Yes, Manzanita, and probably Arctostaphylos columbiana, commonly planted in this region.
The fruits remain firm and dry. Edible, but even less pleasant than salal that at least softens up and has some flavor.
I think they may be used in a manner similar to rose hips.
Hank Shaw the forager has what I think is the definitive article on ways to use manzanita. The cider sounds the most interesting to me.
Of the questions you posed, I can say that these two rate the highest in terms of very quick to produce large numbers of fruit within 2 years of grafting. In the past 5 years I have grafted probably about 25 varieties of which most have yet to actually flower and produce fruits but these two Oblinaya #1 and Cuban Komet #2 are head and shoulders ahead of all others with Sweet Treat Pluery a close 3rd when it comes to numbers and reliability.
Thank you so much for your reply to my queries Dennis. Sadly, I havenât seen any of your favorites available in Canada. Availability differs greatly between Canada and the US, especially for specialized varieties such as pluots, plumcots, plueries etc.
I appreciate your feedback Dennis and all the other great information you share regarding your experiences growing fruit in the PNW.
Iâm growing a kiwi vine labeled Actinidia deliciosa, Yellow Queen, which is supposed to be a âgold kiwiâ. Does anyone have any experience with this variety? Is it similar to the New Zealand gold kiwis? I canât find any useful information on the Web. Thanks.
I found this article in Dutch Yellow Queen -
and Google translated the first couple of paragraphs. Interesting that it flowers with âMatuaâ - an easy to find fuzzy variety. My Google translate only allows 3900 words at a time. You might want to translate the rest in sections!
"The âYellow Queenâ variety was imported from Japan into Europe by Häberli Obst- und Beerenzentrum AG in Neukirch-Egnach (Switzerland). They obtained this variety in the period before 1995 through a Japanese mail order company, together with a few other kiwi specialties unknown at that time. The kiwi specialties imported by Häberli were planted in their demonstration and research garden in Neukirch-Egnach, after which it was decided a few years later to propagate âYellow Queenâ plants for the European market. At that time, Häberli was one of the first companies to offer plant material for yellow-fleshed kiwis on the European market.
Nothing is known about how the breed ended up in Japan, but it is likely that the breed originated in China and probably had a different name there. Possibly the Chinese name âHuang Yangâ is a synonym for this breed, but that is not certain. On the basis of photos, we have also established that âYellow Queenâ is very similar to âGolden Kingâ. It is therefore possible that these are two different names for the same variety, but that is also by no means certain!
âYellow Queenâ is one of the few varieties in FruitLentâs kiwi planting that is considered to belong to the botanical species Actinidia chinensis. As is usual with this botanical species, the plants of the variety âYellow Queenâ have almost hairless branches, leaves and fruits.
The growth of the plant is slightly less vigorous than most other female kiwi varieties and the blossoms are also slightly smaller than the female Actinidia deliciosa varieties. The blossoms are usually single, sometimes in clusters of up to 3 pieces. The flowering time is early compared to the Actinidia deliciosa varieties, namely a few days earlier than the male variety âMatuaâ. As a result, the first flowers of âYellow Queenâ are already open before pollen from âMatuaâ is available. Nevertheless, the first opened flowers appear to set fruit later. Apparently the pistils remain receptive to receiving pollen for a few days, as soon as the âMatuaâ is also in bloom a few days later.
Compared to other Actinidia chinensis varieties, âYellow Queenâ flowers late, which is why this is one of the few Actinidia chinensis varieties for which the classic male Actinidia deliciosa variety âMatuaâ can still be used for pollination. âYellow Queenâ is therefore not explicitly dependent on earlier flowering males of the species Actinidia chinensis, as is the case with most other female Actinidia chinensis varieties."
Couldnât help myself and translated the next section. Looks like this variety does not ripen in time in the NL. Probably true here too.
The plants of âYellow Queenâ are very productive and produce beautiful large fruits with an angular shape that hang from the plant on relatively short stems. In case of strong gusts of wind, the fruits of this variety have been found to break off the plant more easily than those of other varieties. The fruits have yellow to very light green colored flesh. Although the flesh is clearly more aromatic than that of ordinary green-fleshed kiwis, we have found, year after year, that the taste is unfortunately on the sour side. This is because âYellow Queenâ actually ripens too late for the pergola cultivation system used in FruitLent. The fruits are therefore still too immature when they have to be harvested in November-December before the onset of frost. The late ripening is also noticeable because the fruits of âYellow Queenâ only start to ripen very late after harvesting, while this is the case much earlier with the other female kiwi varieties. We have found that the fruit can be used to make a beautiful yellow kiwi jam (sugar is added to compensate for the acidity).
Considering the enormous fertility of this variety, strong fruit thinning is desirable in all circumstances. The quality can also improve somewhat through strong fruit thinning, but the problem of (too) late ripening cannot be solved with it.
