DuckBootGarden

Wild Black Cherry Tree

Prunus serotina

Commonly known as mountain black cherry, rum cherry, cabinet cherry and most often as the wild black cherry. Wild black cherry trees, I always thought were just nuisance trash trees and should be the first trees to be cut down when clearing land. But, I learned recently that these trees have been prized since colonial times for their beautiful wood and the cough syrup made from their inner bark as well as the many delicious items that can be prepared from the fruit.

Description

Black cherry is a medium-sized deciduous tree that regularly grows to 20- to 30-foot high by 15- to 20-foot spread. But, can reach 80- to 100-foot high when conditions are ideal with the current national record being 134 feet tall. Black cherry trees usually grow as single trunk trees with mature trunks averaging 1.5 feet to 3 feet in diameter. They have a pyramidal to conical shape when young becoming roughly oval-shaped when older. The crown becomes dense with draping lower branches and upright upper branches. Bark on young trees is shiny smooth with lateral lines of lenticels and colored reddish brown to olive brown. As the tree ages, the bark changes to a grey-black, irregularly cracked texture like burned potato chips.  Branches are slender with smooth pale green bark when young. The bark turns from bright red to dark reddish-brown as the branches age. The shiny dark-green leaves are 2- to 6 inches long by 1- to 1.5- inches wide. The alternate, oblong, lance-shaped leaves have finely-toothed leaf margins with tiny, rust-colored hairs underneath at their midrib and two small glands at the base of the blade. Twigs are seldom more than an inch long and smell of bitter almond when crushed. The wild black cherry’s white blooms appear as elongated clusters called racemes in April through May and produce fruit in June through July. The round fruit are about the size of an English pea and turn from red to almost black when ripe. Each cherry has a single peppercorn-sized pit or seed. Fall foliage ranges from yellow-green to yellow, red, and orange. Their roots are shallow and fibrous.

General Culture / Site Selection / Range

The relatively fast growing wild black cherry will grow in a wide assortment of soil types but, prefers deep, slightly moist, well-drained, fertile, loose soils with a pH of 6.8 to 7.2. They like full sun but, will tolerate light shade. Wild black cherry trees are both highly drought tolerant and moderately salt tolerant. Given ideal conditions, these trees will grow like weeds. They are pioneer trees which means that they are one of the first woody trees to grow in an open field or cleared area. These trees are normally found at the edges of fields, in hedge rows, in open mixed hardwood forests, along bottom lands, and near riverbanks. They cover 4/5 of the US from Zone 3b to Zone 9a growing from central Florida, west to central Texas, north to North Dakota, and east to New England.

Irrigation

As with most young trees, apply one inch of water per week during the first year while they are getting established. Irrigate the tree’s full root zone area when watering. This area extends out twice as wide as the tree’s canopy. Once the black cherry trees are established, they will become drought-tolerant and only require supplemental irrigation when there are periods of extreme drought.

Fertilization

Fertilize young black cherry trees the first year after planting with ¼ pound of 10-10-10 in March and again in June. Once the trees are established, apply 1 pound of 10-10-10 per inch of trunk diameter in early spring and re-apply in June if the leaves begin to yellow. Up to 5 pounds of fertilizer can be broadcast per tree at maturity. Spread the fertilizer evenly away from the trunk to avoid burning it and continue all the way out to the tree’s drip line. Then, gently rake the fertilizer into the soil being careful not to shred the shallow roots.

Pruning & Training

Black cherries usually grow as a tall, straight, single trunk tree and require less pruning than most fruit trees. The only pruning necessary for the tree’s first six to eight years is removing crossed, broken, or dead branches. Also, the drooping lower branches may have to be trimmed to permit better access around the tree and limit the snow load on the tree. Later in the tree’s life, start thinning out older limbs to allow more sunlight to enter the crown and increase fruit production.

 “The bark of the Wild Cherry Tree with lateral lines of lenticels.”

Pollination

The white flowers open after the leaves are well on their way to expanding unlike the fruiting sweet cherry (Prunus avium) which blooms before the leaves appear. Flies, bees, and flower beetles are responsible for pollinating the flowers naturally. Cross-pollination is necessary to produce viable seeds.

Propagation

Black cherry is typically reproduced by seed and sprouts from clear-cut trees. Birds, rodents, and other wildlife disperse some seeds across the forest floor while most of the seeds fall in the shadow of the parent tree. A cold treatment can happen naturally through the course of the winter and seed germination will occur in the loose soil and leaf litter. Or a simulated cold treatment called stratification can be given to the seed to simulate winter conditions to break the seed’s dormancy so that germination can take place. This is usually accomplished by wrapping the seed in a wet paper towel and refrigerating them for three months. In a commercial setting, black cherry trees are usually propagated by cuttings or grafts.

Pest & Diseases

Black cherry trees are subject to defoliation from fall webworms, eastern tent caterpillars, cherry scallop shell moths, ugly-nest caterpillars, leaf-miner fly larvae and other chewing insects. These trees are also prone to verticillium wilt, cherry leaf-spot, and the fungal disease, black knot which causes elongated black swellings on branches and trunks. Black cherry trees can be easily damaged by fire. Even light fire damage can cause these trees to be more susceptible to fungal diseases. Animals can also attack black cherries. Porcupines can damage bark and offer an entry point for wood-rotting fungi. Rabbits and deer commonly forage on young seedlings.

Harvest & Storage

In June or July, harvest the many small ripe cherries by spreading a large tarp or sheet on the ground under the tree and then aggressively shaking the tree. Or handpick the fruit when they are dark purple to black. Once the fruit is harvested, store them refrigerated in an airtight glass or plastic container.

