Fruit Trees for North Dakota; need your input!

BringingTheRain Said:

Are there cheeseburger trees?

That would be nice but I have not seen them in the Gurneys catalog or on the USDA list. Gonna look hard for that one though.

plums. i know several people that have plum trees. they seem to do well year after year, that and apple trees are about all that i know of that do realy well up here.

 On our plan in that we had in Carson, we had Apple and Cherry trees. On our farm in Jamestown we have plum and chokecherry trees. I have seen aprocot trees here. We also have white and concord grapes on our place in Carson. Starwberries, raspberry and Rhuebarb do extremely well. Asperigas or how about a peanut tree? 

igot apples and a apricot  but due do the last freeze in springlast year i never got any      plums do well apple choke cherry rasberries  blueberrys  ruhbarb  asparagus

Didnt know asparagus was a tree

If it is it might be my favorite tree

 chokecherrys. make great jelly!

If you like Juneberries (blueberries) plan Saskatoon, they are a little bigger than a wild juneberry and are very heavy producers of fruit.  I believe that you can get them via USDA.

Here is a link to Saskatoon berry trees. http://www.prairieplant.com/saskatoon-berries.html

There are several kinds of peaches that will grow here.  I had some in my backyard in Fargo and I got a few years out of them until the lack of topsoil (clay) rotted the roots and they died.  I had the same issue with apricots, so if you have good drainage both will work.  Check out Stark Brothers nurseries online, they have all the varieties and great service.

My apricots have been tough to get started, but we have had good luck with honeycrisp and State Fair apple trees.  Also have numerous cherry trees, meteor, northstar, montmorency, sand and nanking.  Last two are bush cherries.

Juneberries are awfully slow growing, at least mine are.  They are the conservation stock from SCD.  Might help if I hadn't hit them with 2-4D at least once.

Raspberries have done very well.  Blackberries, not so well.  Gooseberries turn into a thorny weed of a bush, so I moved them out onto the back end of the yard.

We have some new pear trees that are still a few years away from producing but I have seen some nice pear trees out in the Oakes area.



Key thing for many of the trees is soil type, they don't like wet feet.  So when I plant a new fruit tree now I dig at least a 5 ft diamter hole by at least three feet deep.  Then I replace that soil with my own mixture of peat, sand, compost, and about 20% of the original dirt.  The trees I have done that to really outshine the others planted in my more clayey soils.

Planted grapes along the chain link fence along the shelterbelt but make sure they have some protection from harsh winter weather. The shelter belt works good.
Have a good 22 because the birds really like them. old ladies nylons work good for protection.
Peaches didn't do good last year

I love fruit and plant lots of types. Currants and gooseberries do well. Apple trees that I have are honeycrisp, honeygold, zestar, sweet 16, state fair, wolf river, prairie spy, yellow transparent, cortland, and whitney crabapple. Favorites so far are honeycrisp and sweet sixteen; but several others aren't producing yet. Blueberries do well with right PH and soil preparation. Raspberries do well. Honeyberries also do well.  Hardy grapes are good(zone 3-4). Have a mullberry tree and primocane blackberries will work in this area. Peaches need a little love in the winter when it gets below -10. Pears will grow fine after they are established. Some of the larger plums such as Superior or Waneta are delicious. Pie cherry trees will grow well. Cherries such as Bali or Carmine Jewel can be eaten off the tree when fully ripe, if you can keep the birds away. Other trees I have are saskatoon juneberry, seaberry, sandcherry, nanking cherry, chokecherry, and apricots.

The Dakota Gardener - NDSU extension service recently had a article about the Bali Evan's cherry. Apparently it easy to grow and maintain.  With lots of fruit.

A good link for ND gardeners.

http://www.dakotagardener.com/

Thanks so far! Lots of good information on the varities. That is what I really need to know is what survives in our climate. I should mention I am in the Minot area which appears to be a little island of zone 4 but i'm gonna say zone 3 probably applies more since i'm not down in the valley.

As for the pears, anybody have a variety that works best? Also, my soil type has some clay but quite a bit of sand up on my lot. We hit a huge gravel vein when digging our home foundation. I'm gonna have to excavate a bit on the other side of our lot where the orchard will be going to see if it's similar.

As far as the nanking and sand cherries, gooseberries and those types of fruits, are they good as fresh edibles? I am not a big preserves guy and am trying to find good sweet fruit for fresh eating. Raspberries are a must!

Somebody mentioned it above but I think a nut tree would also be excellent. Anybody know of a edible nut that can tolerate our conditions? Also, anybody try a tree called the Honeyberry or one called the Paw Paw. Any luck with these?

Thanks again for all the input!

More information on fruit in ND from NDSU.

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/fruit.html

Honeyberries are very hardy. They taste pretty good when fully ripe, but will make you pucker if they aren't. They only get about 4 ft tall and 3 wide. I have two varieties and have had them for about 8 years. Don't waste your time with the pawpaws, they won't survive here!  Harold

Pigsticker,

The sand and nanking cherries are pretty tart, as are my meteor and northstar cherries.  They make excellent pies and jams though!

The montmorency are sweeter but my trees are not yet big enough to warrant efforts to keep the birds away.  Damn robins!!!

Gooseberries are not my favorite for fresh eating, but also make darn good pies.

Of course, juneberries are excellent fresh eating and also make great pies.

Honeyberry and some other tree berries are my next plantings.  Lost a couple honeyberry plantings a few years ago and haven't tried again.


My only other suggestion is to remember that wasps and other bugs are notorious on the apple trees in the fall.  Plan accordingly if you don't want them around the house.  Along the same line, I planted most of my fruit trees away from the house so if I leave the fruit on the tree I don't really care about them falling off and laying on the ground.  I know several people with smaller yards that grumble about all the apples laying on their yard every year.  Makes a mess and is ripe for a wasp/hornet problem.


I have a couple of walnut trees that are surviving, but rabbits and deer are hell on them. 


I suggest a strawberry patch as well.  I'm using built up gardens for them with a bird cover.  Works well, most strawberries do great in ND with minimal care.

Much like you seem to want, I enjoy being able to wander around the yard and grazing off the berry/fruit of the season.  


Worst part of all is that we are half-heartedly looking for a new place.  Tough to give up all the fruit and berry plantings knowing we'll have to start over.