There are some Asian persimmons and Asian/American persimmon hybrids that are hardy in zone 6. They don't get very big, are self fruitful, and a couple of them have nice fall color. The spring blooms are not noticeable. The only common pest problem is something called persimmon psylla, a small sucking insect that can deform new leaves. They can be controlled by dormant oil spray in the winter, a solution that is easy and organic, or probably even by just picking off the affected leaves. If there aren't any native persimmons around you, you may never get psylla. They are attractive trees, with shiny green leaves. Nikita's Gift, Great Wall, Ichi Ki Kei Jiro, and Hana Fuyu are some of the hardy ones.

There are some dogwoods that make fruit. Cornus kousa has spring blooms, nice fall color, and pretty much trouble free AFAIK. The fruit is kind of a novelty...tedious to eat, and OK tasting, but nothing special.

Alex

Saskatoons or juneberries, with pretty flowers and blueberry-like fruits but not fussy about soil as blueberries are. You should be able to grow the very large-fruited Canadian selections.

I'd recommend a sour cherry. NorthStar has given me loads of fruit each summer. They are self-fertile (you only need one). Some people dont like them because they are too tart but I like the taste. They also look very pretty in bloom and you dont need to spray them with anything, ever.

All Fruit trees are Attractive...it's all in the eye of the beholder.
With that being said...
I would stick with Cherry Trees in landsapes. One thing you need to remenber is if your not going to spray so you can eat the fruit, you will have a lot of fruit that will drop it's fruit on the ground. With Cherry's the birds will eat them and you will have less of a mess. Good luck!
md

I second recommendation on Tart Cherry tree or Persimmon tree. They don't need any spraying and you will be able to enjoy the fruits. Here birds don't touch tart cherries until they are really ripe. With big tree it is usually enough tart cherries to share some with birds. When the tree is still small, you can put some net to preserve your cherries when they star to ripen. Danube and Balaton hungarian tart cherries are supposed to be much sweeter than for example Monmorency.
Mulberry is care free too, but most get too big. If you have enough space, it is a good choice. Mulberry illinois everbearing should work well for you. The bad thing, birds and animals get crazy about mulberries, but if you don't mind to share, there should be enough for everybody.
Here in 6b fig trees are also a good no spray option, but your climate is colder.
Olga

Asian pears, poss jap plums or Au plums or brambles.

I recommend persimmons (asian non-astringent type), cold hardy figs, cold hardy pomegranates and jujubes. If you like shrubs, you can try a few blueberries.

I second ash. Figs are quite exotic looking and I have never sprayed anything on them. Also pears have some nice blossoms and again need no spray to bear fruit.

No figs in MA. If you are ok with large shrubs, aronia is great.

Glib, nonsense. I have friends growing figs in Canada in the ground. It's all a matter of the correct variety.

I agree with the other two, sour cherry. The birds may get some but you should have enough left for you.

As others have mentioned, figs and persimmons are very attractive specimens and need no spraying and very little of other care once they are established. Pomegranates fit this description also. Just be sure you get the cold hardy versions.

I don't know if anybody mentioned that there are edible ornamental plum trees. I just planted one, a Spencer Hollywood plum. It has nice looking reddish leaves that get green on top and stay red underneath as it matures. Maybe as soon as next year I am told there will be large, fragrant flowers in spring, fruit in late July/early August. Reports are, these plums are very desirable--unlike the fruit from some other ornamental plum varieties. Only minimal pruning required, and the catalog claims there are no pests or diseases to deal with. Almost too good to be true, but I'm hoping it is anyway.

I'm very surprised to see so many responses and that there are actually a few choices. I am going to have to do some research on some of these suggestions. I've never tasted a persimmon or seen one in the supermarket. I'll have to ask and see if they are available. Actually, I guess I've never tasted tart cherries or raw figs off the tree. I wonder what opinions are on the best tasting and most useful fruit is? I can imagine that tart cherries might be great in a jam but wonder about how palatable they would be otherwise. We juice a lot of veggies and fruits and I add cranberries sometimes that are very tart, so maybe the cherries would work as well. Plum tr*ees sound good too....there's actually not one suggestion that doesn't sound good. Thanks for all the input!

