you might have better luck in the fruit forum..

those peeps do weird things to fruit trees.. lol.. and have all kinds of sources.. which us tree peeps know nothing about ...

good luck

ken

"those peeps (...) have all kinds of sources.. which us tree peeps know nothing about ..."

REALLY????????????????????????????????????????????

Sources for Fruit Trees and Plants

Kawaiineko_gardener,

You seem to just be getting stated doing your research on this topic. Take your time and don't expect someone to just hand you all the answers (or be able to just hand you the answers). It will take some time and patients on your part to get the best answers. I could probably type an answer longer than GardenWeb would let go through and still not be able to provide you all the info that you should use to pick the best types of trees for your wants and your situation. I will give you a few bits of info to start with. As you do more and more research, come back and ask more specific questions.

First, in your area of the country, dwarf trees may not be the best choice. Dwarf trees (and I'm talking particularly apples here) grow slow to start with, but will grow even slower in your area. When trees grow too slow, they sometimes don't have enough vigor to easily maintain good health. You may want to consider more semi-dwarfing type rootstocks better suited for your climate/area.

Believe me, you won't have to worry about getting "dwarf" figs in your part of the country. Most figs would probably have to be brought indoors during winter in your location, but some might stand a chance of being able to survive outside if they were given sufficient protection / warm-microclimate. Some of the hardier cultivars are Brown Turkey, Celeste, and Chicago Hardy.

I DID look for dwarf fruit trees. Just to clarify when I say dwarf I'm referring to the size of the mature tree itself, not the size of the mature fruit.

I don't mind being patient with find the stuff I'm looking for but I really don't know where to start looking for fruit trees, who are good and reputable vendors online, etc. When I do look, I don't really find much.

I'm confused about what you said about dwarf trees being slow-to-mmatre. I thought it was the standard size trees that are slow-to-mature, and you supposedly have wait a long number of years just go get your first harvest of fruit (5-10 is what I heard) from the standard-size trees.

all trees have an annual growth rate ... lets just say.. since i do not call myself a fruit expert.. that an apple tree grows 18 inches per year.. in 10 years.. its will be 18 feet tall .. and in 20.. has the potential to be 36 feet ...

a dwarf of her.. will grow .. less than 18 .. its a dwarf annual growth rate.. lets say 8 inches.. 10 years 80 inches .. or 6 feet tall ... easy to spray and prune for most of us

it has NOTHING to do with fruit size ...

a generic apple.. can easily be a 20 to 30 foot tree.. given the decades .. being a tree.. they never really stop growing ...

if you drive by an orchard ... or even stop in.. you will note.. that they horribly disfigure their trees .. for production purposes ... most are pruned ridiculously to less than 15 feet.. mostly to aid in hand picking.. and also.. to allow sunlight into the interior of the trees.. to maximize production ... [they also destroy their trees after a very short.. highly productive period .. say 10 years????] ... learning how to prune your trees will be one of the most important things for you to learn to do ...

so by starting with a tree with a dwarf growth rate.. you will inherently have a smaller tree for the various said purposes ...

check out the link.. for one of 'fruit peeps' who really knows what he is doing ... listen carefully to his spraying regimen [i think i recall he covers it] ... that is what stopped me from getting carried away with such ...

brandon .. thanks for the gratuitous poke.. lol ...

anyway.. OP ... there are lots of orchards in MI ... i would in the appropriate down season [and i doubt that is fall .. one has to think in winter.. the guy would be happy to spend hours talking about it all] .. make an appointment at a local orchard .. and simply go talk to the manager about what flourishes in your target area ... he may even be able to order appropriate stock for spring planting .... [and you will have to learn all about the different regional root stocks .. ]

and do spend some time in the fruit forum ... though we like to talk to you here ...

as brandon suggested.. if you want to do it right ... i suggest you are not going to do it all from the computer ... unless you will be happy with a red one and a yellow one ... as the video will discuss ...

good luck

ken

ps: the few fruit trees i mail ordered to adrian MI ... take around 3 years.. in the ground.. before they have a good enough root mass.. to actually produce a few fruit ... growing trees.. especially for fruit.. is NOT an instant gratification thing.. in any sense of the word ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Kawaiineko_gardener,

I'm confused by much of your response. You wrote, "...I really don't know where to start looking for fruit trees, who are good and reputable vendors...", but I gave you what I think is an extremely good reference that lists the vast majority of these vendors AND even gives you an idea of how reputable they are generally considered. You said, "I'm confused about what you said about dwarf trees being slow-to-mmatre(sp).", but I can't find where anyone said that.

As Ken already explained, "dwarf" is about relative growth rate and vigor, not about ultimate height. Dwarf trees do tend to be more precocious and tend to be less demanding when it comes to pruning, but they are also (often) shorter-lived, more susceptible to disease (because of lower vigor), and sometimes have other issues (like not being as well anchored). Also, remember that ultimate height depends on the pruner (person doing the pruning), not the growth rate.

Borrowing Ken's figures for a generic example, a "standard" tree of some type may grow 18" annually and a "dwarf" tree may grow 8" annually in a zone 7 garden. These same trees may only grow 12" and 5" annually in a zone 4 or 5 garden. A similar semi-dwarfed tree might have growth rates of 13" (in the warmer garden) and 9" (in the cooler garden). As Ken said, these figures aren't meant to reflect growth rates of any particular tree, but are being used as examples to illustrate the principle.

One absolutely invaluable source of information about what types of trees, which rootstocks, and which cultivars are best for your area should be your local agricultural extension office. Expertise do vary from office to office and from state to state, but this resource is often THE single best source for locally-calibrated info and would be a spectacular place to get a good start on knowing what you need to know.