number on many species of my fruit trees last year so 2022 will be a re-building year to some extent.
I am in central New Jersey. I have only been at this horticultural hobby for ~ 6 years. I have a handful of hazelnuts, a bed of strawberries, some blueberry plants, a couple of haskaps, and now some apples, a peach and a pair elderberries (and of course a veggie garden). Now that I write it all down it does seem that the list is getting long. @NJpete P.S. Had a fig and gave up on it.