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  • From: Mike Levine <mlevine@umich.edu>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] partial inventory and fruit update
  • Date: Sun, 08 Jun 2003 22:02:10 -0400

I've been meaning to post an inventory for a long time, but can't seem to
find the time to log it all so I'll just start with a partial list off the
top of my head.
Looks like this will finally be the spring we've been waiting for in SE
Michigan! It's been cool and wet with a very slow start this year for the
veggies, but all the fruit looks great. Haven't had a real frost since
early april even though it has threatened cold many nights The Chicago
hardy fig made it through a nice test winter. It really is very hardy.
Died to the ground as promised, but it always seems to pop back up at the
beginning of June. It's strange, we lost more native plants to the cold
winter then fruit plants. All my new trees have remarkable new growth. My
Lodi apple is finally big enough to bear a good crop and loaded with fruit.
Meteor cherry is reliable as ever. Of my 20 or so relatively new (for me)
raspberry patches, many are looking like they will have their first big year
of production. After 3 years it looks like the wineberries may bloom this
year! I've been eagerly awaiting them. having heard good things. Himrod
grapes look good enough to bear this year too. Lots of my stock was planted
in straight woodchips a while back and after years of stunted growth, this
is starting to pay off as they decompose. My ribes collections all seem to
be bearing heavily this year, many for the first time. Odd, some of my
potted ribes have fruit, but their leaves were eaten completely off by some
insects. The Regent serviceberries are loaded and will be ready soon.
Can't wait to try the amelanchier gaspensis from Oikos to compare it with
some of my other Serviceberries. I dream of helping to improve this fruit
someday My seascapes, sparkles, tristars, tributes, winonas, and earliglows
look good with many fruit on each of them. No paw paw fruit yet, but the
trees look good. Just got a meader persimmon and an Illinois everbearing
mulberry, now I need a space to plant them! My redhaven was planted last
year and I reluctantly removed all the fruit today even though it was loaded
and healthy looking. Who knows when we'll get good peach weather again. No
apricots yet, but I keep thinking positive thoughts about them and they look
healthy. Just learned that there's no lead paint on the side of my house
where most of the fruit trees are so I can stop worrying. Blueberries are
poking along, but I think I've learned that I need to just start with a
larger plant before putting it into the alkaline ground if I hope to have
any results. Native cranberry seems happier than the blueberries though
planted in the same bed. Lots of new things I won't even mention until next
year when they do something (or fail to do something).
I just hope the fruit season continues to be as good as it looks like it
will be. Maybe I'll even try to graft something this year when I can find
some time. I'd love to have some frankenstein trees in my yard!

Mike Levine
Ann Arbor, MI
zone 5b






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