Many people enjoy tart cherries fresh from the trees, I am certainly one of them. It depends on your taste. I like the flavor that tatr cherries have, much better than sweet cherries. As I mentioned above Danube and Balaton should be sweet.
Olga

I agree that fig is attractive and no-spray, but, it is not easy. You need to cover it in the event of a cold snap. I grew up in Zone 8 with 2 figs in the yard. One year in the 1980s the temps went below 0F and the figs died. My father saved one of them by cutting them to the ground. The roots resprouted and were fruiting again in 3 or 4 years. And this was Zone 8. In Zone 6 you have to work to protect them, most if not every year. I don't see the ease. For the OP: figs off the tree are fantastic.

Meanwhile, I bought two aronia whips last year, to replace a shrub in front of the house. They are blooming this year already, and the woods around me are covered with aronia. That is ease of cultivation. As far as attractive, a plant that is white, green, black, and red in the same year qualifies.

Apples!

I have an old apple tree that came with the farm. All I've ever done is water it and it's wonderful! The apples are tasty and beautiful...the only downside being they ripen in October, so once in a while they get caught by an early hard frost.

I've never sprayed the tree, not even with water. It's covered with bees and bugs in the spring, all kinds of things come when it blooms. In the fall, I've never had worms, although the yellow jackets will sometimes steal a bite LOL. Since I use them only for cooking, I'm not too concerned. You can eat them off the tree, but I love apple crisp, pie, etc. so I save them all for those :)

I doubt apples going to be so easy in zone 6, they are not easy here in zone 6b, for sure. I used to grow several varieties of apples when I lived in colder zone (Z 3b-4a) and they were completely care free.
Olga

In warmer climates, pomegranates would be a great choice with their outrageous flowers. There are weeping mulberries, bush mulberries, and of course full size mulberies- no flowers though. And of course figs and Asian persimmons as previously mentioned. Grapes like Glenora with it's beautiful red fall colors are easy to shape to your needs.

I still don't get what is wrong with Tart Cherries. They have beautiful blooms, beautiful tree shape, tasty fruit, are care free and will love MA climate. At least 50% chance that the poster will love the cherries fresh from the tree, if not, he can make jams and pies or leave it to birds.
Olga

I would be curious to know how "lavendar lass" can live in Washington and not have worms in her apples....it sometimes happens but is usually only in remote areas like Stehekin, Washington where such can happen.
Tart cherries are great...especially when heated up in the sun....tastes like fruit tarts....a great tree and fruit and prolific bearer.
However, there's a problem for us: maybe tart cherries would work in Massachussetts, but here in Seattle, almost EVERY fruit, sooner or later gets bugs in it...including tart cherries...with something like a cherry fruit fly....or an even more aggressive apple maggot fly.
We used to have luck with blueberries and now this year we discover a new and potent fly here is also is coming onto the scene....(drosophilia)
Oh well.....it's the nature of the beast.....perhaps the less moderate climates are actually conducive to decent alternatives....I understand Saskatchewan Canada is able to grow a few fruits without the same pest worries.

Wow, that;s alot og excellant suggestions! Eight years ago I planted a North Star (pie) Cherry tree, a Plum and a Montemorency(sp?) Pie Cerry. Now given they're not a sugary as Bing but we cover/net the trees every spring after bloom. We eat, make pie, jellies, jams and wine and never have enough because they are so deliscious! Each are self pollinating and we pick 3-6 gallons not counting what pops in our mouths! My new neighbor came over to see what kind of dogwood I had and she didn't beleive it was a plum! It does have pretty pink blossom! We also love the blueberries and Caroline Rasberries! Good choosing!

Pam

My understanding is that with tart cherries, the chances to get Cherry Fruit Fly infestation is greatly increased if you don't pick up all cherries and let them stay on the ground. Cleaning all leftover cherries as well as cultivation uder the tree in winter time (to freese the CFF larva) should help to have CCF reasonably controlled. I heard this adviced here and that is what my family was doing for years in the colder climate that I am living now.
I am sorry, I just LOVE tart cherries, my favorite fruit :)
Will never trade them for sweet cherries, so much flavor, so probably I am not objective.
Olga

Olga, I love Montmorency but when I try to get my wife to eat them, she just looks at me like I lost my mind lol. They do make great juice and pies, as well as alleviate arthritic and joint pain.