Culinary Uses

Native Americans dried wild black cherries and added them to pemmican, which was a winter survival food. The Appalachian settlers used the bitter-sweet fruit to flavor punch, make wine, distill a liqueur called cherry bounce, and flavor their rum. Thus, the common name, rum cherry. Over the years, the cherries have been used to make many different baked goods such as pies, pancakes, and muffins. They can be cooked down to make sauces for meat and fish. The juice can be strained, and cooked with sugar to make syrup. Apples or pectin can be added to make jelly. Since cooking destroys the poisonous compounds in the fruit, the fruit can be cooked without the tedious job of removing the seeds first. The wood can be used to smoke meats and fish. The wood, branches, and twigs give a strong smoked cherry aroma to the meat.

“The small ripening fruit of the Wild Cherry Tree”

Nutritional Benefits

Native Americans made a traditional medicine from the wild black cherry’s inner bark that sedated the nerves which cause the cough reflex. This decoction was so popular for the treatment of coughs and sore throats that it was an ingredient in the first commercially made cough syrups. The flavor and red tint, although artificial, is still used in cough preparations even today. A tea made from the powdered inner bark was used as a tonic for headaches, fevers, congested lungs, diarrhea, and sore throats. This tea has a disinfectant quality and once filtered was used as a skin or eye wash.  Poultices of dried, chopped bark were used by several Native American tribes. These poultices were quickly cooked in water and mashed up to a pulp then applied directly to burns, sores, and wounds as an external disinfectant.

The inner bark is best when harvested in the spring and fall when the sugar content in the bark is the highest. Cut the bark into long strips from large side branches to preserve the health of the tree trunk. A strong potion can be prepared by simmering a strip of bark approximately 1 foot in length to 20 parts of water for 2 to 5 hours. This decoction can be turned into to a tincture by adding alcohol or into a syrup by adding sugar.

The fruit of wild black cherry is slightly tart but, is packed with antioxidants such as vitamin C, flavonoids, and carotenoids. These antioxidants can counteract free radicals and repair the damage done by them. The juice is used to treat arthritis, gout, as a sleep aid, for kidney health, and to reduce inflammation in general.

Other Uses

Black cherry is revered for its beautiful wood that rarely splits or warps and can be polished to a high luster. The close-grained wood is used in woodwork for fine furniture, cabinetry, moulding, and as an inexpensive veneer. The wood is also used for making caskets, handles for scientific instruments, and on musical instruments like organs and pianos. Black cherry trees are planted as ornamental landscape plants and as land reclamation plants. These trees are a food source and a mast for many bird species, too.

Recommended Varieties

The weeping ‘Spring Sparkle’ is the only selected cultivar of the wild black cherry but there are four natural geographical variants found in the United States and Canada. Prunus serotina var. serotina, the eastern black cherry is the largest and most prevalent subspecies in eastern North America. The other subspecies are distributed as follows: Alabama black cherry (var. alabamensis) is found in eastern Georgia, west to northeastern Alabama and south to northwestern Florida; escarpment cherry (var. eximia) grows in the Edwards Plateau region of central Texas, and southwestern black cherry (var. rufula) is spread from the mountains of western Texas to central Arizona.

Hazards & Cautions

The wilted leaves of wild black cherries pose a poisoning hazard to grazing livestock, especially cattle. Consuming as little as one pound of wilted leaves can kill a large cow. Wilted leaves contain higher levels of amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside, which when acted on by enzymes becomes cyanide. It is advisable to remove black cherry trees from pastures land.

The seeds and fruit also carry trace amounts of the cyanide precursor, amygdalin. So, people should limit the quantity of raw berries they eat. Cooking destroys the cyanide so the threat of poisoning is eliminated when the cherries are cooked. Black cherry trees should not be planted near walkways, driveways, and around parking lots. Because of the amount of messy leaf litter, they produce. The cherries can also stain concrete, car exteriors, and roofing. Smashed fruit can also be tracked inside staining carpets and flooring. The small, dried, ball bearing-like pits can pose a slipping hazard. These trees can be an invasive nuisance in the landscape due to their aggressive weedy nature with seedlings coming up here and there in beds.

Summary

Although commercially significant as a source of fine wood, these trees are under appreciated as a readily available fruit tree and source of home remedies. Many of the other members of the genus Prunus are well-known fruit trees like peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums. Also, there are so many medicinal uses, as well as, nutritional benefits of this tree that go unrecognized. It is time for the wild black cherry to take its place as an important tree just like its close relative, the sweet cherry, Prunus avium.

References & External Links

• Angier, Bradford. Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants. pp. 192-193. Mechanicsburg, PA. Stackpole Books, 2008.
• Bennett, Chris. Southeast Foraging. Portland, Oregon, Timber Press. 2015.
• Brill, Steve. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants. pp. 119-123. New York. Harper Collins, 1994.
• Dirr, Michael. Manuel of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses. pp. 661-662. Champaign, IL. Stipes Publishing, 1990.
• Gilman, E.F. and Watson, D.G. University of Florida: IFAS Extension. December 2006. Prunus serotina: Black Cherry. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/ST/ST51600.pdf.
• Hill, Lewis. Fruits and Berries for the Home Garden. pp.157-162, North Adams, MA. Storey Publishing. 1992
• na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/prunus/serotine.htm. Black Cherry. Marquis, D.A. 2010
• Peterson, L.A. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants- Eastern and Central North America. pp. 218-219. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1977.
• http://www.uky.edu/hort/Black-Cherry. University of Kentucky College of Agriculture – Department of Horticulture, July 17, 2017.

