Permaculture-based  consulting, education  

and stock for today’s homesteader

 

Apples      Pears & Peaches     Cherries, Plums & Pawpaws  Blackberries & Raspberries

Gooseberries, Jostaberries & Currents      Grapes & Kiwis

Figs, Trifoliate Orange, Osage Orange, & Goumi    NEW PLANTS FOR 2010!

 

Sour (Pie) Cherries: These will be grafted onto Mazzard rootstocks this year, which are a little less hardy than Mahaleb, but do better in heavy wet soils.  Trees grow to 16’ unless noted otherwise.  Self-fertile.

Northstar:  A natural dwarf, reaching only 8-10’ at maturity.  Very disease-resistant hardy tree that is covered with white blossoms in spring.  These are followed by copious amounts of good-sized pie cherries that are a bright red color.  Pick them all as soon as they ripen or the birds will definitely find them!  I find sour cherries simply delightful to eat fresh off the tree, despite any reputation otherwise.  Northstar is a nearly perfect edible landscaping plant.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Montmorency:  A well-known and time-tested variety which is still grown commercially.  Fruit very similar to Northstar, but tree grows larger and is more vigorous.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Sweet Cherries:  I will be grafting sweet cherries onto Krymsk 5 which is a vigorous, early bearing, semi-dwarfing rootstock for cherries.  It performs better in heavy soils than other cherry rootstocks.  Krymsk 5 trees can be kept at 10’ for easier picking!  Also some grafted onto Mahaleb, where they could reach 30’ if unpruned.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Kristin:  Early-mid season (early July).  Dark, sweet and great flavor.  Medium sized fruit.  Known for its winter-hardiness.  Resistant to cracking and bacterial canker.  Needs a pollinator. Zone 4-8  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Lapins: Late season (late July).  Self fertile sweet cherry with dark, crack-resistant fruit.  Good pollinator for other varieties. Zone 5-8  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Gold: Mid season (mid July).  It is believed that birds will not bother sweet cherries that are fully yellow when ripe, and here one is!  Apparently even the blushed varieties like Emperor Francis can be prone to bird predation.  This is an easy to grow large gold cherry that is cold hardy and a good pollinator for other varieties.  Needs a pollinator.  Zone 4-8 Gallon Pots—$16

 

Plums:  The following are hybrid plum varieties that are crosses between American and Asian plum varieties.  They are grafted onto American plum seedlings, so the roots might sucker and you can get a grove of trees eventually!  A friend of mine has a grove of these and I must say I’m impressed with how well they have performed in our high insect and disease pressure in s. IN!  Pollination is the only problem they are reported to have, and it is recommended to plant them in groups or circles with as little as 4’ between plants (I’d personally recommend you put them 8’ apart).  Let the branches mingle but keep them pruned enough to stay open to air flow.  Including an American plum seedling will help pollination greatly.  Need at least two for pollination.  Height to 15’. Full to part sun.

 

Waneta: Midsummer.  Red-skinned, orange-fleshed fruit up to 2”.  Fairly juicy and delicious!  Reliable bearer.  Zone 3-6.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Toka:  Late summer.  Supposedly a good pollinator for other hybrid plums.  Mottled red/purple fruit up to 1 1/2”.  Great flavor, meatier than other hybrid plums.  Zone 3-6.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

Purple Heart:  Late summer.  Outstanding juicy flavor!  Purple skin and purple flesh.  Can have tricky pollination problems.  Less winter hardy than other hybrid plums.  Zone 4-6.  Gallon Pots—$16

 

American Plum (Prunus Americana): These seedling trees are extremely disease-resistant and set bumper crops of golf-ball sized fruit every two years.  In between years get a smaller crop.  The fruit is red-skinned and yellow fleshed and glows when the sunlight hits it!  It is delicious eaten straight off the tree with a slight astringency that comes through delightfully in wine made from these fruits.  The roots will sucker so if you do not mow around them, they will eventually form  a clonal “grove” of plums. Gallon Pots for $12

 

Pawpaws:  The largest native North American edible fruit!  This northernmost member of the tropical custard apple family (cherimoya, guayabana) has great potential for landscape and orchard use in the Midwest.  Very shade tolerant, where it still will produce, it gets positively loaded like a peach tree if grown in full sun.  Custard-like fruits have the texture of an avocado with flavors ranging from banana to mango.  Large black seeds entertain kids for hours and can be made into beads or many other things.  Pawpaw fruits contain a strong anti-tumor compound.  Extract made from the bark is a strong, broad-spectrum insecticide (thus it has no real pests, except the zebra swallowtail butterfly larvae feed on this plant).  Need two for pollination.  Height to 25’.  I will be bud grafting improved cultivars into these seedlings in August, to be available next year.  Ungrafted seedlings in Gallon Pots for $12 and will be grafting them this year to named improved cultivars.  These will be available next year for $16.

 

Apples      Pears & Peaches     Cherries, Plums & Pawpaws  Blackberries & Raspberries

Gooseberries, Jostaberries & Currents      Grapes & Kiwis

Figs, Trifoliate Orange, Osage Orange, & Goumi    NEW PLANTS FOR 2010!

Nursery Stock

Brambleberry Permaculture Farm LLC