GARDENER'S READING ROOM
Edibles

Noteworthy Fruit Trees for 2009

With everyday expenses continuing to climb and each dollar having to stretch further, we're all trying to find ways to save. I know from experience that growing your own fruits and vegetables can make a huge difference in your grocery spending. Many varieties can be grown in containers, taking minimal space and providing great rewards. Here at Sky, we are always trying to supply the home gardener with selections that will succeed and thrive in the Pacific Northwest. This spring our focus continues to be providing you with the best plants for our region, from those long tested to exciting new introductions.

Some of my favorite fruits happen to be the most problematic in our coastal climate - peaches and nectarines. Thankfully, Sky has expanded its collection of disease-resistant peaches and nectarines. That means less spraying and a lot more enjoying of juicy, sweet fruit! Five varieties have proven to be especially resistant to peach leaf curl and have also shown resistance to bacterial canker and brown rot.

'Q1-8' is a white-fleshed peach with showy pink blooms and large, sugary sweet reddish-orange fruit. Though the name leaves much to be desired, this tree's performance should more than compensate for it. 'Frost' is the longest tested peach in our region and produces good crops of medium sized yellow-fleshed fruit great for canning or fresh eating. An exciting new variety in our area, 'Charlotte', bears sweet, juicy orange-red fruit and is particularly resistant to bacterial canker. I've never tasted a better nectarine than 'Hardired'. Its fruit is tasty and drippingly fantastic. To extend the peach season into late summer, we're offering 'Autumn Rose'. This sweet-tart peach has red and white flesh and ripens from September to October. Sky is also carrying many other regional favorites.

Fig trees are some of the most trouble-free fruits I know of. They have virtually no insect pests and just as few disease issues. The trouble is that many of them just don't ripen in our cool summers. Here are a few that taste great and produce here! 'Lattarula' is a green-skinned fig that has been ripening bucket-loads of fruit in the Puget Sound for years. If there's a big old fig tree in your neighborhood, it's probably a 'Lattarula'. Another performer is 'Desert King', with greenish-yellow skin and strawberry-colored flesh. Despite its name it is just as happy here as it is in southern California. A newer introduction and favorite of mine, is 'Bayernfeige Violetta'. It is an egg-sized purplish fruit with pink flesh. Of my five fig trees, it is the only one to consistently ripen in my Carnation yard. If you're still not convinced, just ask me about my molasses cheesecake with rum soaked fig topping!

Don't forget to check our apples, plums, and pears like 'Ubileen', all selected with your success in mind. All of our fruit trees are grafted on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock and will fit any yard or garden. Many also lend themselves to being grown in containers, which is great for apartment and condominium dwellers.

By Brian Mumm
Skylights Spring 2009, Vol 24, No. 1

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