A sweet return on investment

Many people simply want to grow plants with pretty flowers, but John Campbell has taken on a harder task. He cultivates trees that bear fruit.

Mr. Campbell has 50 cider apple trees on 11/4 acres, along with myriad other fruit trees. The Annapolis man also has a greenhouse with various plants, including cherry and lemon trees.

In 18 years of growing trees, Mr. Campbell says he has learned through trial and error. He knows, for example, that advice from catalogs should be taken with a grain of salt.

“There is an apple we have here, a Dutch apple called Karmijn De Sonnaville,” Mr. Campbell says. “If you read the catalog, it says it’s a wonderful apple. When you do a little research, you realize it’s only suitable for Northern climates, like New York state. I will only get a handful of the apples here because I believed the catalogs, and it’s highly susceptible to the disease apple scab.”

Growing fruit trees can be a tricky business. Not only do the right trees have to be grown in the right geographic climate, but they usually must be sprayed and pruned — and one fruit tree may be needed to pollinate another one.

Pine voles — small rodents that eat the roots of fruit trees — are among the worst obstacles Mr. Campbell has encountered. He digs a 5- to 6-foot space around a tree with a ring of rat wire circling it. Then he fills the dirt back in the hole.

Scarecrow sprinklers keep away squirrels and deer, Mr. Campbell says. The sprinklers, activated by motion, spray water across a 30- to 40-degree angle.

Though it works well scaring the animals, “the mailman isn’t very fond of the sprinkler,” Mr. Campbell says.

Because most plants are dormant in the winter, that is a good time to buy and plant fruit trees, as long as the ground isn’t frozen, says Michael McConkey, owner of Edible Landscaping in Afton, Va. Also, trees that come in pots can be planted easily in the summer when they are fully leafed, he says.

Mr. Campbell has bought many of his fruit trees from Mr. McConkey, who ships them to customers by United Parcel Service.

“Our fruit trees are part of our family,” Mr. McConkey says. “It’s a ritual. The kids go outside and pick cherries, blackberries and blueberries. You make them part of your diet. I made a persimmon smoothie this morning.”

Beginners should start with small fruits, says Jon Traunfeld, regional specialist at the Home and Garden Information Center with the University of Maryland’s Cooperative Extension in Ellicott City. Fact sheets about growing fruit can be obtained from the organization’s Web site (www.hgic.umd.edu).

Blueberries, currants, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes don’t have as many pest problems and don’t take up as much space, he says.

Many people like to plant fall-bearing raspberries, because they can be cut to the ground during the winter months, Mr. Traunfeld says. The next spring, new shoots grow, and the plant bears fruit in late summer and into the fall.

“If you have a small yard, there are some really good things that can produce fruit,” Mr. Traunfeld says. “If it’s not doing well, you can pull it out without a problem. If you plant a tree, it will be there for a while, and you will have a much harder time removing it.”

Story Continues →