FAB,

Jujubes leafed out real late and avoid late frost.

Tony

Almost nothing blooms and leafs late enough here to avoid the spring freezes. Last year I had a Honey Jar jujube with about 18 inches growth killed to the roots by 24F May 3. Also damaged persimmon, grapes, stone and pome fruits, mulberry, pecan, figs, and anything else I had.

The only thing might be the late blackberries, Texas erect kind.

Look at Haskaps and Romance series dwarf sour cherries (but at 22 brix not sure you can call them sour) from:
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/haskap.html
http://www.fruit.usask.ca/dwarfsourcherries.html

Growing in zone 2 in Canada so should be able to handle your late frosts.

I think only the Carmine Jewel and Crimson Passion cherry is available in the USA for now but the others will be coming. Sweet, hardy, heavy bearing and only 6-7 feet tall.

Here in Wisconsin, blueberries are resistant to late frost, even after bloom, however, we grow northern highbush varieties, and I don't think these cultivars would do so well in New Mexico.

fruitnut, I feel your pain, 20 degrees here a few minutes ago... Things are slower here, so stone fruit is the usual victim, pomes less often, and some of the real late/hardy things always produce a crop...

A short list of those latter things for here would include:
- jujube
- persimmon
- mulberry (esp. black)
- trebizond date
- sand cherry
- chokecherry
- serviceberry
- golden currant
- pomegranate (but leafs out early and marginally winter hardy)

Was kind of hoping there were some I've overlooked up until now!

The only thing here that seems to have resisted the freeze are my Goji berries.

My mulberries are loaded with fruit right now. We are expecting a frost to night that will knock all the leaves and fruit off for another year. Same thing happened last year. Have not had berries for 3 years and I love mulberries. I just love fresh fruit that I can say that I grew. If any one can control the weather I sure wish they would start.

Fab,

You can include paw paw. My paw paw also leafed late.

Tony

I guess I'm seeing one of the few times when I should appreciate living in a colder winter climate! Yes, even mulberries can be frozen out here, but my 'black beauty' for example flowers 2 to 3 weeks after our average last frost date.

john: have you ever had mulberries from a second flush of growth? This has happened to me, but it was in August after a hailstorm knocked off the leaves... the tree acted like it was spring after that, leafed out, flowered, and fruited in October!

Paw paw... things don't wake up ...sometimes ever! No..but they are very late...

Still dreaming of pawpaws... killed two already, and know it's a stretch for my climate, but will have to bite the bullet and give it another shot one of these years... especially after hearing about folks growing them in Colorado, Utah, and Idaho (more northern but nearly as arid).

One unexpected winner here in CO is Colette pear. It blooms on new growth and so even after the brutal spring last year it gave a full crop. It is also FB resistant and tasty!
Other things I can count on are brambles, and the late blooming honeyberries. Though, my early blooming honeyberry just took 19F in full bloom with no damage.

Andy

Wow, I had no idea there was such a pear!

I've never tried to grow honeyberries, are they worthwhile in your opinion? How do they deal with heat and drought?

I think the honeyberries are worth growing, even if only for frost tolerance and fruit when not much else is producing. They are slow growers for me, so don't expect a big crop soon. I have them growing in almost full to full shade and they handle the front range summers just fine.

Oh, and tart cherries are good producers here too, if only I could keep the birds off them they would be great.

Andy