 |
| |
|
Fruits Our customers have repeatedly asked for fruits that will do well in Wyoming. We listened and in July 2010 we began reserving the 2011 crop from our growers. Many of the fruits listed are either containerized or are Bare Root. Keep in mind these bare root trees are not twigs like one would receive for ‘trees for trash’, but honest to goodness trees – many of which have a 1 inch caliper trunk and are up to 6’ tall! There is a significant savings by going bare root, but either way you will get a quality fruit tree! We will soon post bare root planting instructions as PDF Files and video.
Apples There are many varieties of apples that will do well in Wyoming. We are offering three varieties and a crabapple for your home orchard. Apples are not self-fertile so to get fruit, they require a companion tree to serve as a pollinator. You will also note that we offer both standard size trees and semi-dwarf trees. Some are naturally semi-dwarf, but as is often the case, apple varieties are grafted to semi-dwarf rootstock.
Haralson Apple (Malus ‘Haralson’)
This apple is a hybrid cross (‘Malinda’ x ‘Wealthy’) that was developed in 1923 from the University of Minnesota fruit breeding farm and named after the Superintendent, Charles Haralson. A natural semi-dwarf tree that produces medium sized red fruit. Hard, crisp and tart fruit makes it an excellent choice for eating out of hand or for baking. Often bears fruit the first year, then every other year. The fruit will maintain its quality till March! Pair with the McIntosh Apple.
McIntosh Apple (Malus ‘McIntosh’)
This McIntosh is a hybrid cross (‘Fameuse’ x ‘Detroit Red’) and was developed in 1870 in Ontario, Canada. This apple has a sprightly flavor with nearly solid bright red skin, great for eating out of hand or baking! Begins developing fruit 4 – 5 years after planting. Fruit tends to drop when ripe. Pair with the Haralson Apple.
Honeycrisp is a hybrid cross (‘Keepsake’ x unnamed seedling) developed at the University of Minnesota in 1991. This is a large red apple mottled over yellow that is exceptionally crisp and juicy; the flavor is sweet but well balanced. Outstanding for fresh eating and stores till March! Honeycrisp has become a favorite among home orchard enthusiasts. Pair with Indian Summer Crabapple.
This is a small crabapple, offering a very nice spring time bloom season with its rose red flowers that fade to lavender red, followed by bright red ¾” fruit. A tree with beauty, excellent disease resistance and serves as an outstanding pollinator for the Honeycrisp apple.
Pears Most pears require a companion tree as a pollinator. For a small orchard, at least half of the trees should be pollinators. If planting 5 or more trees, then the pollinator number can drop to 20%. The reason is that pears have small amounts of nectar and low sugar content in their blooms and bees are not as attracted to their flowers as with the other fruits. So to get the bees busy, we need to overload the number of pollinator trees.
Parker Pear (Pyrus ‘Parker’)
This pear is a semi-dwarf pear developed in 1934 at the University of Minnesota. This is an open-pollinating tree with its heritage stemming from the Manchurian pear. Expect large yellow-bronze fruit that is fine grained, tender and juicy! Pair with Summercrisp Pear.
Summercrisp Pear (Pyrus ‘Summercrisp’)
This pearwas released in 1985 from the University of Minnesota. A very hardy semi-dwarf pear tree with excellent disease resistance. The fruit is large and should be harvested mid to late August when crisp and still green with a red blush. The fruit can be stored up to 2 months. Pair with the Parker Pear.
Plums It is essential that plums have specific pollinator trees. The reason is that nearly all the plums are crosses between American and Japanese plums. While these crosses create hardy, delicious fruit, pairing them appropriately is of the utmost importance; otherwise it will create a nearly sterile tree.
Pipestone Plum (Prunus ‘Pipestone’)
This plum is a three way cross (‘Burbank’ x (P. salicina x ‘Wolf’)) that has created a very attractive red plum with a golden blush. Developed in 1942, the fruit is sweet, juicy with yellow flesh. An excellent choice for fresh use, jams and jellies. Very hardy. Pair with Toka Plum.
This beauty was introduced in 1911 by the South Dakota Experiment Station, and it is one of the best pollinators on the market. The fruit is medium sized, richly flavored with beautiful apricot color. Can you taste the plum preserves spread over fresh bread and butter? Yum! Pair with Pipestone Plum.
Apricots Although many apricots are self-fruitful, they produce better when there is another apricot to serve as a pollinator. The trees we selected have been grafted on to very hardy Manchurian apricot root stock.
