Peaches and pears ! I've started clearing a place for HerOrchardness , and I'm not sure which ones need 2 trees to pollinate . Apples I'm sure of , but the rest not so much . Additionally , our across-the-little-dirt-road neighbor and his wife are planning on planting some fruit trees too . And we'll have bees this year , AFAIK the first hive here in The Holler .
If it helps, I have a sour cherry (Morello) that is self pollinating. If you prefer Sweet Cherry "Sunburst" is also self pollinating.
Jamie
Thanks ! I'll be doing some research , see what others in this area have had good results with . My neighbor at the end of the road says that nothing will grow well here ... in his experience . But then I have no idea what he was trying to grow , the light/water/etc conditions and all that . I do know that pears do well in this area , but I'm not sure what variety . I've also been told that some have had good results with the other 3 fruits named , but the guy I was talking to didn't know specifics . I do know for sure I want the orchard area to have good full sun for at least 6-8 hours daily . That's OK , those trees I must cut down will be great fire wood next winter - unless I burn it all before spring gets here !
Varieties vary - do research on the ones you want. For Apples, if you have space, a crab is the traditional "good pollinator for everybody" and also makes jelly if you like. If space is concern you can play games with grafting to get more varieties.
"Tart" or pie cherries are less fussy than sweet cherries - sweet cherries have a few self pollinators and a lot of "this will pollinate that, but these two won't pollinate each other" most of which are documented at any decent nursery selling them, at least for the ones they sell.
It isn't all or none. Some fruit trees fruit much better with a co-pollinator others not so much. Also just because A pollinates B doesn't mean that B pollinates A. Do your research on the particular cultivars you are proposing to plant before making your decision. Remember to consider other requirments such as chilling. It's sad that you need to have a hive to get bees.
I've seen a very few bees down here , but there are other pollinators . We've wanted bees for quite a while , but the time wasn't right until now - getting a new hive up and self-sustaining requires a bit of attention to be successful . There are other benefits than pollination , however . We love honey , and it's one more step towards self-sustainability . On the pollination scheme , I'll be doing research for our area , and consulting with the neighbor's wife since she's the driving force on their project .
Terry Coombs wrote: ...
i'll second the "research" approach to each variety for pollination purposes. there can be a lot of differences in cherries (seven groups which are not compatible between each other). some people will graft a branch on the tree from a compatible variety for pollinating if they are tight on space.
songbird
I talked to the neighbor girl yesterday and she basically hasn't a clue other than generalities . We'll be putting in trees that will not need anyone else's trees for pollination . One of the local grocery stores has a very nice nursery out back and some very knowledgeable people , so I'll be consulting them . As far as room , we've got 12 (heavily wooded) acres , I've got a pretty nice clearing for the orchard almost done . If we need more room , I'll just cut another tree or 3 down . A fun and interesting thing , there are a LOT of muscadine vines in the area I've been cutting .
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