Terminal bud looks definite pear.
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Anybody have flowering quince that are ready to burst? Mine have beautiful pink flowers.
Is this the same type of quince that is used for grafting stock?
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I think flowering quince are generally Chaenomeles japonica, while the large yellow fruit type, and one that’s used for rootstock, are Cydonia Oblonga. The spines make me think yours is the former, although I’m far from a quince expert.
Thanks
I’ve gotten a couple small (1.5-2”) yellow quince off this clumping type. It definitely has thorns!
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A few months back I had the pleasure of eating a fig that changed my view of the plant. Can someone help me identify the variety? If memory serves, it either tasted like raspberry or strawberry jam and was sweet and intense. Fig was harvested September 21st. It had green skin with slight purple, and it had a pink interior with a large eye. I have no memory of a crunch of seeds. Grown in 7a. At least 8ft in height.
By my assessment, it is some sort of adriatic fig, but that’s where my experience ends.
Could it be adriatic JH? Is Sept 21 too late for that? Maybe Verdino del Nord?
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No idea since I’m just starting off myself but this is how i ended up with over 75 varieties and even more actual trees growing 
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So apparently online they mention the fig varieties they grow: POP Fig Varieties! – Philadelphia Orchard Project I’ve reached out to the co-director to confirm, but I think it’s a variety called larchwood. I couldn’t find any information about the variety anywhere else, but from the description of “best tasting”, green outside, red inside, juicy and sweet, August-October, I think it’s correct. However the leaves look wrong… In any case, the really interesting question is: what variety is larchwood related to? Is it just an alternate name for an existing variety? @ross this park is nearby you; have you gotten a chance to try the fig and can suggest what variety it might be?
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The photos you have showing the tree/leaves are an exact match for Hardy Chicago. I cannot identify the fig that’s half eaten in someone’s hand.
However, HC is not a green fig unless it’s picked underripe. When it gets very cold, they turn from green to purple rather slowly, and sometimes they can stay mostly green.
I can’t identify the fig in the photo you attached showing the eye either, but it could very well be HC. Whatever that is, the eye is not normally open like that. It took a lot of rain damage and swelled up, which is not a good sign for consistent fruit quality.
In the attached photo, zoom in and you can see a purple fig on the tree. That’s definitely HC.
Thanks for the link but POP has many locations where they maintain urban orchards and they have a lot more fig varieties than what’s listed there. The leaves of Larchwood don’t match your photos at all. Is it possible you took photos of a tree that didn’t match up to the half-eaten fruit in your hand?
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I have some citrus tree patio plants up here in zone 5. I normally grow them in clay to help with root systems but I might like to upsize.
I was thinking of using a half or full oak barrel from a brewery with some holes drilled in the bottom.
Anything I need to think about? Weather proofing? Drainage? Rotting?
Had a mulberry die on me this past summer. I planted it two years ago. It grew very slowly the first summer, then this past summer again slowly early. It set two berries and then the leaves proceed to turn very yellow, fruit dried up, bark started dying back when picked with my nail from top to bottom over a few weeks. Seemed completely dead by late July.
Only dug it out today.
I wasn’t very careful to dig wide since I knew it was dead. Bark on the roots is loose, toys are brittle and dark, red in some places… Anyone know what could be worth investigating?
Anyone grow, “wild blackberries?”
Keep reading about them, interest me as they’re zone 2 hardy.
Real question is, are they tasty/good? (all relative I know, but you know what I’m getting at)
thanks.
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i found a wild Canadian/ smooth blackberry growing in a z3 spot in the Allagash. i transplanted a plant to my yard. the berries were smaller than a cultivated raspberry but it was productive and tasty. i removed them to make room for my nelson blackberry which has just as small berries but wicked thorns. the wild one barely had any thorns and the ones they had were tiny. the canes were a nice red wine color. i went back to where i found them and they had logged in the area and destroyed the patch. i watched to see if any new ones came up and they didnt. i wish i had kept them now because they are the only wild blackberries I’ve ever found around here. i checked some of the Canadian nurseries. they had balsor hardy and ebony black for sale. supposedly at least z3 hardy. probably could make them work there with some protection. i think it was whiffle tree and vesseys i saw them at.
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Wild blackberry and wild black raspberry spring up everywhere here. The wild blackberries are huge plants with wicked thorns, but taste good. Taste and size could vary by location though. They taste good enough that I let them grow, plus the thorns help keep the animals away.
Some of the ones assumed wild are actually varieties that escaped peoples yards from birds spreading seed.
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very rare to find blackberries that are hardy to z4 and lower. i looked for decades before getting nelsons from fedco. they are actually z3 hardy as mine survived 3 days of -40 with no cane damage.
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How long does chicken manure have to age to be used for fertilizer?
2 years at least here and even then, i use as a top dress. if you incorporate it in ground in the fall you would be good to plant by spring. i sprinkle some blood meal in there to help the process. ive even used it fresh as a top dress as long as it doesnt touch the tree its good. just composts in place.
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Here’s where I’ve ordered mine from. Just fyi, have dealt with them before and have been very happy in all regards.
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What is a good HD/Lowes fertilizer for potted fruit trees?
I like the down to earth brand of things
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