Alan,

I live in Navarre and have been down the same road as you. I gave up on apples, peaches, plums...etc. I do have a pear tree that produces, but some years are good some bad. Here is a list of what I currently have that seem to thrive in our area;

Citrus
Meyer lemon
Satsuma mandarin,
Kumquat,
calomondin,

Other Fruits
Persimmon
Blueberry
Muscadine grape
Loquat
Bananas (If placed in micro climate near house) "Ice Cream" Variety will produce fruit

G'day y'all,
Thanks for those suggested species of fruit trees.
I'm helping a mate establish a permaculture property garden (ie edible landscaping) a few miles inland of Pass Christian on the MS Gulf Coast.
Are there any other fruit trees that you think may work there?
Cheers!
Permaculture Ozzie

http://www.sepalms.org/SPS_Hardy_Citrus.htm

This is a good source of information. Also there is a yearly south eastern citrus expo that showcases the cold-hardy hybrids.

Alan, I am over in Mobile. I was looking at this article from MSU re: apples and pears and thinking of planting some of the varieties recommended there. What varieties did you plant? I would love to grow both but not if it's ultimately going to be a waste of time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit and Nut Review: Apples and Pears

I've had great luck with Anna apple, an Israeli apple that's highly recommended for our area. I've had mine for about 15 years--it had 8 apples on it the first year I planted it. Some years, I've literally had bushels on one tree, some years with late freezes like this year, not more than 15-20. They have a tasty tart flavor. Available at Walther's Family Nursery in Chumuckla (just north of Pace, FL) for less than $10. The owner Norman Walther is a retired ag teacher and carries all types of fruits proven for our area. I bought lots of other fruits from him last year that I'll have to wait and see on.

Google 'just fruit and exotics' and check out their nursery inventory. I've had great results with a broad range of fruit trees from this Gulf Coast specialty nursery.

Pineapple Guava will fruit, just give them time. They need to be at least 4ft tall.

Loquats, figs should be OK as well as Pomegranates.

I pre ordered from http://www.justfruitsandexotics.com
a pair of Kiwi, Mulberry and a Paw Paw.

As for Apples I planted the famous Wal-mart apples, "No idea", that was 3 to 4 years ago.

I'm home on Vacation this month from Afghanistan trying to get the yard back under control after a year away so I have a mess to deal with. My nice plum died, looks like those wood boring worms killed it.
I have lots of mushrooms today! I wish Crepe Myrtles had fruit!
My guava has a lot of fruit again, I'm waiting to see if they all fall off in a week.
My pomegranate freezes every winter and never grows back very big. I need to move it up against the house.

well enough rambling...thanx everyone.. :)

Send the kiwi back, they don't like our heat and humidity-I saw a pick your own kiwi place last weekend in San Francisco!
Try planting stuff like avocadoes, cherimoya, soursap, dragonfruit, jackfruit, lychee, mango, more tropical fruits, they will all do very well in your area. Figs are an excellent choice, bananas, star fruit.
Good luck! And welcome to the hot humid south. Big box stores are LIARS! I see stuff here all the time that will die within weeks or days.
Tally HO!

Im not sure and hate to make a bad claim but I bought a apple tree from Just fruit...a Joys Apple..it bloomed about march 01 looked to have fruit and all then all of a sudden a frost came through and the tree/twig looks barren and dead. I sent them an email ..they said wait it out...but I brought a pear tree from them thats getting big but no fruit yet...Im in JAX.
. o I bought a Dorsett apple tree from ..a nursury in Jenning Fla...4 apples and the tree is barely 4 ft!

Here is a link that might be useful: clay county

Pears and even the apples that are supposed to do well down here just don't do all that hot. We don't have enough chill hours.
Tally HO!

