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Mulberry is pretty good. We had several of them. They grow fast and the fruit can be messy. If you keep it trimmed down, the fruit is easier to pick and will the fruit will be bigger. They can get huge and that is when the fruit tends to be small. Mulberry pie, smoothies, and jam were all good.
In zone 7a they did well even in the -15°F winters. I figured they would die in that weather, but they made it through 3 winters like that.
In 7b I've grown Paw Paw or the so called Michigan banana. It has an interesting fruit, they're not great at attracting pollinators so I've strung some old chicken bones up there to attract flies as pollinators.
The fruit flesh is like custard with a slightly spicy flavor.. They bruise easily and don't have a long shelf life hence why they're not in the stores much.
I think that when you actually attempt to grow many of these lesser known fruits, you see first hand why they're not cultivated commercially on a more widespread basis... (i.e. poor shelf life, taste, susceptibility to disease and pests.. )
In 7b I've grown Paw Paw or the so called Michigan banana. It has an interesting fruit, they're not great at attracting pollinators so I've strung some old chicken bones up there to attract flies as pollinators.
The fruit flesh is like custard with a slightly spicy flavor.. They bruise easily and don't have a long shelf life hence why they're not in the stores much.
I think that when you actually attempt to grow many of these lesser known fruits, you see first hand why they're not cultivated commercially on a more widespread basis... (i.e. poor shelf life, taste, susceptibility to disease and pests.. )
The paw paw grows well though..
I much prefer the term Indiana banana, since:
A. It rhymes
B. they're a lot more common/prevalent in Indiana than Michigan
C. I'm from there
Paw paws are one of the best tasting fruits in the world though, IMO.
Others to consider:
Persimmon- Mostly American varieties. You can probably get away with an American/Asian hybrid like Rosseyenka which is 75% American 25% Asian. The 50%/50% hybrids might be pushing it a little, but if you protect them the first few years they might be able to survive. Probably too cold for pure Asian varieties, though there might be a few that could make it.
Mulberry- Illinois Everbearing mulberry is a good variety
Quince
Jujube
Asian pear
Medler
Chicago hardy fig
Watch out for Goji berry. I had one that was still in a plastic planter and I left it out at the front flower bed for a couple of weeks because we went away for vacation and it would get the sprinkler water there. I came back 2 weeks later and I could not lift the planter off the ground! It's roots had grown through the drain holes of planter & went deep in the ground! That thing grew like an exploding vine/bush that summer. I had to chop it down because it was very unsightly. The roots even went under the concrete foundation! I consider it very invasive.
In 7b I've grown Paw Paw or the so called Michigan banana. It has an interesting fruit, they're not great at attracting pollinators so I've strung some old chicken bones up there to attract flies as pollinators.
The fruit flesh is like custard with a slightly spicy flavor.. They bruise easily and don't have a long shelf life hence why they're not in the stores much.
I think that when you actually attempt to grow many of these lesser known fruits, you see first hand why they're not cultivated commercially on a more widespread basis... (i.e. poor shelf life, taste, susceptibility to disease and pests.. )
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Great idea.
