Margaret - I have an Alaskan "Norden" apple tree. The apples ripen
about early September and
are good eating apples. Small in size but very juicy. They also make
great jelly. Wish I could
find more fruit trees that would grow here, but the way my house is
situated there are very few
sheltered spots on my lot. The winds here in Palmer are horrendous
every April and in December.
We always get winds of 50 to 60mph with gusts up to 90mph. The home
insurance agents have
become so dulled to roof repairs that one last year actually requested
that you bring in the amount
of roof shingles that were blown from your roof before they would
authorize repairs. Anyhow -
back to fruit. I have been thinking about getting the small kiwi, but
I would need to find a very
protected site for kiwi vines. I've seen some apricots labeled as
being for zone 3 but I'm wary
about investing so much money on a tree that wouldn't survive here. I
do have 2 manchurian
cherry bushes that last year produced fruit for the first time. The
cherries were about 1/2 the size
of what you find in the stores, but they were sweet and plentiful. -
Jenny
Margaret E.Millard wrote:
I'm sure you've read that the kiwi vines are hardy there. Hardiness of
vines does NOT mean that they'll produce fruit. I tried to grow them here
in USDA zone 6, and they always flowered way before our last several
frosts, so there was no chance of ever getting fruit. I just let the vines
die out. There are a few hardy apricot trees in Boise, but nobody picks
the fruit. Some have told me it's not very good. Take a look at
www.onegreenworld.com for fruit varieties. The owner has studied and
bought several fruit trees and shrubs from the old Soviet Union such as
sorbus, shipova, seaberry, etc.
Margaret L
Gardening in Intermountain West and Handicapped gardening
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com
Margaret, I can grow one here in Nova Scotia, zone 5b, I think. One, a pair,
fruits regularly. It is the one with the painted leaves. It does try to leaf
out and bloom very early so I planted it under some trees. It should be
blooming in the next week or so. Takes a pile of wind directly from the
north but seems to be pretty strong. I have the other, that should produce
from a single plant, and have to say although it flowers regularly every
year form must be 8 years, I haven't ever seen any hint of fruit. It is
about to be moved closer to the other two.
Might be the moderating effect of the ocean but that is why we are listed as
being slightly warmer than elsewhere.
I have to fight the critters for mine. They stay quite hard a long time, are
very pithy at that stage, then soften extremely quickly. Usually I know they
are ready when I see the parade of squirrels and chipmunks moving along the
branches loaded down. HA!
Marg, in rainy Nova Scotia.
vines
