[NAFEX] TriLite plum OK in zone 6
Alan Haigh
alandhaigh at gmail.com
Fri May 16 06:54:37 EDT 2008
In order for a variety to be evaluated hardy in a particular zone it is not
adequate to survive an "average" winter. For fruit trees, I don't think it
is necessary for it to be able to survive a test winter either if it is a
plum or anything that is reasonably precocious. If you have to replant
every 20 or 30 years, so be it.
For a variety of fruit tree to be considered hardy in my opinion it has to
prove itself useful, in other words not just surviving but consistently
producing adequate crops for a long enough time to be worth the effort. I
would not consider an evaluation reliable if it didn't include at least 10
seasons of observation.
Hardiness evaluations are still going to be a bit murky as borderline zones
may allow a certain variety to survive the weather and crop reliably in one
soil or exposure and not another. I have seen variation of survivability
based on something as site specific as the depth of soil for instance, like
where apricots will survive in a part of my own property where soil depth is
approximately 4 feet but not survive where the soil is interrupted by rock
outcrop at 2 feet. I have seen similar contrasts in survivability and
cropping consistency created by a wide range of factors not determined by
specific zones.
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