NoVa Gardeners! Fruit trees and berry bushes.. (home, school)
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.
What kind of fruit trees and berry bushes do you have? I see fruits at farmers markets in the summer but not sure how local the fruit really is. Is this area (or the soil and weather conditions) ideal for fruit trees? If yes, what kind are the most successful? TIA!
Actually you can grow most tree fruits here just fine. I've grown or am growing peaches, apricots, apples (mostly heirloom varieties), and persimmons. Historically Virginia is known for its apples and peaches. Keep in mind though the better apples will be aviable in early Autumn. All types of berries do well here too including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. Also, grapes. Most of the fruit you see in the Farmers Markets around here is grown in VA, WV, or PA.
One of the world's leading authorities on heirloom apples lives here in VA. He's mentioned on this excellent site:
We have fig and blueberry bushes. The berries usually get eaten by deer, so I can't really tell you how good they might be. The deer seem to like them. We planted them because they do well near pine trees (pine trees can make soil too acidic for grass or a lot of other plants). Figs do really well here, but you might need to wrap them in burlap if heavy snows are predicted.
We had a fig bush and strawberries as well. They produced fantastically! You have to pick them before the animals get to them. They def do well in the NOVA area!
We are just starting strawberries and a blueberry bush this year. We did strawberries in our old home and they grew like crazy here. Definitely have to shielf the berries from animals though.
What kind of fruit trees and berry bushes do you have? I see fruits at farmers markets in the summer but not sure how local the fruit really is. Is this area (or the soil and weather conditions) ideal for fruit trees? If yes, what kind are the most successful? TIA!
there are pick your own farms in fauqier, loudon and elsewhere. We used to have a family tradition of going apple picking just before school started (which also handily was right before rosh hashanah, with its apples and honey). This past year DD was headed overseas on Sept 1, so picked peaches and blueberries (in August) instead.
Great! DH bought me a blueberry bush for our TH backyard to try to convince me to stay in the area a few years, lol. I'm a softie for berries.. I thought figs grow in a tree? I was asking because the soil here seems to be mostly clay, at least on our backyard and wondered if fruit trees do well in this kind if soil. Glad to hear they do!
Great! DH bought me a blueberry bush for our TH backyard to try to convince me to stay in the area a few years, lol. I'm a softie for berries.. I thought figs grow in a tree? I was asking because the soil here seems to be mostly clay, at least on our backyard and wondered if fruit trees do well in this kind if soil. Glad to hear they do!
Figs do grow in trees, and as a matter of fact we have a friend (in this area) who has a fig tree - I do NOT however recall her offering us figs, and I dont know if thats cause the tree doesnt fruit, or if she simply overlooked offering it in season.
I believe technically the fig is a bush. However, it's a big bush! There might be a tree, as well, but the ones I have are bushes. People plant them for erosion control as well as for the fruit, since the roots run very deep and several feet in all directions. Don't plant them too close to your foundation for the same reason.
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.
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.
