When they are bad, they are very very bad, but when they are good, they are splendid, delightful, marvelous, just wonderful.
3 Likes
As a 12 year novice grower in the Utah, Iām just used to really good to amazing all the time without a lot of effortā¦
1 Like
Removed all pluots in streetside strip (windy and hot area). Lots of canker and leaf damage like bact spot. Replacing them with jujubes. How wind tolerant are pears or persimmons?
2 Likes
My persimmon stand up well to the wind. Young trees need a good stake to help but I get coastal winds from east and west and our summer storms can produce 40- 50 mile and hour wind on a regular basis and I have 8 3-4 year Olds that are well and mostly producing. Now pear Iām not sure. I only have one left and itās well protected on a hill from wind. And pear doesnāt do real well here anyway.
2 Likes
Here are some photos of my Honeycrisp apple tree. This tree has this type of leaves is what this tree produces every year I have had it. It looks sickly every year. This and the poor apple production makes me feel like removing this apple tree.
1 Like
Mine look worse than that. That seems to be one of itās traits.
2 Likes
25 years ago I experimented with a few kiwi varieties. I found those of kolomiikta genetics to leaf out too early to be safe here. Of the argutas I tried, Rossana was the standout. Lots of red in the skin and very good size- as sweet as any, but they all seemed to reach similar sweetness and texture to me.
I donāt love them enough to endure the necessary pruning to keep args under control- strictly what I call forage fruit- bring a bowl in the house and a few get eaten. The only uncommon fruit I love are my grafted native persimmons- my wife is turned off by the slight astringency even in dead ripe fruit. Paw paws donāt excite either of us- those I grow to give away.
3 Likes
As you might expect, Jumbo is bigger. But Rossana tastes much better. Iāll be interested to see how Kenās Red is, now that it is finally ripening some fruit, more than a decade after I planted it.
Iāve found that the trellis system makes a big difference in the amount of effort needed. I may decide to get rid of the ones I have in an area without a good trellis and really without enough space to properly move around them (retaining wall on one side and other stuff planted in front of them). That makes the pruning much harder. The ones on the trellis are quite a bit of pruning, but more manageable.
I donāt consider them good forage, as the window they taste good is too small. At least to my palate, I need to wait until mid-late October before they start to taste good. When unripe, their brix is <10 and they have a harsh, nasty taste. I end up with a big harvest, right at the end of the season.
Jujubes make good forage, as they grow without much care and the fruit hangs on the tree quite a while, waiting for you to come by and snack. For the last few weeks Iāve been eating jujubes and figs each time I stop by rentals. At least some of the jujubes should continue (knock on wood) for the rest of the month and I may get a few more weeks of figs.
So far, my wife seems to like Paw Paw. I can have a few bites and that is enough for me. Iāve got 2 trees in somewhat shaded conditions at a rental and donāt think I need anymore than that.
I agree with your wife. But, my wife likes them, so Iām growing several kinds. Iām also still trying to grow non-astringents (which I like). In addition to putting them in spots I think might be warm enough, I grafted Chinebuli this spring, which is reputed to survive less than -10F without injury.
1 Like
I believe the one I like best is Sunflower and Overlease is the other of my named varieties.
1 Like
You like sunflower more than overleese?
1 Like
Yes, and I will tell you why when first ones ripen this year. Might be some right now. I do like their ripening window more as I most appreciate the soft sugar after my peaches and nects are finished.
1 Like
I just looked up @BobVanceās posts on pawpaws. It looks like he has Sunflower and Susquehanna. Iām kind of suspecting both of you prefer lighter flavor pawpaws. Susquehenna is like on the book end of heavily flavored pawpaws. Sunflower is probably in the middle. Itās not really mild to me but itās not particularly heavy either.
I would suggest you guys try Shenandoah (itās off patent now, cultivar āwansevwanā). Iām not particularly a huge fan of pawpaws either. I just have been lucky enough to be able to taste the entire Peterson spectrum (minus Tallahatchie) plus maybe a dozen more from a single nearby orchard these past two years. Iāve been giving out a lot of pawpaw to a lot of people too.
To those I give away pawpaw to, I notice that if youāre not a fan of the āheavinessā of pawpaws, you should give Shenandoah a try. It book ends the lighter flavor end of the pawpaw spectrum. It is the vanilla ice cream of pawpaws, probably the mildest of pawpaw cultivars. If you donāt like Shenandoah, then I think itās safe to cross pawpaws off your list completely. Iām one of those that prefers Shenandoah and Allegheny. Both are mild and finish clean on the palette. Iām not a big fan of Sunflower, Wabash, Potomac, , Susquehanna. They are heavier and richer in a way that I donāt prefer. They have a stronger finish too that I donāt particularly care for.
1 Like
Actually, both my Susquehanna trees died, leaving two Sunflowers. I put a graft of NC-1 on each Sunflower to ensure pollination.
This was the first year that either fruited for me. I picked the NC-1 too early (there were only 2 fruit, as the grafts didnāt grow that big).
My pawpaw are almost completely done. There were only a few Sunflowers left when I went by earlier today. Some fell off last week, which I picked up to use. Today, I saw one on the ground that was completely eaten, other than the skin.
4 Likes
Iāve gotten three years on my paw paw KSU atwood, one on my Potomac and one on my Susquehanna do to coons I think. Can only eat a few and then done with them. Canāt even give enough away. Going to take them out and put something else in or keep them out to give my pears room to grow
1 Like
Looks like my celeste fig is going out this winter. Not enough production for me. It drops too much fruit once the summer hits, even when watered heavily.
I think my Suhr anor pom will be getting the axe too. Have to spray too much silver, the rot is too tough. Plus thereās an empty retention pond next door where the stinkbugs live that I canāt control.
I have some citrus and another mulberry that can go in their places.
2 Likes
Glad you mentioned that about Suhr Anor. I was about to buy that, but I already have enough fruit with rot. I would give the Celeste more time. Mine did that for a while before it really got going. It is a good fig.
1 Like
The Celeste is over 7 years old.
I have a Florea which is much more productive, despite being 5 years younger.
The fruit drop is too consistent, almost every year no matter how much water and mulch I give it.
Almost all the pomegranate growers in the South East have this rot problem.
If I had some kept up grounds nearby, I would probably keep going, but the stinkbugs are too much for me to fight. They pierce the fruit and the rot follows right afterā¦
1 Like
Last week I removed two 20 year old fig trees - a King and a Lattarula. I had planted them in an unwise location back then, 5 feet from the house. Im not aware of any damage to the foundation, the basement wall looks good, no cracks, but I was starting to think about that. Plus they were too big for that location, and I have offspring from both trees in my orchard now. They are actually good figs, and productive trees.
Im trying to downsize a bit. I removed two jujubes that never got growing anyway. I was going to remove a 20 year old Shiro plum, too large and even though we love the plums, I canāt reach that high to thin or pick. After thinking about it, I reduced the height from about 25 feet to about 12 feet. If it doesnāt survive, thatās OK. I also have a multigraft that includes a Shiro branch, on another tree.
Mostly I only remove a tree or vine if it is too diseased or dying or dead. I have removed some multigraft variety branches because they werenāt productive or werenāt good.
5 Likes
We pulled out a Stella cherry with the land cruiser. It had some really deep big roots. I thought about top working it, but all the grafts I placed in the spring took briefly then died. It didnāt seem worthwhile to try more.
I took out two other non productive trees by digging, but just moved them to my tree graveyard. Those I just donāt have the heart to let go yet. Also they had a few grafts I wanted to salvage but needed the space Does anybody else have something like that? Call me sentimental or softhearted or just foolish. Whichever.
1 Like