TWIMC:

I'm new to this group, but not to tree-growing/gardening. However, I
have a challenging plot of lowland that I'd like to make productive. It is:

Near Kansas City, so hot/humid summers and cold/dry winters (middle of
Zone 5);

Can have lots of rain/snow/ice, and/or a couple months of drought with
watering restrictions in a year;

Is in a floodway, so 0 - 6 times a year it is a shallow, slow-moving river;

Has heavy, deep black soil, but is high in clay content and low in iron;

Is currently covered in tall fescue grass, has lots of insects, and
occasionally has deer and other wildlife.

I've got time -- 20+ years, hopefully -- and I'd like to make the land
productive. I've been thinking of planting some fruit or nut trees on
it, or failing that some type of desirable-wood tree. Or other ideas?

Here's some trees I see in the mass-market catalog(s):

Hardy almond
Hardy walnut (no tomatoes too near)
Hardy pecan
American hazelnut
Chinese chestnut
Black walnut
Golden delicious apple
Red delicious apple
Bartlett pear
Stella cherry
Superior plum
Goldcot apricot
Reliance peach
Seedless pink reliance grape (vines)

Are any of these likely to do well (assuming well-planted and protected
from the deer)? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

-Brian

Brian wrote:

TWIMC:

I'm new to this group, but not to tree-growing/gardening. However, I
have a challenging plot of lowland that I'd like to make productive. It is:

Near Kansas City, so hot/humid summers and cold/dry winters (middle of
Zone 5);

Can have lots of rain/snow/ice, and/or a couple months of drought with
watering restrictions in a year;

Is in a floodway, so 0 - 6 times a year it is a shallow, slow-moving river;

Has heavy, deep black soil, but is high in clay content and low in iron;

Is currently covered in tall fescue grass, has lots of insects, and
occasionally has deer and other wildlife.

I've got time -- 20+ years, hopefully -- and I'd like to make the land
productive. I've been thinking of planting some fruit or nut trees on
it, or failing that some type of desirable-wood tree. Or other ideas?

Here's some trees I see in the mass-market catalog(s):

Hardy almond
Hardy walnut (no tomatoes too near)
Hardy pecan
American hazelnut
Chinese chestnut
Black walnut
Golden delicious apple
Red delicious apple
Bartlett pear
Stella cherry
Superior plum
Goldcot apricot
Reliance peach
Seedless pink reliance grape (vines)

Are any of these likely to do well (assuming well-planted and protected
from the deer)? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

-Brian

Hi Brian,

Can't speak much about the nut trees, but on the fruit trees I think you can
select more interesting varieties
of apples. Besides all the environmental concerns, you should decide what size
trees you want, dwarf, semi-dwarf,
or full standard size. The smaller trees are easier to maintain, but may
require some staking. The standard trees take
longer to bear fruit, but are more firmly rooted in the ground. You have to
pick the right rootstock, both for your
sizing and to best meet your climate conditions. Most of the varieties you
selected are good for zone 5. Apricot is
a bit fussy and the blossoms may suffer from early frosts. Stella cherry is
supposed to be self-fertile, but mine never
really gave abundant crops. You may want to consider a sour cherry like
Montmorency, which is a more reliable
producer. The Superior Plum is hardy to zone 4, should not be a problem for
you. Reliance Peach is also very
hardy and good for zones 5-8. Apples are generally not a problem for cold
hardiness. Bartlett Pear is hardy for
zones 5-7, but may require a pollinator unless you consider yourself in the arid
West.

Sherwin

On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:49:13 -0500, Brian
wrote:

TWIMC:

I'm new to this group, but not to tree-growing/gardening. However, I
have a challenging plot of lowland that I'd like to make productive. It is:

Near Kansas City, so hot/humid summers and cold/dry winters (middle of
Zone 5);

Can have lots of rain/snow/ice, and/or a couple months of drought with
watering restrictions in a year;

Is in a floodway, so 0 - 6 times a year it is a shallow, slow-moving river;

Has heavy, deep black soil, but is high in clay content and low in iron;

Is currently covered in tall fescue grass, has lots of insects, and
occasionally has deer and other wildlife.

