Few things in our culinary lives can compare with biting into a dead-ripe peach-taste buds moving into overdrive, trying to decipher all the flavors.
On the other hand, there’s the peach (or apple or pear or other fruit) that has been picked too soon, spent days or weeks inside a truck and tastes like cardboard.
Those of us willing to exercise a little patience can produce natural foods, pick them on the exact day they are ready and know we are going to have that great flavor. If you make that decision, there is still time this spring to plant a tree.
Growing fruit trees requires very little ongoing maintenance, but to get the best crop, the gardener needs to know such things as what trees grow well in the Chicago area and where you are in relation to Lake Michigan and how that will influence your choices.
So far, we’ve avoided the term “orchard,” but adding fruit trees to your landscape needn’t be a major space gobbler. As you will see as we get into the specific fruits, you will need more than one tree to get fruit with some species. If you start on a small scale, you’ll begin to learn the idiosyncracies of the various fruits and you won’t be overwhelmed the first time a tree decides to bless you with overabundance.
What to grow
“For first-timers, the best choices are apples and pears,” says Stella Otto, orchardist and author of “The BackYard Orchardist,” (OttoGraphics, $13.95). “They are the hardiest and most tolerant of various soil conditions. Peaches and apricots can be grown in the Midwest, but two to three years out of five, you will lose your crop to late frosts. They have the earliest blooms, and with a late spring frost, two to three degrees can knock you out for the year.”
Winter is the enemy of any fruit that has a stone at its core-such as peaches and cherries-rather than seeds. “Chicago is on the northern edge for growing stone fruits,” says Jeff Crosby, product development manager for Stark Bro’s nursery in Louisiana, Mo., a leading grower of fruit trees. “You can grow them in protected areas in back yards and in pots” that can be moved to sheltered areas during winters. Sour or pie cherries are almost a sure thing, he says, but sweet cherries need protection.
“You get a lot of loss of peach trees at minus 25, and at 30 below you get outright death. A lot of commercial growers will be hurting for peaches after last winter.”
If cold can’t defeat them, the early spring freeze/thaw cycle can injure the bark, opening many trees to disease and insect problems. The solution: Site the trees where they get maxiumum protection from the cold and, if possible, toward the top of a hill, because colder air collects at lower elevations. The closer the location is to Lake Michigan, the less chance for brutal cold or late frosts.
Allen Cosnow, a home orchardist in the northern suburbs, says peaches are perfect for the back yard enthusiast with a small yard as long as you don’t get too attached to the trees. “Peach trees don’t live long; I consider them a long-lived perennial,” he says. “If you get 10 years out of them, you’re doing well.”
If diversity in your orchard is desirable, try apricots, which bloom very early, leaving them open to late frosts, but which provide ripe fruit by early July. Also consider nectarines, plums and Asian pears, which are hardy and have the flavor of a pear with the crispness of an apple. You can even try figs, as long as you are willing to protect the trees in winter.
How and when to plant
The best time to plant is early spring, which doesn’t help us for this year. “We recommend planting dormant, bare-root trees over container trees, particularly if you plant late,” says Stark’s Crosby. “Bare-root trees would have more energy reserves left to make sure they got off to a good start versus trees that are already leafed out.”
Nursery centers will carry container trees that have either bloomed or are now in flower. Stark’s and other mail order companies are still shipping the dormant, bare-root trees but only for the next week or two, so you must order quickly. Also, certain varieties may be sold out for this year.
Gene Yale, who tends 48 apple varieties in a north suburban back yard, says our predominantly clay soil is the biggest impediment to successful planting. “Most people don’t realize you have to get through that layer of clay, especially with dwarf trees that have the deepest seeking roots,” he says. “A little effort and another foot of digging to get below the clay and you have a tree for the rest of your life.”
Yale buys a bag or two of topsoil to put back into the hole when he plants. “Never fertilize a tree that goes into a hole fresh,” he says. “Make sure it is watered-at least a couple of gallons a week for the first half year,” he suggests. Mulching around the tree is also recommended, but don’t mound the mulch around the trunk-it invites rodents to seek shelter and feed on the tree bark.
Pruning is also a must at planting time, especially on bare-root trees where the vast majority of the feeder roots have been disrupted when the tree was dug from the field. “You need to remove at least one-third so the remaining branches take just enough strength from the roots instead of a weak root system supporting too many buds,” Yale says.
