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rosieo_gw

Any fruit tree for shady spot?

rosieo
9 years ago

I planted a row of apple trees going down a hill. The last spot is pretty shady most of the day. Kind of a dappled shade. It's too shady for an apple tree. Is there any kind of fruit tree that would grow and bear well in shade? Maybe a pawpaw? Or should I give up on fruit and plant a useless dogwood there?

I'm in the NC mountains.

Comments (12)

  • canadianplant
    9 years ago

    Pawpaw is probably your best bet. You could try the native plum as well. Would give any hybrid plums a good boost.

    You could put a large tree thats tolerant of shade when young like maple, oak or the like. They will probably eventually shade some apples though.

  • lucky_p
    9 years ago

    Agree. Pawpaw would probably work - but you need at least two varieties to reliably get fruit.
    Z7 is pretty hot for gooseberries, but they might work in a spot that's shady - especially in the afternoon.

  • cousinfloyd
    9 years ago

    I'm inclined to think the short answer is basically no. Pawpaws would probably grow, but I doubt they'd fruit very well in the shade, especially not enough to justify the cost of buying grafted trees. If you have other spaces with more sun where you could alternatively plant things, your time and money, etc. would probably be better invested there. If shade is all you have, I'd either cut some trees down or grow something like mushrooms. I could be overestimating how limiting shade is, but those are my thoughts presently.

  • ferroplasm Zone 7b
    9 years ago

    lucky_p, North Carolina has a prohibition on the import and cultivation of currants and gooseberries. With that said, you can find nurseries who will import them if you look hard enough.

  • Andrew7a
    9 years ago

    A Downy Serviceberry tree/shrub (Amelanchier arborea) sounds like it might do well in the place you describe. In nature they can be found in the forest understory and along streams and creeks where all they'll ever get is some direct and a lot of dappled sun. They thrive in clay soils.

    Serviceberries taste a lot like blueberries, and a mature tree will produce very large quantities of them. Just have a plan in place for keeping birds from them, because if you don't, you'll never get your hands on any of them.

    http://hvp.osu.edu/pocketgardener/source/description/amelanchier.html

  • alan haigh
    9 years ago

    I always object to the description of service berries tasting like blueberries. They are similar in texture and especially in appearance, but the flavor is entirely different. They have a very distinctive almond taste that is interesting but not nearly as versatile to many tastes as blueberries.

    To me, Amelanchier are a fine forage fruit but blueberries are a true staple.

    It is hard for me to get my share here, as they are a favorite of birds- lots easier to net blueberries.

  • canadianplant
    9 years ago

    What types of saskatoons have you tried harvestman?

  • flowerchild59
    9 years ago

    Oikos tree crops has a nice selection of service berries. You might want to try them.

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    All service berries are not alike! Smokey and Northline taste awesome! I would probably not eat any others.
    Elderberries will grow with some shade. Black currants will grow well in shade! Cornus Mas, the dogwood cherry does OK in shade.
    It is my experience that serviceberries will grow in shade, but not fruit well. Maybe certain cultivars do better than others?
    Thimble berries also like shade. I recently was given a thimble berry-raspberry cross. I'm growing in partial shade.

  • trianglejohn
    9 years ago

    I'm at the other end of the state (Raleigh) and in my shady areas I grow pawpaw, serviceberry, honeyberry and cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), wineberries and a few figs. Wineberries do the best but are highly invasive in your area (they struggle here in the summer heat). Cornelian cherry are problem free and have the best flavor (close to a Bing cherry) but they can be slow to mature and fruit. Serviceberry get some sort of rot, maybe Brown Rot so I get few edible berries. The very short forms do the best and have the best flavor. Taller forms like Diana and Regent look great but have very little of the almond flavor. The woods beside my house have the tall tree type which suffer greatly with the rot mentioned earlier. Pawpaws are pretty and easy but they do sucker around, they need a non-relative for pollination and every wild animal around will take a bite out of each fruit way before it is ripe.

  • cousinfloyd
    9 years ago

    John, I can't really remember, how shady are your shady areas? For instance, what would grow there if you just let it go? What about you, rosieo? How much shade are you dealing with?

    Drew, when you say Smokey and Northline are so superior what are you comparing them, to? The only named variety I've tasted is Regent, and those berries have been good, but I don't know if they ever get very productive. I noticed Oikos says Northline is best in zones 2-4.

    The much larger tree form A. arborea blooms earlier and I suspect it's because of that that it's extremely susceptible to a disease that I think is rust. In my location -- I think I'm just a county east of you, rosieo -- A. arborea yields essentially zero edible berries: the disease ruins all the berries. Perhaps it's because there aren't as many red cedars further west, but I have heard of people not too far away finding berries that weren't ruined by disease.

  • drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
    9 years ago

    My dear cousin, good point, as many cultivars exist. I heard of a few just today I never heard of. I tried Regent, Autumn Brilliance, Northline, and Smokey. I mentioned what I liked. Plus I would eat any of them actually, maybe make jam out of them at least. I like the way Autumn Brilliance looks, it's a cool tree. Mine was killed by a golf cart. All I now have is Northline. I have eaten wild ones too, but have no idea what exactly they were, not bad though!