Add Lime tree to your Pensacola list. We have a Fla King Peach, a Meyers Lemon, Brown Turkey Fig, Satsuma and Valencie Orange. Pink and white grapefruit do well in our area. (we live across the bay from you in Lillian Alabama) Apples just require more chill time then we get. Loquat and Kumquat also do well here. When you hear a cold snap is coming our way, a few strings of those white mini Christmas lights strung in your trees will usuall be enough to protect them, plus they sort of look good in the garden.
As for the Box Stores, they will sell you anything. I have been burned by them many times until I learned what will and what will not grow in our area. Costly lesson I may add.

I just planted a brown turkey fig!
One of my pear trees is loaded with pears. But its still suffering from fire blight.
My peach trees don't have many leaves this year and few fruit, not sure what happened there.
The apples have a few fruit but they seem small.

My Pineapple Guava finally held onto its fruit this year. We planted it 3 years ago and its maybe 4 feet tall now, just like don_licuala said!

Well enough for now, I have to leave this week, now its my wifes job. Thanks everybody.

Alan, try the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruits

Here is another place close to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pense Nursery

Things that grow well here in Ft Walton Beach:
Fuju Persimmon(have tried other kinds with poor results)
Kumquats and their Intergenerics
Satsumas
Meyer Lemons
Vaiegated Pink Lemon
Blackberries
Blueberries
Figs
Muscadines
Pineapple PEar
Akebia
Loquats
Passionfruits(edulis). Some yrs back to the roots.
Mulberries
Pomegranites
These are just those I or my folks grow...
Cheers,
Pat

How about mulberry trees and persimmons (Fugayi sp.)? In my garden in Robertsdale, Al, I have tons of mulberry volunteers. I grow two types of figs, satsumas,kumquats pomegranites(have a hard time keeping fruit on trees)

I'm in Mobile close south of I-10 and have very good luck with Meyers Lemon, Methley Plum, Rabbiteye blueberries, and Figs. The lemons produce so much that I have to give them away, the plum has good years and so-so years, the blueberries produce like crazy and the Walker Fig is a big producer.

If I were planting another fig, I would chose Celeste because they are also sweet but have a closed eye vs the open eye on the Walker. I planted a Burbank Plum and a Santa Rosa but both were flops.

Our natal plum flourishes on a spit between bay and salt water bayou. Big fig tree and orange that had produced were wiped out by Katrina Rita. We are between Galveston and Corpus. Lime survived. The others were flooded.
I'll replant on higher part of yard. Appreciate suggestions for our conditions

I live just to the north of Pensacola and I grow many types of pears and have had luck with one apple. First off buy you fruit trees from just fruits and exotics south of Tallahassee in Crawfordville. If is worth the trip for a newbe. The southern Bartlett is a good pear which you can get at jf&e and does not get fireblight. The Olton Broussard is another good pear which I can help you out with. The orient and pineapple pear are also good and available from many good nurseries. Local nurseries will advertise these pears but after 4 years you discover that they are all sandpears/kieffers which also is not a bad pear. The joy apple is doing ok for me and it is from JF&E.

I'm located just north of CRESTVIEW, FL and I grow olives, three kinds of kiwis, pineapple guava, fig, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate, grape, peaches, plums, mulberry, jujube, nectarines, persimmons, pears, pecans, apples, sugar cane, a paw paw tree, tea and goji berries. Also have avocado trees about to go through their third winter hopefully and a banana tree that's been in since the spring. Definitely a lot of options in this area, you'll end up with some successes and some failures but keep trying.

Inspite using lights and covering it looks like the cold got my 7 year old ponderosa lemon and my lime tree. The Satsuma looks a little bad, but it ought to pull through.

I have had good luck with fruit trees from Stark Bro. Nursury.
Apples do not mix well with southern red cedar that carries blight.

Wow,
Its been about 6 years since I first posted this. Thanks for all the info, great stuff. I have been moving around working in Afghanistan and now Korea. I try to keep randomly planting things and looking at a major planting spree again when I get home.

