Zone 7 is pretty cold, right? I'm in 9a. I think you should consider Hardy Chicago Fig, or other varieties of cold hardy figs. You do have the heat in summer to ripen them, and they are delicious! Ronde de Bordeaux is one. But Hardy Chicago grows everywhere!! Marseilles vs black is another cold hardy fig.

Apples and cherries should thrive! We actually have the Anna apple that ripens in June here in zone 9a. Best apple on the earth! Crisp, sweet with a little tart, and happy to go into a pie or be eaten fresh! This is the best apple on the earth for our zone. Yours is different.

Good luck with your orchard, and don't forget the fruit of the vines! Vineyard! Wine grapes! Yep! Google national wine registry, and you will find varieties that will grow in your zone!

Good luck!
Suzi

Thanks Suzi. Yes zone 7 Oklahoma. Tulsa to be more precise. It can get bitterly cold. Its not uncommon for us to have a few days in a row where it doesnt get out of the 20's and 30's. Just this weekend it was in the 70's. I do have a Brown Turkey fig that does well in our area but the will occasionally die back from a more severe winter. I do want to add another type though so thanks for the info. apples cherries stone fruit plums they all do very well here. Many people have apples my dad included. The biggest challenge for us is we notoriously will have a late freeze that can wipe out a good chunk of the flowers and small fruits.

I have always wanted to try grapes but for whatever reason Im intimidated with vines. I have no idea why. Must be a phobia, LOL

Thanks
Mike

I just planted a Nectaplum,so no fruit yet,but Flavor King and Flavor Grenade Pluots are wonderful. Brady

Mike,

You did not ask but I'd like to comment on your fruit tree choices. I'd consider peach, plum and cherry quite challenging to grow for they are prone to fungal and bacterial diseases. Plum is new to me but I have enough experience with peaches and cherries. They are not easy. Hope you plan to spray.

Apple and pear are a lot easier (in my opinion). If you go with disease resistant apple varieties, you have a better chance to have good apple.

Adam County Nursery,one of the very reputable nurseries, lists the following as disease resistant fruit trees:
â¢Pristine (Co-op 32) PP# 9,881 (apple) - July 10
â¢Redfree (apple) - August 5
â¢Sunrise (pear) - August 10
â¢Initial⢠(X-6163 cltv.) (apple) - August 20
â¢Blake's Pride (pear) - August 25
â¢Potomac (pear) - September 8
â¢Seckel (pear) - September 10
â¢CrimsonCrispî (Co-op 39) PP# 16,622 (apple) - September 10
â¢Magness (pear) - September 12
â¢Liberty (apple) - September 15
â¢Crimsonî Gold (Svatava cltv.) (apple) - September 15
â¢Galarina⢠(X-4982 cltv.) (apple) - September 25
â¢Freedom (apple) - October 1
â¢Crimsonî Topaz (Topaz cltv.) (apple) - October 5
â¢Nova Spy (apple) - October 10
â¢Hardy Cumberland (apple) - October 10
â¢Co-op 31 Winecrisp⢠PP#20,437 (apple) - October 12
â¢Querina⢠(X-2775 cltv.) (apple) - October 12
â¢Enterprise⢠(Co-op 30) PP# 9,193 (apple) - October 24
â¢GoldRush⢠(Co-op 38) (apple) - November 10

You may notice that, most are apples, a few are pears. Peach, plum and cherry do not make the list for a reason.

Thanks for the Info Mamuang. I plan to do whatever is needed to have healthy trees. you make it sound impossible to grow them.

I piked Ranger, Glohaven, and Loring because 1. A large peach orchard about 30 minutes east of here has been growing 2 of the 3 for many many many years and Oklahoma Cooperative Extension office and Oklahoma State University recommend them for their BLS resistance and recommend them for growing in Oklahoma. I just recently found out that Elberta is very susceptible so Ill probably yank it out and replace it. It was never one I planned to grow anyways. Ill chalk that up to impulse buying before researching.

I can move Elberta several hundred feet away from the others or even move it to my work 20 miles away. I would like to atleast give it a chance instead of tossing it in the trash. Cant hurt to try, right?

We had an old tasty plum on the property it was at least 30 years old before it died. Our Neighbor had a huge wonderful cherry tree when i was younger.

Unfortunately I dont like pears. I may get a few apples but I need to get some that are resistant to cedar apple rust because I do have a few cedars on the property and it can be an issue here in oklahoma.

Thanks for the info on the apples!
Mike

I did not mean to imply that it's impossible at all. I meant to say that comparing to apple and pear, growing peach, plum and cherry (esp. sweet ones) requires more work.

