"brickled" wrote in message ink.net...
looking at putting these into my zone 5 michigan landscape but am leary of
my chances given how rare thse plants are. have any of you successfully
grown these and if so, how has the experience been?

ann arbor here. plants are vigorous and grow to 40-50 feet. You have
been warned. They are good looking vines with lush, shiny foliage.
They only get a thick layer of woodchips under them, and some wood
ash. They are sensitive to late frosts so plant them high in your
landscape and give them manure only past last date of frost (that will
give you huge vines, but it will also shave a year or two to first
fruiting, which is famously late for this plant). I am sure you know
you need one male and as many females as you can stand.

how would u compare the
quality of the fruit with the store bought relatives?

well, if you get a really late frost you will not get much. You will
get nothing the first six years anyway. And after that, you will get
what the birds don't eat. the few I have eaten are much better than
storebought (about the same difference in quality between an average
peach and a superior nectarine, including the lack of fuzz, sweeter
with a nice aroma) after a little indoor ripening. I am told that
eventually they will produce heavily (tens of pounds per vine), and
given the size of the vines, I don't doubt it, but so far only two
have started producing (I have had four, plus a male, for 8 years).
unlike their relatives, the fruits don't last.through the winter.

but it is a nice plant (casual visitors always ask about it), it will
give you a huge arbor if you need a shady spot (make it big and
strong), and if you are in for the long haul, it will give you plenty
of fruits.