What fruit trees to plant?

[Todd Caswell]

Looking for suggestions on fruit or berry trees to plant in the spring, for attracting fruit eating birds.

Thanks

Todd

[JayinMN]

Some of my favorites are Mt. Ash and small Crab apples. They will hold their fruit through winter and into spring. Lots of birds will eat them like robins, waxwings, grouse, woodpeckers, etc. The crab apples blooms nicely in the spring and waxwings will eat the blooms too.

Chokecherry trees. They grow and produce berries fast. I have the cultivator "Canadian Red." It’s a nice small ornamental tree that flowers in the spring and produces berries in summer that have attracted various warblers in my yard late summer.

Any of the vibirum bushes are reliable berry producer’s and birds relish them. High bush cranberry can also be used for making jellies.

Chokeberry[/b, also known as Aronia are a favorite of mine because they are fast to produce berries and hard to kill. The birds usually do to eat them till they have frosted or froze a few times. Grouse really like them.

[Dotch]

I second what jay said, we have some of everything he mentioned, some native, and will add a couple we've got here specifically for birds. Red osier dogwood has multiple berry crops and the white berries don't last long once they're ripe. The birds spread them around so they can be annoying at times. Another one we just planted is Freedom honeysuckle. It is aphid resitant so they aren't supposed to get the witches broom the older varieties used to get.

It is fun to plant and watch what happens with berry shrubs and bushes. This past summer, an insurance adjuster was looking at the roof with me and he asked if we had a lot of berry trees planted. He couldn't get over all the purple stains on the shingles.

[Steve Foss]

What Jason and Dotch said.

I've planted almost all of those over the years, and ya gotta love the results.

[MN Shutterbug]

I've been researching the same things. I plan on going with a row of Isanti Dogwood, a row of Viburnum Mohican, 1 or 2 compact cranberry and a couple Dwarf Honeysuckles for the hummers and butterflies.

[mixxedbagg]

Anyone had luck with winterberry or eastern red cedar?

I've wanted to plant both, but I understand they're dioecious (you need a male and a female plant to get fruits). I have no idea how to tell on young plants (though I can tell the male/female flowers apart on winterberry). Is there a good way to tell with cedar? Will the female tree still produce berries (albeit infertile) without a male?

[Steve Foss]

If memory serves, you can't tell male from female eastern red cedar until they reach maturity, because it's then they produce the telltale signs. And there must be both male and female present for the female to be pollinated and produce berries. But eastern red cedar is very common, and the pollen can remain airborne for miles, so most that turn out to be females get pollinated.

You should check with the local nursery where you're buying the trees to see if they've found a way to distinguish male from female while young (my experience at the greenhouse/nursery is 20 years ago). But if you buy 2-3 and plant the so they'll achieve a cluster upon maturity (they get 40-50 feet tall with a moderate sideways spread), odds are pretty good you'll have both sexes.

I've planted both in urban landscapes with excellent success. One nice thing about the cedar is its drought resistance.

[MN Shutterbug]

I was also considering Winterberry (Holly), until I read that they need full sun. My backyard is on the north side of the house and wouldn't get enough sun to give this bush much of a chance. I've read they can do quite well in MN.

[MN Shutterbug]

Here is a layout of my future backyard. The trees are already there as is the flower garden. Besides the Arbovitae, we have a Sunburst Honeylocust, Paper Birch and Flowering Crabapple. The Dogwood will consist of a privacy hedge about 40 feet long and the Viburnum's will extend about 60 feet.

I'll have my work cut out for me come spring, but I plan on being here for quite a few years, so it will be worth it.

[Dotch]

Interesting shutterbug, I did not know we could grow holly here. We do have some areas where full sun wouldn't be a problem so that may be one to play around with. Maybe put some in down by the peach tree and see what happens. Another one we have I don't think has been mentioned is serviceberry. These have berries for summer consumption. Usually as soon as they get ripe, the robins strip them bare. The fruit reminds one of a blueberry at first glance but upon taking a mouthful, it's a little like eating rose hips. Puckers you up, lotsa fuzzy coated seeds, not much meat. Red cedar is a good habitat tree, berries and all but since we have apples, it's one we've tended to shy away from due to cedar apple rust. Yes, most apples are resistant however they vary in their suseceptibility. Beacon and Wealthy are both very susceptible. Rather than increase the amount of innoculum, we've subbed in arborvitae in our plantings instead. No berries but the trees provide good cover.

[MN Shutterbug]

Here is the info I found re: Holly.

Winterberry, 'Ilex verticillata', is a deciduous Ilex with bright scarlet winter persistent fruit. This native plant forms an oval, rounded shape and has deep rich green foliage that develops a yellow fall color. Winterberries are the "queens" of the fruiting shrub world when ranked for ornamental value. The fruiting branches are great for decoration in the garden or in the house. The leaves drop off the plant in late fall to expose the beautiful berries. You'll need both male and female plants to produce fruits.. A wonderful shrub for winter interest, this Winterberry shrub reaches 6-8 feet in height and width. It is one of the best plants for fall and winter color. Winterberry holly will attract songbirds to your property, the fruit of winterberry holly serving as an emergency food source for birds.

Mature Height 6 - 8 feet

Mature Spread 6 - 8 feet

Soil Type Widely Adaptable

Moisture Widely Adaptable

Mature Form Oval, Round

Growth Rate Moderate

Sun Exposure Full Sun

Flower Color White

Fall Color Yellow

Foliage Color Deep rich green

Zones 3-9

[Dotch]

Thanks shutterbug! Was trying to look online here at some info in between customers and Christmas interruptions. I hate when that happens! The info you found was much more descriptive and informative than what I'd run across so far. In the area I'm thinking about, the yellow fall color would contrast nicely with the red of the nannyberries here. Looks like I may want to look at possibly Red Sprite and use Jim Dandy as a pollinator. Usually try to add something new for the birds/wildlife each year and thanks to you, I may have just found it. I like your backyard layout BTW. Much less of a hodge-podge than ours. My guess is the birds won't be able to leave your yard alone.

[WDH]

Landscaping For Wildlife by Carrol L. Henderson can be a big help. You can get it from most public librarys or

trough the Minnesota DNR Bookstore.

[MN Shutterbug]

Glad I could be of a little help, Dotch. My hedges will serve a dual purpose. Besides hoping to attract birds, they'll block my view of the neighbor's chain link fences and annoying dogs. I can't step out into my backyard in nice weather without hearing "yip, yip, yap" and woof, woof, woof."