Cultivars for the Southeast

I'm in north central GA, zone 8 and looking for cultivars of pecan, black walnut, heartnut, chestnut, hazelnut, mulberry, apple, mayhaw, jujube, honey locust and almond.

Anyone have experience with 'Excel' pecans? It's a newer variety and UGA is all over them for low input and organic plantings. Haven't had any luck finding a budwood source for them though.

I'm growing a handful of Pakistan mulberries right now and was very impressed with the size of the fruit and the amount of growth the trees put on throughout this season but I haven't seen any other cultivars in action.

Thanks!

I live in Alabama. I also have a Pakistan Mulberry. The first year I planted it grew quiet a bit. It even produced a fall crop, but the birds got them. This February had a couple of weeks of warm weather where it started leafing out. Then in March a late arctic blast blew in at 17 degrees. Then it warmed back up. It leafed out again, but had about 5 inches on the tip of each limb that died back. I guess the crazy flip flop/boot weather wasn't good for it. Despite the setback, it grew back very quickly. This spring I had a lot of berries to eat. The birds left it alone this time. Then this fall it produced a second crop. I absolutely love the Pakistan Mulberry. The fruit is outstanding. Did your tree produce any fruit yet?

Try Bob Well's nursery. They are in Lindale, Texas. I have bought from them in the past and have been very satisfied.

They are very knowledgeable and can help you find the correct species for your area.

Joe

I'm in Alabama too. I get a lot of odds and ends from ebay, but once a year (usually) I make an order from Willis Orchard Co. And they're in Ga...

Chris Gilliam wrote:I'm in Alabama too. I get a lot of odds and ends from ebay, but once a year (usually) I make an order from Willis Orchard Co. And they're in Ga...

Have you had good luck with the stuff from Willis Orchard? I ordered trees from them once and had about a 15% survival rate compared to the 99% survival rate from places like Adams County, Van Well, and C&O. On Dave's Garden Watchdog LINK it seems that their ratings have improved a bit compared to a few years ago, but definitely not enough to make me want to send them more money.

I ordered some pomegranate trees & mulberry trees from "Rolling River Nursery from California. Long way from Alabama, but couldn't be more pleased. The trees came shipped in soil. No set backs like you have with bare root trees.

There are other mulberries ("Illinois Everbearing" comes first to mind) that do not bud out as early in the spring as "Pakistan" When I lived in south GA my "Pak" killed all the way back to the graft union after one spring freeze and grew back a weedy white mulberry. Of course if the tree had been grown from a cutting this wouldn't have been a problem. Oriental persimmons sometimes suffer a similar fate.....and in both cases when the trees get taller, they tend to escape low ground frosts and seem a little hardier. During my 25 years in GA I tried hazelnuts of several different kinds without success. They grew, but no nuts. Heartnut grew and produced, but didn't live very long. Almonds (and apricots) will grow a fine tree, but 9 years out of 10 both will bloom too early and get caught by a late frost.

John Wolfram wrote:[Have you had good luck with the stuff from Willis Orchard?

Oddly enough, I've never had a problem with anything from them. I've read the bad reviews, but by the time I found the reviews I had already ordered. Only thing I remember dying was a Picholine olive, but it made it two years and I think it's death was due to a brutal winter unlike anything we normally get down here. I didn't order from Willis last year, but planning to spend about $200 or so with them this year. Really want a couple more varieties of banana, some cherries, Persian mulberry, and some different apple and pears.

I'm going to take a leap and say north ga is adjacent to south tn. Check out overhill gardens as they specialize in native plants and have a list of cultivars on their website. It is near tellico plains tn which isnt far from copperhill ga.