Cutting down trees

[Worth1]

Okay as promised I said I would plant trees where the trees were or close to them.

I have been doing a ton of research and have almost decided on what I want to do.
At the local HEB store yesterday I saw something I didn't expect to see.
That was apple trees.
They had two different kinds.
They had Fuji and Gayla apple trees.
Both of these trees as it said on the label have a 550 chill hour requirement.
I live well within those requirements.
I have been looking at the Stark Brothers web site and they recommend Gayla and Fuji to be grown with each other and they say they are good for my area.
Both are sweet apples I like sweet apples.
These trees look nice they are in big containers and are $25 a piece.
Could I possibly be able to grow apples here?
I will dig around and make sure there isn't any root choking going on before I buy.
The trees are about 7 to 8 feet tall or so.
What do you guys think?

Worth

Go for it- nuthin ventured, nuthin gained! BTW, it is Gala- no y in the name. They are both delicious- here in WA of course they grow everywhere! be faithful with preemptive spraying- I think they need dormant oil before the buds open up.

[MendozaMark]

Gala and Fuji are good partners for cross pollination.


http://www.orangepippintrees.com/pol...onchecker.aspx

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

Go for it- nuthin ventured, nuthin gained! BTW, it is Gala- no y in the name. They are both delicious- here in WA of course they grow everywhere! be faithful with preemptive spraying- I think they need dormant oil before the buds open up.

I'm sure it is just my misspelling of the name.
As for spraying I was raised up planting and growing fruit trees including apples.
Not just a few but a pile of fruit and nut trees.
We did this in two states neither one being in Texas.
The state experimental apple station for MO was about 6 miles from our farm.
Just like anything else they will only give back what you put into them.
My father and family was known throughout the land in both states for having the most beautiful and productive cattle, livestock, orchards and gardens.
Many times parents would bring their kids out to look at it and pet the cows.
Worth

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by MendozaMark

Gala and Fuji are good partners for cross pollination.


http://www.orangepippintrees.com/pol...onchecker.aspx

I looked on the Texas A&M web site some time ago and there was no mention of either one of these.
They are antiquated to say the very least.
Both apples they suggested were sour.

Worth

[MendozaMark]

Originally Posted by Worth1

I looked on the Texas A&M web site some time ago and there was no mention of either one of these.
They are antiquated to say the very least.
Both apples they suggested were sour.

Worth

A quick google search "growing apples in Austin" came up with this...

Drew Demler’s Fruit Tree List

Here is a list of the best fruit tree varieties to grow in the greater Austin area. It is not at all meant to be an all-inclusive list. It is just a list of some old favorites known to do well here, and a few other new ones that are soon to become classics. Plant away and have some fun!

Apples:

Gala
Fuji
Mollies Delicious
Yellow Delicious strains (July Gold is really good)
Granny Smith best reserved for the north end of our area, and best to grow the spur mutation to avoid problems with sunburn on the fruit.
Look for rootstocks M9 or M7 for compact apple trees. Apple trees must be cross pollinated with another variety.

Peaches:

Junegold
Red Baron good for flowers and fruit
Redskin
Loring maybe best for the north end of our area
Early Elberta better for our area than the standard Elberta
Feicheng Tao white-fleshed newcomer with knockout flavor
Donut flat peaches with white flesh are wonderful and so much fun to grow
There are many other varieties of peach that will grow here.

Pears:

Fan-Stil discovered in Mexico and further developed in San Antonio; this pear has a classic shape and great taste
Monterrey another pear from Mexico; has a shape of an apple and a tangy pear flavor; very good
Orient very reliable producer of huge pears; they usually have a strong fragrance when ripe and a very distinct flavor
Please avoid:

Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, or Comice. They won’t work well here.
Asian Pears:

Hosui brown skin and awesome flavor when fully ripened
20th century yellow skin and good quality
Ya Li large sweet pears beautiful flowers and fall foliage as well
NOTE: Asian pears are firmer than regular pears and ripen fully on the tree, whereas regular pears are usually picked green and should be set for a few days to ripen to a softer texture.

Citrus

Satsuma orange (several varieties)

Plums:

Methley red skin and flesh; easy to grow and good quality
Santa Rosa short-lived but a great plum
Other varieties work here, but most think these two are the best.

Apricots:

Blenheim great quality and appears to be the best choice
Chinese edible pit on this apricot that can produce here
All in all, apricots can be tricky trees and are not known to be very reliable producers, but some have had success in the area and the trees are beautiful.

Figs

Alma
Black Jack
Brown Turkey

http://www.klru.org/ctg/resource/dre...uit-tree-list/

[AlittleSalt]

I know they sell apple trees here in the DFW/Waco area. We saw some for sale the other day while buying more onion sets. However, I don't remember ever seeing a producing apple tree around here. Lots of pear, peach, and plum trees do real well in this area though.

