cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21789538
Not necessarily your favourite fruit to eat, but what is/are your favourite fruit tree(s) to grow based on survival rate, fruit yield, ease of maintenance, ease of harvest, grass-killing prowess, and any other combination of factors? What is/are your least favourite? If you have photos or diagrams to illustrate your point, even better!
(If you provide your region and/or Köppen-Geiger or Trewartha climate zone, it will help others to know what to plant or what to avoid!)
I’m going to stretch the definition of tree and answer with blueberry bushes. I have planted all sort of fruit trees, but in my climate it’s difficult to get high quality fruit without using pesticides. Pest pressure is significant. The blueberries on the other hand require little maintenance and they thrive even in depleted soils. I also like that the berries ripen over the span of a few weeks, so it’s not as much of a rush to pick and process everything all at once. I’m in zone 7b/8a, but there are a variety of cultivars that do well from USDA zones 3-9.
I don’t grow blueberries, but I’ve seen videos of high-bush cultivars in the UK, and they certainly looked prolific and easy to manage. From what I’ve heard/read, I imagine that they would do well in poor, acidic, sandy soil like in pine forests. Is that the kind of soil that you have?
The soil type you describe is what is usually recommended. I have a lot of clay in my soil so I planted my bushes on a slope that is too steep to mow. That seems to provide enough drainage. They did have a brief fungal infection on their second year, I treated with sulfur powder and haven’t had any problems in subsequent years. A cheap pH meter says my soil is around 5, but I don’t put a lot of confidence in its measurements.
The flowers are also beautiful and have a pleasant aroma.
