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Wanted to share my experience about growing fruit in Chapel Hill and hopefully get people to share their experiences. I have the following trees experiences. My best luck is definitely best with the grapes and peach. Apricots and cherries look promising, need another 2-5 years to be sure. I am not convinced apples can grow well here (I have tried 6 types with just a few apples). Pears are hit and miss.
Loring peach
-Started fruiting on fifth summer in ground (2018)
-Doing very well, heavy bearing (200-300 fruit) *** extremely tasty
-Affected by bugs (oriental fruit moth or codling moth, not sure which)
-Sprayed insecticides this year (Sevin, spinosad) and no bugs seen yet
Goldcot apricot
-Started fruiting on 6th summer in ground (2020)
-Only 8 apricots this first fruiting year, but i'm pumped that it is finely producing
-Beautiful tree
-No pests
Bleinheim apricot
-Just planted this year (2020), no fruit, lots of flowers
Bartlett pear
-Bore fruit on 3rd summer in ground
-Had to remove, died from black rot on year 4
Keiffer pear
-Started fruiting on 3rd summer (2017)
-Bears 8-12 pears a year, is pruned espalier-esque (small)
Arkansas black apple
-Has not yet fruited (planted 2017) but blooming like crazy this year
-No diseases yet
Blacktwig apple
-Has fruited on fourth summer (planted 2015)
-Only a handful of apples so far, blooming like crazy this year (maybe more!)
-Has had rust, now better
Virgina gold apple
-Died (rot or blight, cannot recall) on year 2
Cortland apple
-Has not fruited (planted 2018)
-Apple cedar rust, now better
Terry Winter apple
-has not fruited (planted 2015)
-suffered from dead branches, cause unknown, now better after pruning
Blackgold sweet cherry
-fruited last year, maybe 6 cherries (planted 2017)
-many blooms this year
-no diseases
Regina sweet cherry
-Just planted this year (2020), no fruit, few flowers
-Though it might help the other cherry bear more
Methley plum
-Died of rot/blight on year 3
Celeste Fig
-Fruited on 4th summer (planted 2015)
-No diseases
Muscadine Cowart (red) grape
-doing great
Muscadine Dixie (yellow) grape
-doing great
The following are in pots that I bring into screened porch for winter:
WOW, that is an amazing list. We have a dwarf peach and it is slowly producing. Figs seems to do well. We have 3 young trees (Mission, brown turkey and Celeste). My co-worker has several trees and she gets so many figs she has to give some away.
I was amazed by the tropical fruits, but the OP said they were moved to a screened porch in winter.
I have family in Alabama who grow lemons very successfully. Unimaginable more than 20 years ago. They do have to move them into a garage a few times a year, but still...
Re: Number of trees - I listed all my fruit trees, I have small lot, only 0.25 acres
Re: Wintering citrus - move into screened porch with windows that close, use space heater to keep above 45F, if really really cold I bring inside. Right now, my citrus trees are all blooming. They smell so good.
Re: Persimmons - originally from western Canada, have never tasted a persimmon, intrigued, next purchase?
Re: Patience - wish I had started planting 5 years earlier when I built my house! I find it painful to wait for fruit bearing. I expected each tree to bear fruit within one to 2 years, but in general my experience has been more like 4 or 5 years. I hope that in the next few years most of my trees mature and are able to provide some fruit. As I mentioned above, I am very skeptical about the 4 Apple trees that I have. Apple Cedar rust and various forms of rot seem to affect them regularly.
Truth is, I wish that more people grew fruit around Chapel Hill so that I could learn about the fertilizing and pruning and insecticide techniques that have been successful for others. There is lots of information online, but very little of it seems applicable to the home gardener in this area, and much overly complex. Urban farming I think is a great idea and is a sustainable environmental practice. Everyone should have an edible landscape!
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