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Gary350
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Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

What is best Apple & Peach Tree & Blue Berry to grow in TN

We want 2 apple trees, 2 peach trees, 2 blue berry plants. Something good for pies & eating that taste good. What is best way to determine best ones to grow in hot humid rainy TN?

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Definitely get disease resistant ones.

I highly recommend Enterprise apple. Pay attention to pollinizer varieties or plant a suitable crabapple. I use this as reference but you might find another one better suited for your location?
:arrow: https://www.acnursery.com/resources/pol ... pple-chart

My current candidate list -

Akane
Keepsake
Liberty
Sundance
Williams Pride
Zestar!


I’m still trying to find the best brown rot and canker resistant peach variety — those are rare ... I’m currently considering August Rose if I can find it for sale — but there are leaf curl and other disease resistant peaches.

I think you can grow Southern Highbush blueberry varieties as well as rabbiteye varieties and some of the northern varieties than can be grown further south. I have to stick with northern winter hardy varieties — I just bought Spartan and Sweetheart to add to my Elizabeth and a couple of other varieties I can’t remember at the moment.

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Gary350
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

I read online best way to learn what grows best in your geographical location check see what nursery growers in your area are growing. Since McMinnville TN is 1 of the largest nursery growing areas in the USA about 500 nurseries and 25 miles away I checked to see what they sell. They sell Honey Crisp Apple trees I wonder if this is a real honey crisp apple tree?

They have free delivery. I want 2, apple, 2 peach, 2 pecan, 2 blueberry.
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JONA
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Location: Sussex. England

Interesting your Honeycrisp Apple Gary.
As you say it can be a question. is it the true variety.
Bred at Minnesota Agricultural Experimental Station they themselves got the parentage wrong at the start.
The two parents (. Macoun X Honeygold ) that they first claimed were proved wrong with genetic fingerprinting and it’s now accepted as being two of their own varieties.....MN1627 X Keepsake.
One grandparent being the inevitable Golden Delicious.
It’s getting popular over here in the UK now as it has good disease resistance.

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Gary350
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Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Workers at Home Depot & Lowe's know nothing they run the cash register and stock shelves. People at the garden center know nothing they run the cash register and stock shelves too. Owner at the garden center is smarter he knows what he is told or reads but has never grown any fruit trees or bushes. I grew a Red Delicious apple tree in TN years ago it was a great apple but now that Honey Crisp and Juji are available they are better tasting but I have no clue how well they grow in TN. I read Honey Crisp is very resistant to a lot of things but still have no clue how well it will grow in 6 months of rain then 98 to 100 degree hot & dry as desert 3 months every summer. TV weather man said, we got 64.34" of rain year of 2019. All time record 70 yrs ago was 64.35" of rain for the year.

JONA
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Location: Sussex. England

It sounds like you’ve got a bit of a challenge Gary.
From all I can find out it doesn’t do so well in the wet areas of your country.
It’s not the easiest Apple to grow due to several problems.
It’s skin is particularly thin compared to most varieties so bruises easily and some growers even have to trim the stalk for storage to avoid damage to nestling fruit.
Also...it does need regular calcium sprays as it is very prone to Bitter Pit caused by a reluctance to absorb calcium through its root system.
That said...the additional price paid for it above other varieties make it worth the effort.
If that price should level out it may well be a different story.
Growers over here are planting it as it has such a great taste, but nowhere near the percentage of the market that I understand you have in the States where I think it has 30% of the market.



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