I am in year four of putting in a food forest on 10 acres in southern Colorado with no
irrigation. The elevation is 6200 ft. Hardiness zone 6a. Average annual precipitation 16 inches. There are high winds during the spring and fall. Soil is clay loam and is alkaline 7.5-8.0. Biome is pinyon-juniper forest with a scattering of shrubs - three leaf sumac, wax currant, and gambel oak. There is an ephemeral stream bed with new mexico locust, siberian elm and russian olive. The predominant grass is grama, and there are prickly pears and cholla cactus. If there are any more questions about the area, then please let me know.
All plants were bareroot and planted within 24 hours of receipt. Each tree received a generous mulching, a plastic tree sleeve, a shot of 3-4 gallons of water (inoculated with
compost tea and mycorrhizae), and was planted in the bottom (basin) of a small
swale. The planting took place from April to November of 2021. Sources of
trees were the Colorado Forestry Service (CFS), New Mexico Forestry Service (NMFS), Cold Stream Farms, and Burnt Ridge Nursery.
The short version of the list is
Tier I: Wax Currant 84% / Siberian
Pea Shrub 82% /
Honey Locust 81% / Goji Berry 80%
Tier II: False Indigo: 73% / Sand Cherry 72% / Mountain Mahogany 71% / Nanking Cherry 68% / Golden Currant 68%
Tier III: Choke Cherry: 54% / American Wild Plum 48% /
Black Locust 47%
Tierr IV: Beaked Hazelnut 40% / New Mexico Locust 38% / Burr Oak 36% / Black Hawthorn 36% / Saskatoon Serviceberry 35% / Buffalo Berry 35% / Hackberry 32%
Failures: Cold hardy figs / raspberries / hardy kiwis / texas red oak / torrey's wolfberry / desert mahogany all rated at 0%
Full discussion of the results are below.
Wax Currant - Ribes Cereum
Survivability -
21/25 84% after 1 year
Source: NMFS
Discussion: This is the best and was not given preferential spots. Makes sense as it exists naturally in the
local canyons. Too bad it tastes bland.
Siberian Pea Shrub - Caragana arborescens
Survivability -
41/50 82% after 1 year
Source: CFS
Discussion: The Pea Shrub was everything permaculturists promised it would be. It is growing fast and lush and has flowered one year after planting. We
should all be planting pea shrubs in the temperate world.
Honeylocust - Gleditsia triacanthos
Survivability -
109/134 81% after 1 year
Source: CFS, NMFS, Cold Stream Farms
Discussion: The famous honeylocust wins again. Another tree that deserves its sterling reputation. This tree is also growing wild in roadside ditches and domesticated in people's yards. Also, this is the ONLY tree that is growing from seed in field conditions. However, it seems to be growing slowly compared with other trees. So its a great survivor, but it takes it time to reach maturity.
Gojiberry - Lycium barbarum
Survivability: I planted 14 and ended up with 23 (propagation) soooo... yes???
Source: Garden's Alive
Discussion: The success of the goji berry seems to be due to high calcium in the soil, alkalinity, and dry air preventing pests.
False Indigo - Amorpha fruticosa
Survivability: 36/49 73% after 1 year
Source: NMFS
Discussion: Yet another nitrogen fixer is in a top spot. This plant is growing fast as well as being survivable. It has also started flowering after 1 year. This is a great companion tree for a tall fruit tree as this bush remains low and can be coppiced.
Mountain Mahogany - Cercocarpus ledifolius
Survivability: 35/49 71% after 1 year
Source: NMFS
Discussion: Another nitrogen fixer. This is a welcome sight after ALL of the desert mahogany died last year. While, this bush can't be coppiced, it will still leak nitrogen into the system and provide ecosystem functions.
Sand Cherry - prunus beseyii
Survivability: 19/25 76% after 2 years
Source: Cold Stream
Discussion: Now in year 3, these bushes are established. There has been some die back, but most are growing vigorously. Also, it is growing in clay and doesn't seem to require sand despite its name.