The conclusion is that âYellow Queenâ is a very productive variety with very nice large fruits (if thinned enough), but that it ripens too late for Dutch conditions. We therefore advise not to plant this variety in the Netherlands, but to preferably opt for an earlier maturing variety. If you do want to plant a âYellow Queenâ, then only in an optimal location where the plant gets a head start compared to the pergola system used in FruitLent, for example against a sheltered south-facing wall.
After the extreme winter of 2012, it turned out that our plant of âYellow Queenâ showed no winter frost damage at all. This was remarkable, because according to the literature the species Actinicia chinensis should be more sensitive to winter frost than the species Actinidia deliciosa. After the extreme winter of 2012, our plants of Actinidia deliciosa all showed winter frost damage to a greater or lesser extent.
Dennis, how is the taste of Cuban Komet. I have a bareroot that planted earlier this spring, but itâs been slow to take off.
Will not know until they ripen, my first of this vsriety
Iâm curious if anyone in the PNW is growing any of the Canadian bred fireblight resistant pears. I purchased a dew drop pear last fall from Ontario where many of the better fireblight resistant pears have been developed. Obviously, it will still be a while before I actually get to taste test this variety, so any others comments regarding these varieties would be appreciated.
Iâm considering ordering Harrow Delight and Harrow Gold from Ontario this fall, but I just thought Iâd solicit feedback from other PNW growers before purchasing. I know there is generally little fireblight pressure on the west coast, so perhaps very few here are actually growing these resistant varieties.
This was never a real concern for me until last summer when a pear tree I purchased at a Fraser Valley nursury infected many of my pear and Apple trees. Luckily none of my trees were killed by the appearance of fireblight, but Iâm now concerned about what may happen in the future as our climate warms. I sprayed my trees this winter/spring in an attempt to prevent reoccurance, and luckily my trees have been problem free so far this summer. Still Iâm a little paranoid that fireblight may start being more common in these parts.
Anyone growing fireblight resistant pears on the west coast that may have comments or recommendations they might care to share? Thanks in advance for any insights or feedback you can provide.
Thanks for the detailed response, cdamarjian. I saw the Dutch link in Google but didnât think of using Google Translate. This variety will probably not ripen in time here near Vancouver, BC; but I have it growing on a south-facing wall and will let it grow until I can sample the fruit (if it can be pollinated by a standard male A. deliciosa).
That can be a factor, but look to how nature responds. If there are a lot of aphids, then syrphid flies, minute pirate bugs, lacewings, and yes, lady bugs are drawn to come there, unless you gas them with pesticides. If there are more bugs, the bugs that eat them should be drawn too. Especially if you do a bit of Taoist jazz gardening-let the plants show up that want to-different solutions will appear. If youâre growing a truly diverse garden of plants from many different families, your odds will improve greatly. Intentionally attracting a wide variety of helpful bugs helps too.
One thing I will accept of what youâre saying is that if you want perfect looking fruit, your odds of using a balanced approach successfully are lessened. I donât mind spots and a few bites on my fruit, but a lot of people do.
JohN S
PDX OR
I mostly object to internal abnormalities or stuff that make the fruit not keep as well. That often correlates with visible blemishes on the outside.
Has anyone here spotted any hybrid hazelnuts (hybrid between our native C. cornuta and the naturalize European C. avellana)? I didnât realize the two species could hybridize, but today I noticed nuts on an older tree on my property which till now I had believed to be C. cornuta, but the widely flaring sheath indicates to me that it is a cross between the two species. Our native hazel is notoriously unproductive, but this hybrid tree does appear to be setting more nuts than the non-hybrid native hazels around it. I know our native hazel is not susceptible to the filbert blight like the European ones are, so maybe this could be a new source for introgressing resistance into C. avellana?
Iâll have to pay closer attention. We have lots of beaked hazels and Iâve planted a few of the blight resistant hazels.
Oddly this hybrid tree is very old so I imagine its C. avellana parent must have been planted back when this was a coal mining town full of European immigrants over a hundred years ago. I donât see many C. avellana around here now so I imagine many of them must have been wiped out by the filbert blight, but I have spotted one mature feral C. avellana within a mile of here.
Added note: I just read that this cross has been made before, but it is generally considered very difficult to get these two species to cross. I suspect that getting second generation crosses would be easier though since it clearly is still fertile and would need to be pollinated by something and probably either parent species would work.
If they are difficult to cross, does that mean that beaked hazel isnât a good pollinizer for selected hazelnuts?
From what I read, native beaked hazel blooms later than European hazel. Apparently intentional attempts to cross them only worked when the native beaked was used as the seed parent and not when used as the pollen parent.
My first hazel must be at least partially self fertile then.
Itâs also possible that the research data I read on the topic is not fully accurate. It doesnât seem that many people have tried and thereâs also bound to be earlier and later variants in both species which did not end up getting tested. I would consider what I read to be a safe rule of thumb, but not an absolute. Itâs also possible there are feral C. avellana in your area. Theyâre present but not abundant in my area, but oddly when I go into Seattle area I rarely see the native one, but see lots of feral European specimens. Iâm not sure about your location though.
