What Are You going to Order for 2017?

Yeah here in Texas Harvester is known for being super reliable and is a decent peach for sure. Sam Houston is an old fashioned variety and even most current A&M extension agents will tell you there is much better stuff available now.

Drew

Since I lost my peach tree to borers I am going to need some dwarfing rootstocks for peaches and cherries, could I get some recommendations from the experts (that means all of you). Thanks

I haven’t found a peach rootstock I like. Natural peach RS like Lovel and Bailey get borers bad for me. Citation doesn’t get any borers, but they runt out and make very few peaches. The Krymsk (1?) I have grafted peach to haven’t grown much either. I don’t know if there are any non-peach (meaning less like borer-magnets) rootstocks with good peach compatibility and growth.

Who sells the citation rs"s?

Some of the Dave Wilson Nursery affiliates sell Citation: Bay Laurel and Sanhedrin for example.

Ison also sells peaches on Citation.

You can get peaches on Citation from DWN (Sanhedrin or Bay Laurel). I’m not sure if it is sold as a separate rootstock.

I may try Marianna or St Julian, both plums. I recently saw a paper that there were several plum varieties with decent peach compatibility. Looking at the Raintree description for Mariana 2624, it doesn’t mention peach, but another Raintree page says:

It is compatible as an understock for plums, peaches and some almonds and apricots.

http://www.raintreenursery.com/Rootstock_Plum.html

As for the paper I found, I don’t recall where I got it, but I did save a copy.

Peach_Rootstocks1389.full.pdf (143.9 KB)

Edit: Sorry to repeat you Matt- it took me a second to look for the paper and I didn’t refresh for comments before posting.

Edit #2: This topic prompted me to read a bit more and I decided to order 5 St Julian rootstocks from Raintree. I’ll have them sized up a bit for when my next peach(s) die. As a bonus, it looks like they are compatible with apricots as well, the other short-lived stone fruit. Maybe I can put both on the same rootstock, so that if the apricot spontaneously dies, at least there is a peach left…

I went with St Julian over Mariana 2624 as the paper seemed to indicate both partial incompatibility (level “D”) and abnormal growth for Mariana.

I was able to resist (barely) the urge to add Candy Heart pluery to my order.

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So I ordered 3 trees from Cummins Nursery Fall 2016, 1 Apple 2 Cherry Trees. Got an e-mail today saying that due to inventory error they do not have the two cherry trees. When I ordered they had 90 plus tree of each variety. I am friggin ticked, there is no way I will find trees on Gisela 6 rootstock this late in the season in the varieties I wanted. There was no offer to make it right (for there error) on a future order - no free shipping, no future discount. I in no way believe it was inventory error but it doesn’t matter - I won’t deal with them again. Buyer beware.

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I am sorry to hear that. IMHO, they definitely should have offered you something for their error and your inconvenience, like a guarantee on those trees for you for next year, or some kind of good-will discount.

It’s just good business. They key is they don’t even have to do A LOT, but they do need to do something that recognizes the error was theirs, the customer suffered inconvenience, and an attempt to make it right.

Not just a “Whoops! Sorry!”

Either they need to be retrained on good customer service practices or they’re so successful they can afford to do such things, because if you don’t come back, they have 10 people lined up to take your place.

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All Euro pears can take a long time to fruit if they are not on quince, 5-6 years may be a better average.

Wow I did not realize they took that long. Does it help at all if they were grafted to a mature rootstock? I grafted to a big callery that had fruited for years and the grafts took off like a rocket, 7’ or more of growth in one season. I was hoping they would fruit soon given the amount of energy in the roots.

Sorry to hear that too. What cherry did you order? I placed an order of 3 apple trees from them last week. All 3 varieties had a low number in stock at the time, so I hope they don’t send me a similar email.

Last year I ordered 11 apple, and 2 peach trees, and got my all the trees on time, even tho I made the order in mid March. I will say that they take their time replying to emails, and others on here have had similar issues with them in that regard.

I agree with @VSOP, they should at least give you some credit off a future order, or something, because you’re the one who was inconvenienced, especially considering you placed your order last fall.

Today, I finally pulled the trigger on a late order with Raintree:

-Seckel pear on OHxF.87
-Reka blueberry
-Golden Transparent Gage plum on St. Julian
-Jersey beach plum on St. Julian
-Superior plum on St. Julian

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Matt,.
Nice ordered. Are you planting all these trees on your mountain property?

Tony

Yes. Do you have any concerns?

Just wondering if you are going to grow some of them in pots.

Tony

No. All will be planted - on mounds but - in the ground. No pots.

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Matt, do you ever have trouble with making sure everything is getting enough water at your mountain property or is that not a concern? Just curious.

Droughty spells have been a problem, and I am pretty sure they’ve stunted or delayed the establishment of some late-season transplants, but I don’t think I’ve ever lost a tree because of it, at least to my knowledge.

One year, I planted several items in late spring, and then it got hot and dry right afterward. I was especially sweating that planting. I even humped down to the nearest river twice that summer, filled up some old gallon jugs, and trickled the water at the base of the trees to keep them alive.

Sometime in late June of that year, we finally got a soaking rain, and all the trees stabilized or perked up.

To be quite honest, I am amazed at the abuse these trees can handle, especially apples and pears.

Some of my specimens do suffer from a lack of vigor, but most plants and trees are puttering along alright.

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I added an Illinois everbearing mulberry to my order from Stark Bro’s on ClarkinKansas’ recommendation of what a great protector tree they are for other fruit

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I ordered - BurgundyPearl Gisela 6, Cherry and Ebony Pearl Cherry- 1-year Bare-root Gisela 6. I got an explanation from Steve Cummins yesterday explaining that they had crop failure and had a commitment from another nursery to source the trees. The other nursery backed out of there commitment thus no trees. I am still without trees but will accept there explanation and move on.

Mulberries are great target fruit for animals and bird’s but keep in mind if you eat the mulberries they will go after your other fruit. Illinois everbearing does not always produce a lot of fruit in my understanding but the quality is very good. I grow 30 + Mulberry trees. Mulberries save my cherry and juneberry crop which is very attractive to bird’s. The bird’s do eat some cherries but mulberries produce first and they are eating them as food by the time cherries ripen so they are still focused on mulberries. My BlackBerry crop is the same way as the cherries which is occassionally nibbled on but secondary to mulberries.

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