Pioneer Chinese Apricot (Prunus armeniaca ‘Pioneer’)
Very adapted to our elevations. Golden yellow fruits have a reddish blush and are sweet, firm and juicy! Trees bear young and heavily. Called a “sweet pit apricot” as its pit is edible and tastes of almond! Pair with Scout Apricot.
Scout Apricot (Prunus ‘Scout’)
This apricot was developed by the Morden research station in Manitoba, Canada in 1937. This is the gold standard tree for pollination! The fruit is bronze gold, blushed with red. Great for canning, jams and jellies. Pair with Pioneer Chinese Apricot.
Peaches Often considered not winter hardy for Wyoming, the good news is we found a peach that has been grafted onto our Native American Plum rootstock that can tolerate our winters! Peaches are self-fruitful.
Contender Peach (Prunus x ‘Contender’)
This is a peach with bright yellow flesh that’s sweet, extra juicy and an absolute delight for fresh eating, canning, baking and freezing! Get your own Colorado west slope peaches from out your back door!
Cherries Wyoming’s climate cannot support sweet cherries but sour cherries do exceptionally well here. Our selections come as close to sweet cherry desirability as possible. Cherries are self-fruitful.
Mesabi Cherry (Prunus ‘Mesabi’)
This is a genetic dwarf tree that grow to 12’ ht. Long stemmed, red fleshed fruits with a sugar content halfway between pie cherries and ‘Bing’ cherries. Can be eaten out of hand but really great for pies and preserves.
This cherry is a hybrid cross (Sweet Cherry x Prunus tomentsa) that produces large, tart red fruit for pies or preserves. Fruit is firm and juicy. Vigorous and highly productive. Zone 5 in the literature, Zone 4 in our experience. Shape: Rounded
Currants These shrubs are prolific producers of fruit that are outstanding for making jams and jellies. There are several varieties that work well here; we chose one we think is the best. They are self-fruitful.
Red Lake Currant (Ribes ‘RedLake’) This was brought to the market in 1933 by the University of Minnesota. Clusters of bright red fruit bourne on 2 – 3 year old wood. Semi-erect and vigorous. Very productive.
Grapes Self-fruitful. Not all grapes can survive our winters but we chose two that can handle it. These grapes can be eaten out of hand but best used in jams or jellies.
Bluebell Grape (Vitus ‘Bluebell’) Think ‘Concord’ grape, only hardier for our state! Fruit is Blue-Black, berry size is medium to large with medium to large clusters.
This grape was developed by our neighbors in South Dakota. This grape does double duty; it can be used in trellising as well as fruit production. This is the hardiest vine on the market! The fruit is ½” diameter blue grape, attractive with well filled clusters. Consistently produces.
St. Theresa Seedless Grape Plant Select® 2008 Excellent flavor characterizes this purple slip-skin table grape from Elmer Swenson’s breeding trials in Wisconsin. Ripening in early September, fruit may contain a crunchy bit small enough to still allow the “seedless” designation. Tolerant of alkaline soil, the vine is vigorous enough for wonderful arbor coverage and for screens.
Raspberries Native to Wyoming, these improved varieties are right at home here. Raspberries are self-fruitful and can be readily eaten out of hand or made into pies, jams and jellies.
This is an autumn bearing raspberry and one of the best producers on the market. Berries are bright red, long and conical with firm flesh.
Heritage Raspberry (Rubus ‘Heritage’)
This one is an ever-bearing raspberry with the first crop coming due in July and the second crop in September. Expect medium sized red fruit with very good flavor and quality.
Size Cost 1 Gal $ 15.00
Rain Gauge Throughout this site, the following are used as guidelines for watering established plants:
|
Honeycrisp Apple
(Malus ‘Honeycrisp’)
Indian Summer Crabapple
(Malus ‘Indian Summer’)
Montmorency Cherry
(Prunus ‘Montmorency’)
Valiant Grape
(Vitus ‘Valient’)
Autumn Britten Raspberry
(Rubus ‘Autumn Britten’)
These plants need regular watering somewhat like a bluegrass lawn so that they never dry to depth in the root system during the active growing season and need occasional winter watering to prevent root dessication and resultant plant death.
These truly xeric plants can live with our 12 inches of natural precipitation and only need a winter watering during a multi-year drought but they will thrive with a monthly watering. Overwatering will kill some of these.
Wyoming Plant Company, LLC Copyright ©2011 Wyoming Plant Company. All rights reserved. |