I live in Castle Rock too, and I currently have a Stella cherry and a Redhaven peach. The cherry is only about 1.5 years old, so I don't know yet how it will do long-term (although I did get 11 delicious cherries this spring!). The peach is new, but at our old house (also in Castle Rock) I had a Redhaven that did very well. Well, it never did produce a peach in the 4.5 years I had it, but it grew big and beautiful. I also planted a nectarine this spring that promptly died.

So I guess for me, it's a bit of an experiment planting fruit trees here. Even if I only get fruit every other year or so, it will be worth it for me. But if you're looking to produce lots of fruit every year, you might want to stick with apples.

I will say our local nursery sells Stella cherry trees but I don't think they sell peach trees...and they tend to be very conservative about what they sell.

Trish

Sunset Western Garden Book lists the vars that will grow in that zone as well & if you are going to give it a whirl you may have to bare-root mail order. I will say, having practiced there, that you'll likely need a lot of amendments in the soil and likely want a berm to plant on (incorporate berm material into native for best drainage) but figure out how to retain irrigation water nearby (high potable water cost up there) and I'll second Trish that you won't get fruit every year.

Dan

Hi AC,

Here's a list of the fruit trees and small fruits Timberline had this year. They're at 58th Avenue and Ward Road on the FAR west side of the Metro area. He doesn't carry any nectarines, but has pretty much some of everything else. If Kelly isn't carrying any nectarines, I'm guessing they're pretty marginal around here!

Paulinos (I25 - 59th Avenue exit) doesn't list individual varieties, but this is how many varieties of each they say they had this year--including one nectarine.

Fruit Trees
The number next to each tree name below denotes the number of varieties available for that tree.
Apple - 18
Apricot - 4
Cherry - 9
Nectarine - 1
Peach - 4
Pear - 7 (includes Asian)
Plum - 4

Small Fruits
Blackberry - 1
Blueberry - 3
Boysenberry - 1
Gooseberry - 1
Grape - 13
Kiwi - 1
Raspberry - 7

The closest garden center to you would be Tagawa's on Parker Road a few miles south of Arapahoe, and I just discovered that they've added a list of nursery stock to their site too, so go there and click on Nursery List. The fruit trees are all mixed in with the other nursery stock, but they do list individual varieties! No nectarines!

Can't help with recommendations for varieties since I don't have room to grow fruit trees. Wish I could! But for good advice and recommendations if you wind up trying to decide which to try, Kelly Grummons at Timberline would be your best bet.

Welcome to RMG,
Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Fruit trees & small fruit at Timberline - pdf

Just to clarify...when I mentioned our local garden center, I was talking about Castle Rock Gift and Garden, which carries a pretty good selection of fruit trees and small fruits (though not as big a selection as the garden centers Skybird mentioned).

Trish

When I had the landscape business in CA, all my fruit trees were bare root after some early failures from pots. Tagawa has a decent selection and if you find a var or two you want, if you go in soon enough likely they can order for you for spring delivery. Sunset lists a couple vars of nectarine that are hardy in their zone 1-2 (CR 1a, Black Forest 2a). With protection of a south two-story house wall and man-made climate change, you may be able to push 2a there).

Dan

Kristin and Black Gold cherries made it through last winter in Denver. Also PF11 nectarine survived. They are still small so no fruit yet. The Kristin is on Colt, Black Gold on Mahaleb, and PF11 on peach seedling rootstock.

Last winter the lowest we got was -16 here. It seemed like a mild winter compared to some. All my fruit trees made it except the ones the mice ate!!!!

I had very good success with cherries in Loveland, Colorado. (It used to be a PRIME cherry-growing area in the "old-days".)
Black Tarterian, Bing, and Nanking cherry BUSH (a volunteer)did well for me AND the birds.
Loveland, however, is only 4500 ft. elevation.
I had terrible luck with peaches. all failed. (Winter kill)
Prune-Plums did well as did apples.
I'm at 6500 ft. in New Mexico now...so I am interested in what works at your elevation also.
GOOD LUCK !!!

We bought a peach, pear and apple tree in the spring and planted them in our yard. They have adapted well, and we look forward to them growing in the coming years and maybe bear fruit evenutally!

I'm just wonder if there anything special we should do to protect them over the winter?

Thanks,
Marj

I'm just wonder if there anything special we should do to protect them over the winter?

Dormant spray, water a couple times (esp this winter), mulch ring but keep off trunk.

