Kelby Taylor

First plant is actually Dayflower. 2nd plant is smartweed.

If they have been cold stratified, I don't think it's too late.

From personal experience PawPaw can be fickle to germinate. The one time I tried it took 2 years for the first seedling to come up.

FYI, neither plant likes being moved, so seed where they will be permanently.

I use dowels cut to length (usually 6-8"), pound a nail in each end, and cut the head off the nail.

Haven't had any issue with pathogens and they don't move until I want them to. Just be careful not to spread too far, I've broken branches.

I also tie rocks to clothespins with thin wire and hang those on branches where limb spreaders won't cut it.

For starters, I'm a little confused why it's being called an invasive weed. Douglas Fir is native to Montana. Perhaps somewhere else it can be noxious?

I'd say as long as you're not clear cutting, go for it! Forests often grow better being thinned out some (less tree to tree competition), and adding clearings (especially on your southern side like in Mollison's permaculture books) will make the land work for you.

Pawpaws and Wintergreen should be fine there, they will take shade and fruit. You might be able to do Cranberry Viburnum, they prefer more sun, but it's worth a try.

I would second ginseng if you can find seeds, a pretty penny to be made if you get a good patch growing.

Jennifer Smith wrote:Is other forum figs4fun?

That's the one.

Birds love the stuff! And some people (admittedly silly people) will buy it for decorating in fall and winter.

My opinion would be to by and large leave them alone. Trees that young are not yet going to be developing a permanent structure, that won't be til years 4 or 5(and that height). They look 2 or 3 years at most. I didn't start developing my pear trees until they were almost 1.5" caliper, probably 5 years old. Assuming you started with bare root trees, they look as healthy as they can in January, and decent growth. Fruit trees are a game a patience, don't expect big things in year one.

The first plum you have shown, I'd cut off the two side branches. And that is the only pruning I would do. They are far too low to be useful unless you plan on having a bush instead of a tree. Aside from that, stake those trees so they are straight. Too much leaning can cause problems down the road (or might not, but better safe than sorry).

As far as apples, you will likely need to spray everything except Liberty. Liberty is just about the only no-spray apple out there...Enterprise and Spartan are close 2nds but still benefit from some help.

Jennifer Smith wrote:Thank you David for the answer and the info. I really like figs and miss fresh ones. I guess I am actually in zone 6 ish but this year has been crazy cold

I've been doing a ton of reading on figs the past few months as a new plant to try out in my garden. I'm zone 6b (SE Pennsylvania). From my research it looks like Zone 6 should be able to support, with minimal effort, 'Brown Turkey', 'Chicago Hardy', and possibly a new variety from WA called 'Olympian'. With good siting and some winter protection 'Celeste' (AKA a ton of other varieties), 'Lattarula', and maybe 'Violette de Bordeaux' should be choices too. There are probably quite a few rare varieties that would survive too, there is a pretty large Figgy community out there that is always trying things out with more varieties than I care to imagine.

I'm planning on putting in a couple varieties this spring with large rocks around them for winter insulation. I tried one 'Brown Turkey' this past year and it looks like it survived the 0 degree temps of late. I should check in on it tomorrow...

Jennifer Smith wrote:What are good companion plants for figs? I am doing an internet search now.

Another forum I visit was recently discussing this. There didn't seem to be any consensus, but some people noted using marigolds to supress nematodes as well as geraniums, thyme, and mint for general pest repellent properties. Figs are generally pretty pest free, however.

At that size, there in no benefit to pruning. Leave it alone for at least another year.