I have cedar trees and junipers all around my neighborhood. Two spray of Immunox at petal fall and 2 weeks later pretty much control it. I have William Pride's apple that is disease resistant and could get by without Immunox . My Honey Crisp and Golden Delicious do need protection.

As long as you are prepared and are willing to do what is needed to protect your trees, you can grow anything.

It's funny how perceptions are. At my cottage this guy has 2 apple trees, and a peach tree. He doesn't do anything to them. The apples are always filled with worms, and rotting all over the place. Whereas the peaches look great, I have grabbed a few and they were fine. So I didn't want to grow apples as it appeared too hard to get good ones. Also hearing people bagging them and such. I never heard anybody talk about bagging peaches.
And I'm still in doubt that growing apples is easier.

Thanks for all the advice. I do really appreciate it.

Mike

Hi Mike - we've messaged back and forth before from the Citrus Forum. I'm in zone 7b, Raleigh NC, which often acts more like zone 8. I'm originally from Norman OK. My property also has Eastern Red Cedars around it and all of them show signs of Cedar Apple Rust. I bought disease resistant apples and all but one of them show signs of the disease but it doesn't overwhelm the trees and some years it barely shows up. Same thing for my Quince trees - they show signs of Cedar Quince Rust. So I would plant whatever variety does well in that area and plan on doing a bit of disease management part of the year. It's all worth it when you can pick fresh, ripe apples. The newer cultivars William's Pride and Goldrush have done well for me. Arkansas Black is the one that requires no spraying and shows virtually no disease at all. The first couple of harvests will have wimpy flavor but after a few years they get really tasty. Nothing beats Goldrush for flavor as far as I'm concerned.

Keep in mind that a lot of apples bear alternate years so you won't get a huge harvest every year.

In my yard, wildlife eventually figured out what I was growing so now I have to bag and spray and build wire barriers AND trap.

Good luck. Plant what you can find and just know that you will be replacing a few of them in a few years.

Peach trees grow like weeds and can suddenly die for no reason so don't worry about them too much, just keep planting new ones every couple of years.

Hi Mike - we've messaged back and forth before from the Citrus Forum. I'm in zone 7b, Raleigh NC, which often acts more like zone 8. I'm originally from Norman OK. My property also has Eastern Red Cedars around it and all of them show signs of Cedar Apple Rust. I bought disease resistant apples and all but one of them show signs of the disease but it doesn't overwhelm the trees and some years it barely shows up. Same thing for my Quince trees - they show signs of Cedar Quince Rust. So I would plant whatever variety does well in that area and plan on doing a bit of disease management part of the year. It's all worth it when you can pick fresh, ripe apples. The newer cultivars William's Pride and Goldrush have done well for me. Arkansas Black is the one that requires no spraying and shows virtually no disease at all. The first couple of harvests will have wimpy flavor but after a few years they get really tasty. Nothing beats Goldrush for flavor as far as I'm concerned.

Keep in mind that a lot of apples bear alternate years so you won't get a huge harvest every year.

In my yard, wildlife eventually figured out what I was growing so now I have to bag and spray and build wire barriers AND trap.

Good luck. Plant what you can find and just know that you will be replacing a few of them in a few years.

Peach trees grow like weeds and can suddenly die for no reason so don't worry about them too much, just keep planting new ones every couple of years.

Hey John.

good to hear from you again. Thanks for those tips. I really love to eat apples so I think ill look into some Rust resistant types.

Bringing up wildlife reminds me Ill eventually need to come up with squirrel prevention.

Thanks
Mike

I have a cedar rust resistant type, it is Enterprise. It is a medium-sized, very red apple with thick skin. You harvest it mid-late Oct. in the NE. Mrs. G PS. taste is excellent.

Thanks Mrs G

Ill have to look for one!

also Im moving my Elberta to my work. we have a large yard we it can just get all the BLS is wants and not effect anyone else. LOL

Mike

Be warned. Acquisition of fruit trees becomes addictive even more so after you harvest you first fruit. I had larva in my first peaches (Redhaven) this year and they never got to full size. I was able to taste a little and could see the fruit would likely be very good if allowed to grow full size. Instead of becoming discouraged, I picked up a crabapple from Lowes and will be getting a Goldrush apple to pair with it! I'm not 100% sure they will bloom at the same time but if they don't, I'll get another apple tree or learn to graft. :-)

By the way, my other trees (at the moment) are 2 japanese plums and an Asian pear - none of which have fruited yet. There's so much to learn to reap a good harvest but I like it.