fruit trees and planting zones

[rockriver]

we are newbies at gardening and fruit trees.
increasing the effort and commitment.
--
trying to sort out the "zone" guidelines.
looking at the lowes and home depot stores they have a lot of fruit trees with labels
that show the zones for that lemon tree.. we are one zone north.
the saleslady can't answer my question.
which is. can i plant that lemon tree (or any other of the group that prefer the hotter zone south of us)
and have success?
--
to be more specific i'm 2 hours north of florida border..

any specific suggestions on fruit tree varieties that will produce and be hardy enough
to survive my geography and my thumb that isn't green! ??

or just general fruit tree advice??
--
the thought of a tree that brings forth fruit and sustenance year after year sounds like just what i need.
and seems like a gift from "Father" just for a time and hour such as this.
thanks

rr

[harrya]

Rockriver,
We're about 4 hrs north of the Fla line (Middle GA) and we have 2 lemon trees that produce lots of smallish lemons. They're green right now, but getting bigger and better. We thought we lost one due to extreme cold years ago but it came back. One is close to the house and it's always been OK. We've had bad luck with apples, but good luck with pears, (just ate a quarter of one the wife cut up). Lots of pear sauce, etc. Think about blue berries as they work good also. I'd really watch Lowes/HD trees, best to find a good local nursery and buy from there. It takes a few years, but it's worth the effort as far as we're concerned.

[1Admin]

We had all of our "cold hardy to -10 degrees" citrus and bananas die out at around 30 degrees. Bananas came back a couple times and got pretty decent size once but never PRODUCED.

This is what your going to run into get your trees at Lowes and Homo Depot. They sell the same varieties of trees throughout the U.S.

I can't tell you how many Red Delicious apple trees I put in the ground in the mid 90's that produced nothing. Grew a little bit yes, PRODUCED no.

We have some very different weather down here and low chill hours.

For apples you want- Ein Schmeir, Anna, Golden Dorsett and Granny Smith. Those are the 4 varieties we were told by a local nurseryman would produce in this area. We switched to them about a decade ago and within a year or so, had apples. Had we stuck with the Red Delicious and other varieties we got from Lowes and Ace hardware, we would still have no apples.

Keifer pears do well, I was told to avoid the Oriental pears and we did that.

A lot of the pears are the hard "cooking" type pear. Nice thing about pears is that I've NEVER experienced a bug problem or fire blight with a pear tree. Apples, plums, peaches- had all those problems.

A dozen or so good hardy pear trees would be a great resource to you 6-7 years from now.

Good luck, check a local, small nursery for those varieties of apples. I doubt you'll find them at Homo Depot.

[rockriver]

lol
admin.. thanks.
i saw that misprint! hom? depot
and an endorsement... on granny smith apples.. tree was putting out huge as we were buying house.

harry,
do you know what variety or name for the lemons?
you got my attention. "close to the house"
i'm guessing the house blocked some wind??


and ditto on the pears.. the better half is putting up pears every day.
will be adding more pear trees.
it seems like sugar is the only required ingredient.

on a spur of the moment decision we bought one of the grape "3 packs" at sams about 2 years ago. they were growing like crazy
and putting out big time this summer... we left them at the last house... regrettably... the buyer really liked seeing them. so
we made snap decision to let them know... "sure, they are staying with the house."
any grape/scuppernong recommendations. we have a small vine from last owner. looking to add a couple more.
--
i'm seeing these fruit trees as trees/vines that produce food we don't have to buy.... better than fed res. notes. better than silver/gold.
thank you God!
thank you guys!

[harrya]

Rockriver,
Sorry about the info on the lemons. They are 2 of 3 trees I bought through the mail for the wife. Didn't think they'd work, but what the heck. Had them in pots and in and out during the winter until they got too big and heavy, so I said "PLANT THEM". I think the one close to the house (west side) gets heat from the sun plus radiant heat from the bricks, etc, so that may make the difference. We (she) makes pear sauce with just a little sugar but we don't like really sweet stuff (except for 12 layer cake:) ) She made some compot (I think it's called) with pears, oranges, grapes, etc, just a bunch of fruit we had and it is really good. We planted 2 Paw Paw trees this spring. Don't know if they'll make it or make paw paws but it's something different and worth a try. The deer get our grapes before we do each year, so we don't spend much time on them. May have to put up a deer fence around them also.