Walter Logan II, Stark Bro’s vice president, says, “Back yard growers feel like they are cutting off their right arm if you prune a newly planted tree, that it will delay the fruiting process. In actuality, it moves up fruiting time by bringing the top into balance with the roots.”
Those tender roots will have a better chance getting established if the top of the tree isn’t whipping around in our typical windy weather. Single stakes work well or you can use rope or wire leads to ground stakes. Make sure to protect the bark-use pieces of hose as your tying mechanism or slip a piece of hose over your guy wires. Staking is recommended for most trees at least for the first year. Dwarf apple trees will need the support throughout their lifetime.
What is a dwarf?
If space is a problem, dwarf fruit trees provide full-size fruit on small trees. For the home gardener, that may translate into a more manageable crop as well. Yale’s miniature apple varieties are “belly-button height,” while other apples are classified as dwarf or semi-dwarf. Ordering from a reputable source will almost guarantee that the mature size of the tree will be as advertised.
Buying from a garden center is a little chancier, Yale says, because “there is no way to tell how big the dwarf will be. Most consider anything smaller than a standard tree as a dwarf.”
Peaches and nectarines can also be kept in manageable bounds, but Cosnow points out that fruit is set on last year’s growth, meaning that as the tree ages, the fruit will be higher and higher on the tree. Pruning for height each year means you are cutting off next year’s crop. Apples, on the other hand, can set fruit on the same spurs year after year.
Most other fruit trees can reach 20 feet or more, while dwarf varieties may reach 12 feet at maturity. The extreme dwarf types are not generally available. Besides saving space, dwarf trees work well for the home gardener because they begin setting fruit sooner than standard trees. Apples and peaches may set some fruit the second year after planting, while a standard tree may not set for four to five years.
Harvesting
Having a nice spring bloom doesn’t mean you’ll have a great fruit set. You’ll need to know if the varieties you have chosen are self-fertile or need a pollinator. With apples, even if you choose a variety that needs another variety to pollinate the blooms, chances are there are other trees in the neighborhood, even crab apples, that will provide pollen for the bees to carry around.
Another consideration is when the pollinator blooms. If one tree blooms early and the other late, pollen won’t be available to either tree. In general, apples, pears, sweet cherries and plums need a pollinator; peaches, nectarines and tart cherries are self-fertile. Many apricots are self-fertile but do better with cross-pollination.
Combating pests
“If you’re not willing to spray, you won’t have apples,” Cosnow says.
Yale sprays his trees every 7 to 10 days in the spring and as the season progresses, every 10 to 14 days with an all-purpose fruit spray that includes insecticides and fungicides.
“… The sprays have short residual times so there’s no problem even if you eat the fruit without washing it,” Yale says.
Apples are susceptible to several diseases and harbor insects that can spoil the fruit. Some insect protection can be provided by placing wooden balls painted red and covered with sticky material in the tree as an attractant. Dormant oil sprays are available for use in early spring to smother overwintering bugs. If you prefer not to use fungicides, bordeaux mix provides some disease control if used before buds swell in the spring.
Peaches are most often attacked by borers that get under the bark and eat away at the cambium layer. Painting the lower bark of the tree with an insecticide three times during the growing season will give some measure of protection.
Pears are most susceptible to a bacterial infection called fireblight that looks like the foliage and branch have been hit by a fire. Thorough pruning of the affected area is the remedy along with sprays of bordeaux mixture in late winter.
Many disease problems can be avoided by thorough cleanup of all leaves and fruit in fall. “Fall cleanup can’t be advocated too much,” Yale says. “Leaves will harbor every kind of problem. Keep your orchard as spotless as possible. If you’re cutting off a branch, remove it from the area.”
For more information
“The BackYard Orchardist,” by Stella Otto, OttoGraphics, $13.95. Order directly ($17.45 includes shipping) by calling 1-800-507-2665.
University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service has several publications on fruit growing. Call the office in your county for details on: “Home Fruit Pest Control,” Circular 1145-93; “Growing Small Fruits in the Home Garden,” Circular 935.
The Midwest Fruit Explorers, P.O. Box 93, Markham, Ill. 60426-0093.
Stark Bro’s Nursery and Orchards Co., P.O. Box 10, Louisiana, Mo. 63353-0010. Free catalog. Phone 1-800-325-4180.
