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Traute Klein, biogardener
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Fruit for Frigid Climates

by Traute Klein, biogardener

I write about what I know, and I know about extreme cold climate gardening, because that is where I have gardened all my adult life.

Few gardeners in my area are brave enough to attempt growing fruit. Almost all of the fruit consumed in Manitoba is imported from east, west, and south of here, from as far away as Chile and South Africa. Very little of that fruit is grown organically. We are lucky if we can buy organic apples, pear, or oranges once in a while.

I grew up in Germany. When I reached out of our apartment window, I could pick organically grown grapes which were trellised on the wall. My father had planted various fruit trees and berry bushes in our alotment garden on the outskirts of the city.

Wise Shopping

The garden centres in Winnipeg sell plenty of fruit trees and berry bushes, but few of them are hardy in our zone 3b. The people managing the large garden centres are paid to sell and not to promote good gardening practices. When you live in an extreme climate like we do, you need to know what is hardy in your zone. I have spoiled many a sale at garden centres by warning prospective buyers that what they were about to purchase would not survive the next winter.

I consider myself fortunate to be friends with the Kackenhoff family who own the largest tree nursery in Manitoba. They do not engage in these ruthless practices. They raise their trees right here in Manitoba whereas the other centers import them mainly from Ontario. Kackenhoff trees always survive.

Hardy Trees

I need my fresh organic fruit. As soon as I started my own city garden in the 1980s, I investigated which trees and shrubs were adapted to our climate. I knew that certain varieties of raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, and currants are hardy here, because my father had grown those for the last 20 years. I also knew that Nanking cherries and wild plums do well. Chokecherries and high bush cranberries are found here in the wild, and they are great for making jelly. Sand cherries grow wild on Lake Winnipeg sand dunes. When they are transplanted on clay soil, they do not even bear flowers.

Nanking Cherries

Nanking cherries are my favorites among the fruit which grows here easily. They are not trees unless you train them to be, but it really is not worth your while, because it requires constant cutting back of shoots. In cold climates, wild fruit tends to grow into shrubs, because the more compact shape traps more dried leaves and snow which protects the plant in the winter. The fruit grows close to the stem, and when I wait till it is ripe enough to fall off, it is quite palatable, about like a sour cherry. I save every pit to give to anyone who would like the shrub in the garden and the rest I stick in the ground somewhere in the country. Who knows how many birds are enjoying Nanking cherries every summer thanks to me?

Nanking cherry does not like to be tranplanted. The soil invariably falls off the roots when dug up. To start a new plant, simply stick a pit into the ground and nature will do the rest. Once you have one tree, the robins will see to scattering the seeds, so that soon the entire garden will be sprouting little Nankings. No problem, though. They are easy to pull up when they are little.

Nankings are short-lived. After 10 to 25 years, you can expectthe plant to die off, but by that time, you will have lots of other trees thanks to the robins.

Real Fruit Trees

The government-sponsored Morden Experimental Farm has developed varieties which are hardy in the Canadian prairies, and the the growing zone is listed on the label, so I don't have to guess. They are also available in the cold American states, so look for the Morden name on the label. One of my readers has been able to buy Morden apple trees and is very pleased with them.

Morden has developed a couple of hardy plum tree varieties. They taste similar to wild plums but are larger and a bit sweeter. I have a Pembina plum which so far has done well in zone 2.

Their pear trees are best planted in zones 4 or higher. In colder climates, their survival is risky. Apricots are also available, but I have not tried them, because I am not impressed with their flavor or size, and they, too, are borderline hardy.

When it comes to apple trees, there are lots to choose from. I buy my trees at the end of the nursery season when they are at least 50% reduced in price. That is the best time of year to plant them anyway, just before freeze-up and hopefully just before a big snowstorm, because they do need protection.

My first Goodland tree produced 5 large, delicious apples the very next July. A Norland apple, planted the same week, waited three years to produce, but its apples are the most tasty of any I can grow or buy.

Morden has also developed several varieties of hardy grapes, but my plants were all wiped out by a City of Winnipeg demolition crew while they were bearing their first fruit, so I never got to taste them.

Conclusion

If you are gardening in cold climate, be sure you know your growing zone, and be sure that the growing zone is listed on the label of the tree you are buying.

© Traute Klein, biogardener