I meant me and my WIFE up there. Sorry about that.

Blueberry shrubs need lots of sunlight in order to produce significant fruit. They also need soil with a pH of about 5, and this is hard to maintain if you are watering with tap water that contains dissolved limestone. If your tap water is neutral pH, you should be able to grow blueberry shrubs with little difficulty. Pollination is accomplished by insects. In our yard, the local bumblebees are very numerous during the growing season, and they do most of the pollinating. Whatever you can do to encourage the local bees to visit your yard will result in successful pollination of your fruit trees. In your situation, I would be visiting and talking to local gardeners to learn what trees grow best in the local conditions. I live in Wisconsin, with a different climate from yours.

Hi peavley,

I'm originally from Baton Rouge and know you can grow quite a few fruits there. Specifically, figs do great as well as blackberries among many others. Here is a link for the LSU Ag Extension site which has a lot of information. Here is a link to an article specifically about home orchards in Louisiana.

Hope this helps.

Peavley- The trick is to differentiate between what will grow where you're at, and what will grow with a minimum of care where you're at. Loquat and fig are two great suggestions. Mulberries, pomegranates, jujubes, non-astringent persimmons like fuyu and jiro, pineapple guavas, are all low effort high return in general, but need to be verified for your area. Traditional fruits like citrus, apples, pears, cherries, peaches, plums, etc. can be a real exercise in frustration over time. Grapes come down to finding a variety that is resistant to diseases in your area.

Thank you all for the helpfull information. bradkairdolf-thanks for the links to the LSU Ag center. I used that link and ordered some of their publications.
We decided to go ahead and plant two bluberry bushes and I planted them yesterday. We are thinking of planting two more citrus trees in early spring, (lemon and La. Sweet orange).
everyone that I talk to about growing fruit, the first thing that they say is...Apples are hard to do. What do they mean? The literature that I got from LSU Ag Center says apples (certain varieties) are good to grow in parts of Louisiana. So why do people keep stressing that an apple tree would be so dificult. What will be dificult about it? Do they mean that I will just have to spray often, or is there something that I am not thinking of? We would like to plant two apple trees, but it just sound like it will be "HARD", but I am not sure what exactly "HARD" means????

Hi Peavley-
Apples are "hard" because of diseases, insects, pruning, and pollination, which are in addition to all the other issue with growing any plants.
Part of the problem with apples is that you need to come up with a spray program that will work for you. In each area of the country, that program is different. Also, commercial orchards are allowed to have chemicals which are much more effective than those available for the home grower. People have heard me preach this quite a bit... but, if you're new to apples, and you want to limit the amount of spraying, etc, I'd recommend you go with a disease resistant apple like Liberty or Williams pride (there are others too). For insects, for just 2 trees, I'd recommend bagging your apples (search this forum for more info on that).
For most apples, you need to have another variety for cross pollination. To see if the varieties you're interested in will cross pollinate each other, you want to search for a "Pollination chart" which will tell you.
And, pruning is an art form which will take you many years to master. I'm just a newbie.
So, yes, apples are "hard", but obviously not impossible. You just need to be willing to spend a good amount of time learning, and also a good amount of time out with your trees. If you're willing to do that, they you'll probably do just fine.
Perhaps someone closer to your growing area will have more advice.
Good luck!
-Glenn