altadenamara, thanks for the book tips, i will look for all 3 u suggest ! i've read all i can get at our little library , but they may be able to buy some i suggest as this is a rural area and " gardening/farming " books get good use. i've been tearing up the internet for over a year now researching,sourcing and basically educating myself. i expect anytime now yahoo or google is gonna respond telling me to quit looking up fuit tree stuff. trust me i'm aware of the costs involved in my "orchard project" and it's just a part of my re-forestation and wildlife enhancement project. i wish i could slow a little on the trees , but i definitly have to water them to get them established and i don't wish to drag fruit tree establishment ever the next decade so i have to put a fair number in each year. my zeal on research and such is to hopefully reduce the number of mistakes i'm bound to make and have already made a few. thanks altadenamara harvestman , nafex appears to be on my to do list. i believe they have books and videos and such you can borrow as a member and i bet that alone is worth the nominal dues. i am snooping around a bit locally to see what the pros are growing here and what info. i can gather from them regarding pests and diseases. have penciled in the roxbury, jonagold and baldwin. been eyeing them all up and so far can't find a negative. planted a golden russet this fall and with your info. another is forthcoming. gravensteins are 1 of my favorites and i already planned on 2 planted in successive years due to their biennial tendencies even though i doubt that makes a diff in what years they decide to bear. i will add a 3rd now in the hopes of getting some every year. as i don't currently have any pears . i plan on a chojuro and shinko this spring as for the asians. i do wish a seckal and am searching for a suitable pollinator to keep it company. i believe they should do well on my property. as pears seem to be the most "carefree" fruit i do want to plant at least 50-100 as part of my 300 tree total. i have approx. 25 old apples and 3 groves of prunes and plums along with 2 huge apricots. the apples produce well but do get "wormy". no pests and problems with the plums and prunes. apricots only bear 2 years out of 3 but have huge crops that don't get big individual fruits however they are edible. the deer stand under them when the wind blows just daring 1 to drop. last year in addition to a dozen or so apples i planted sweet cherries, apricots, and peaches to see " if they grow" and later " see if they produce" my fave dessert apple is a grimes and my cooker is a summer rambo. im wistfully dreaming of these 2 in the future. thanks harvestman

Hi Andy- The problem though is the apple tree you get will likely not be anything like the apple she ate. Apples do not produce "true to seed" like some other plants do. And usually the 'chance seedling' you get will be of much inferior flavor/quality. Also, because it is not a dwarf, or semi-dwarf tree, like most apple trees are these days, it will grow to be huge, and you'll need to wait many additional years to get your fruit. Most all apple trees today are propagated through grafting a scion onto a rootstock. As romantic as the idea is, I'd recommend heavily that you do some more research, and go with a grafted tree. Perhaps a nice Disease Resistant tree like Liberty or WiliamÂs Pride, if youÂd prefer not to do much spraying. There are many people here would can help you through the process. Good luck! -Glenn

Nice set up, Mes111. Yes, Appleseed70, over the fence is fair game. Although I'd like the kids to wait because they'll grab them unripe and sprayed. I'd give them better apples anyway. The two trees show up there are basically the same. The bushy one is more overgrown because that's how it produces, but I am working on thinning out the top to get more sun to the lower. I'm not sure what the last tree was in the picture in '09. Judging from the description it was sawed off and grafted onto because I didn't like the variety. It's basically the same but bigger. Free standing and ready to go wild now. Hopefully should bear this year. Which reminds me, I want to get out there and put some more room between tiers. I've got two more both spur type this time. If the Macspur survives the fireblight that killed 2 and hurt it and another last year and starts producing the bushy one will be removed (maybe grafted to a free standing spot since it seems to withstand fireblight). The Earliblaze on the right is much better behaved than the Macspur on the left which is acting more like a semi-spur than it did on the free standing one which died. This was the Earliblaze last year before picking and pruning.

my loquat has been a fast-growing tree that is about 10' tall from seed 5-6 years ago. i have a pittosporum tobira that has been pruned into an open, multi-stemmed shrub, standing almost 8' tall now. it is the variegated form and the soft green might combine well with the wall color. there is also 'wheeler's dwarf' if you want to try something smaller. i also think an oakleaf hydrangea could be something to consider. not growing too fast, it could be pruned for height and they grow naturally in the form you are looking for. japanese maples are a good idea. one with yellow fall color would look nice against that wall.