[bower]

You can't go wrong with Gala and Fuji IMO, they are excellent apples!
Worth as I recall cherries are more sensitive to drainage issues than apples, looks like you will have no drainage issues anyway because your property is nicely hilly with good drainage features.

There may be issues with deer eating them. Varmints have been the big issue for me and pretty much crushed my efforts to grow apples and hazelnuts.
There is an "elks blood" product for spraying on the trees, supposedly deters animals like moose and deer from eating the trees. Maybe you should shoot a few, when you catch them closing in on a meal, the others might stay away.
I've personally given a few hours of my life to dream of happily tasting the animals that were fed upon apple and hazel boughs or buds. Could be tasty.
And you wonder why they pictured the roasts with an apple in its mouth....

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I know they sell apple trees here in the DFW/Waco area. We saw some for sale the other day while buying more onion sets. However, I don't remember ever seeing a producing apple tree around here. Lots of pear, peach, and plum trees do real well in this area though.

Salt I dont know what the deal is.
I do know one thing there have been some great varieties now that there didn't used to be.
As for a peach I am still looking for the doughnut peach or any white fleshed peach.

Originally Posted by bower

You can't go wrong with Gala and Fuji IMO, they are excellent apples!
Worth as I recall cherries are more sensitive to drainage issues than apples, looks like you will have no drainage issues anyway because your property is nicely hilly with good drainage features.

There may be issues with deer eating them. Varmints have been the big issue for me and pretty much crushed my efforts to grow apples and hazelnuts.
There is an "elks blood" product for spraying on the trees, supposedly deters animals like moose and deer from eating the trees. Maybe you should shoot a few, when you catch them closing in on a meal, the others might stay away.
I've personally given a few hours of my life to dream of happily tasting the animals that were fed upon apple and hazel boughs or buds. Could be tasty.
And you wonder why they pictured the roasts with an apple in its mouth....

My neighbor lady has that stupid deer feeder out and she is mad because the neighbors dog runs them off.
She is going to be even more ticked off when I put a load of bird shot in one of them for eating my tomatoes.
Since I put out the automatic watering bird baths I haven had a problem but the opossum really liked the San Marzano for some reason.
Maybe it is an Italian opossum.

Worth

[barefootgardener]

Not trying to make you feel bad cause I know it was not easy for you to cut them down, but, while others may see weed trees, I see a naturalized backyard habitat for a variety of wildlife. It is beautiful too me..

The cedar elms have wildlife value. The seeds from the elm are food for wild turkeys, pheasants, quail, song birds and deer ect.. dead elms provide nesting habitats for cavity dwelling birds.

I like that you left some of the trees. I hope you dont cut them all down. I think you made a good choice to plant some fruit and nut trees in that area now. I think your beautiful backyard will be enhanced by the new additions and you will enjoy it. I can picture a edible forest garden... fruits, nuts, mushrooms, herbs, perennial vegetables and native fruit bushes etc.. It would evolve into a wonderful eco-system.

Ginny

[dustdevil]

Tree roots can help hold soil in place, so it doesn't washout downhill in torrential rains.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by barefootgardener

Not trying to make you feel bad cause I know it was not easy for you to cut them down, but, while others may see weed trees, I see a naturalized backyard habitat for a variety of wildlife. It is beautiful too me..

The cedar elms have wildlife value. The seeds from the elm are food for wild turkeys, pheasants, quail, song birds and deer ect.. dead elms provide nesting habitats for cavity dwelling birds.

I like that you left some of the trees. I hope you dont cut them all down. I think you made a good choice to plant some fruit and nut trees in that area now. I think your beautiful backyard will be enhanced by the new additions and you will enjoy it. I can picture a edible forest garden... fruits, nuts, mushrooms, herbs, perennial vegetables and native fruit bushes etc.. It would evolve into a wonderful eco-system.

Ginny

Ginny no problem I have a ton of trees and am surrounded by them.
Only one or two more to go.
The reason I cut some was for a bit of sunshine in that one spot and to let the other trees I left fill out.

Look at it as an over crowed garden with nothing growing to its full potential all competing for the sun.
You dont see it in the pictures but just behind that are animal nest in the trees.
Away from it is a big hawk or eagles nest.

Farther out there are china berry trees I am letting take over.
There is also a Big Crape Myrtle you dont see that should get some benefit now.
I plan on letting the back to some extent go back to forest but one that the critters can get something from.
Not a fire hazard dog hair thicket.

The people that lived here before me took a bulldozer and pushed everything down so they could have horses.
These horses caused a lot of damage to the environment.
Yes too many bored horses can do a lot of damage to property.
You should see pictures of this place in the front when I bought it.
It was a barren waste land of weed trees and they parked in the yard.
I cut down about 20 weed trees and it is still a forest.
Now it is a wildlife habitat with something in bloom almost all year long.
As I write this the rosemary is in bloom covered in bees.
I was told nothing would grow here.

Worth