Articles in Category: Edible

Fruiting Shrubs for the Home Garden - Part 1

on Saturday, 07 January 2023. Posted in Edible, Shrubs

Cane Fruits: Blackberries and Raspberries

Are you hoping to add a bit more variety into your edible landscape this year? Consider adding some fruiting shrubs into the mix! This week, we’ll look at a few types of cane fruits (blackberries and raspberries) that make a great addition to the home garden.

Cane fruits all have similar cultural requirements. They do best in well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter, and prefer a minimum of 6 hours of sun a day (full sun is better). With the exception of Babycakes Blackberry and Raspberry Shortcake, most types of berries grow tall enough to need some sort of trellising system to keep the canes (and fruit) off the ground. All types will benefit from seasonal pruning to maximize productivity.

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BLACKBERRIES

Natchez: One of the first producers of the season. A vigorous, semi-erect, thornless plant, with consistent yields of large, elongated, flavorful berries. Requires trellis support, especially when fruiting. Pinch out growing tips to control vigor. Ripens Early June. 4-5’ tall.

Triple Crown: A trifecta of flavor, productivity, and vigor, Triple Crown blackberry may outrun any competition as it gets better known. Plants are semi-erect and thornless and do well on trellises. Ripens mid-July to mid-August. Vigorous vines can grow 12-15’ in a season.

Chester: Thornless with semi-trailing habit and large, very sweet, flavorful fruit, even when firm. Begins to ripen just at Triple Crown finishes. Chester is the most winter-hardy thornless blackberry and is very resistant to cane blight. Provide support for the vines. Ripens mid-late summer. 5-10’ tall.

Black Satin: This thornless, heat-tolerant blackberry is a prolific producer of deliciously sweet and juicy, deep blue-black berries. Small, soft pink flowers appear on second-year semi-erect canes in spring, yielding a reliable crop of large blackberries in midsummer. 5-6' tall. Requires support.

Baby Cakes (pictured right): A dwarf, thornless blackberry with a compact habit that is perfect for small spaces and patio containers. In summer, large, classic, and sweet-tasting berries ripen in a series of colorful sprays of fruit, sometimes twice in one season! 3-4' tall x wide.

raspberryCollage RASPBERRY

Fall Gold Raspberry: Very large golden berries of excellent flavor. The berries are too delicate to ship, so you’ll mostly only find them at local grower's markets. Wonderful for eating fresh, highly recommended as a fresh topping for vanilla ice cream! They are especially cold hardy and vigorous variety that is perhaps the tenderest and sweetest raspberry around. A primocane berry that ripens in fall. 4' tall x 3' wide.

Anne: An everbearing raspberry with the largest and best tasting berries of all the golden yellow raspberries. A moderate to high producer in this area, but bears very sweet, tropical tasting, quarter-sized fruit from summer into late fall - the same time as ‘Heritage’. Requires good drainage and benefits from a trellis. 4-5’ tall.

Caroline: Late summer to fall fruiting. High-yielding plant that produces an abundance of large and delicious berries. Bears on new wood (primocane), and benefits from a bit of afternoon shade. Great in preserves, or for eating fresh off the plant! 3-4' tall and wide.

Heritage: An everbearing red raspberry that is considered the #1 fall variety nationwide. Large berries are firm and of excellent quality. It produces a smaller July crop with heavier production in Early September - the same time as the golden yellow ‘Anne’ raspberry. Good vigor and hardy canes that do not need staking or trellising. Rapidly growing to 5-8' tall.

Raspberry Shortcake (pictured left): A dwarf,thornless, bush-type berry perfect for the patio garden! Raspberry Shortcake gets about 2’-3’ tall and wide and bears abundant crops of delicious, full-sized fruit.

Royalty Purple Raspberry: An everbearing purple raspberry that is disease resistant and late ripening. It doesn't spread by runners and does have thorny stems. A cross of a purple raspberry and red raspberry that is very productive.

To learn more about the different varieties of fruiting trees and shrubs available here at Shooting Star Nursery, be sure to take a look at the Fruiting Trees and Plants list from our website!

Exciting Stone Fruit Hybrids

on Monday, 14 February 2022. Posted in Edible, Trees

Pluerrys, Pluots, and Nectaplums – Oh My!

Pluerrys, Pluots, and NectaPlums combine the flavors of your favorite stone fruits in new and exciting ways. These hybrid stone fruits have been growing in popularity over the past few years, probably because they are so darned tasty! In fact, all of the varieties carried by Shooting Star are frequent taste-test winners.

