Hi, A couple of questions: -Would hardy pricklypear cactus (Opuntia humifusa/compressa) be the only hardy pricklypear to endure zone 6 winters? -Would sweetshoot bamboo (Phyllostachys dulcis) be suitable for zone 6? -Comment: Pawpaw, Asimina spp. (including Asimina triloba), contains the compounds associated with increased risk of atypical Parkinson's; you'd have to it is frequently enough, I would suppose. -Comment: I believe that ginko nuts must be eaten in moderation - I remember reading some materials describing them as toxic to some extent. I wonder if making tea out of the leaves would be a good thing, however. -I know Lucky has some varieties survive his zone 6 winters, but anyone have any varieties of Pomegranates survive zone 6, 6a or 5b? - and fruit? -What are the best Amelanchier spp./Juneberries/Serviceberries w/regards to taste? I think that the only berries I absolutely loved must have been A. alnifolia - 5' thin suckered bushes with dark, sugar-sweet berries; the A. canadensis and A. canadensis x laevis I've tasted are not as good as what ever variety that happened to have been. -Will American hazelnut/filbert & American beaked hazelnut hybridize with the European species? -If I were able to obtain a true American Chestnut selected from a stand that showed great disease resistance, would the taste hold up to the Chinese and/or English varieties? -In comparison to a straight D. virginiana or D. kaki, would there be any taste improvement in the hybridization between American x Asian persimmon? -Would you think that a fully ripe Wild Mandrake/Mayapple would be at all toxic; or would it be risky if consumed in excess? -What are cold-hardy, reliable varieties of Black Mulberry (M. nigra)? [non-hybrids] -In zone 6b, my 'Brown Turkey' Fig never dies back to the ground; I do nothing to protect it. -I purchased a grafted D. kaki 'Saijo' and a friend of mine showed me his orchard containing grafted Asian persimmons - the grafts reject after several years; he explained that if you had an American x Asian hybrid as the inter-connection between the D. virginiana rootstock and D. kaki scion, the graft would last indefinitely. I hope the tree will last, contrary to this - probably won't. -Are the berries of native/American shrub-dogwoods and tree dogwoods (other then the toxic Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood) really edible? C. sericea/stolon., C. alternifolia, etc.? -Besides Black Oak, any other good oak nuts? -I'll contribute a few I can think of here (edibles): Salmonberry, Thimbleberry, 2 varieties of Ligonberries - American/European, Bearberries, Wild Wintergreen Berries, Berberries spp., (water lily and lotus/parts, arrowhead/parts, pickerelweed/parts, Acorus - sweetflag, not iris!), various man-made blackberry x raspberry hybrids, the man-made 'jostaberry' - ribes spp., a wide array of vaccinium spp. (blueberries, deerberries, bilberries, false huckleberries), Garden Huckleberry (not a huckleberry), varieties of cranberry, Akebia, Orange trifoliate, Crabapple spp., nuts: chinquapin, species of hazelnut/walnut/varieties of hickory (including pecans), forbs: daylily species, various flowers, Monkey Puzzle Pine, Pine Nut species, syrup from Walnut & Maple species, Prinsepia, Asparagus, Globe Artichoke, Jerusalem Artichoke, various greens, various man-made stone fruit hybrids, foxgrape (including 'Concord' & 'Neptune'), purple passionflower, Mountain Ash species, Aronia spp., Western Sandcherry, Buffaloberries, native Silverberries, Sala, Yuka spp., Magnolia virginiana for tea - leaves and culinary, chokecherry, wild black cherry, pin/fire cherry, American wild plum, Chickasaw plum, Beach plum, cloudberry/bakeapple berry, smooth & staghorn sumac, teas from birches, American larch, and others - be cautious, tall & stinging nettle tea, the species of Jujube, Streptopus amplexifolius - I forgot the name - I call it watermelon berry, but it's not the above mentioned Che/Melonberry which is a good one to have. ____ When you think about it, there really are only a few fruits out there: Apple (4 types), brown or green Pear, Cherry otherwise know as Bing or Yellow Cherry, Melon, Apricot, Nectarine, Orange, Grapefruit, Grape, Kiwi, Plum, and Pineapple - if you don't believe me, just go to the supermarket or your local cooperate sponsored fruit consumption advocacy materials. Well, they do have around 5 other rare ones: Starfruit, Date, Fig, and Fruit-roll-up Fruit.

I've had a generic morus nigra in the ground for two years. I bought it as a tiny little thing on its own roots in a gallon pot, and it has grown very well. Still no fruit though. Last summer I put in a large 15 gallon grafted speciman of "black beauty". It had some fruit when I bought it, and man were they good... much larger and tastier than the native morus rubra or non-native morus alba. I've learned the following about these plants: -- They're very late to start growth in spring. -- They're also reluctant to slow down in fall if well watered, thus in my climate they are susceptible to early fall freeze damage. -- They can resprout easily from the roots and add plenty of growth by the end of the season. -- Growth that is thick and/or properly hardened off seems to avoid any cold damage. Mulberries should fruit on new growth, so some winterkill doesn't bother me. Your climate should be fine, especially since your transition into winter is more gradual than some. I don't know about the various cultivars other than the common "black beauty", but the word is that even the species is among the best for taste. Good luck!

Cold hardy is a relative term? Assume you mean cold hardy to your zone (8b). Figs (though deciduous are good for zones 7 plus), kiwi (deciduous vine), kumquats should be okay. My loquat has been regularly surviving and growing in zone 7 planted against the building. Pomegranates should do well too. The subtropical strawberry guava should make it. (I have the tropical guava which I containerize and protect, and even it has surprised me with its relative hardiness.) What about persimmons, dwarf peaches? Are you looking for something that needs to be evergreen?

Depends where you are I guess. They do taste great, better than fuzzy kiwis, much less acidic, and can be eaten whole without any off-putting taste or texture from the skin. They do seem to do really well for some folks, forming huge insanely productive vines over time (search for the u-tube video on them from Edible Landscaping), but I've definitely seen a fair share of problem posts on this forum regarding hardy kiwi -- pollination issues (you need male and female vines to get fruit), long waits to begin bearing, and extreme tenderness to frost. From personal experience, I would NOT recommend hardy kiwi if you are in an arid climate and/or you might resent a plant that has to be pampered constantly with water to stay alive, or you experience late spring frosts or early fall frosts (all of which are features of my climate). I've given up growing them, mainly due to the constant watering required, but also to the fact that they were always getting zapped by late spring frosts (they come out of dormancy too early in my climate). Good luck