May give up on dwarf fruit trees...but this might work :)

16 years ago

I have looked all over and called many nurseries...no one has dwarf apple trees. Semi-dwarf is available, but they'll get too big for my space. The dwarf North Star cherry trees that I found at one nursery were $50 each. I guess that's a fair price, but good-bye fencing budget. I overspent on roses this year, so now on limited funds to finish the potager, but they're beautiful roses :)

Anyway, my husband asked, why not white lilacs? They bloom in the spring, they're white flowers, they are tall and stately (like little trees) and they're free...plus we have to rip out an old fence and will lose some of the lilacs in the process. I think it's a good idea (we have a huge apple tree for fruit) so I think white lilacs it is. I put two white lilacs, with purple butterfly bushes on each side, in the fairy garden and they look really nice together. I think I'll put more butterfly bushes along the back of the potager fence, to keep the deer away from the garden and have some late summer bloom. Most of the other shrubs I'm using bloom in the spring.

Anyone else have a change in plan in their potager, lately?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

ali-b
16 years ago
I love white lilacs and free is always the best price!

I changed my center bed to a circle and my son gave me a great idea to put a bean teepee in the center. Now I'm not sure what to edge it with. I won't have enough marigold and alyssum but I do have 9 pink/yellow mini roses. (good sale at the food store before Mother's Day.) But, today, I also thought about adding in some globe basil to look like little boxwoods. Or, should I scrap that and just direct sow some dwarf zinnia and sunflower.

I also switched from attempting a step-over dwarf pear hedge to installing 4 blueberry bushes to divide the potager from the hop yard. I still would love to try the step-over pears, but unfortunately, only so much time in the weekend and my wallet seems to be filled with receipts instead of dollars at the moment.
susan2010
16 years ago
Don't get me wrong, I love lilacs, but after they finish blooming, they don't do much for me. They don't have the visual interest of a small tree.

Have you thought of ordering on line?
Related Professionals
Roanoke Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Sacramento Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Decatur Landscape Contractors · Hilton Head Island Landscape Contractors · Buffalo Landscape Contractors · Youngstown Landscape Contractors · Bend Landscape Contractors · Middletown Design-Build Firms · Daytona Beach Design-Build Firms · West Palm Beach Design-Build Firms · Sioux City Design-Build Firms · Waterloo Design-Build Firms · Wausau Design-Build Firms · Scottsbluff Design-Build Firms · Fairbanks Design-Build Firms
lavender_lass
Original Author
16 years ago
Ali-b, I love the idea of roses around the bean teepee. Sunflowers are so cheerful, but they do attract a lot of yellow jackets, at least in our area. I try to keep them at the back of the garden and away from the entrances.

Blueberry bushes are one of my favorite shrubs. They're compact, easy to grow...and they have fruit :) I'm using them in the fairy garden and the potager.

Maybe the step-over pears can be a project for next year. I'm already making a list of "next year" projects that are either too expensive or will take too much time...lately it seems to be both! LOL
ali-b
16 years ago
Thanks for the input, lavender lass. I have them laid out in their pots and they do look pretty. I'm excited about the blueberries. The bushes all have green blueberries on them.

I, too, have a next year list starting already. I haven't even gotten everything planted and I'm thinking about next year. Yes, the step-overs for next year. Just the name invokes such a romantic image.

Designing and working in the garden is so much fun though (although I would not include the poison ivy removal -- that was not so much fun since I'd already knelt on the ground when I discovered the PI sprouts.)
hosenemesis
16 years ago
I just butcher my full-sized Oro Blanco grapefruit tree and Snow Queen Nectarine every year to make them tiny. I'm not sure how long they will live with this level of abuse, but they look so cute. And I can cover them with squirrel-bird netting, because they are small.
Renee
susan2010
16 years ago
There are a number of methods to control the size of fruit treets. Bark ringing and root pruning are options. It depends on your skill and confidence with such matters. Might be worth research and an experiment. And it depends on how much you want a dwarf tree (full size apple trees in orchards are still pruned to stay small enough to harvest from easily). Or you might consider something like a beach plum that can be pruned as a tree or a shrub. Or quince - lovely coral flowers. There are lots of interesting options.

GW won't let me link to an interesting Google Books article called "Controlling the Size of Trees." You might want to check it out.