In general terms: NectaPlums are nectarine-peach-plum hybrids, Pluerrys are plum-cherry hybrids, pluots are apricot-plum hybrids – just imagine the flavor possibilities! Note: hybrids are the result of cross-pollinating two different varieties of a plant, producing an offspring - or hybrid - that contains some of the traits of each of the parents. Hybrids are the result of a natural process - not to be confused with GMO's!

Spice Zee NectaPlum is the only self-fruitful one of the bunch; the others require a pollinizer in order to set fruit – generally another pluot or a Japanese plum (Santa Rosa, sometimes Burgundy).

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean taking up more space in your yard with a second tree. Many backyard orchardists are now planting multiple fruit trees – sometimes up to four - in a single hole – which means you could plant a Pluerry, a few Pluots, and a Plum in the same space that one tree would take. In addition to saving space, planting multiple trees in a single hole tends to have a dwarfing effect on all the trees – making them easier to harvest. For more information on this technique, check out Dave Wilson Nursery’s Backyard Orchard Culture article here. Here are some of the varieties Shooting Star currently has available in bareroot.

Spice Zee NectaPlum: A white-fleshed, nectarine-peach-plum hybrid. Skin is dark maroon at fruit set, and turns pale pink when ripe. Fully ripe, this fruit is unparalleled in flavor and both nectarine and plum traits are easily detectable. Tremendous purplish pink bloom in the spring, followed by a flourish of red leaves which mature into lush green in mid to late summer. Self-fruitful. Very productive.

Flavor Punch Pluerry: Small to medium (golf ball size) fruit with orange-red exterior and bright orange interior. Firm texture with unique sweet tropical punch flavor. Late season harvest, September into October. Requires another Pluerry, Plum or Pluot as pollinizer.

Sweet Treat Pluerry: This taste-test favorite is a complex interspecific hybrid, predominantly of plum and cherry, combining the sweetness of a cherry with that summer fresh plum zing. Much larger than a cherry, this precocious and prolific variety will hang on the tree for over a month, and the colorful fruit make Sweet Treat a true ornamental. Pollinizer required: Burgundy or Santa Rosa plum, or Flavor King Pluot.

Flavor Queen Pluot: Exquisite plum/apricot hybrid with candy-like sweet, wonderfully pleasing flavor. Greenish-yellow skin, amber-orange flesh. Prolonged harvest in mid to late summer. Pollinized by Flavor Supreme Pluot or by a Japanese plum (Burgundy or Santa Rosa).

Flavor Grenade Pluot: Elongated green fruit with red blush. Crisp texture, explosive flavor. Hangs on the tree for 4-6 weeks. Late summer to early fall harvest. Pollinized by Flavor King Pluot or Santa Rosa plum.

Flavor King Pluot: Unique plum-apricot hybrid with sensational bouquet and sweet, spicy flavor. Reddish-purple skin, crimson flesh. Harvest mid to late summer. Naturally small tree. Pollinized by Flavor Supreme Pluot or Santa Rosa plum.

Geo Pride Pluot: Red-skinned, yellow flesh plum-apricot hybrid. Balanced acid and sugar to predominantly sweet with unique plum-apricot flavor. Medium-sized, very heavy production. Harvest early summer, just ahead of Flavor Queen Pluot. Pollinized by Flavor Supreme Pluot, Santa Rosa plum. Good pollinizer for other plum and Pluot varieties.

Blackberry 'Triple Crown'

on Sunday, 06 February 2022. Posted in Berries Attract Wildlife, Attracts Pollinators, Edible, Perennial

'Triple Crown' Blackberry

Blackberries2 'Triple Crown' Thornless Blackberry will surprise you with its vigor, the size of its berries, and the length of its harvest season.

Blackberries are one of the easier berries to grow if you are just starting out in the edible world, they aren't as picky about soil type as blueberries and raspberries, and don't need to be refreshed as often as strawberries. They thrive in the heat and can tolerate clay soils better than other edible perennial shrubs.

The main thing blackberries require is a sturdy trellis or structure to be trained against. Most blackberries will spread to at least 5-6' wide and 4-6' tall depending on how you train them. They prefer well-drained, and we mulch well with straw to keep moisture in. Make mounds or grow them on a berm if your drainage is not ideal.