Warning: Always consult a foraging or plant identification expert before consuming wild plants.

Juneberry

Amelanchier arborea

With more than 25 different species and a myriad of common names, these deciduous native small trees or large shrubs of the Rosacea family are spread across most of the United States and Canada. The Allegheny serviceberry (A. laevis), shadblow (A. canadensis), Saskatoon serviceberry (A. alnifolia), and downy serviceberry (A. arborea) are the 4 Amelanchier species that inhabit most of the eastern United States. But the downy serviceberry is the most common species in the Southeast. The downy serviceberry grows along river banks and as an under-canopy tree. It typically grows 15 to 30 feet tall, but under ideal circumstances, it can reach 70 feet in height. These trees are usually short lived and rarely live longer than 50 years.

Description

The downy serviceberry forms a large, multi-stemmed shrub when left unpruned or a small tree with rounded crown and spreading branches. The small trunks are normally ½ to 1 1/2 inches in diameter with thin, smooth, grey bark. Bark on the older trees has shallow grooves that appear as long dark-grey stripes. They are named downy serviceberry because the underside of the silver-grey leaves is fuzzy when the leaves first emerge in spring. The 1- to 3-inch, simple, alternate leaves are finely toothed and elliptic to obovate with pointy tips when mature. Leafstalks are brown to grey. Leaves turn from dark green in the summer to yellow, orange, and red in fall.

The showy small, slightly fragrant, white flowers appear in 2- to 4-inch long pendulous racemes before the leaves unfurl. They bloom in late March before dogwoods bloom. The fruit of the downy serviceberry is not a berry but is a pome like an apple, to which it is related. The fruit vary in size from ¼ to 1/3 inch. The round fruit start off green, then turn purple-black when ripe. The sweet, juicy fruit ripen in June, thus, the name juneberry. The fruit are similar to blueberries and have a five-pointed, frilled crown on the distal end away from the fruit stalk. The crown is a sign when foraging that the fruit are non-toxic, since no poisonous berries have this crown. Fruit are borne on long stalks in clusters like the flowers, and the sweet cranberry-blueberry flavored pulp surrounds a group of 3 to 10 soft, red, tear-shaped, almond-flavored seeds.

(illustrated by Karen M. Johnson)

General Culture & Site Selection

These native trees range from the Florida panhandle, northward to eastern Canada, on westward to Nebraska, and southward to Texas. Downy serviceberries can be found near bodies of fresh water, on exposed hillsides, and in open woodlands. They are hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8.

Juneberries are easily cultivated and maintained when planted in the ground. Choose a location where there is good air flow to avoid late spring frosts that may damage the flower buds, thus reducing the berry crop. They prefer moist, well-drained, semi-acidic soils with a pH of 5.5 to 7.  They will tolerate many soil types, especially when kept well-drained.  It is particularly important to provide weed control the first 3 years so the young trees can get established without any competition. Once established, they will tolerate weeds, seasonal flooding, and will be moderately drought tolerant. But they will always be intolerant to soil compaction and pollution. A serviceberry does best in full sun but will tolerate partial shade.

Several examples of Amelanchier arborea leaves

Irrigation & Fertilization

During the first year, while the young trees are getting established, give them 1 inch of water per week, but no nitrogen fertilizer is needed. Once established, the trees will only need supplemental irrigation during times of severe drought, and fertilizer isn’t necessary unless a soil test exhibits a need. When planted in good soil, yearly applications of compost should be sufficient fertilization. But if need arises, apply a low-analysis nitrogen fertilizer such as fish emulsion, alfalfa meal, or blood meal in early spring.

Pruning & Training

Amelanchier arborea typically grow as an 18- to 25-foot multi-trunk shrub or small tree that commonly produces many root suckers. But by repeatedly removing these suckers and low branches, the plants can be trained to grow as a single trunk tree. The standard form is the preferred one used by orchards and nurseries since a single trunk provides the plant with a stronger structure. It is also best to maintain a height of 6 to 9 feet for easier harvesting and application of protective bird netting. Other than pruning the root suckers and trimming for a more desirable height, thinning for a more open center is recommended. This is done to allow more sunlight and air circulation to the center of the plant to prevent fungal and bacterial diseases. Remedial pruning to remove crossed, diseased, damaged, or weak branches is also necessary. Pruning is best done in early spring after the threat of freezing weather has passed and before the plants are actively growing. Generally, once the size and form of the tree is set, these plants require little or no pruning.

Pollination

Downy serviceberry is partially self-fertile and does not require a pollinizer for fruit set, but will produce a far larger berry crop if supplemental pollination is provided by a different clone with an overlapping bloom time. Co-pollinating plants need to be within 50 to 75 feet of one another for desirable cross-pollination to occur. Bees, bumble bees, and other foraging insects are responsible pollinators.

Propagation

There are several methods of propagation that can be used to multiply these plants including dividing root suckers, softwood cuttings, tissue culture, seed propagation, and root divisions. Root suckers can be easily separated from the parent plants during the dormant season and transplanted into pots or rooting beds of loamy soil. Another simple method of propagation is taking softwood cuttings 3 to 6 inches long in late spring or early summer. Dip these cuttings in a rooting hormone, and stick them in a rooting media that is bottom heated and under mist. The limitation of softwood cuttings is the large number of stock plants required to produce a considerable amount of rooted cuttings. In tissue culture, only one bud or shoot tip is needed to create large numbers of new plantlets. But tissue culture is an expensive form of propagation due to all the specialized equipment and expertise necessary. Where as seeds are easy to harvest from the fruit, and it only takes a few stock plants to produce many new seedlings. The drawback to seed propagation is genetic variability, meaning the progeny’s characteristics can vary widely, and undesirable characteristics may not become apparent for years. Harvesting suckers or rooted divisions from the parent plants is probably the easiest and best way to preserve the genetic characteristics of the parent plants.

