FruitAddict
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Planting New Fruit Trees - Need Help

I planted 12 new fruit trees this spring and two of them have lost all but a few leaves at the very top of the tree... should I take them back now and see if I can get replacments or should I leave them be and see if the leaves regrow again this year?

Can you please advise if there are certain fruit trees I shouldn't plant near other things... for example my mother told me I couldn't put my Pear Trees where I wanted to because they'd be to close to the Cedar Trees and the Pears would not be very good.

MaryDel
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You should not plant apples by eastern red cedars due to cedar/apple rust. I don't think it affects pears though.

FruitAddict
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Thanks for the reply - I had one of my mothers Pears off the tree near her Cedar Trees and I can't say what variety either are but those pears had the hardest shell on them I have ever seen on a pear.... I tried to peal it with a knife and it was so hard on the outside and so soft on the inside that it was next to impossible to peal and have anything left to eat.

I am hoping I am able to plant my pear trees far enough away that they won't be affected. But I was curious if there are other things that will do something similar and I can't seem to find any information on the web about this.

I am planting Apples 4 different Varieties, Pears, Plums, Cherries and thinking about trying a peach. Any wisdom anyone has would be extremely helpful. Thank you.

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applestar
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The pear's characteristic just might be varietal. Have you tried eating it by cutting it in half unskinned, then scooping out the core with a melon baller or a metal measuring spoon (teaspoon usually works, use a tablespoon if large core), then scooping the soft flesh with spoon to eat?

What specifically did you want to know about the other fruit trees?
One advice I can give you is to get disease resistant varieties especially if you don't want to use chemical sprays. Do your research because there are A LOT of varieties out there. Also with apples and pears, you need to pay attention to which varieties are best pollinators for another. Some are not compatible. Look for a pollination chart for your area (it depends on when they flower so there is a regional variance). Cherries and some plums also need specific pollinators. There is also a HUGE range of harvest dates for the varieties. I have one apple 'Pristine' that are just about ready to harvest (not a storage variety) and two others 'Enterprise' and 'Arkansas Black' that will not be ready to harvest until at least late September for fresh eating, though it is also good for baking earlier. 'Enterprise' has excellent disease resistance and has super flavor -- after eating that, eating grocery store Red Delicious was like eating flavorless mush.

FruitAddict
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Thank you for the replay - so many things to think of when selecting fruit trees --- I never ever thought of Disease resistance. I did make sure everything I bought has a cross pollinator and when it came to apples I did make sure two of them were "storage" type apples since there are only two of us here. I have been smart enough to cross check the data that was on the tags too as I've realized that most sellers will tell you what you want to hear just to sell you a tree - I was told by the seller that the "La Crescent" Plum was self fertile but in most my reading on the internet and by an answer to another thread here I've discovered it is not so that is the one tree I need to buy a partner for yet. Is there a chance that another type of fruit can cross pollinate a plum?

I so excited to be getting some fruit off these trees, my parents had a small orchard when I was a child and I have missed that for years. Finally at age 38 I decided I had better start one myself before I become to old to enjoy the "fruit of my labor" by the time they start producing.

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applestar
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My only thought on the plum is that there might be a chance wild plums might pollinate your plum, though if it is a Japanese-type (round fruit?) then that is not likely. My 'Enterpise' was and is being pollinated by a volunteer crabapple that a kind bird started for me about 30 feet away as I didn't know about needing a 2nd cross pollinating variety when I first planted it.

I've planted 'Pristine' and 'Ark Black' near each other to cross pollinate. The fact that they do this (I.e. flower together) and grow harvestable apples in July and October still astonishes me.

If you had not considered disease resistance, and you've bought them already, you might want to review their resistance profile now. (Usually, Google search on the variety name and "disease resistance" yields reliable information) In my area, Eastern Red Cedar and Atlantic White Cedar are common regional plant community species, so Cedar Apple Rust resistance is VITAL. Also, the many subdivisions, office parks, and town developments in this area date back to the 80's when Bradford Pears were introduced and flooded the landscaping business, so we're inundated with the pesky trees, not only in intentional landscapes, but those that have escaped cultivation. They provide the vector for Fireblight. :roll: That and the clay subsoil (limits some root stock selection) calls for very "interesting" care in choosing apple and pear varieties.

FruitAddict
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I completely agree about the flowering together and producing fruit at such different rates is out of this world... when shopping for my fruit trees I felt like I need a manual because I just couldn't believe they could cross pollinate each other and produce fruit at such different times. That was one of my consideration as well. I did not want all my fruit to come ripe at the same time - I was worried about how 2 people would eat all that but I still wanted a good variety too.

Anyway, Thank you everyone for all the wonderful educational stuff you've tossed my way... now off to study some more and make sure I've made the right choices.



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