'Triple Crown' is a thornless variety so it is easier to train and harvest. The berries are at least thumb sized and ripen over at least 6 weeks in mid to late summer. Be sure to attract pollinators to your garden with other blooming perennials and shrubs so that the bees will find your blackberry flowers. Bareroot plants are typically available in Feb-March, and that is the best time to get them in the ground and established before summer heat. A weekly deep soak is usually enough to keep these berries happy. Here is a post on how to prune them in the late winter.

See our Fruiting Plant list for other varieties we carry.

Fruiting Shrubs for the Home Garden - Part 2

on Sunday, 06 February 2022. Posted in Edible, Shrubs

Currants and Gooseberries

Currants and Gooseberries may be less familiar to Rogue Valley gardeners than other kinds of fruiting shrubs, but they’re great additions to your edible landscape – especially if you like to cook! They’re delicious in jams, jellies, and liqueurs, and are also really tasty when included in baked goods like scones and muffins. White currants are the sweetest of this group, followed by black currants; the others are more tart. All are high in Vitamin C, and the red and black varieties are also high in antioxidants and anthocyanins.

Shooting Star currently carries the following varieties in bareroot:

Cherry Red Currant: Cherry Red bears heavy crops of beautiful, juicy, flavorful red berries. Great for fresh eating, or in tasty jams and jellies. Slightly tart, rich flavor. 3’-4’ tall by 4’-6’ wide.

Primus White Currant: Primus is one of the sweetest types of currants. They also bear heavily: one bush can yield 20 pounds of fruit from its long berry clusters. 3’-4’ tall by 4’-6’ wide.

Crandall Black Currant: Wonderful clove-scented yellow flowers in the spring, followed by blue-black fruit in the summer. Crandall has a rich dark flavor, and is sweetest of all black currants. Primarily used in juice, jam, jelly, pies, and liqueurs. 3’-7’ tall by 3’-5’ wide.

‘Captivator’ Gooseberry: Very sweet, 1 inch, teardrop-shaped, red berries in large clusters that can be used in jellies, jams and juice on semi-thornless canes. Can be used fresh or in jam, pies, and desserts. 3’ to 5’ tall and wide.

All currants and gooseberries are upright woody shrubs, and can take a bit of afternoon shade. They prefer well-drained soil, rich in organic material; and will bear on year-old wood. You’ll get a light crop the year you plant them, and they really hit their stride after two or three years.

To learn more about the different varieties of fruiting trees and shrubs avaliable here at Shooting Star Nursery, be sure to take a look at this list of Fruiting Trees and Plants from our website!

Dwarf Fruit Trees for Small Spaces

on Sunday, 16 January 2022. Posted in Edible, Trees

There are few pleasures that compare to picking a sun-warmed homegrown peach, biting into it, and letting the sweet rich juice trickle down your chin. Sadly, that’s an experience that those of us with small yards don’t get to indulge in: full-sized fruit trees just take up too much space!

And that’s where dwarf and miniature fruit trees come in. These tiny trees are a great option for space-challenged gardeners who dream of having their own fruit orchard. In fact, many dwarf fruit trees – especially peaches and nectarines – can be grown in large barrels. Best of all, although dwarf fruit trees are small in stature – their fruit (and flavor) are both full-sized. Here are a few of the dwarf fruit trees Shooting Star currently has available in bareroot:

Garden Delicious Dwarf Apple: Self-fertile, 8’ – 10’ tall (smaller with pruning). This mid/late season apple has a superb flavor – sweet and crisp – and is a good keeper.

North Star Dwarf Cherry: Sour cherry, self-fertile, 8’ – 10’ tall (smaller with pruning). Very productive, with large red fruits; great for pies and cobblers. North Star will often begin to bear in its second year.

Necta Zee Miniature Nectarine: Self-fertile. A sweet, yellow-fleshed freestone. Heavy bearing and a frequent taste test winner - often referred to as ‘exquisitely flavored’.

Garden Gold Miniature Peach: Self-fertile and late blooming, so a good choice for colder areas. Garden Gold is a freestone peach with a great flavor, and ripens mid/late season.

Pix Zee Miniature Peach: Self-fertile, yellow-fleshed freestone. Pix Zee is vigorous to about 6’ tall (smaller with pruning), and bears large, delicious, firm-fleshed fruit.

Dwarf fruit trees have the same general requirements as full-sized fruit trees: well-drained soil, and a minimum of 6 hours sun a day during the growing season. If you opt to grow yours in a large container, you’ll need to make sure to keep them watered regularly – especially during summer months.

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