Pests & Diseases

Juneberries are exceptionally resistant to many pests and diseases when well kept. But like their relative, apples, juneberries can be susceptible to numerous pests and diseases when not well-fed or grown in appropriate conditions. Rusts such as cedar-apple rust can cause defoliation and fruit drop. So it is best to reduce the number of alternate rust hosts like junipers and cypresses nearby. The bacterium that causes fire blight can also affect juneberries, as well as many other members of the Rose family. Fire blight can be kept in check by pruning out the diseased branches and then spraying with an agricultural-grade streptomycin.  Other diseases that can attack juneberries are powdery mildew, witches broom, leaf spot, and black sooty mold. The pests troubling juneberries are borers, leaf miners, cambium miners, Japanese beetles, aphids, red spider mites, thrips, pear leaf blister mites, pear slug sawflies, and willow scruffy scale. But birds can be the most damaging to a crop of juneberries.

Harvest & Storage

It usually takes 3 to 4 years before an Amelanchier starts to produce fruit and 7 to 8 years before producing large crops. Depending on the plant’s age and that year’s weather, yields can go up to over 17 pounds per year per tree. The juneberries ripen in late spring over the course of several weeks. Picking juneberries can be done by hand, or just like when harvesting mulberries, you can lay down an old sheet or tarp, then shake the tree gently. Because of their short shelf life, the fruit should be cleaned, sorted, and cooled as quickly as possible. When fully ripe, juneberries are fragile and easily damaged. So, use a shallow box or basket to harvest the berries, and don’t layer them too deeply. Like other berries, the fruit can be preserved frozen, dried, or pickled in vinegar.

Culinary Uses

Juneberries are commonly eaten fresh since they have an irresistible juicy, sweet cranberry-blueberry flavor. The seeds also have mild nutty, almond-like flavor. The fruit also lend themselves well to making jams and jellies due to their high pectin content. Juneberries are also ideal baked in pies, tarts, muffins, and breads or cooked in pancakes and puddings. They are especially good when combined with strawberries. The juice can be used to make wines and syrups. They are delicious when dried like raisins. Juneberries also make great ice cream and sorbet.

Native Americans used dried juneberries mixed with fat and powdered meats to make their winter food staple, pemmican. Small cakes were made from cornmeal and added to stews. A juneberry tea was also made to aid digestion and to rid children of parasitic intestinal worms.

Nutritional Benefits

These nutrient-dense, berry-like pomes with only 94 calories per cup are a good source of vitamin A, vitamin E, iron, calcium, and protein. They are higher in antioxidants than the plant pigments anthocyanin and quercetin, and contain more vitamin C than wild blueberries. They are also rich in fiber, with one cup containing 16% of the daily requirement. In addition, juneberries have trace amounts of many of the B vitamins like folate, biotin (B7), thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), as well as resveratrol. All of these nutrients work in concert to help reduce inflammation in joints, slow aging, prevent memory loss, and protect eyesight.

Other Uses

Other than as a food source, the Native Americans used serviceberry tree twigs to make cordage for basket weaving and as straight wood for arrow shafts. Also, because of its strong close-grain wood, it was used for tool handles, combs, fire drills, and digging sticks. The wildlife value of the downy serviceberry is as a nectar source for bees and butterflies. Birds and other wildlife also love to forage on the berries. But the greatest value of these plants is as an ornamental landscape plant with their early lacey white blooms, attractive purple-blue berries, and outstanding fall foliage. Because of their small size, they can be used as a medium-height hedge underneath power lines, along residential streets, or in parking lots. They can also be used as a specimen plant or in containers. The Amelanchier arborea is also commonly used as a rootstock for other pome fruits such as apples and pears.

Recommended Varieties

There are not currently any named cultivars of Amelanchier arborea. But there are numerous selected varieties of other Amelanchier species. The following are some of the most popular varieties:

1. lavevis ‘Cumulus’ – small, low-maintenance tree, 25’ height by 8’ spread
2. laevis ‘Prince Charles’ – upright form with good-tasting fruit, orange to brick-red fall color.
3. laevis ‘Snow Cloud’- upright, oval-shaped, good as an ornamental street tree, purplish blue fruit, scarlet fall color.
4. canadensis ‘Rainbow Pillar’ or ‘Glenn Form’ – has a dense, upright symmetrical habit, white flowers, purplish-black fruit, unaffected by powdery mildew, patented in 1995.
5. canadensis ‘Prince William’- a multi-stemmed shrub with an upright, spreading habit, usually used as an ornamental, sweet black fruit, tomato-orange fall foliage.
6. alnifolia ‘Northline’ – very cold hardy, large shrub with a height of up to 10’ and 7’ spread, a good fruit producer.
7. alnifolia ‘Regent’- dwarf shrub type with a rounded crown, extra sweet fruit.
8. alnifolia ‘Smokey’- sweet, flavorful blue-black fruit, very productive, usually grown as a multi-stemmed bush.

The cultivars below are hybrids of Amelanchier arborea and Amelanchier laevis:

1. x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’- preferred by many nurserymen for its large white flowers, brilliant orange-red fall foliage, outstanding in a single trunk form, good disease resistance.
2. x grandiflora ‘Princess Diana’- one of the most desired ornamental varieties, yellow flower buds, white flowers, deep purple fruit, red fall foliage on a wide canopy, patented in 1987.
3. x grandiflora ‘Robin Hill’ – pink flower buds and an upright habit.

