Edible gardening surged in popularity in 2009, and the trend continues today. It is not just limited to vegetable crops, but also berry crops, brambles, vines, fruiting shrubs and trees.

What could be more rewarding than harvesting fruit from your own backyard! The freshness can't be beat, and as your fruit trees, shrubs and vines mature you will have even more fruit that you can share with family, friends and neighbors as well as preserving them to enjoy during those long winter months.

Blackberry Flower

Belle of Georgia Peach

Many fruit trees and shrubs are also attractive ornamentals in the spring when they bloom, from the pink flowers of Belle of Georgia peach to the blush pink and white flowers of the apple trees. The pomegranate Salavatski has beautiful orange-red crepe like flowers in the summer and even the white flowers of the blackberries and raspberries can add a splash of color to your landscape or garden.

Many varieties of fruiting plants are self-fertile (like the cherries and figs), some varieties require a pollinator of a different variety (including apples and blueberries) and others like the kiwi vines have separate male and female plants. Find lots of useful information using these pollination charts and tips from University of Missouri Extension.

Edibles currently available:
Urban Apple trees
Pears (Pyrus) - Kieffer, Moonglow
Cherries (Prunus) - Montmorency
Peachs (Prunus) - Belle of Georgia and Elberta
Pomegranate (Punica) - Salavatski
Vaccinium (blueberries) - Climax, Premier, Tifblue, and Top Hat
Kiwi (Actinidia) - Ananasnaja (Anna - female) and Meader Male
Ficus (fig) - Brown Turkey
Rubus (blackberry) - Apache, Arapaho, and Navahoe
Rubus (raspberry)

Red Raspberry

Fig

Blackberry and Raspberry Culture
Blackberries and raspberries are often referred to as brambles, and are members of the genus Rubus. Blackberries and raspberries both produce aggregate fruit, which is a collection of smaller fruit called drupelets around a central receptacle. An easy way to distinguish between blackberries and raspberries (which may be red, purple, or black in color) is that raspberry fruit will separate from the receptacle when ripe, leaving a hollow core in the fruit. When blackberry fruit is ripe, the drupelets remain attached to the receptacle.

Both blackberry and raspberry plants prefer full sun and well drained soil rich in organic matter. Blackberry and raspberries both have a perennial crown from which new canes emerge. Raspberry and some cultivars of blackberry will also produce new canes from underground lateral stems or roots. The canes of blackberry and raspberry are biennial. A first year cane produces vegetative growth and they are referred to as primocanes. It is usually recommended to tip the primocanes when they reach 30-36” to promote lateral branching. These lateral branches will bear fruit the second year. The 2nd year fruiting canes are referred to as floricanes. After fruiting, the floricanes will die. To maintain healthy vigorous plants it is best to remove the floricanes after harvesting.

Blackberries have 3 distinct growth habits: erect, semi-erect and trailing. Blackberry cultivars with erect canes are self-supporting. Cultivars with semi-erect and trailing canes, as well as raspberries are best grown on a trellis or some sort of support.

So get your edibles planted this spring and enjoy your bounty for years to come!

Pender Nursery is now on Facebook. Check us out at www.facebook.com/PenderNursery and see some of what's blooming and looking good this week.

Pender Nursery is proud to be a Licensed grower of the Encore Azalea® since 1999.