Home Gardening: Expert Recommendations for Cultivating Nine Varieties of Heritage Fruit Trees
Your yard becomes a delightful haven with home-grown fruit trees, serving up sumptuous produce while enhancing your property's aesthetics. These trees also turn into a welcoming habitat for local fauna, attracting critters such as birds and beneficial insects that bolster the local ecosystem.
Heirloom varieties hold historical significance as they've been passed down through generations by seed-saving enthusiasts. These varieties are open-pollinated and typically over 50 years old, derived before modern plant-variety patenting. Growing heirlooms offers delicious flavors, adaptability to local climates, increased genetic diversity, and the ability to preserve seeds for future generations.
Here's a taste of heirloom varieties that promise to elevate your garden and tantalize your taste buds, courtesy of fruit tree experts:
- Emily Skrobis (database coordinator for Fedco Seeds and former manager of a heritage apple CSA)
- Jen Ries (trees coordinator for Fedco Seeds)
01 of 09
Black Oxford
This captivating purple apple, resembling a plum, is on the rise among home gardeners, says Emily Skrobis. This jewel-toned fruit boasts a balanced flavor perfect for pies and cider. The tree even bears delicate pink blossoms. The fruit is best enjoyed from late December to March.
- Growth Zone: 4 to 10
- Height: 12 to 16 feet
- Care Requirements: Sun; well-draining, fertile, organic-rich soil
Heirloom apples require a second variety for pollination. Nearby apple or crabapple trees with blooms will likely suffice.
02 of 09
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry
One of the most popular mulberry varieties, Illinois Everbearing features large oval leaves, gray-brown bark, and sweet purple-black fruit. Birds adore this tree, according to Jen Ries. The fruit is delightful fresh or in sauces, pies, and smoothies, ripening from mid-July through late summer. This self-fruitful grafted cultivar only needs one plant for fruit production.
- Growth Zone: 4 to 8
- Height: 15 to 35 feet
- Care Requirements: Sun; well-draining, fertile, organic-rich soil
03 of 09
Dolgo Crabapple
This beloved heirloom apple variety features light orange-pink buds and large, fragrant white flowers. The fruit, purple-red teardrop-shaped fruit, results in ruby-red jelly that is popular with modern cider makers, thanks to its sweet-acidic flavor. Reis confirms that this White-blossomed apple remains a top seller due to its enchanting visual appeal. Ideal for canning, pickling, and making sauces and jellies.
- Growth Zone: 3 to 9
- Height: 15 to 20 feet
- Care Requirements: Sun; well-draining, fertile, organic-rich soil
When planning heirloom apple gardens, here's a rough guideline for spacing:
- Standard & Semi-standard apples: 20 to 25 feet apart
- Semi-dwarf apples: 10 to 20 feet apart
- Dwarf apples: 5 to 10 feet apart
(for heirloom varieties, Apple and Pear Trees for Organic Gardening. Fedco Trees, Dec 2017, fedcoseeds.com)
- Martha Stewart often recommends the Dolgo Crabapple for its enchanting visual appeal and versatile uses in jellies and ciders, making it a top-selling heirloom apple variety.
- To successfully store fruit from your heirloom Garden, consider adapting your techniques to specific zones like d7489f40632a6edf035c1651ef5edcad, ensuring optimal flavor and freshness.
- The Illinois Everbearing Mulberry, a favorite among avian visitors and gardeners alike, is a self-fruitful tree that thrives in zones 4 to 8, offering sweet purple-black fruit throughout the summer for fresh consumption or use in various recipes.