An example of a 15 gallon Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’

Hazards & Cautions

Amelanchier leaves, flower buds and twigs contain prunasin, a precursor to hydrogen cyanide. If these plants parts are consumed in large enough quantities, it has the potential to be fatal to cattle. So, it is recommended to clear pasture areas of any Amelanchiers. But there are no other poisonous look-alike plants to worry about when foraging for berries.

Summary / Conclusion

There is considerable potential for the commercial production of juneberries, Amelanchier arborea, in the Southeast. Saskatoon berries, Amelanchier alnifolia, have been commercially grown for decades in both the Pacific Northwest and Canada. The time is right for juneberries to also be successfully produced in the Southeast with the current demand for this unique fruit among professional chefs and home cooks alike.

Plant Sources

There are a limited number of retail nurseries carrying juneberry starter plants:

• Raintree Nursery (Morton, WA)
• One Green World (Portland, OR)
• Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery (Orefield, PA)
• ArcheWild Native Nursery (Quakertown, PA)

References & External Links 

• Bennett, Chris. Southeast Foraging. Timber Press, 2015.
• Biggs, Matthew and J. McVicar and B. Flowerdew. Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. p. 520. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2002.
• Bowling, Barbara. The Berry Grower’s Companion. pp. 245-248. Portland: Timber Press, 2008.
• Brill, Steve. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild Places. Pp. 123-124. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.
• Browning, S. “Summer Berries – Serviceberry”. University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lancaster County. 2014. http://Lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articles/2014/Serviceberry.shtml.
• Davidson, C. G. and G. Mazza. “Saskatoon Berry: A Fruit Crop for the Prairies”. Purdue University. 1993. https://hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-516.html.
• Dickert, George M. “Serviceberry”. Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service. 2010. www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/landscape/trees/hgic 1026.htm.
• Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Propagation and Uses. Pp. 101-107. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing, 1998.
• Gilman, E. & Watson, D. “Downy Serviceberry – Amelanchier arborea”. University of Florida – IFAS Extension. 1993. edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st073.
• Hansen, W. W. “Amelanchier alnifolia – Western Serviceberry”. The Wild Garden – Hansen’s NW Native Plans Database. 2016. www.nwplants.com/business/catalog/ame_aln.html.
• Hill, Lewis and L. Perry. The Fruit Gardener’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden. Storey Publishing, 2011.
• Johnson, Arthur Lee. “Serviceberry Trees”. Arthurleej.com/a-serviceberries.html.
• Ochterski, J. “Selecting a Site for Juneberry/ Saskatoon Planting and Cultivation”. Cornell University Cooperative Extension. 2011. Cceontario.org/cce-site-documents/juneberry/selecting-site-for-juneberry-planting.pdf.
• St-Pierre, Richard G. ”Growing the Saskatoon – A Prairie Heritage”. The Cider Press. 2015.   Prairie-elements.ca/saskatoons.html.
• Strang, John. Juneberry. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. 2012. Uky.edu/Ag/CCD/infosheet/juneberry.pdf.

An American persimmon full of nearly ripe fruit.

American Persimmon

Diospyros virginiana

The American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is a slow growing, deciduous tree that ranges from Florida north to Connecticut, west to Iowa, and south to Texas. It is part of the Ebenaceae which is the tropical hardwood Ebony family. American persimmons have very hard, dense wood like its relatives. It is a relatively long-lived tree living 50 to 75 years. Native persimmons usually grow solitarily, but sometimes in thickets at the edges of fields, rivers, roadsides, in dry forests, on rocky hillsides, and in rich floodplains.

Description

These medium-sized trees usually grow to 15-20-feet tall, but can reach 80 feet. Bark is grey to nearly black, and on mature trees it is deeply furrowed forming 1 ½-inch rectangular blocks like a tile mosaic. The stiff, smooth-edged leaves are an elongated oval and are pointed at each end. The 2- to 6-inch leaves are lustrous, dark-green on top and light-colored underneath. Fall color is clear yellow to faded crimson. Leaves appear alternately in different sizes along the branches. Twigs are fuzzy and the 2-scaled leaf buds are very dark. The ¾-inch fragrant, pale yellow-green flowers are radially symmetrical flowers and bell-shaped. Flowers appear late in the spring. The globular fruit which are, botanically-speaking, berries are 1 – 1 ½ inches in diameter and has a thin leathery skin. Fruit are orange throughout with a texture between gooey pudding and dried apricots. Each fruit has 1 to 6 large, flat brown seeds. American persimmon fruit are smaller and redder-orange than Asian varieties. Asian varieties are either astringent or non-astringent. Whereas, American varieties are all astringent. Astringent varieties contain alum so unless fully ripe, they will give you an unforgettable pucker.

Site Selection

American persimmons prefer full sun but will tolerate some shade. They like to grow at the edges of fields and roadsides or in dry forests and in floodplains. They favor moist soil but will also adapt to a wide variety of soil types. They grow best in slightly acid soil. American persimmons are hardy from Zone 4 to 10. Hardy down to -25 degrees F.

General Culture

Persimmons, especially American persimmons, are low maintenance trees. But, these trees are not well-suited for long-term container culture because of their very long taproot. They will do better planted along a border or as a solitary specimen tree at least 12 feet away from a structure. In an orchard planting, it is best to plant the trees 20 feet apart. Persimmons can be started from seeds, bare root, or as small container trees.

Irrigation

It is a good idea to water daily the first two weeks after planting. Then, cut back to watering every other day in the third week and deep watering once a week by the fourth week after planting. But, once these trees have established root systems they will rarely need additional watering. Only in extremely hot or drought conditions will they possibly need extra irrigation. American persimmons will tolerate drought but will bare less fruit.

