Got my fruit trees in today.

[Buttoni]

I ordered a cling-free Peach, Kieffer Pear, Texas Everbearing Fig, 3 Paw Paw trees, and 5 red raspberry bushes. They all shipped dry-root and are soaking in a bucket of water as we 'speak'. We'll be planting them out at our BOL cabin property come Monday or Tuesday. Theiy're grafted trees, so they should start producing in 3-5 years (own root take about 10 I understand). I'm old, so I might not live that long LOL. No room to plant any more trees here in the city.

We have wild blackberries and American Beautiberry bushes growing wild in numerous clusters on the place (they self seed with new saplings readily by bird action, who love the berries).

I have a small Texas Torchwood that's just 10" tall (clearly slow growers). It produces sweet edible grape-like fruit at maturity. It's a native Texas tree so it should do well for my in summers and is freeze hardy as well. I've been wanting one and finally found (the last) one at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas near the border. They sell a few natives trees and plants from their nursery. Good prices on southern natives. It's a fairly small outfit, but they called me back promptly because they were out watering plants when I first called. I found them very nice to do business with. Fast shipping, too, if anyone needs any trees.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Torchwood...haven't heard of that one. Will have to try it!

 

[Buttoni]

Here's a link to some info and a small pic: Texas Native Plants Database

The dropped twigs/branches make good kindling, too.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Here's a link to some info and a small pic: Texas Native Plants Database

The dropped twigs/branches make good kindling, too.

It is not freeze hardy in my zone unfortunately.

 

[Arcticdude]

Whenever the sun comes out, and its above freezing, I take our fruit trees out for a walk. Its been way too cold and too much snow to plant our new fruit trees, blackberry and grape plants. We had another snow storm this morning, but the sun is out now and its a warm 42 degs. I think we'll be able the plant the trees next week.

 

[Buttoni]

I'm in 8b, or hardy down to 15º-º20. Wonder if it will tolerate those temps? And we rarely go below 20 except in the 100 year horrible snow & ice storm we suffered Feb 2021. We stayed between 4º-12º for 3 days and in the 20's for another 3 days that week and mucho ice that formed a solid sheet on our 6" of snow. I lost a 25' loquat prolific-blooming loquat tree (had an 8" trunk) we just had removed just this month. Despite all leaves being brown and crunchy (dead) I was encouraged by garden forums to wait and see. Come Spring, 100's of beautiful green leaveson several branches. But the bark was split in several places up high and the splits moved down the main trunk eventually all the way to the ground. I was no longer hopeful when all the NEW groth began to shrivel and turn brown. A lot of loquats trees were lost here. Several of my neighbor's lost theirs. They are tropicals only hardy to 40º, so not surprised. So no more loquat preserves for us. I am rooting one of its ground saplings, but it's only 7" tall. The ironic thing, is the 4' potted Japanese maple right underneath the lowuat LIVED!

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I'm in 8B, or hardy down to 15º-º20. Wonder if it will tolerate those temps? And we rarely go below 20 except in the 100 year horrible snow & ice storm we suffered Feb 2021. We stayed between 4º-12º for 3 days and in the 20's for another 3 days that week and mucho icethe formed a solid sheet on our 6" of snow. I lost a 25' loquat prolific-blooming loquat tree (had an 8" trunk) we just had removed just this month. Despite all leaves being brown and crunchy (dead) I was encouraged by garden forums to wait and see. Come Spring, 100's of beautiful green leaveson several branches. But the bark was split in several places up high and the splits moved down the main trunk eventually all the way to the ground. I was no longer hopeful when all the NEW groth began to shrivel and turn brown. A lot of loquats trees were lost here. Several of my neighbor's lost theirs. They are tropicals only hardy to 40º, so not surprised. So no more loquat preserves for us. I am rooting one of its ground saplings, but it's only 7" tall. The ironic thing, is the 4' potted Japanese maple right underneath the lowuat LIVED!

The link said zone 9, good to know you have different results. I am in 8a and b; I lost several olive oil trees I had been mothering for years about 10 years ago last time we got into the single digits!

 

[DrHenley]

If you live in a place that only occasionally briefly gets down a little too low, you can do what they do down in Florida in the citrus groves when they get a frost. Light up some smudge pots around the tree.

 

[Buttoni]

I may have to try that method. I wasn't planning on planting my fruit trees close enough to make that feasible, but maybe I should reconsider and group them in one corner of the large yard at least.

 

[GaRp58]

Wow yes, we can still find brass smudge pots here in the fleamarkets. My german neighbor just planted fruit trees and he could use them this winter maybe...