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rusty_taber

New tree advice- Peach, plum, Paw-Paw and Kiwi

5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

I am new to growing fruit and am wondering if there is any advice. I live in Taber, Alberta which is zone 4 A/B.
We moved into this house and it had 3 established Bailey Hardy peach trees about 10-12’ tall. We than got 2 test winters in a row and killed them to the ground.(or I don’t know what I’m doing with peach trees) They do grow back really quick. Does anyone know if Contender peach trees would be more Hardy? Thinking of adding one to the group.

I planted a Mount Royal last summer, and am planning on planting a Greengage this spring when it shows up from wiffletree. Will these trees be cold hardy enough? I am fine not getting crops some years just wondering if these trees will survive the winter. Is there anything I should do to help these plum trees?
Has anyone tried planting Paw-paws in Alberta? They are seedling ones, not grafted so I’m hoping that helps make them a little more cold Hardy.
I am also planting a couple Haskaps and Kolomikta kiwis, they sound like they should be Hardy enough. But any advice on these would be appreciated.

Comments (15)

  • 5 years ago

    Unless i am miss-understanding you, peach trees don't die to the ground. in fact, no real tree dies to the ground (we can make the argument with figs, but certainly not stone fruit, and Banana's are bulbs not trees). There are definitely peaches that will do well in your zone. If available, i strongly recommend Reliance for peaches. It has good resistance to peach leaf curl and the fruit is very sweet with a melting texture.


    Those plums should survive for you. i would give them some extra protection if you can, at least while they establish. 6" of mulch or so around the base (but not against the trunk). If you have room for anther plum, Black Ice should grow for you and it an excellent plum.


    I can't offer any help on the paw paw, i am just trying those myself.


    As for the kiwis, i have not heard of any hardy kiwi able to survive below zone 5. when i lived in zone 5b, i wasn't able to get these to survive the winter. Sorry, but i wouldn't get my hopes up on the kiwis.

  • 5 years ago

    Any peace tree is a long shot in Alberta, yes dead to the ground is probable. The plums have a better chance of producing fruit.

  • 5 years ago

    There are a few older threads dealing with plums and those growers are in Alberta and have both greengage and mount royal. If you go to this discussion on Houzz- Let's talk about plums, you will get some great information there is a 2017, 2018 thread. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/4730069/lets-talk-about-plums-2017#n=312

  • 5 years ago

    I'm in z5 and I'd also recommend Reliance peach.

  • 5 years ago

    I have experience with bailey peach in Calgary. It’s very hardy . Fruit won’t be great quality and it grow quite fast. You should try to wrap them in winter with white sheets and burlap and they will not winter kill and you will get flowers and possibly fruit.

    contender will not be hardier than bailey. baily is nail hardy for peaches it’s a common rootstock. What you should do is grow the Bailey trees and learn how to protect them in winter before first hard frost. Than graft some hardy varieties like contender ,reliance ,harrow diamond , pf-24c, you could also graft some apricot to the bailey trees.


    paw paw will only live in humid hot areas zone 6 and hotter they only exists in southern Ontario that is there most northern range and they are almost extinct there also. you could grow one in a green house but need two for fruit.


    as for your plums both are great choices for your area. Southern Alberta is decent for european plums we are boarderline for them though. After Some winters they will not produce blooms

  • 5 years ago

    Glad to hear the plums should do well. Of the peaches you tried what seems to be the most Hardy? I was also thinking about trying sweet cherries some time.(maybe next spring) Have you had any luck with those?
    I was thinking of making a tree tent with an insulated tarp for the tender trees and heating it with a refrigeration control which I could set to -25 and a waterline heat tape. Kinda want it to run only when necessary, and I don’t want to have to babysit it all winter.

  • 4 years ago

    I've tried hardy kiwi, off-and-on, for a number of years, but they never survive beyond a year or two here. Then again, I am in northwestern Alberta, and in zone 2. I'd suggest that they're hardy down to -30C.


    I haven't had any success with pawpaw. I've tried two seedlings, but either haven't picked the right spot, they didn't catch, or it's simply too cold for them.


    Plums are iffy below -40C, and mine haven't fruited over the past three years, as we've had a run of cold winters. Blooming also tends to be rather sparse. "Opata" cherry plums are great, though -- mine are loaded with blossoms right now, even though we had the coldest winter lows in decades here in January.

  • 4 years ago

    You should have no problem with the Mt.Royal or Greengage plums. I live in the country near Coaldale and have both of those plum trees. They over-wintered well again, are growing well and full of fruit. I’m interested in growing peach as well. Curious to know how yours are doing now after what was a harsh winter...

  • 4 years ago

    Peach trees didn’t do so well. Dead to the ground. One is starting with 2 little sprouts, about 2” each. Probably going to pull it out. I am not sure how the previous owner got them to grow so tall. Seems like they die to the ground almost every year.
    Have you had luck with any other fruit trees? I’m thinking about getting 2-3 apricot trees.

  • 4 years ago

    I also have Patten & Summercrisp pears (only few years in ground yet so no fruit yet). For apples I have HardI-Mac, Goodland, Honeycrisp & Spartan - all doing well and giving a lot of fruit. I have Some tart cherries but would like to try sweet cherry again; my Lapins from a few years back bit the dust. Good luck with the apricot - have not tried that yet.

  • 4 years ago

    Did you get a few years with the Lapins? Or did it die pretty quick.

  • 4 years ago

    Rusty, I would not recommend sweet cherries in southern Alberta. I am north of the Oldman river nor far from Picture Butte. I planted a lapins, stella, kirsten, and a black gold in 2015. One year I had a handful of just average cherries from each. One year lapins had 40 or 50 cherries coming, but 2 small hail storms finished them off. The winter of 18 -19 and multiple days down to -38 destroyed them. They were beautiful trees for a few years, now all I have is 2 rootstocks and the black gold keeps trying but dies back every spring. I would encourage you to come see them in person I am not far away. I also had a silvergem nectarine that did not survive that winter.

  • 4 years ago

    Rusty, I'll bring the discussion back here, the PM was only to send you my phone number where the bots couldn't harvest it. You asked what else I grow. I have planted many plums, with limited success, but I continue to try new varieties. If you are going to plant plums plant a Mount Royal. You will not get plums every year, but when you do they are fabulous and abundant. If you time a visit for mid September you can taste some, I have a decent crop coming this year. Although every thing is running a little late again this year and they need a full season. It is claimed that mount royal has many strains and some are freestone or at least semi-freestone. My original bought locally(supplied by Bylands) is a full cling-stone. Very delicious, but during the on years we try to dry some and it is very labour intensive. I planted a second mount royal this year(from nut cracker in Quebec) hoping for freestone plums. If you are going to plant any hybrid plums in the future, plant a native plum next spring - they are slow growing and it takes them a while to start blooming and pollinating your hybrids. I also have planted a dozen apple varieties. Not all of them have borne fruit yet, but all of them have survived. I have not lost any zone 4 rated apples, where many zone 4 rated plums are no longer with me. The berries are the quickest and the most dependable. Raspberries, saskatoons, and haskap produce every year. I also have some sour cherries with a decent crop for the first time this year.

  • 4 years ago

    Hi my name is Titus I come from Riverside colony. It's south of Fort Macleod. We discovered a plum tree near our garden that has been there 20 plus years. Not sure what type though, they are toonie sized or a bit bigger. And they taste great! So I am trying to germinate four seeds and also plan on taking some cuttings and trying to root them. I hope that works out. Also I could get some rootstock and grow that and just graft it with scion wood from that plum tree. Who knows maybe if I can successfully propagate this tree we can share.