Dan

Fruit trees are a crapshoot. Too many variables. When I lived in upstate NY I dreamed of getting the amazing Apricots that my Grandmother had in 7000ft western slope CO, to no avail. I had one apricot in 10 years. A very healthy and attractive tree but the frost zapped the blossums. MICRO CLIMATE RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Around here, apricots are once-in-five-years. But I have a neighbor, 300 yards to the south, with a 100+ year old apricot tree against the south side of his barn, that gets fruit every year.

I bought some dormant spray, but it says to use in "late winter or early spring". So coming to the experts for advice :^) Should I wait to spray our fruit trees with dormant spray, or is now okay?

No, spring is the time. I doubt your trees are dormant unless Westminster had a frost one month before Lakewood!!!

Ok, will do. And no, we haven't had any frost here yet other than the one morning there was just a tiny touch on the top of my car .. but don't think that really counts!

Now at least I'm prepared for when spring gets here ;^)

mstywoods,
Looks like that's going to change this week. We have some chilly nights coming. I picked the last of my apples yesterday - Golden delicious and granny smith. I should have done that weeks ago, but I needed the weather forecast to scare me into it. I'm testing out Rob Proctor's tip to wrap each apple individually in newspaper and storing them in a cardboard box in the garage. The apples are supposed to keep for a few months that way.
I use dormant spray early spring - before any leafing starts. Now all we have to do is get through winter!

I live at 6500' in Sacramentos in NM and have recently inherited apple, peach, pear and apricot trees in a "yard" orchard. Not realizing the pests and problems, I didn't spray last season and was infested with OFM and coddling moth, plus leaf curl and spots and so much more. Should I spray this winter dormant oil and again in spring. Trees are about 20 years old and poorly maintained for years, however I am still picking apples about 5 bushels a day.

upndown_cowboy and mstywoods,
I think dsieber is correct that dormant spraying should be done in spring, but I wanted to get more info, so I posted on the fruit and orchards forum. Maybe they can tell us if there's any benefit to spraying before winter.
Barb

I've had best luck spraying in March, when the buds are swelling.

What I need is a recipe for home-made dormant oil spray, because the cost of the commercial stuff has tripled in the last few years.

Got a couple of replies from the fruit and orchards forum. Dormant oil is for spring.
upndown_cowboy, you may want to read up on the Dormant Spraying post over there. Someone was recommending copper spraying for some of your issues.

I have heard that spraying fish emulsion a few times a year helps with the leaf curl issue. I figured I would find out when the grasshoppers leave enough leaves on my trees till fall to worry about.

David, if you find that homemade recipe, please share, I will see if I can find anything too.

Belinda

Ok, I am really bored. Anyway, I googled dormant oil spray homemade and this is what I got. It has several links that you guy might find useful. Lets see if I remember how to link this correctly though.

Belinda

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Dormant Oil Spray for Fruit Trees

Thanks, Belinda, for posting the homemade dormant oil spray info!! I may see if I can find my receipt for the stuff I bought so I can return it, and then try this solution mix in the spring ;^).

I wonder if the ZooDoo (posted by digit) would work instead of fish emulsion?! I think our apple tree had the leaf curl this year, so may try this next year if it happens again.

Marj

I'm remembering something about using "mineral oil", and found this one:
"Dormant oil is a nontoxic spray to control sucking and chewing insects in the egg stage before they can do any damage. Use dormant oil on trees, shrubs and evergreens in early spring while they are still dormant, before buds develop. You can buy the spray from any garden supply store or make your own from mineral oil and soap using the following recipe:

1 gallon mineral oil
1 pound oil-based soap
1/2 gallon water

Combine all ingredients, boil, and mix very well. Dilute 1:20 with water and use immediately because the ingredients separate quickly.

So then went a bit further and found that this recipe is discussed on several forums and sites, and that "Ivory Snow" is an oil-based soap, as is Dr. Bronners.

I'd think this would be pretty easy to shrink down a bit - and certainly cost less than the commercial stuff.

Very cool somebody should put this info in the FAQ!!!!

Yeah, right, shall we go back to the debate of who wants to do it and if it would actually ever be read??

Ok, so this stuff is supposed to work on most insects right? Wonder what it would do to grasshoppers??

Belinda

LOL, Billie! I'm guessin' the grasshoppers would lick their lips and go, "Yum! I want some more!"

;-)
Skybird

Billie,
I love it when you're bored. I hope you'll be bored a lot this winter, I have much to learn!
Hoppers don't like fresh cedar mulch and they love freshly planted mums, the buggers!
Barb