I just remembered that paw paws get to 40 ft, so they're out. I think I have already answered my question--it's gotta be a fig, but I'd still welcome your input.

Pommegranates do not need spraying. I don't know which varieties would do well in your area, but perhaps Raintree Nursery or One Green World nursery has one that would be suitable.

Mulberries also seem to be immune to pests and disease. Only birds take any notice of them.

Thanks! I tried a dwarf pomegranate last year, and I think I did not water it enough in fall and it died. I loved the foliage so much I am trying again. I don't think I'll get edible fruit off these, but if they do well maybe I'll try a larger variety. I have a relative, also in zone 7, who has two huge gorgeous trees (and what a pity, she just lets the fruit dry on the tree).
There are native mulberries in my neighbor's yard, so I can already eat one now and then if I beat the birds to them. I like to think that they keep the birds from my other fruits, but you know how that goes.
As of now I am thinking figs and maybe some bush cherries in front of the fig. I never stop planning though.

Pears should not need spraying.

Decide what broad category of figs that you like, "white" or "black". Once you do that I can throw out 5 varieties of each for your area.

Figs, pawpaws, persimmons, kiwis, pomegranates, jujubes, che. For nuts maybe filberts will work, they are shorter. Make sure to get blight immune varieties.

I don't know where you read pawpaws get to 40', almost anything can get to 40' but its easy to keep things relatively short with an annual pruning.

Pears often require little work but issues such as fireblight, psylla, blister mite, stinkbugs, curculio, etc makes them somewhat more needy than the above. I have to do several sprays on them each year.

Even without spraying you may need to spend a lot of time keeping all the critters from taking all your fruit. I'm in the middle of that battle right now.

Scott

It's all about where you are. Nothing needs spraying if it's grown in the appropriate climate and in the appropriate way (ie., not using too much nitrogen fertilizers which reduce pest resistance in plants).

That said, find out what does well in your area. Natives like pawpaw are definitely a natural place to start. Also, nearly anything can be kept at a manageable size if desired.

p.s. Make sure you love fresh figs before you grow them. I bought a fig plant only to find out fresh figs are a little too "fresh" or "gamey" for my palate.

LOL fabacea native, you'd be the first person I've ever heard say fresh figs taste gamey!

No worries--I have a passion for figs in all forms, but to get them fresh is why I want a tree. I would also like to be able to make preserves. From what I have read and considering availability of varieties, I am guessing I should look for a Celeste. I want to get one as large as possible though, because I am also looking to fill a gap in my yard, so I'd like to buy one that is already about 10 ft tall. If I can find one of size, is there anything to worry about in terms of transplanting a larger tree or winter issues?

I see lots of quite large trees in local Northern Virginia (older) neighborhoods. I am assuming they are typically brown turkey--not sure if there was a lot of variety in the figs planted "back then" (I guess most trees I see around here are at least 15 ft tall).

You say persimmons are an option, but you don't love their flavor. Which ones have you tasted? Some varieties of kaki don't grow very large.

Benny

I've had the native persimmon in the wild, and I've tried some Japanese off the grocery store shelf. I more like the look of the tree than the taste of the fruit--I especially think the native one is a handsome tree, but I am sure I could whip up some good puddings and such with them.
I wanted to see if I was missing any options and indicate openness to natives, but I am sure it will be a fig now.

I don't think you will be able to find a 10' fig or anything close to that size. Edible Landscaping will probably have about as big a fig as you will be able to find near you. There should not be a problem transplanting a larger fig assuming it was well-treated and was planted out in the spring.

Scott

So is fall planting not a good idea? My local Whole Foods was selling some over the last few weeks but I am holding out to try to get a larger one. I'll go read up on how fast they grow--thanks!

I don't know if fall planting would be bad, I just have not heard of anyone transplanting a fig in the fall. Most plants transplant well in the fall, its the hardiness aspect of figs I am concerned about, especially for a big plant which would take longer to get established.

Scott

Figs grow into trees in Louisiana, but not Virginia. It will be a big bush that will be frozen back to the ground each year.

Consider Potomac pear or an early asian pear. Neither need spraying, though asian pears need careful thinning. Still, lovely small trees.

