The peaches are medium to large with sweet, yellow flesh. Interestingly, Contender peach slices do not brown quickly when exposed to air, so they look nice on a platter. (Think of all those covered dish dinners where you could take sliced peaches!) It is freestone and excellent for fresh eating, canning, and baking.

Like the other two varieties we are offering, Contender needs 1000 chill hours to fruit. Therefore, you should not plant this peach in a warm climate.

Contender received the 2014 American Society for Horticultural Science Outstanding Fruit Cultivar award. It was originally developed through a breeding program started in 1951, focused toward creating a variety that would be resistant to bacterial spot and fruit between the other two main cultivars, Loring and Elberta. Contender was born out of that program in 1988 and has since gained world-wide respect for its consistency and productivity to both fresh and commercial markets. It is the standard peach in northern areas. It is somewhat resistant to Bacterial Spot.

Peach trees do need full sun and well-drained soil. Additionally, you should prune peach trees yearly, keeping 1′ to 3′ new growth. Contender is self-pollinating but the fruits will be more abundant and bigger if you use another variety of peach to pollinate. Both Veteran and Raritan Rose will pollinate it.

Contender pits are more toxic than some peach pits. DO NOT crush and eat them or use them for medicinal purposes.  

Raritan Rose is a white fleshed peach with a honey-sweet flavor that will melt in your mouth. Fruits are large, and the tree is vigorous and productive.

It was developed by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in 1936. It is resistant to Bacterial Spot.

The tree does require 1000 hours of chill in order to fruit. So, you should not order this tree for areas that don’t have long, cold winters.

Raritan Rose is self-fertile, and it does not require a pollinator. As with all peaches it does need to be pruned yearly. Keep 1′ to 3′ new growth.

Oh, but we found one! It’s called Kristen, and believe it or not, it isn’t a new cultivar. It was developed in the 1940’s by Cornell University. However, it wasn’t marketed until the last few decades because it was being researched for some time prior to its commercial introduction. Kristen will grow in zone 4. And not only will it grow in zone 4, but it has been found to be a consistent producer of great tasting sweet cherries in cold climates.

It has large black fruit that is firm with a red flesh, and a sweet taste. It is resistant to cracking and bacterial spot. This tree is grafted onto a rootstock that is drought tolerant. It resists Bacterial Canker and is moderately resistant to crown gall and root-lesion nematode. Look for this tree to grow to be about 15′ to 18′.

As with all Sweet Cherry trees, it needs a pollinator. You can pollinate with Montmorency even though it is a sour cherry despite whatever kind of crazy thing the internet will tell you to the contrary. One of the reasons it took so long to market Kristen is because there wasn’t another Sweet Cherry that would grow in Zone 4 to pollinate it. And another Kristen tree won’t pollinate it either. So, the best option has become pollinating with a Sour Cherry. This isn’t optimal for areas where other Sweet Cherries grow well simply because Kristen blooms a little ahead of Montmorency (Tart Cherry Bloom Season), so not all of the blossoms may be pollinated. But for Garrett County, it is a workable option.

The parents of Shenandoah are Red Max Bartlett and Seckel. And it is very similar to a Bartlett pear but with some resistance to Fire Blight. It also has a long storage life in refrigeration.

Shenandoah is cold-hardy to 20 below zero, so it does grow well in our area. It looks and tastes a lot like Bartlett, only a little sweeter, with a aromatic flavor, due to its Seckel genetics. When ripe, Shenandoah is large in size and yellow with a nice red blush. It is good for fresh eating, baking, and canning.

We have put this tree on a dwarfing rootstock, so look for it to get around 13′. Perfect for small spaces.

All of the pear varieties that we are offering will pollinate each other.

Summer Rambo originated in France and is often called Rambour Franc in that country. The tree starts to bare early, and it is vigorous, hardy, and productive.

Summer Rambo has been a long-time favorite in Garrett County, and it still graces many old orchards in the area. But chances are that if you don’t have access to one of those old orchards, you may not be familiar with the Summer Rambo. It isn’t in stores because it ripens in August, and as it is with almost all early ripening apples, it doesn’t store well. Therefore, our grocery chain distribution systems, that leave fruit sit in warehouses for months, would never think of incorporating it into their inventory.

Summer Rambo has a great taste and has been hailed as a dessert apple. It is good for fresh eating, sauce, cider, and baking. There have been some pretty impressive Summer Rambo blue ribbon pie winners across the country, and it is often said that no other apple tastes quite like a Summer Rambo.

