There are two names to remember in blueberry cultivation, Frederick Coville and Elizabeth White. These two spent their entire lives trying to cultivate the blueberry. Blue Crop was one of their successes. Interestingly, it was a seedling that was released from Frederick’s collection after his death. In order to grasp the full value of Blue Crop, we need to understand how Frederick and Elizabeth created some of their varieties. Basically, they went out into the wilds and found the very best specimens for flavor and berry size and propagated them to produce many offspring of those plants. Sometimes they crossed different wild berry bushes to combine the most desirable traits of each. But because of issues regarding chromosomes, it made it far more difficult to crossbred these plants, meaning those original cultivars were closer to the parent plant than cultivars of most fruits and vegetables grown today. And in many cases, they were simply propagating plants they found in the wild. And because it took until the mid 1900’s to actually fully be able to cross-breed blueberries extensively, cultivars like Blue Crop are much closer to their native ancestors.

Blue Crop is a descendant of the native North American highbush blueberry plant. Some sources say that this plant was a bush referred to as simply “Highbush Blueberry” in the wild. We know Native Americans ate the berries from these tall bushes back in the 1600’s.  Blue Crop gets its name from the meaning “blueberry bush that can produce a crop of berries in a field commercially” – a great achievement for the time period.

It’s been the most popular cultivar of highbush-type blueberries world-wide. It is disease resistant and super cold hardy.  But what’s more, the berries have a great flavor. They are slightly tarter than more modern cultivars, but if you let them ripen until the berries no longer have the dusty look and are very dark in color they are quite sweet.

Although Blue Crop was officially recognized as a variety in the 1940’s it was propagated by Frederick earlier. The heirloom quality of Blue Crop is its close ancestry to the original native American wild highbush blueberry plants. Many cultivars today have been crossbred many times with other cultivated varieties, taking them far from their wild relatives.

The blooms which arrive in May, have good frost tolerance.

Fruit yields are good. And the bush fruits early. So, while you are waiting for some other varieties to develop that first berry, Blue Crop could be already producing.

Blue Crop is self-pollinating, but as with all self-pollinating plants, harvests will be larger with a pollinator.  Patriot, Sunrise, and Elizabeth will pollinate it.

Look for fruit to ripen mid-July.

It does grow edible and  highly flavorful blueberries, but they are tiny, typical of wild blueberries in this area.

Dolly Sods was developed from plants native to Dolly Sods at Mt. Storm, so these are actual, native, wild blueberry plants.

There are 3 plants in this offer. You should plant them at least 2.5′ to 3′ apart, as they will spread, though be advised that their spreading growth is a little slower than some groundcovers.

If you want something unique to add to your flower and rock gardens, this is it!

Fall coloring is a brilliant red. Plants are drought tolerant.

The main attributes that brought Sunrise from the research testing plot to the market are it’s flavor and its ability to tolerate wetter, heavier soils.

Plants will tolerate more moisture and heavier soils than most blueberries. It is cold-tolerant to zone 4.

Berries are large in size with good flavor. Berries are firm with only a small picking scar.

Fruit buds and stems of this cultivar can survive temperatures as low as -26 degrees F for long periods.

Easy of harvest of the berries is a notable characteristic in addition to it’s good flavor.

If you read about Blue Crop on this website, you will get much of the back story on Elizabeth White, a woman who devoted her life to blueberries and cranberries.

Elizabeth was developed from cultivars that Elizabeth White helped to create. She searched throughout the eastern US trying to find the most flavorful and large size blueberries for Frederick Coville a scientist that was trying to find a way to cultivate wild blueberries. The cultivar “Elizabeth” was created by crossing cultivars produced by Coville and White with the goal of creating a blueberry with exceptional taste.

Elizabeth has lived up to the goal. It is said by many to be the best tasting blueberry of all the mid-season varieties. In fact, it not only has an incredible sweet flavor, it is also highly aromatic!

Here’s the lineage of Elizabeth. It is a hybrid of Katharine, Jersey, and Scammell. Katharine comes from crossing two wild blueberry bushes found in 1912. (They named the two wild bushes they found Sooy and Brooks. Those aren’t cultivars. They are pet names for bushes they found out in the forest.) Jersey is a cross between the wild blueberry bush Rupel and Grover, also a wild blueberry bush they found. Again these are not cultivars, just pet names. Jersey was produced in 1916. So thus far in this lineage, there are four wild blueberry bushes in the equation which were considered to have a higher than normal flavor profile. The third bush is Scammell, which was a cultivar released in 1931 by Frederick Coville. It was a hybrid he and White produced by crossbreeding some of their earlier varieties created from wild bushes. It was called Scammell because the Scammell and Sons Nursery Catalog offered it for sale to the public, a feat accomplished because of its berry size and flavor. So, Elizabeth has a lot of wild blueberry in its ancestry.

The bush will grow to be about 5 feet tall and can produce up to 15 lbs of nickel-sized fruit.

Quantities are limited on Elizabeth.

Also be advised that some sources tell us Elizabeth is only hardy to zone 5 and others say zone 4 (down to 26 degrees F). We are not conclusively sure at this point. Therefore, if you do buy Elizabeth, it may be advisable to give it some protection if it gets extremely cold.

Ripens mid-season between Patriot and Nelson. Please be advised that this cultivar may not bear as much fruit per bush as many of the others.

Sansa is a cross between Gala and Akane. Akane is a Japanese apple that is naturally disease resistant. When asked to describe Sansa’s flavor, its been stated that Sansa is “just an early ripening Gala.” Other than the fact that it ripens one week ahead of Gala, it’s basically a Gala.