I've got time -- 20+ years, hopefully -- and I'd like to make the land
productive. I've been thinking of planting some fruit or nut trees on
it, or failing that some type of desirable-wood tree. Or other ideas?

Here's some trees I see in the mass-market catalog(s):

Hardy almond
Hardy walnut (no tomatoes too near)
Hardy pecan
American hazelnut
Chinese chestnut
Black walnut
Golden delicious apple
Red delicious apple
Bartlett pear
Stella cherry
Superior plum
Goldcot apricot
Reliance peach
Seedless pink reliance grape (vines)

Are any of these likely to do well (assuming well-planted and protected
from the deer)? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

-Brian


Find the county extension office for the area. They will have good
advice on what kind and what variety grows well in your area.

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

In article ,
sherwindu wrote:

The Cook wrote:


Find the county extension office for the area. They will have good
advice on what kind and what variety grows well in your area.

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

--
Susan N.

Susan,

My guess would be that most county extension offices are not into fruit
trees.
That's odd, mine does.
http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/generalinfo.html
and this was only for home gardeners. Don't let Doo scare you off. First
check the web site given by Susan.
I would try
specialists at Universities, message forums like ours, and those of
several
fruit clubs throughout
the USA. My club Midfex at www.midfex.org has links to some of these
clubs,
like the
Northern Nut Growers Association.
--

Billy

Impeach Pelosi, Bush & Cheney to the Hague
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/

The Cook wrote:


Find the county extension office for the area. They will have good
advice on what kind and what variety grows well in your area.

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html

--
Susan N.

Susan,

My guess would be that most county extension offices are not into fruit
trees. I would try
specialists at Universities, message forums like ours, and those of several
fruit clubs throughout
the USA. My club Midfex at www.midfex.org has links to some of these clubs,
like the
Northern Nut Growers Association. Unless he is in some kind of mini-climate
zone with
special conditions, he should be good with any trees for zone 5. I have
purchased fruit trees
from California rated for zone 5 that have grown marvelously here in the
Chicago area.

Sherwin

sherwindu expounded:

My guess would be that most county extension offices are not into fruit
trees

You would be wrong. http://www.umass.edu/fruitadvisor/ That's just
one part of one state's extension website.
--
Ann
e-mail address is not checked

The Cook wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:49:13 -0500, Brian
wrote:

TWIMC:

I'm new to this group, but not to tree-growing/gardening. However, I
have a challenging plot of lowland that I'd like to make productive. It is:



Find the county extension office for the area. They will have good
advice on what kind and what variety grows well in your area.

Thanks to all for your comments. I'll likely contact my local extension
service soon.

-Brian

Brian wrote:

The Cook wrote:
On Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:49:13 -0500, Brian
wrote:

TWIMC:

I'm new to this group, but not to tree-growing/gardening. However, I
have a challenging plot of lowland that I'd like to make productive. It is:



Find the county extension office for the area. They will have good
advice on what kind and what variety grows well in your area.

Thanks to all for your comments. I'll likely contact my local extension
service soon.

-Brian

Hi again Brian,

I am going to backtrack a bit and say you might find some information on
University
Extension web sites. You won't get the full story there, but it may be a good
resource.
If you can find the right publications there and/or find a good fruit
specialist, you may get some
answers. My point still stands that an excellent source of information are
fruit growing
clubs. Some of the fruit extension people are geared for commercial growers,
which do not
always coincide with the small orchard people.

Here is a good site from a Wisconsin site, so if you find a similar one for
your area, I'm sure
it would be helpful:

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/A3565.PDF

I would also recommend getting a hold of a publication from the Seed Saver's
Exchange called
Fruit, Berry, and Nut Inventory. It lists many of the various fruits, berries,
and nuts in the USA.
It gives sources for buying the trees, bushes, vines, etc., and a description
of the climate zones
they are good for. It's a little out of date, so I am anxiously awaiting a new
edition.

In any case, let us know what results you find, good or bad.

Sherwin