It is a large, light green apple with strong pink blushing when ripe. It sometimes has patches of russet that are natural for its skin.

We put it on a semi-dwarf disease-resistant rootstock that will get around 18′ to 20′ tall.

Summer Rambo is sterile so you cannot use it to pollinate other trees, but you will need a pollinator for it. You can pollinate it with any of the other trees we are offering.

Wolf River is an 1800’s heirloom, and as is the case with many heirlooms, they seem to have natural immunity to diseases that ravage newer varieties. They have been grown in this area since the early 1900’s. Almost forgotten for a while, they started making a comeback a few years ago. And for good reason. There has never been another apple variety that has been able to duplicate what Wolf River has to offer.

Wolf River apples are huge, many weighing in at around a pound a piece. Which means that when making sauce, it takes a fraction of the time for peeling and coring. The tree itself has a hulk of a trunk, which is great because it is needed to support the heavy load on the branches of these trees.

Wolf River blooms late in the spring, but none-the-less it seems like we have a cold spell every year just at that time here in Garrett County. However, my Wolf River apple trees still seem to have a bumper crop anyway, though if there is a heavy frost there may be more smaller apples on the tree.

If you like home-made applesauce, you’ll love Wolf River. They are a sauce, cider, and cooking apple. They are not a fresh eating apple unless you intend to dip them in some sort of sweetened dip because they have pucker-power that would put a lemon to shame. None-the-less, they are crisp and juicy and beautiful to look at with glossy green/red skin.

We all know Yellow Transparent is the applesauce apple, but Wolf River is a very close second. This is one apple you will want to add to your collection!

Pollinate with Summer Rambo, Crimson Crisp, Fuji, Golden Delicious, GoldRush, Nova Spy, and Northern Spy.

GoldRush will store up to 7 months under cool but low humidity conditions! In fact, GoldRush’s best flavor comes out after it has been stored for 6-8 weeks. GoldRush is good for fresh eating, baking, and it is hailed as a great cider apple. One thing though, you don’t want to plant this apple anywhere near juniper trees because it is susceptible to Cedar Apple Rust. Otherwise, it is a great choice for an easy to grow tree.

Most of the trees you buy in the store that grow to this shorter semi-dwarf size are on EMIL 7 rootstock. EMIL 7 rootstock has to have support throughout the life of the tree, or the tree could fall over with a heavy apple fruiting or in a wind or snow storm. We put your tree on a more expensive, designer rootstock that will anchor itself into the ground the same way the 18′ to 20′ Semi Dwarf tree rootstocks do. Plus, it has superior disease resistance and is more cold-hardy. It costs more, but you are so worth it, and we want to give your tree the best chance for long-term survival.

Pollinate with Nova Spy, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Crimson Crisp, Wolf River, and Summer Rambo

Bluebyrd is known for its sweet plums. It is vigorous, hardy, and productive.

Bluebyrd is a more recent cultivar produced by the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia. It is named after Robert C. Byrd. The plums are a deep blue color with amber colored flesh.

You will not want to plant this tree in heavy clay soil. It will grow in all other soil types though. If you need one that grows in heavy clay, purchase Long John.

Bluebyrd is cold-hardy, and we have put it on the cold-hardiest rootstock available, so it will have no trouble handling winters in the area.

Bluebyrd will need a pollinator. You can pollinate it with Kenmore or Long John.

The parents of Shenandoah are Red Max Bartlett and Seckel. And it is very similar to a Bartlett pear but with some resistance to Fire Blight. It also has a long storage life in refrigeration.

Shenandoah is cold-hardy to 20 below zero, so it does grow well in our area. It looks and tastes a lot like Bartlett, only a little sweeter, with a aromatic flavor, due to its Seckel genetics. When ripe, Shenandoah is large in size and yellow with a nice red blush. It is good for fresh eating, baking, and canning.

All of the pear varieties that we are offering will pollinate each other.

Seckel has been growing here in Garrett County for over 100 years. It is very cold-hardy, growing in zone 4, and disease resistant, including to Fire Blight. Scientists have been trying to create a European pear variety that is Fire Blight resistant for decades. They succeeded with Shenandoah and Harrow Sweet because they crossed European pears with Seckel.

Thomas Jefferson planted some Seckel’s in Monticello, saying that they exceeded anything he had ever tasted since he left France.

Seckel’s are great for eating fresh, baking, and especially canning.

Seckel pear trees reach a height of only 15′ to 20′ naturally when mature. So, we have left these trees on a Standard-size rootstalk.

Pollinate with any of the pear trees we are offering in this sale.