Sansa apples aren’t seen very often in stores because the trees are strictly a home-growers choice. The branches aren’t unilateral which presents challenges for the commercial industry. In other words, it will grow to look like a tree rather than have branches that can be manipulated onto trellises.

One drawback of Sansa is that the tree grows slower than some other varieties.

Sansa has a sweet, tart taste, and is considered one of the better tasting early varieties. They are great fresh eating apple and can be used in cooking and baking. However, to use them for sauce, you will need to blend them after cooking, as they doesn’t cook down smooth.

Sansa is also not a good storage apple. Storage is limited to no more than a month under refrigeration.

But if you are looking for that apple with a great taste that you can eat right off the tree, Sansa is it!

Pollinate with Liberty, Yellow Transparent, Summer Rambo, or Smokehouse. Tree will grow to be 18′ to 20′ and will be free standing at maturity. Sansa apples ripen in August.

Crimson Crisp is not quite as cold hardy as our other offerings, but it will grow here in Garrett County. You will want to plant this one in full sun but where it has a little bit of a wind-block.

Crimson Crisp has been our top seller ever since we started the GSCD Fruit Tree and Bush Sale, so this year, we are offering it as a dwarf tree so folks with smaller spaces can grow it too.

Most dwarf trees are placed on rootstalks that cause the roots to grow out horizontally, making the tree less stable and unable to handle drought without extensive watering. But we put this tree on a double splice rootstalk. It’s a more expensive rootstalk that has all the benefits of a traditional dwarf rootstalk but it causes the roots to grow vertically downward, making the tree far more stable and drought tolerant.

Pollinate with Wolf River, Smokehouse, Summer Rambo, Baldwin, and Gold Rush. Grows to be 10′ to 12′. Will be more sturdy than standard dwarf trees. Ripens in August.

Peaches prefer well-drained soil, but our Madison peach is on a rootstalk that will tolerate some wetness and some heavy clay, as long as it is not excessive.

Madison produces medium-sized, bright red, free-stone peaches that ripen around mid-August. The peach flesh is juicy and firm without a lot of fibrous flesh.

Madison tends to produce overly heavy crops so it is recommended that you prune off some of the peaches early in the season to allow others to grow larger.

The tree is vigorous and will be about 18′ to 20′ at maturity.  The rootstalk produces strong, high tensile roots that anchor well in the soil.

Tree is self-fertile. 18′ to 20′ at maturity. Can tolerate some mildly wet and heavy clay soil. Will not need support once mature. Ripens in August.

The skin of a Shiro is generally tart, giving the plum a more sour taste than many purple plums. It is recommended that they be eaten when they are fully ripe and soft. Before they ripen, they can be astringent.

The Shiro can be eaten raw, but makes a great dessert plum. They are favored for preserves and jams. Notably, Shiro’s also function well in savory dishes, often being added to soups and casseroles.

Shiro’s are famed for their medicinal properties. In Japan, they are made into Umeboshi, which is used to aid in digestion, reduce inflammation, and fight off virus’.

Interestingly enough, Shiro plums are a natural room deodorizer, and can be used to freshen the air in your home.

Once ripe, you will need to keep your plums in the refrigerator. They are fragile, bruising easily, and have a short shelf life.

This particular variety of Shiro will grow in Garrett County. They are zone 5a, though, so you should not plant them in a frost pocket, and it would be good to protect them from strong winds.

It will grow in clay soil, but you need to address any drainage issues, as it does not tolerate waterlogged roots. Use some support for this tree lifelong.

Will grow to be 10′ to 15′ tall. They will ripen in July. It is partially self-fertile, meaning it can produce fruit without another plum tree, but you will have a more robust harvest if you plant another Asian plum. We are not offering another Asian plum this year, but are looking into offering one next year.

Tree is semi self-fertile, meaning it will produce fruit without a pollinator but harvest will be scant. Pollinate with another Asian plum. We are not offering another Asian plum this year, but hope to next year. 18′ to 20′ at maturity. Can tolerate clay soil but needs to be well-drained. Will not need support once mature. Ripens in July.

My Dad planted Reliance peach trees here in Garrett County back in the 1970’s, and they were still bearing for decades. He had them planted down in a frost pocket to boot. I still remember his amazement at being able to grow his own peaches in this area.

Reliance is freestone and self-pollinating. It ripens in July.

Reliance is so cold-hardy you can grow it dependably in zone 3, and we have it on a super-cold-hardy rootstalk as well. But, since peaches aren’t natural to Garrett County’s harsh climate, it would be wise to provide a little protection from high winds and ice storms. We also recommend that you use tree guards and some sort of fencing around the trees while they are small because deer love them.

This peach variety is good for fresh eating, canning, and freezing.

Tree is self-fertile. 18′ to 20′ at maturity. Can tolerate some mildly wet and heavy clay soil. Will not need support once mature. Ripens in August.

Potomac has good taste, with pleasing subacid notes. It is a green pear with fine textured skin. It may develop a red blush where the sun hits it.

Potomac is cold-hardy. We have placed it on a rootstalk that is also Fireblight resistant and cold-hardy. It will be drought tolerant and freestanding at maturity.

Potomac is self-fertile, however it will bear more fruit with a pollinator. You can use either Harrow Sweet or Russetted Bartlett to pollinate. Tree will grow to be 18′ to 20′ tall and be self-supporting. It will tolerate heavy clay soil but prefers silt. Fruit ripens in September.