Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul
 [Register]
Minneapolis - St. Paul Twin Cities
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 05-23-2016, 12:51 PM
 
55 posts, read 79,641 times
Reputation: 36

Advertisements

We are moving to a property with a bit more land than we've had in the past and we'd like to start an orchard (twin cities, zone 4b). We are decent gardeners, but newbies at trees. I was originally considering Apple, Pear and Plum trees, but given how long it takes pear trees to bear fruit and I've read that they are more susceptible to disease / insects, I am leaning towards just 2-3 apple trees and 3-4 plum trees, for cross pollination purposes. My question is which types of fruit trees have done really well for you, which were vigorous and lower maintenance? Also, I realize that some trees are better at cross pollinating others - are there any pairs of trees that you really found to be productive? Any fruits that are not so tasty and we should stay away from? Are there pear trees sold around here that I'm overlooking aside from Honeycrisp and Parker, or maybe dwarf varieties? Thanks in advance!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-23-2016, 02:46 PM
 
Location: Saint Paul, MN
1,365 posts, read 1,883,335 times
Reputation: 2987
The plums are a phenomenal choice! I can't tell you how much I wish I could grow plums. I'm pretty happy with my tiny little Mac-Groveland lot, but I do long for a nice plum tree...

How do you feel about cherries? Personally, I would go for cherries over apples. My parents grow both on their farm in southeastern MN, and the cherries are much less work for much more output.

For what it's worth, I've never known anyone who has had much success with pears in our climate.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-23-2016, 03:02 PM
 
Location: MN
6,539 posts, read 7,118,145 times
Reputation: 5817
My neighbor has pears trees, and I had them last year for the first time, they were tasty. I can ask what kind they are. He gave me a graphed potted flowering dwarf Sweet 16 apple tree to plant in my yard a month ago, I'll let you know this fall how they taste (reviews are great) I tried finding Sweet Tango with zero luck with the U's clamp on them. Honey crisp would be worth getting.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2016, 10:22 AM
 
55 posts, read 79,641 times
Reputation: 36
I hadn't given much thought to cherries only because I don't like them as much as apples, but given that they are less work I'll have to look closer, thanks! And wamer, good to hear they could grow tasty pears, do you know what strain? Good luck with the sweet 16 apple - what are you using as a pollinator?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2016, 05:35 PM
 
Location: MN
6,539 posts, read 7,118,145 times
Reputation: 5817
He mentioned his apple trees could be used as pollinators. This is my first Apple tree, but I also have a small young cherry tree along with half decent grapes on a fence. I'm going to try and find a blackberry plant.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-24-2016, 06:35 PM
 
2,652 posts, read 8,579,421 times
Reputation: 1915
I grow reliance peaches in Iowa and they do well. This is the third year and there about 30 peaches growing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-25-2016, 08:19 AM
 
Location: Bel Air, California
23,766 posts, read 29,034,674 times
Reputation: 37337
Quote:
Originally Posted by wamer27 View Post
He mentioned his apple trees could be used as pollinators. This is my first Apple tree, but I also have a small young cherry tree along with half decent grapes on a fence. I'm going to try and find a blackberry plant.

not sure if it matters to you but I hear that you can't have blackberry plants anywhere near raspberries because of a disease that they pass on to the raspberries.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-25-2016, 02:10 PM
 
Location: MN
6,539 posts, read 7,118,145 times
Reputation: 5817
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghengis View Post
not sure if it matters to you but I hear that you can't have blackberry plants anywhere near raspberries because of a disease that they pass on to the raspberries.
Good to know, thank you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Minnesota > Minneapolis - St. Paul

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top