Favorite Fruit Varieties?

11 years ago

Hello I am planning my backyard orchard.. I am planning on growing: apple, pear,peach/nectarine,apricot,plum,sweet cherry,blueberry, gooseberry,currants,grapes. I would like to purchase my plants soon! I want the overall best varieties I can get for my climate... Taking in account flavor,yield/ annual bearing, disease resistant, and easy to care for trees... What is your favorite variety of different fruit i mentioned and why?

Thanks,
Joe

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Comments (11)

Bradybb WA-Zone8
11 years ago
Hello Joe,
The ones I can talk most about now are the Blueberries,because those make up most of my collection.
I have probably close to fifty and about fifteen varieties in different ages.Some will fruit for the first time this year.
I can grow most Blueberries,but I'll mention some of my favorites best suited for your zone,the Northern Highbush.
Bluecrop-old standby,very good flavor
Darrow-very large berry with good sweet/tart flavor
Elizabeth-just picked one up last year,excellent,sweet
Jersey-the most vigorous Highbush I have,sends up many canes,good tasting berry too
Razz-a pleasant surprise,didn't know what to expect,tastes like Raspberry,only available at a few places right now,picked mine up at Jung
Reka-hardy plant,good flavor
Spartan-this berry gets better all the time,like fine wine,superb
I know others have their favorites and I hope they will add to this. Brady
Raw_Nature
Original Author
11 years ago
Brady:

Thanks, that is exactly what I am looking for my friend! Anyone else please feel free to chime in!

Appreciate it,
Joe
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john_in_sc
11 years ago
What does real well here may not do so well there because of the climate....

For example - European plums are more or less a bust down here because it's too hot... I would grow LOTS of them if they would cooperate....

I will say....

Do everything you can to stack the deck in your favor re: disease resistance... It will make your life so much easier when Summer hits and you don't spend the entire season Spraying - and still loose 75% of your fruit and 30% of the trees to disease and bugs...

For example.. Esophus Spitzenberg is supposed to be a wonderful apple - but mine got destroyed by fireblight.... Now, I am much more sensitive to Disease resistance with apples....

I love Apricots and Cherries... but "Nature" seems to love eating the trees and fruit better... so I end up with dead trees.... They may do wonderfully up there, though...

Etc.....

Thanks
austransplant
11 years ago
Joe,

Find a posting by Scott Smith somewhere and click on his personal profile and you will find an extensive listing of varieties with his best bets noted. He's growing near to Baltimore, so I don't know how his results would transfer to Ohio, but his listing is the best starting point I know of.
fireduck
11 years ago
John has said it all....find out what does good in your area. What does good 25 miles away doesn't matter.
Raw_Nature
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for posting! Let's say I live in your climate, what fruiting variety does best for you? What's your favorite? I am just curious!

Appreciate it,
Joe
TheDerek
11 years ago
http://www.bunchgrapes.com/grape_varieties.html

Im not sure what you are looking for in grapes but there is a lot of information here about different varieties. I have ordered from them several times and never been disappointed. The prices are reasonable and if you have a green thumb at all, rooting the cuttings isnt especially difficult. Grapes take some preparation but can make a very nice living fence and also (as in my case) can be grown higher than you could build a traditional wooden fence in many communities. They are also very nice over a pergola.

Another link with a lot of grape information and some different varieties.
http://www.doubleavineyards.com/c-1-buy-grapevines.aspx#Filter=

Also I have collected some fruit plant information in a google document you can check out.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FYCQ6plVz2MLLxrf0Jmec1JGqDgl6ny3osbCVdTva5o/edit?usp=sharing

Here is a link that might be useful: BunchGrapes
john_in_sc
11 years ago
in MY climate and in MY yard....

Muscadine grapes - the new cultivated varieties bred/sold by Isons... I have a couple - and the are all healthy, tasty, reliable, etc..

Peaches - Red Haven is my #1 favorite so far...

Apples - Yates and Horse are doing well so far for me.

Blueberries - ALL rabbit eye blueberries are terrific in my Acid, deficient soil...

Figs - Black Mission is great tasting and reliable. Violette de Bordeaux is fabulous tasting, but dies to the ground each winter...

Thanks
Raw_Nature
Original Author
11 years ago
John, I appreciate your post! That's what I was looking for!

Thanks
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
11 years ago
I live in MI zone 6a so I'm fairly close to you. I would buy the highbush blueberries as they grow well in your area. I like Toro, Liberty, Spartan, and Chandler. These are early, mid, late-mid, and late season, so you can have blueberries all growing season.
I like a sweet/acid balance in my fruit. Most just like sweet, so your mileage may vary.
I like to have trees that will give me fruit throughout the growing season so I try to pick varieties that will ripen at different times.
Peach trees
Flamin' Fury series: Classic yellow flesh peach taste! Firm fruit, long shelf live, disease resistant. 50 years of research, developed in MI
Any of them, about 21 cultivars that ripen throughout the season. Fill holes with these.
Standouts: 8 ball, great early season, lucky 13 great mid season, PF- 19-007' Great late-mid season

Indian Free - late season, white fleshed with crimson streaks, leaf curl resistant, needs pollinator though (another peach or nectarine) Heirloom variety, grown by Thomas Jefferson.

Nectarines
Arctic Jay white nectarine - Zaiger developed so over 50 years of research. Taste test winner, mid-July
Arctic Glo white clingstone - Zaiger developed. Late June/early July Unique taste! Grows well here!
Lot's of others, but I never tried them!

Cherry Trees
White gold - light colored variety very hardy and frost tolerant, self fertile
Black gold - dark cherry, great taste, frost resistant and very hardy. Black Gold is quite crack resistant.

Craig's Crimson Self-fruitful, natural semi-dwarf, dark red to nearly black, medium to large size, wonderful spicy flavor, very firm texture. Zaiger developed.

Carmine Jewel - Tart bush cherry, purple-red, high brix for sour cherry. 70 years to develop!
Crimson Passion - Tart bush cherry, deep red, high brix for sour cherry. 70 years to develop!

As I said I like a good balance of tart-sweet, any of the above picked early will be tart! If you like super sweet, some great choices there too! Like pluots, very cool fruits!

So first good luck growing, you have bacteria, fungi, and insects to overcome, and if you do the squirrels will steal all your fruit. Birds love cherries and blueberries! You also better know how to prune the various fruit trees, and figure out what rootstocks are best for your soil.
Raw_Nature
Original Author
11 years ago
Youre the man Drew, thanks for all your advice!

Appreciate it,
Joe

Favorite Fruit Varieties?

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Bradybb WA-Zone8

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