I will probably put an order in today. I’ll pm you Alex.
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A few things that I thought might be interesting for others on this thread to share:
- Successes or failures with zone pushing
- Varieties/cultivars which you have found to be especially well adapted, low maintenance and disease free in western PA.
- Anyone out there have an interest in foraging?
I can report success with Arp rosemary making it through the winter with no protection whatsoever (zone 6b). Three out of three plants survived. I’ve added Salem rosemary this spring - will report.
Regarding foraging, I know there are ramps/wild garlic in a local park. I didn’t take any, with it being a state park. Trying to grow my own instead. Curious to hear what others forage for.
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Good to hear about your rosemary. I’ve had a potted one that is about 5yrs old that I bring in each winter and would love to just keep it in the ground.
I enjoy foraging and mushrooming pretty much year round. Even in early spring there are some wild greens and other things starting to pop up. Most relevant to this site would be juneberries, mulberries, elderberries, wineberries, and black raspberries around Pittsburgh, a wild pawpaw patch near Wheeling wv, and various roadside/wild/abandoned apples that I’ve come across.
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The only abandoned apples I find are pretty poor quality from pests and disease.
The only things I have ever found in decent quantity for harvesting in the wild are black walnuts, which are a pain to process, and blackberries, which I can sometimes find enough of to put in the freezer as well as eat fresh.
We usually just cover my wife’s rosemary with some straw each winter. It is next to the house and grows well each spring. Not sure of what variety…
Jason, I just put a list together (based solely on research, NOT firsthand experience yet) on this thread. I hope yinz guys find it helpful.
Alex and I may take our crews for a trip to Ohipyle this year for a wild pawpaw hunt (I have intel on where to go). I’d assume the more the merrier! I also know of a couple decent spots for mushroom hunting but I’m not sure if I want to share those haha.
There is a recently created local park near Murrysville that appears to have a huge amount of wild raspberries/blackberries along one of the trails and a good amount of crabapple trees in another area. A few improvements might be made to some of those trees in the next few years.
I like where your mind is at with those apples.
For yinz close to downtown along the south side riverfront trail there are tons of feral mulberries, some of which are really good quality. Also in the same area there are juneberries planted for landscape purposes. My 2yr old absolutely loved helping me pick/eat them last yr.
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Add me to the list for info on the Ohiopyle foraging! I don’t get up there as often after my grandmother died, but I hope to once vaccinated. I have things to do, and in Pittsburgh too.
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Ohiopyle is a beautiful park! There is supposed to be a huge stand of pawpaws along the bike trail. My wife is an environmental educator and works with the staff at the state park there, so they know the places to go for fruit!
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I am interested in the Ohiopyle pawpaw excursion. I have been on the bike trail upstream and downstream countless times and never noted anything from the trail
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Went out to look over my trees today. My plums, and Asian pears are both getting near bud break, and the peach buds are swelling. The 21 degree low next week is making me have flashbacks of last year. I hope we don’t get more late hard frosts this year.
Yeah, I’m worried. My Superior plum and Redhaven peach were in bloom on April 8th & 9th last year and they are swelling quickly right now. We at least need some cold nights to put them on hold but we’re getting the opposite right now with a stretch of unseasonably warm nights.
This may seem like a silly question, but would putting a light sheet or blanket over your tree help to keep it warm and save flowers? Maybe even with some lights on it for added warmth? I realize that’s a lot of effort, but if it is the difference between fruit and no fruit…
Yes,especially with lights,like the old style incandescent Christmas tree kind.A small heater,with a thermostat,placed at the base,can also be effective.
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Or a 5 gallon bucket and a fish tank heater
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I did sheets on my trees for the May 9th freeze last year and it didn’t matter at all, though it got down to 25. If it only got down to 29, then that may have helped. A light inside the sheets would definitely help if that’s a possibility.
I have read other people (it seems like a lot of the zone pushers in Washington state especially) using the incandescent Christmas light trick to keep temperatures up for their trees during unseasonably cold weather. I’m betting if you set it up now for Thursday or whichever night drops low, you should be fine!
I may end up trying it for 1 or both of those trees if I have enough extension cords lol. The forecast is calling for 25 Wed. night, 21 Thurs. night and 26 Fri. night. If anyone needs it for reference, here’s a really nice pdf on critical temps for frost damage at various bloom stages for pome and stone fruits: Critical_Temperatures_Frost_Damage_Fruit_Trees_Utah.pdf
My pears, peaches, and plums are all going to be right around the 10% loss for Thursday night. Going to try and protect them this year, though may have to pick and chose as I don’t have enough lights for all of them. Guess I shouldn’t have switched to LEDs lol.
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Well it got down to 19 last night after a forecast of 21 and is forecast at 21 again tonight. I covered and hung an incandescent light in my Superior plum and Red Haven peach trees. That was a big pain in the ass due to how windy it was yesterday. I’m sure I looked like a real idiot, fumbling around trying to throw sheets on trees and having them keep blowing back in my face while on a ladder! 
Clothes pins helped a lot.
The peach was at the quarter inch green stage with a bit of pink showing at the tips of the buds. My multi-grafted pear had enlarged buds as well but I didn’t have enough extension cords to get to it so I put some socks on the ends of it’s branches to see if that helps at all lol. Lights will go back on tonight and then we look in the clear, at least for the next 10 days.
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