Transcript Native and Easy-to-Grow Fruit Nov. 4, 2012 Jon Traunfeld [email protected] How do fruit plants compare to tomato plants? • Perennials that require 12-month attention •

Native and Easy-to-Grow Fruit
Nov. 4, 2012
Jon Traunfeld [email protected]
How do fruit plants compare to
tomato plants?
• Perennials that require 12-month attention
• Require “hardening” (chilling hours) to survive
winter and produce fruit
• Maximum yields come with the correct balance
of root, leaf, and fruit growth
• Important to know when and where they
produce flower buds and fruit
• Correct pruning is essential to control and direct
growth and encourage fruiting
Plan ahead
• Do I have enough room? Enough time? What’s
practical for me?
• Start planning one year before planting
• Select a full-sun, well-drained site
• Amend soil to achieve correct pH and high
organic matter content
• Work with your macro- and micro-climates
Picking cultivars
• Select well-adapted, recommended cultivars
with good disease resistance. Buy high quality
plants- “certified” free of pests and diseases
• Bareroot plants will catch up to container
plants
• Do I need a special rootstock?
• Do I need more than one cultivar for
pollination?
What if my plants arrive too early?
• Keep roots moist and keep plants cool
• “Heel in” plants outdoors
OR
• Keep plants in garage or refrigerator
Hydrating an apple
whip in a bucket of
water for 12 hours
prior to planting
3-year old bare-root
apple whip has just
arrived from the nursery.
Notice graft union where
the scion is joined to the
rootstock.
After planting…establishment
• Regular watering throughout the year is
essential; shallow-root small fruit plants are
especially vulnerable to drought stress
• Be careful not to over-fertilize
• Avoid herbicides
• Keep mulch away from trunks
and crowns
Strawberry
Two main types for Maryland gardeners: the “June-bearing”
type (predominate) and “day-neutral” type.
Aggregate fruits have
many stamens and pistils.
King berry is largest in a
cluster and has the most
seeds.
Pineberry (pineapple
strawberry)- white
strawberry with red
seeds; has some
pineapple flavor.
Small berries, low yield
= not worth it!
Blackberry
• Perennial crown; biennial canes
• Very well adapted to all parts of Maryland
• Four types:
– Thorny erect (excellent flavor)
– Thornless trailing (rampant growers; large fruit)
– Thornless erect (good choice for small spaces)
– Primocane-bearing, thorny erect
‘Prime-Jim’ thorny
erect blackberry that
bears on first-year
canes in late
summer-frost.
Raspberry
• Perennial crown; biennial canes
• Less heat-tolerant than blackberry, but ok for
all parts of MD
• Types:
– Red, purple, black; June bearing
– Red, yellow; primo-cane or “fall-bearing”. These
can be cut 6-8 inches above ground-level in late
winter or early spring.
Black raspberrynew shoots
(primocanes) are
thinned to 6 inches
apart.
Purple raspberry (cross
between black and red
raspberry); plant tied to a
single wire between posts.
Tip rooting
New raspberry plant from
tip rooting
Landscape fabric
laid down to
suppress weeds and
raspberry suckers
Seedless table grape cultivars
Himrod’
‘
‘Mars’
‘Canadice’
Blueberry
Underused small fruits
Elderberry- Sambucus
Ribes spp.• Currant- red, black and white
• Gooseberry- American, European and crosses
• Jostaberry
Black chokeberryPhotinia melanocarpa
Beach plum- Prunus
maritima
Native to U.S. Atlantic
Coast
Wineberry- very invasive!
• Rubus phoenicolasius- China native that
displaces native plants
• Spreads by seed, suckers and tip rooting
• Delicious fruit- but Do Not dig up and
transplant into your landscape
Some keys to apple success:
– Dwarfing rootstock- BUD 9, EMLA 9, EMLA 26
– Disease-resistant cultivars (scions); e.g. ‘Liberty’,
‘Goldrush’, ‘Enterprise’
– Support with stakes and wire (vertical and oblique
cordons work well)
– Close attention to pruning, pest monitoring
– Don’t over-fertilize
‘Olympic’ Asian pear- good
alternative to apple and
European pear but can have
insect pest and disease
problems.
Peach
Peach fruits need
to be hand-thinned
to increase fruit
size and decrease
disease problems.
Peach is best pruned to an open vase
shape to maximize captured sunlight
and fruit production.
“Portable” fig in ½
whiskey barrel is
moved into garage
for winter rest.
Protected Baltimore
City fig (tree form)
with Southern
exposure.
Shrub form with multiple
fig stems pulled to center,
tied and covered for
winter protection.
Same plant during
growing season.
Bird netting surrounds
entire fig plant. Most
birds will peck through
netting and some may
get tangled.
Root containment and
root pruning will promote
fruiting.
Have questions?
– Call or e-mail the Home and Garden Information
Center- 1.800.342.2507; www.hgic.umd.ed
– Consult UME Fruit Resources
PLANT FRUIT!!
GROW FRUIT!!