Fertilization

Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer formulations since they can cause premature fruit drop in young trees. It is best to use weak organic fertilizers or compost to fertilize your persimmon trees. Apply a chelated plant tonic, fish emulsion, or 5 to 10 pounds of compost twice a year in early spring and mid-summer. If you feel more comfortable using inorganic fertilizer, then use 2 ounces of 10-10-10 (N-P-K) per age of the tree. When your trees are growing about a foot per year, then they are getting adequate fertilizer.

Pruning and Thinning

American persimmon trees should be pruned to a modified central leader or open center initially. Then, they will only require remedial pruning once they reach fruit bearing age. Each year remove dead limbs, downward growing branches, and crossed branches. Also, shorten any long branches that might break under a heavy fruit load. Occasionally prune to limit the size of the tree to ease in harvesting fruit. Try to keep your tree no taller than your hands held over your head. These trees are prone to suckering so remove suckers at the base of the tree once a year. Persimmons are inclined to alternate bearing from year to year. Thinning the fruit to 10 inches apart will help to prevent over cropping causing fruit not to mature to desired size during the heavy bearing years.

Pollination

Native persimmons are dioecious and form either male or female flowers. That is, they need both male and female trees to produce a good crop. It is best to plant a male pollinator like ‘American Male’. Only a few American persimmon varieties, such as ‘Meader’ are self-fertile. Pollination can be accomplished by wind or insects.

Propagation

Persimmons can be propagated by seeds, rooted cuttings, grafts or suckers. For propagation by seed, it is necessary to stratify the seeds 2 to 3 months after extracting them from the fruit. Keep the seedlings shaded for the first 4 to 6 weeks. Then gradually acclimate them to the outdoors after the last frost date. It will take about 4 to 9 years before the seedlings will produce their first crop of fruit. Hardwood or root cuttings can be used on native persimmons. Use wood that is 2 to 3 years old for the hardwood cuttings. Cleft grafts, whip grafts, or chip budding are all good methods for developing new varieties of Asian persimmons or American persimmons where American persimmon is usually used as the rootstock because of its hardiness. Grafted trees begin fruiting in about 3 years. But, the easiest method to propagate American persimmons is by simply digging up and transplanting suckers found at the base of the parent tree. Suckers will produce fruit in about 4 to 6 years.

Pest and Disease

American persimmons are rarely affected by pest problems. Although, a few pest problems can occur such as ambrosia beetles, twig girdlers, persimmon borers, bagworms, fall webworms, scale, mealybugs, ants, and psyllids. Possible diseases are fungal persimmon wilt, sooty mold, anthracnose leaf spot.  Fungal wilt disease can even kill established trees. Deer, raccoons, birds, and squirrels can also damage trees and eat the fruit.

Harvest and Storage

Be patient, native persimmons take a long time to ripen, and harvest time covers a period of weeks. Fruit need to turn deep orange or bright red-orange in color and become gooey-soft before the sweetness overtakes the astringency. The fruit usually ripen in September and October. Fruit should be hand-picked when possible since they are prone to bruising. If some fruit are too high to reach, spread an old sheet beneath the tree and shake the branches. Then separate out the unripe fruit. Pruners should be used to clip the stem (pedicel) and the sepal cap (calyx) needs to be preserved to extend the fruit’s shelf life. A mature American persimmon can produce up to 30 pounds of fruit in a heavy-bearing year. Persimmons can be stored up to 4 months if kept cool and dry place or frozen for up to 6 months. Fruit can be picked while still not yet ripe and the astringency can be removed by several different methods. The fruit can be placed in a brown paper bag with a bruised banana or apple. The ethylene gas will ripen the fruit.  One can also remove the astringency by freezing the fruit overnight, sealing the fruit in a plastic bag with dry ice or by drying the fruit.

Culinary Uses

The genus name of persimmons, Diospyros, loosely translates from Greek as “food of the gods”. This exotically delicious fruit, as well as the leaves, can be used in a multitude of ways. Although, eating a fresh, well-ripened persimmon is hard to beat. Persimmons make tasty puddings, breads, cookies, pancakes, jellies, jams, and syrups. They can also be dried, candied, or ground and dried into fruit leathers. They can also be brewed into beers, wines, and liquors. The leaves can be dried and ground to make a healthy tea. The seeds can be roasted and ground into a black powder which can be used as a coffee extender. It is best not to use the ground seeds as a fulltime coffee substitute because it can cause gastric upset in some people.

Nutritional Benefits

The fruit are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, B-complex vitamins, calcium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and dietary fiber. Due to its high vitamin, mineral and other nutrient content persimmons are capable of a multitude of health benefits. Consuming persimmons can boost energy and bolster the immune system by increasing metabolic activity aided by B-complex vitamins like thiamin and folic acid as well as vitamin C. They help increase the efficiency of the digestive tract because of their high dietary fiber content and aid in the creation of red blood cells due to their copper content. The fruit contains betulinic acid, which is a proven anti-tumor compound, as well as having anti-cancer properties provided by phenolic compounds such as catechins and gallocatechins.

Other Uses

These trees make excellent ornamental landscape specimens with their interesting bark, colorful yellow-orange to red fall foliage, and lovely orange fruit that often stay on the tree long after the leaves have fallen. The fruit can be used for livestock feed, especially for hogs. The dense persimmon wood was used early in the twentieth century to make golf club shafts, as well as, the heads of woods. The tough close-grained wood is also used for drum sticks, flutes, wooden spoons, longbows, billiard cues, and furniture. American persimmon rootstock is often used when grafting Asian varieties to make them more cold hardy.

