That’s very little growth for second leaf trees/bushes, something is wrong! I recommend soil analysis to check nutrient levels as well as pH, you can also get soil texture analysis (if you don’t know it).
I planted 35 trees in 2021 and another 30 or so this spring. My second leaf trees have put 1-5 feet of new growth. A few didn’t grow well, so I did a soil analysis and it was eye opener, for those trees phosphorus and calcium levels were very low, and the pH was quite low too! As a matter of fact I did fertilize and lime in 2021 before and after planting, but clearly was not enough…
The soil is a sandy mix. I have 1’-2’ of the dark soil on the left then the lighter soil from there. When I did the drainage test on wet ground the water was lowering around 2" an hour.
Here’s some of the leaves today. I’ve had lots of aphids and leaf footed bugs this year. I sprayed the blackberries and trees with brown leaves Captain Jacks Copper Fungicide and I think it helped the trees but my blackberries look bad but I did plant some hybrids that might not do great here. I hope the blackberries don’t have some kind of disease?
The blackberries are below. Most of the canes are darker? I had a Ponca I cut down in May that was diseased for sure, other than that all the plants from last year looked good.
im in z4a and mine are 2 weeks from picking. when my hybrids husks turns reddish thats a good indicator. i leave mine a little longer on the bush to cure naturally but in a area with alot of nut eating animals its best to pick at this stage and dry in doors. id think in your zone you would be ahead of me so i think they are ready.
Does anyone have any good recommendations for online berry plant vendors? I’m specifically looking to add a few gooseberry bushes to my (limited) garden, not really picky on varieties. I’ve ordered from Indiana Berry in the past but I’m not sure if there are better options.
I’ll be placing an order at Whitman’s this year. She has a few varieties that are well received here and I know I’ll be getting the exact same varieties from her. Prices are fair too.
If you are looking for a very large order, Hartmanns Plant Company wholesale is a very good option. I was very happy with what they sent this year in two separate orders.
I scheduled ahead of time for my preferred ship date with Hartmanns. I think it was UPS and they shipped and arrived within 3 days. Everything was fresh and within the sizes I ordered. If you are looking for blueberries, you won’t beat their prices for a 3 year old monster of a plant compared to other offerings at 5x the price per plant.
Robert,
Lucille is a wonderful plant woman who takes time to give you her honst advice. My first contact with her was about 10 years ago when I looked for some Japanese red maples.
She took time to give me advice. I bought two trees from her. They are growing well. She is someone I will do business with when possible. I am going to buy a mulberry tree from her once I decide which one I want.
i like Nourse and i also recommend Indiana berry as well. they let you buy 1 cane fruit plant so you can try a bunch of different ones to figure out which ones are best before ordering more.
New question: I’m in a summer-dry area that normally doesn’t receive any significant rain until November or December. When we do get a non-trivial rain earlier than that, as we did last October, it can ruin many of the hanging apples if they’re not picked unripe and stored ahead of the rain.
This year, the remains of a typhoon are going to bring rain (perhaps half an inch to an inch) and stiff wind over this weekend. It’s so early that my peaches (Indian Free and Black Boy) are just starting to drop, and many of them could use more time on the tree to sweeten up. Do peaches tend to split or rot under these conditions, as some apples do, assuming they don’t drop from the wind? Should I should I pick them ahead of the storm? I can make jam or preserves if they’re not ripe enough for fresh eating.
Sorry for alittle late answer. In my experience, some peach varieties are more negatively affected by too much water all at once. Both of my Baby Crawford and Autumn Star were about to ripen (AS maybe, 4-5 days behind) when we had a down pour 11 days ago, followed by some rain 4 days ago.
