Nope, not twins...
Apple Trees!
Last year I saved my birthday money to spend on apple trees this Spring. Today was the day!
Actually, it took all weekend to shop for the trees, purchase, pick up, and plant. It was quite a process.
As you can guess, apple trees are not a prime species for the Phoenix valley. However, there are a few varieties that can survive here. The four choices at our local nursery were Dorset, Anna, Fuji, and Pink Lady. We originally chose a Dorset and an Anna, but changed our minds after finding that both were descendants of the Golden Delicious (never my favorite) and ended up purchasing a Fuji and a Pink Lady.
I had decided long ago (twenty years?) that I wanted to "give" a tree to each of our children as his or her "birth tree" (following the tradition of L.M. Montgomery's "The Story Girl"). Thus, our eldest two children received their trees first, and we were able to bury the 5yo's placenta remnants under his tree. (Yes, we still had it in the freezer after five years.)
With the 8yo and his Fuji:
With the 5yo and his Pink Lady:
Next year I hope to buy two more fruit trees, and so on and so forth. My goal is to have fully producing trees by the time we have teenagers to feed. The children eat like ravenous hyenas as it is, so we will need some serious FOOD around here in another ten years!
After we have enough fruit trees, I'd love to plant some non-fruiting trees (like my beloved cottonwood). But for now, feeding the family comes first!
I have been meaning to get around to this for several years, so I was happy to see the completion of a long-anticipated goal. It was actually quite a bit of work, and my husband was really a trooper in helping me to get this project completed.
Now, to take care of them properly and keep them from dying over their first summer!
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| The tree is already planted, but that's not going to stop him digging a hole for it! |
To any fellow desert-dwellers, what fruit trees have you found that take well to Phoenix weather?
Have a wonderful week, dear readers!
Oh! Fruit trees!! I miss our fruit trees (at our old house). Perhaps this spring (or next) will be the season I get to plant some new fruit trees, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI wish your baby trees a happy, healthy summer.
Thanks!! Our summers kill a lot of baby trees, but if they can get well-established before then they have a chance. We'll see!
DeleteWhat a good idea to plant a fruit tree for each child! I am hoping to plant an apple and/or sour cherry tree in our back yard this year. I never thought of how old our baby (due in May) will be when they are producing. Looking at it with that perspective makes it seem like it won't take long because I know our little one will be grown up in the blink of an eye. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you check out "The Story Girl," it tells about how the family orchard was made up of trees planted one at a time for each baby's birth - such a neat concept! They also did trees for special occasions, such as weddings. We don't have that much room, but I thought birth trees sounded neat!
DeleteCan't wait to hear of your little one's arrival in a few months!!
Diana
I would love to plant fruit trees. I had no idea Pink Ladies grew here!
ReplyDeleteSRP and APS both have free shade tree programs--you go to a one hour class and they give you two trees. Check it out!
Oh, boy! Free trees! Sign me up!! I'm going to have to check that out - thanks!!
DeleteI love that you are thinking ahead Diana--what a beautiful Proverbs 31 woman you are!
ReplyDeleteIt is COLD where we live and we get minimal rain during the warm weather (we have to live off all the snow we get in the winter). We have 11 apple trees that do well here. It's a very short growing season, so the greens don't always make it to ripe. You shouldn't have that problem in Pheonix though :-) . Other trees we have that don't mind the drought weather include small plumbs, chokecherries, serviceberries and elderberries. Nut trees are good for growing boys too.
Love your pictures--the babes and trees look awesome!
Blessings,
Thank you for stopping by!! I will definitely post later to tell everyone how they do. You're right, we don't have a problem with fruits freezing or not making it to ripeness - our problem is keeping them from frying before they can get established!! :) Unfortunately, berries of all kinds simply don't do so well here - though I hear that they grow in some northern parts of the state.
DeleteThanks for stopping by! Have a lovely evening!
Diana