[rockriver]

harry!
paw paws
do you eat them? we have a tree. i thought this was a mystical something in a kids song.
but at the base of a tree is a little label that says paw paw!
what do you do with them?

[qrprat77]

Per the citrus trees:
My Mom and Dad live in Central Louisiana, they can and do grow Satsuma oranges, but the tree doesn't do nearly as well trees in my AO, and I don't necessarily dig the satsuma variety. They also have a potted dwarf lemon plant that makes an awesome amount of lemons, and good lemonade. I'll have to ask about exact variety, but it generally gets pretty cold where they are during the winter, and snows about every other year. They move the tree inside during the coldest parts of the year, and the orange they cover.

One thing you can try is planting them closer to your house, on a sun exposed side. This creates a 'microclimate' that can boost your ability to raise something out of your zone, generally by one or two. When I worked landscaping in Orlando, we would plant tropicals right up next to the house, and generally they would do ok, as long as the temp stayed above 25 degrees.

[Gordon]

Wondered about this, too. I see the "survival garden in a can" seed selections and have to wonder if they would grow here in GA heat.

[1Admin]

RR- no misspelling, it was intentional

https://www.boycottthehomedepot.com

[dilli]

we learned quickly to go to a nursery in the area to buy trees. They know what is good, what is needed and will guide you in the right direction when it comes to planting them.Locals wont carry what does not grow in the zones or area nor will they sell local orchards grow. A local grower is not going to crap in their back yard, Box stores dont care and know people are suckers n will buy anything. I cannot suggest enough to use a local place, spend a couple hours with them and ask them lots of questions on planting, care and when to purchase.. Our yearly trip to the nursery is one of my favorite trips each year.

[rockriver]

dilli,
thanks for the added info,

admin,
we moved several weeks ago and we've been unable to locate computer speakers.. being just a little frugal i didn't want to buy more.
but... i really wanted to see your video. so... a visit to the storage unit and many boxes were opened and checked till.
yahoo-- speakers...
thanks for the video. it was real good.
and found a trap, some tools, kitchen utensils, junk, some brass and lead and other precious items so the speaker search was profitable.

fruit trees!!
i feel like a new convert. want to get out, and get others converted also!!

[harrya]

Rockriver,
On Paw Paws, I only know what I've read. I've never even tasted one as they don't last or ship well, so it's really hard to find one in a store or like that. I do know the Am. Indians would find groves of them in the woods and they would put that location on their routes of moving and travel. I planted two trees, but don't know if they're two different types or not. According to what I read, you're suppose to have two different types for best results. Don't know what will happen if you only have one tree. Lack of pollination I'd guess. We had one pear tree for a couple of years (one died) and only had a few pears, bought two more and it went wild with pears the next year.

[WiseOwl]

Has anyone had any luck with Lime Trees? I took a chance and bought one of those "Lime Trees in a box" and a rest stop in North Florida ( Some of you FL have probably seen these) back in April and that lil guy has grown pretty good. I know most fruit trees dont produce for a couple of years. I also know that below 50 degrees it needs to come in the house.

We use limes a good bit cooking mexican food and everyone in a while, I will toss one in my Green Dos Equis.

[All Talk]

I suggest you check out stark bros. online. You can put in your zip code and then the site will show you only fruit trees that a hardy for your zone. They have reasonable prices, too.

I am about to put in a 24-tree espailer orchard of various apples, pears and asian pears, and will be ordering from Stark Bros.

In fact, a friend of mine is a horticulturtalist and wholesale tree and plant distributor (not fruit trees, unfortunately). He said Stark Bros. is a well-respected outfit that has been around a long time pre-internet.