I have absolutely no experience with it, but from what I've read, many things do well, but varieties need to be carefully chosen to escape diseases caused by wet winters, especially stone fruit (almond, apricot, peach, plum). There are many subtropical fruits that apparently do well, as long as they don't need to much summer heat. Apparently persimmons do well.

All of my favorite mail order nurseries for fruiting plants are located in the PNW. Burnt Ridge, One Green World, and Raintree, specifically.

You might ask around to see if persimmons will ripen up there; if they will turn color then they can be brought in. The other fruits you mention will do fine, but require various sprays to deter pests. Cherries tend to split--too wet.

Nurseries may have better stock next spring, but you could find a bargain now. The main fruit-growing region is east of the mountains. Most of lowland Seattle area is zone 8, you must be well out of town in foothills for zone 7.

Sorry about that. zone 7 was where i used to live. i'm no longer in zone 7.

Many fruits grow very well in this area but you do need to be on top of what specific varieties grow well in our mild climate - fruits that need cold winters and hot summer to develop and produce well are generally poor choices as we tend to have neither :-) Many of the fruit varieties that thrive and do well in eastern WA with their greater temperature extremes are not recommended for western WA or the Puget Sound basin.

Stone fruits in particular have issues here - in general, apricots, nectarines, pluots, etc. are not highly recommended and viable peach cultivars are limited. Just not enough summer heat for proper ripening. Local better retail nurseries (NOT the box stores) will carry suitable selections but stock at this time of year is very limited. Try in late winter when they bring in the new bare root trees. Also, our local extension service has many publications and bulletins with recommended fruit cultivars for this area.

Asian or kaki persimmons do well here, American not so much. Also figs, but again specific variety makes all the difference. Otherwise, a large selection of apples, pears (both European and Asian), cherries and plums can be reliable producers. And pretty much any type of berry - blueberries and strawberries are excellent choices. Also grapes, currants and caning berries. And a lot of less common fruit - goji berry, honeyberry, medlars, quince, etc.

The mail order sources noted by nmfruits are great resources but make sure you heed their advice about specific cultivars best suited to our unique climate.

Many of the cherry trees that have been recently planted in the Seattle area are Lapins. The cherries of this variety are considered more resistant to splitting in wet climates.

Apples and raspberries do well in the Seattle area. Also Lingonberries and gooseberries.

Grapes will grow but often are not the sweetest because it is so cloudy most of the time. Some people have pear trees, but moss and lichen starts growing on them, and I don't think they really quite reach full ripeness here, but that's just my opinion.

It is also possible to grow some of the hardier varieties of tropical fruit (up against a south-facing wall). There are only about 2 weeks every year where the temperatures go below freezing, so as long as the plants are protected in December and January. Further inland in the State it can get much colder in the winter (but it is also sunnier).

I guess you were just too slow to respond to the thread! : )

gardengal48, I realize there are some common stereotypes about the weather in the Seattle area you are trying to dispel, but the statements in your post exaggerate and swing the pendulum too far in the other direction. The rainfall in Seattle is about equal to the rainfall in Alabama, only slightly above the annual rainfall level in the Northeast. Seattle had an unusually dry summer this year. It is true that the rainfall tends to be more seasonal in the Pacific Northwest than other parts of the country with similar annual precipitation levels, Seattle gets about 3 times as much rain in November as it does in June. The term "raining buckets" must have originated in the Pacific Northwest.

Exaggerate?? Hardly - I have lived in this area my entire life and I am intimately familiar with this climate....it is rather essential for me to do my job.

Seattle averages 36-37" of rainfall per year....the same as Dallas TX. Compare that to Birmingham AL (53.7"), Boston, MA (43.8"), Hartford CT (45.9), NYC (49.9"), Kansas City (39.9"). Seattle has had an average rainfall of 36.15 inches over the last 30 years, which is 3.02 inches inches less than the average nationwide. So where exactly is the exaggeration??

btw, this was NOT a drier than normal summer - hotter, yes, but not drier. It was pretty much on par with averages, if not slightly above. We received 4.34" between June and September compared to an average summer precipitation level of 3.39 inches.

A statement like "The term "raining buckets" must have originated in the Pacific Northwest." only illustrates your lack of familiarity with this area. As any PNW native knows, rainfall here is NEVER in the 'bucket' category - more than a inch of rainfall in any given day is extremely unusual and may happen only once or twice a season, if that. Rainfall here is actually quite delicate - more of a gentle misting or oozing of water from the atmosphere - certainly nothing that could ever be described as "buckets". That description is better left to places like Houston, TX that can receive as much as a foot of water in a single rainstorm.

Please, unless you actually live in this area, do not presume to be more familiar with the vagaries of the climate and typical rainfall than someone who does live here and has done so for 50+ years. You simply don't know what you're talking about!

As a former Camas Washington native (and now a frequent visitor)......I LOVE YOU Gardengal48. Buahahaha. In total agreement with you!

Jennifer

Check out some of the Western Cascade Fruit Society club fall shows that are happening at this time of year. The WCFS website has a list of clubs in various areas of western WA. There may be one not far from you. They are the people who are growing and using their fruit. There are so many kinds of edibles that can be grown in this unique climate.

I find this thread entertaining as often we have comments from certain people here here about other regions, but advises others not to do so. Do as i say not as i do. Every thread this person comments on ends up with conflict. I hope the mods are taking notes.

No need to beat
around the bush, drew.......figured you'd chime in sooner or later
since you seem to want to claim this forum as your own and manage to
insert something of meaningless contention into any thread I post to.

Do you really want
to stand with that statement?? Cuz it doesn't exactly hold water.
Over my many years here on GW I've commented on a lot of threads, and
certainly a good number that have originated in other parts of the
country, but I have never presumed to tell someone living elsewhere
what the details of their climate was like. Plus,
I've never told someone living in MI or SoCal or anywhere other than the PNW what kind of fruit to
grow. Do
you get the difference??

And
are you sure you want to go with the second part as well? EVERY
thread ends in conflict?? All 18,000+ of them?? Or how about just the
handful where I happen to disagree with some of the inane,
unsubstantiated - kinda like these - comments YOU have made?

Pot,
kettle, black.

Chicago Hardy Fig

Drew,

if you really meant to criticize Gardengal, I am disappointed in you. I do not see anything wrong on Gardengal's suggestions here or on other threads.

She has knowledge and can back it up with data if needed. What more do you want?

GG provides some of the most solid information on GW as far as I'm concerned. Her contributions are excellent, always based on knowledge and experience, and if she contradicts another poster it is with good reason.