[kev]

There is this old fence row my wife and I are going to be clearing to plant some blueberry bushes and fruit trees.

The fence line is about 350 feet long. That is a rough estimate but close enough for what we are doing.

What kind of fruit trees would you plant and why?

In addition to the blueberry I thought about planting:

Mulberry
Mayhaw
Pear
Peach

The fence row is close to my plum, peach and apple trees.

I would like some fruit trees that I can make jelly and preserves from.

 

[T-Rex]

I planted peach, pear, apple, plum and apricot (one of each). The only one that survived in my sandy soil was the pear. Don't know if I didn't care for them right, or maybe I got bad trees (Lowes, few years ago). I hope to get a couple more and try again in the fall.
These first ones are along my driveway. SWMBO says the next batch will be in the back near my swamp.

 

[TxHannah]

If you get pears, I'd suggest a variety that is fire blight resistant or tolerant. I finally cut my Kieffer down because no matter how I sprayed, it got fire blight.

I have mayhaws, beautiful trees, but don't do too well on soil that dries out.

Have you considered figs? They get quite large and are basically no care unless you want to prune wayward branches.

 

[Harmless Drudge]

There is this old fence row my wife and I are going to be clearing to plant some blueberry bushes and fruit trees.

The fence line is about 350 feet long. That is a rough estimate but close enough for what we are doing.

What kind of fruit trees would you plant and why?

In addition to the blueberry I thought about planting:

Mulberry
Mayhaw
Pear
Peach

The fence row is close to my plum, peach and apple trees.

I would like some fruit trees that I can make jelly and preserves from.

Plant them in thickets of multiple varieties:

- Gage/greengage (dessert) plums, AKA Reine Claudes

- Apricots.

- Sea Buckthorn

- Goji Berry (matrimony vine)

- Quince (a fruit that needs to be bletted, added to cider, or made into marmalade [marmalade was originally made from quince, not orange])

- Medlar (a winter-ripening fruit that tastes like a cinnamon spiced apple)

- Fig. Thwack them back to the ground every second fall.

- Persimmon (an ebony fruit)

- Poncirus, a zone 6 hardy citrus relative that produces small zesting oranges.

- Hazelnut. Get blight resistant varieties.

- Almond. If you are in USDA zone 6, get Hall's Hardy almond, a peach-almond cross, or a Ukrainian variety. Otherwise, get sweet almonds.

- Gingko.

Get full sized trees and prune them aggressively back to the laterals yearly, or spur prune if spur fruiting. Plant an extended "forest edge" ecosystem, with plants of descending heights progressing southward. Allow vines like maypop to climb. Plant shade-tolerant plants like aronia, ginseng, and salal in the dappled shade, but not in complete shade. Under the vaccinum bushes (blueberry, cranberry, lingonberry, etc.), plant acid-loving sweet woodruff. Complete the planting with medicinal and culinary perennial herbs to repel pests and attract predatory insects.

 

[Two_Bears]

Kev: that depends on what kind of fruit that will grow in your area and what fruit you like.

I would love avocado or date palm.

The winter in the high desert is too cold for Dates, and not enough water for avocado. So I grow Optuna Ficus Indicate (prickly pear)

 

[Belifend]

How do you feel about nuts?

 

[barnetmill]

Others: Japanese raisin tree, jujube, paw paws, pomegranates.

For TxHannah for resistance against fireblight I have had good luck with Southern Bartlett, Olton Broussard, golden boy, and Hood. Fire blight has only on occassion attacked my Kieffers. I never spray at all for my pears, but have used dormant oil on mulberry and peach for white scale infestations
The Hood is available at many nurseries. The So. Bartletts and goldern boy are sold by Just Fruits and Exotics. The olton Broussard to my knowledge is only available by grafting it and getting the scion wood from someone like me that has it.

 

[SgtBooker44]

Pomegranate, Persimmon and maybe a Meyer Lemon. Double check any fruit tree to make sure if you need a pollinator, another type of fruit that pollinates what you want.

 

[Jojo]

I 2nd the votes for: apricot and fig.

 

[Old fart]

Plant what you like to eat. For each fruit, find a variety that grows well in your area. You may need more than one variety for pollination, preservation method, use, or hedging your bets (disease resistance, drought/too much rain, etc.). Some places sell trees that have more than one variety grafted in, so one tree is self-fruitful. Check with your university extension for varieties and numbers of trees. And maybe some local nurseries (they'll try to sell you what they have, though).

Don't scrimp on quality. If what you like is available from a reputable source locally, especially with a guarantee, that's good. Try not to buy a tree from Wally World.

Dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard sized trees all have advantages and disadvantages. I personally like dwarf... easier to pick and can't be seen from as far away.

Have you considered crab apples for crab apple jelly? The flowers are pretty in the spring and the naked trees in late fall and winter are interesting/pretty.

Have you considered sweet and pie cherries? Cherry jam, cherry pies, cherries in/on stuff, cherry juice, fresh cherries. Yum yum. Maybe even cherry wine.

Have you considered more apples for jelly, applesauce, fresh, juice, cider, vinegar, and pies that you can't do with what you already have? Some varieties keep well in a root cellar, too. Different varieties for different uses...

Maybe plant some flowers to attract bees and butterflies to help pollination.

 

[kajunman1]

Asian Persimmons - They are not like persimmons here. They are large, low maint. and no spraying.

Figs and muscadines

 

[PeachesOneShot]

I suggest planting some olive trees. Yes, an olive is a fruit!

http://www.texasolivegrovemanagement.com/

And some nut trees as others have mentioned.

 

[OkieRob]

Kev, I hope you have done your homework on blueberries. They need acidic soil and will not tolerate drought.