Nanking Cherry- prunus tomentosa
Survivability: 17/25 68% after 3 years
Source: CFS
Discussion: Lost two of these over the past year, and the remaining population has stabilized. These are here to stay and have flowered for the first time.
Golden Currant - Ribes aureum
Survivability: 17/25 68% after one year
Source: CFS
Discussion: While this plant has less survivability than wax currants, it has grown far faster and has flowered in its first year. I also hear the fruit tastes better.
Chokecherry - Prunus virginiana
Survivability: 13/24 54% (1 year)
Source: NMFS
Discussion: This tree is
native to the area at the bottom of arroyos and is a favorite of black bears. So of
course I planted it on a dry ridge. The survivors are growing vigorously.
American Wild Plum - Prunus americana
Survivability: 12/25 48% (1 year)
Source: NMFS
Disussion: This tree is also native to the wetter parts of the local region and is also favored by bears. This is growing strong and has already outgrown its tree sleeves.
Black Locust - Robinia Pseudoacacia
Survivability: 14/30 47% after 1 year
Source: Cold Streams and from seed
Discussion: In terms of growth, these are the best growing trees period. Some are already at six feet. If they weren't so thorny then they would be a great shade tree for a house. Grow these in areas where you need a tall tree FAST. I think a reason they rated so low in survivability was the bare
roots planted in late fall then followed by a VERY windy and dry winter. If they were spring planted or the winter was wetter, then the black locust could make it to Tier I or II. I am going to plant hundreds more of these to make a coppice forest. Recommend highly. 10 out 10 would plant again.
Beaked Hazelnut - Corylus cornuta
Survivability: 10/25 40% after 1 year
Source: Cold Stream Farms
Discussion: These trees are NOT happy. Most have had their tops die and they are making leaves at the base. Not one is growing steadily. This was an experiment to see what nut trees could survive, but I expect even more die off next year. When it comes to nut trees in arid/semi-arid areas the pinyon pine is still king. Though I would like to try yellowhorn and pistachio.
New Mexico Locust - Robinia neomexicana
Survivability: 19/49 38%
Source: NMFS
Discussion: I am a bit puzzled at the low survival rate of these trees as they are already growing native in the area. The USDA rates their seedling vigor as "high" so I dunno. The survivors are doing very well however.
Burr Oak - quercus macrocarpa
Survivability: 9/25 36% after 3 years
Source: Cold Stream
Discussion: Well, in the last year I lost another six of these and the rest look sad. I really really wanted Burr oak to succeed so I could get acorns. But, alas it appears that oaks probably don't regrow their tap
root and without that, it can't survive in dry conditions. It's worth another try from seed. However, I think I should stick with the native gambel oak. The lesson here is plant the local variety.
Black Hawthorn - Crataegus douglasii
Survivability: 9/25 36% after 1 year
Source: Burnt Ridge Nursery
Discussion: Why did I plant these? The survivors are hit and miss, and I expect more casualties.
Serviceberry - Amelanchier alnifolia
Survivability - 47/135 35% after 1-2 years
Source: Cold Stream
Discussion: A tree that I had high hopes for and still treasure. The survivors are growing great, have outpaced the honeylocusts. and many have outgrown their tree sleeves. This leads me to believe that their is a great degree of variability in their genetic code and some individuals are exceptional. So the lesson is to plant many of these trees. I expect flowering next year.
Buffalo Berry - Shepherdia argentea
Survivability: 11/30 35% after 3 years
Source: CFS
Discussion: Two more died. This has been an underperformer, but some individuals are performing well. If I could say anything is that they don't like competition from grass and weeds.
Hackberry - Celtis occidentalis
Survivability: 16/50 32% after 1 year
Source: Cold Streams
Discussion: Another tree that I had high hopes for. The only survivors were in sheltered areas with shade and wind break, or received high amounts of run off. None have outgrown their tree sleeves.
8