Hazards

Persimmons can cause bezoars or gastric blockages in rare cases in some people, but more commonly in horses. Don’t plant these trees near sidewalks or driveways to avoid splattered fruit from being tracked indoors. Although there are no poisonous look-alikes, it is still prudent to have a plant identification expert check the fruit before foraging for the American persimmon in the wild.

Recommended Varieties

Most American persimmons are native seedlings. Yet, there are numerous grafted named cultivars used in commercial orchards but these varieties are rarely available to retail customers. Some of these named cultivars are self-fertile but most produce larger crops with a pollinator. The following are some of the better named cultivars:

‘American Male’: one of the best pollinators.

‘Early Golden’: medium round fruit; early to mid-season ripening; sweet flavor; usually self-fruitful; the most commonly planted American persimmon variety.

‘John Rick’: very large round fruit; late season ripening; excellent flavor; productive.

‘Killen’: medium sized fruit; good flavor; moderately productive.

‘Meader’: medium round fruit, early ripening; sweet flavor; self-fruitful; very cold hardy.

References and External Links

• Brill, Steve. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild Places. pp. 178-180. New York: Harper, 1994.
• Creasy, Rosalind. Edible Landscaping. pp. 281-283. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2010.
• Deane, Green. “Persimmon Provisions.” Eat the Weeds. 6 September 2016. http://www.eattheweeds.com/persimmons-pure-pucker-power-2/.
• Krewer, Gerald. “Home Garden Persimmons.” UGA Extension (C 784). 1 January 1996. http://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.cfm?number=C784.
• Nardozzi, Charlie. “Persimmons.” National Gardening Association, Learning Library. 23 June 2008. http://garden.org/learn/articles/view/291/.
• Peterson, Lee Allen. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants: Eastern and Central North America. p. 194. New York: Hough Mifflin Harcourt, 1977.
• Reich, Lee. Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden. pp. 97-113. Portland: Timber Press, 2004.
• Wright, Shawn. “American Persimmon.” UK Cooperative Extension Service. September 2011. Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Accessed 10 October 2016. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/New Crops/infosheets/persimmon.pdf.

Goji Berry plants in 7-gallon containers on a stack of bulb crates

Ripe Goji Berry fruit

Goji Berry flowers

Goji Berry

Lycium barbarum L. var. barbarum

Goji berries have come to prominence in the last few years as a superfood and are appearing in different forms in stores across the country. They are native to the lush hillsides of Mongolia, China and Tibet. The fruit and leaves of these plants have been used in the traditional medicine of China, Japan and Korea for thousands of years, but are just being discovered in the United States. Goji berries were first brought to North America by Chinese railroad workers who were building the transcontinental railroad in the late 1800s. Gojis go by numerous common names such as wolfberry, Chinese boxthorn, and Lycii berry. There is some botanical confusion on varieties but most of the plants and berries we see here are Lycium barbarum. There are two other varieties, Lycium chinense and Lycium halimifolium that are also grown to a much lesser extent.

Description

These woody deciduous shrubs are members of the Solanaceae or Nightshade family along with tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and tobacco. When left on their own, they will grow into large trailing mounds as large as 9-feet tall and wide. The long spindly thorny branches are full of small lanceolate leaves arranged in an alternate pattern when they are young. Their leaves will become more elliptic as the plant ages. The small, light purple, bell-shaped flowers appear in late summer and early fall. The elongated, pear-shaped to oval red berries are about ¼ inch in diameter and ½ inch long. The slightly sweet fruit are produced in waves throughout the fall and are filled with 10 to 60, small, yellow seeds similar to tomato seeds. Their roots grow deep and are fibrous.

Site Selection

Most references state that gojis prefer full sun, but my experience is different. They like afternoon shade especially in July and August in the Southeastern United States. The fruit production may be diminished slightly, but the plants are much less stressed when planted in a spot that has some afternoon shade. Try to plant them on the south or southwest side of the house so they can get at least 6 hours of sun in order to fruit. Gojis prefer a slightly alkaline, well-drained, sandy loam soil that has been amended with organic compost with a pH of 6.8 to 8.1. These plants can be grown in USDA Zones 2 to 9. They are very adaptable plants that are hardy down to -15-degrees Fahrenheit and tolerant of temperatures up to 100-degrees Fahrenheit. The plants are drought tolerant and don’t require much irrigation after being well established.

General Culture

In my experience, these plants are difficult to grow. This is another point on which I disagree with most gardening references. It has taken me four years and the loss of several plants to start to understand how to grow them. The goji berry likes a well-drained, high-alkaline soil. If you are growing your plants in a container, use a soil mix with 1/3 sand and 2/3 peat moss-based soil mix. Add some pelletized lime to raise the pH so it is more alkaline. For the best results, do a soil test through your state’s extension service.

Supposedly, gojis prefer full sun, but I have found they do best where they can have 40 to 60% afternoon shade. These plants are accustomed to growing on steep hillsides. So, if you are growing your goji berries in containers, raise them up 5 to 6 feet on a stack of bulb crates or on a stake of pallets. If you prefer to plant them in the garden, you will need to support them against a structure, on a trellis or plant them along the top of a high wall so they can drape down the wall. Space your plants 20 to 36 inches apart. Goji plants prefer low nitrogen organic fertilizers like fish emulsion or plant tonics like Superthrive. They do not like high nitrogen fertilizers. Keep your plants evenly moist, but not overly wet. Apply 1 to 2 inches of mulch to Goji berries planted in the ground to aid with water retention.