Actually, there are tree-sized figs (over 15ft) all over this area--northern Virginia and the DC area. Could they be growing 15 ft in one season every year?
I did discover that I won't be able to get one that big anyway, and that the first 2-3 years they do die back, so I'm considering doing a container fig so I can put a more reliable tree in that spot instead. Edible Landscapes has a Russian pomegranate that I have my eye own.

Check out Edible Landscaping in Afton VA. He has plenty of low spray fruiting plants and many types of figs available. If your yard is small I would say you'd want to have different cultivars of everything you plant so that you can stretch the harvest season.

I grow the bush cherries. In full sun they eventually taste like pie cherries, in part sun they taste more like wild plums. I'm in zone 7b (Raleigh NC) and all of mine catch some sort of disease every year that disfigures the leaves a bit and sometimes the fruit also. I grow them mainly for the blooms in the spring. A very ornamental bush.

I have raspberries and blackberries that only need to be pruned - I never spray them.

There are cultivars of apples and pears that require very little spraying (if any) but they are often not the tastiest or best looking. You just have to try things in your yard and be prepared to rip something out and try another variety until you find something that works for you.

Thanks--especially for the info about bush cherries. If they are pretty but potentially give me fruit then that is good enough for me.
I've been perusing the edible landscaping site and may need to take a road trip soon.
I've had great luck with blue, black-, rasp-, and strawberries, and even ate a nice bowl of service berries so I'm just looking to broaden my horizons--and I need to fill a gap in the yard wit ha tree first, but I'm thinking bush cherries would be great in front of the tree.

Veeta, we most likely garden in the same climate. I am very close to MD/VA border, NW from DC. I grow figs (5 varieties), persimmons (7 varieties), bush cherries, jujubes, currants (black and red), blackberries, raspberries. I can confirm that they all require no spraying here. Asisn pears for me don't do so well w/o spraying. They get infected by blight in my garden.
I wonder which persimmon you tried from the store. Was it astringent variety or non astringent one. They taste very different. You probably want to try again different type. Asian persimmon treeas are the most beautiful trees in my opinion. I don't like the taste of native persimmons. Figs get a lot of dieback in their first two years, after that they are fine. By year 4, they can be 9-10 fee, if you allow them to grow up.
Olga

I'm 50 miles south of DC in Fredericksburg, VA. I've had figs here for several years mostly from Edible Landscaping. They do well here with minimal die-back each winter. They're about 8 feet now. The problem is getting the figs before the birds, deer, etc get them.... Or it rains and they split! Frustrating - but worth it. Lattarulla is my best fig so far.

My favorite tree is Yates American persimmon. This fruit gets a bad rep - don't make a judgement based on a seedy, pasty wild persimmon or an encounter with an unripe astringent fruit, or almost as bad - a bland, store bought Fuyu. Go to E.L. this fall and try their persimmons. They have an open house each September. They can show you a fruit at its peak. Saijo(kaki) is a smaller, prettier, low maintenance tree with good fruit and orange fall color, but I prefer the complex, rich native fruit.

Thanks again--especially for the local input and the suggestion to check out that open house at EL.

Here's another vote for EL's All about Fruit Day" in the fall. Drive something with lots of space because you might come home with a lot of plants.

I'm just down the road from EL and figs there (next to S side of greenhouse) and at my neighbors (S side of house near heatpump) overwinter 10-15' of growth in sheltered locations. My Russian pomegranate from EL has survived 3 winters with no significant die back with a heavy leaf mulch and nearby woodpile as the only shelter.

I don't recall if anyone mentioned sour cherries, but I have found they can do well in suburban Maryland/DC area with no spraying. A dwarf North Star will be easy to net, though I prefer the flavor of the classic Montmorency. I have it on Colt rootstock and it is about 12' high, a nice looking tree.

Regarding figs, I would definitely choose Celeste over Brown Turkey; much tastier. Both are pretty cold hardy. If you wrap them the first few winters (a wire cage filled with leaves and with burlap around the outside worked fine for me), they will get to a size where they generally can survive our winters without wrapping or significant die-off of the branches (at least the last two winters). They grow best up against a south-facing wall and not out in the open. Get a couple: try one in a pot and the other in the ground. Netting is also mandatory for these if the birds are not to get all the fruit.