Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Apple trees with fruit that matures in the summer are usually not the best cultivars for storing
through the winter. For winter storage and fresh fruit to snack on during the winter, you'll want
apples that mature in late fall.
Apples can bear fruit heavily, bending branches if not thinned when fruit is small.
(Photo courtesy of Jill Browne)
Cultivars to try:
Arkansas Black
has a tart flavor considered good for cider and has a firm flesh
that stores well.
Dorsett Golden
ripens early, has high yields, and only needs about 100 hours of
chill time.
Hardy Cumberland
was developed by the University of Tennessee and is a sweet apple
with good disease resistance.
Jonathan
is a classic heirloom from the mid-1800s that is a mid-season
apple with good storage properties and full, tangy apple flavor.
Pink Lady
or
Cripps Pink
requires
200 to 400 chill hours and is a late-season apple that stores well.
Winesap
is a dark red, late-season
apple that does well in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic areas.
Sweet Cherries (
Prunus avium
) and Sour Cherries (
Prunus cerasus
)
Cherries come in basically three forms: sweet cherries, sour cherries, and less commonly grown
bush cherries, which have several different varieties. Cherries are a great option for substituting
with other ornamental flowering trees, such as redbuds or forsythia, to transform your landscape
into an edible landscape. Sour cherries, and a few of the sweet cherry cultivars, are self-pollinating,
which makes it easier for backyard farmers with limited space to add fruit trees to their property.