Re: arthritic and joint pain. I read several years ago that you can eat 7 ( or more)tart cherries every day for long time periods to keep pain under control. We are freezing tart cherries in summer and my father adds cherries in his cup of tea, every time he drinks it (and he drinks a lot of tea) all year around. It could be coinsidence, but he had really bad problem with his feet, but after he started taking his cherry pill in two three months he completely forgot about his pain. He is pain free for several years. he is a big believer in cherries now.

I live five miles from Idaho...there's a lot of Washington state east of the Cascades :)

Thanks, Lavender lass,.....I kind of envy people who live in a sufficiently remote area that the "agribusiness" pests and urban densities haven't taken over yet.

I'm enjoying this discussion and following along. Giving me lots to think about. I wonder if anyone responding is from the New England area? All ideas are great, but I just wondered if anyone lives in my area and is growing any of these suggestions.

I found the information about cherries and joint pain fascinating, since my DH has that problem.

I wondered about the Aronia suggestion. I've always seen it listed as a good choice for attracting birds but didn't realize people eat them. Do you compete with the birds for the fruit? Are they tasty?

Prairiemoon, I am now in MD, but before I lived in CT close to Farmington. I grew Montmorency cherry tree there and it was happy and healthy. I didn't have a chance to enjoy it for long, because we moved here to MD. I only enjoyed good harvest for the last 3 years and then we moved. THis is partially why I am confident in suggesting you a tart cherry. Here in MD I have Montmorency and English Morello and last year planted young Danube tree and this year added Balaton.
Olga

They are thriving up here on the Maine coast, maintenance free. I highly recommend

No spray, check
Pretty in bloom, check
Tasty, check
Self fertile, only need one, check

I havent tried the varieties Olga recommends but Northstar is a natural dwarf. ( if you have limited space)

Goudreau- North Star is a natural dwarf? How tall does it get? I've been looking for two small fruit trees for my potager!

Prairiemoon- Cherries sound like a good fit for your area, plus the joint pain relief would be a nice benefit.

Donnie- Many people on the west side forget that we have a totally different climate on the east side. Cold winters, hot summers and dry...not the same as the west side at all :)

Aronia berries are not very appealing to my taste. I ripped mine out. I'm not that picky as fruit goes.

Aronia are definitely not for fresh eating. They do process into excellent jelly, juice, wine, etc.

Most apples would not meet your requirements for carefree, but some crabapples are very disease and pest resistant, very compact and produce edible fruits.

Jujube is something to consider, as most are hardy and they don't have natural pests around.

Cornelian cherry, Cornus mas is another one to consider.

Figs and pomegranates would not qualify as easy, as both would require considerable winter protection in 6a MA. Asian persimmons would also be very marginal. You may find one that will survive, but it may not ripen fruit.

Pawpaw would be another possibility for something easy.

Currants are not trees, but would do great and are easy, although I'm not sure if its legal to grow them in MA.

lavendar lass- They get about 10 feet tall. Mine is 5 years old and about 7-8 feet tall. Can post a pic of it when it blooms, its very pretty.

Aronia from colder climates is sweeter. In zone 7 you have other "easy" candidates.

Thanks Goudreau! How wide do they get? It looks like they do well in zone 4, so if they stay small enough, I'm thinking of getting at least two :)

Do you know of any apples that stay about the same size. Most of the ones I've seen want to be 20' tall and wide LOL.

Where do you buy these pie cherries?

Sorry it took so long to get back to this thread. I've really been pleasantly surprised at such a great response to my question and that there really does seem to be a few choices for fruit that can be low maintenance and attractive.

The cherry suggestion is really looking good.

Currants sound like something I could consider. I did check to see if they were legal awhile back and in MA I think there is one color you can use but not the other?
goudreau, did you mean your currant will grow to 10ft tall?

And I would be interested in knowing where the best place to buy some of these are, too.

Thanks!