So since this post...
My Guavas produces tons of fruit now.
I found a bunch of blueberries growing on the other side of my fence so I moved some to my garden.
I planed Bay leaves this year so far so good.
My tea bushes are doing good.
Raspberries died.
Pomegranates all died back in 07 I think, but replanted one last year and its doing very well, fruit this spring.
Kiwi's died.
Planted 2 persimmons, they are growing like weeds.
3 peach trees are all sickly, worms I think, I will replace them next year.
2 blackberries, just not growing well.
My citrus are all doing good.
The pear tress are doing well, one produces too many and needs to be propped up! But they are hard and gritty and we just throw them away.

From your lists above I'm thinking Mulberries, Pawpaws, and maybe a lemon if I can find a sheltered place.

Thanks again...

Alan (Pensacola) I have Kieffer pears. Cross between sand and bartlett. They are hard and gritty. Pears ripen weeks after picking. They need to be picked before ripening. Laid out in cool temps. And supposedly will soften to eat. But they make excellent preserves . They are canning pears. I live in Milton. We have persimmon,blackberry, blueberry,Santa Rosa plum,loquats , figs , apples, I hear mulberry especially and mayhaw also grow well here. My peach tree was amazing full every year , have planted more.

Do you do anything special for your blueberries? I read they like acid soil and my yard has a lot of limestone under the surface so mine's potted. I live 60 miles east of West Palm Beach.

i have not checked in for a while here. I live in Pace, FL. I am learning what will grow under my conditions little by little.

Jodean Smead if you want an eating pear I strongly suggest the southern bartlett which is completely unrelated to what is called the bartlett pear. Southern B is extremely disease resistant and is low chill. It may be self fertile also. You can use just fruits and exotics Golden boy or court house sq for cross pollination. For apple what I believe is an Anna and a more recently purchased Joy apple are doing all right on my place. I do not spray or do much of anything else. It is survival of the fittest on my place. Loquats grow well here. Peaches and nectarines, only the Roddenbury heirloom from JF&E has survived. Persimmons grow wild as do blue berries. I am grafting the persimmons to both improve american cultivars and asian varieties. I cannot grow pecans at all so far. Blight resistant chestnut cultivars are gowning well, but not harvest yet. Raspberries not doing too well. An East texas type is the only black berry that will grow so far.

i am in New Orleans - 9b

and i grow...

fig

mulberry

loquat

jujube

guava

lychee

white sapote

pomegranite

I live in East Milton Florida. Several years ago we decided to try a grow fruit trees on our property. We started with apples, peaches, pears, fig, grape fruit, orange, & lemon tree.

Apple trees consisted of one Anna, one tropic sweet, and one Dorsett. All were attacked badly by blight after the 2014 spring rains. Anna faired the best after a couple of cuttings had a truck and some limbs remaining. The Tropic sweet and Dorset both required cutting back to about a foot above the original tree graft with no remaining limbs. Since all have survived but have been slow to recover. Due to this experience decided to try a Joy and Smith Apple from Just Fruit & Exotics. These are varieties which were recommended as being more desease resistant and self pollinating. Will let you know later how these work out.

The tropic snow Peach we purchased from Home Depot turned out not be a tropic snow seeing as the peach flesh is melting and yellow/orange. Not sure of the variety but it produces well but had a severe gumosis issue summer of 2015. Appears healthy and full of peaches this spring.

Pairs were pineapple and keiffer, also purchased from Home Depot. Neither have produced any fruit since we planted in 2013. Due to this we decided to try a southern Bartlett and carrick pear from Just Fruit & Exotics. Both are recommended for disease resistance and produce well for our region. Will let you know how these work out.

All citrus died during the 2014 freezes. Trying satsumas from Just Fruit & Exotics now. Recommended for being more cold hardy as a citrus.

On my previous comment of sept 2015 there is shown the picture of woman that is not me. I am older, male, and do not have a lot of hair. Bulkbuy for citrus, even the resistant forms when young need protection. I built a tent over mine and sprayed with water inside and saved them. For citrus for the cold best is to seed plant them which is illegal for a non-licensed individual or nursery to do. Everyone does it. They will grow back from the roots when killed by cold. But they take a long time to produce fruit. There are ways with grafting to speed up the fruiting process.