Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - [NAFEX] bush cherries

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: list@ginda.us
  • To: NAFEX <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] bush cherries
  • Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 11:25:45 -0400

I live in the 'burbs, in a neighborhood with lots of mature trees. This rather limits what fruit I can grow, as there is little "full sun", and a lot of the shade comes from my neighbors' trees. But a developer has purchased the lot next door. He has already removed the house and most of the scruffy plants, and he plans to remove all the trees (or maybe all but two) and regrade the lot to make it "level", a bit below the grade of my property. (Houses on level lots sell at a premium.) While I am pained to see the lovely old oaks coming down, it is also an opportunity. I am considering removing an old yew hedge and replanting with something that fruits (and will also provided some privacy) and I'm wondering if Jan/Joel/Joy might work.

The location will still not have full sun, as I don't plan to remove the trees on my side of the line. The neighbor is roughly to the west of me, maybe a little north and west. My trees are right there, but tall, with no low branches, so there is some light from the other sides. There is presumably also competition from the oak roots.

So I'm wondering how well bush cherries would do in the spot, and also if they will provide a reasonable screen in the winter. I'm sure currants would do okay, but they don't make as much of a hedge as I would like, and (possibly because of viruses or other disease) mine look pretty scraggly by mid-summer, so they would be defoliated for more of the year than I'd like in a hedge. (My currants fruit well despite whatever ails them, and get bigger each year. So whatever it is, it's not too serious.) Any advice? Other possibilities? Or, I could just leave the yew in place.

Thanks,
Ginda
eastern MA, zone 6
watching Ivan out my windows today. He's lost the bite, but he still carries a lot of rain!





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page