Pruning & Training

There is much that can be learned from how commercial nurseries prune and train their goji berry plants. In commercial goji berry nurseries, after the first year a primary shoot is selected to be the central leader. This central leader is supported on bamboo stakes and wire trellises. All the other lower lateral branches are pruned off to 15 inches from the ground. The soil is mounded up 3 to 4 inches around the central leader in order to develop a broader more stable root system. When the plants reach 24 inches in height, pinch out the growing tips to encourage side branching and fullness. The fruit will be born on these side branches. After the plants become well established, prune them regularly to maintain their desired height and continue to remove any branches or suckers forming lower than 15 inches from the ground. Also, prune out unproductive branches and thin out some of the branches after the fruiting season.

Pollination & Propagation

Goji berries are self-fertile so they don’t necessarily need a pollinator but may be cross pollinated by insects. They can be propagated by seed, rooted cuttings or bare root cuttings, and by harvesting suckers that come up near the older plants. Planting seeds is the easiest form of propagation. But, due to seedlings extreme genetic variability of growth rate, fruit production and winter damage susceptibility it is not the most viable propagation method. Growing them by cuttings is a far better choice.

In late spring or early summer, choose thick, 10-to 18-inch long, softwood cuttings and strip the leaves three-quarters way up the cutting. Plant them 4-to 6-inches deep in small, 4-or 5-inch pots filled with a good potting soil mix. Dip the cuttings in a rooting hormone before sticking them. During the winter, hardwood cutting may be taken. Rooting should take place in 2 to 3 weeks during the warmer time of the year and 4 to 6 weeks during the winter months. Once the cuttings are rooted, they can be fertilized with a low-nitrogen organic fertilizer. Depending on the time of year, the rooted cuttings can be slowly acclimated to the outdoors and then transplanted into a larger container that is at least 18 inches in diameter or planted in the garden.

If you chose to plant seeds, they can be harvested from dried fruit or bought online. It is relatively easy to grow goji berry plants from seeds. Plant 2 to 3 seeds ¼-inch deep in a 3” peat pot filled with a good seed-starter soil mix 6 to 8 weeks prior to the last frost date in spring. Mist them well and seal the pots in a large plastic baggie to maintain soil moisture. Remove the plastic baggie once the seeds germinate.  It usually takes 7 to 14 days for germination. Keep them consistently moist, in good light, and at 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This will prevent the seedlings from becoming leggy.

Pest & Disease

Goji berries are not usually affected by many pest or disease problems. But, pests of the goji can include thrips, aphids, spider mites, Japanese beetles, leafhoppers, scale and whiteflies. Possible diseases are many of the same ones that attack tomatoes. The diseases that can affect include early blight, blossom end rot, and powdery mildew. In my experience, Aphids and powdery mildew have been the worst problems in recent years but, birds are by far the greatest threat to your berry harvest. So, bird netting is recommended.

Harvest & Storage

Plants bloom from June through September and the berries mature during mid-summer through October. Harvesting is done completely by hand since the berries are so easily bruised and will leak juice when damaged. The berries are usually dried or made into juice.

Culinary Uses

The semi-sweet tasting fruit of the goji have a flavor similar to tomatoes. They can be eaten fresh or dried and also made into jams or jellies. The berries can also be added to stews, soups, pork dishes, chicken dishes and vegetable dishes. The slightly bitter-tasting leaves can be used to make chicken soup and anti-oxidant rich teas or other beverages.

Nutritional Properties & Health Benefits

Goji berries are one of the most nutrient-dense plants. The fruit contains 500 times more vitamin C by weight than oranges and more beta-carotene than carrots. The dried leaves are higher in vitamin E than kale and have twice the folic acid as wheat bran. The plants contain many other nutrients including 18 amino acids, 11 essential minerals, 21 trace minerals, 5 other vitamins, proteins, and 5 fatty acids. Phytochemicals such as zeaxanthin, beta-cryptoxanthin, xanthophyll, and many polysaccharides are also present in goji berry fruit. Several other beneficial compounds have been discovered in the fruit such as the anti-cancer agent selenium and the anti-fungal/anti-bacterial agent solaveitvone.

Although only a few medical studies have been done on the health benefits of these plants, the many health benefits of goji berries are thought to include anti-oxidants that scavenge free radicals, compounds that improve eyesight, cardio-protective compounds, cholesterol lowering properties, control of diabetes, bolstering the immune system, protection of the skin from UV radiation and possibly anti-cancer activity.

Precautions

People that are allergic to plants in the Nightshade family should be cautious when consuming goji berries. Also, goji berries could interfere or interact with some pharmaceuticals such as blood thinners like warfarin, blood pressure medicine, and diabetes medications.

Summary

The majority of goji berry fruit and leaves are still produced in China, but this nutrient-rich plant is now being grown commercially in Utah, California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Many new Goji products have recently appeared in stores such as chocolate-covered goji berries, granola bars with goji berry pieces, Goji-leaf tea, and goji berry-flavored yogurt. Over the next ten years, we should see the goji berry become a well-known superfruit produced in America.

References & External Links

• Rodale’s 21^st Century Herbal, M.J. Balik, PhD, p. 201, Rodale, 2014.
• Oriental Vegetables, J. Larkcom, pp. 72-73, Kodansha-America, 2008.
• Goji Berry Culture, http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/news/2014/Goji-berry-culture, Penn State Extension Service, 2014.
• Health Benefits of Goji Berry,http://organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/health-benefits-of-goji-berry-or-wolfberry.html.
• Lycium barbarum L. matrimony vine, USDA-NRCS Database, http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=lyba4.

Ashwagandha
(Withania somnifera)

I know it’s primarily thought of as a medicinal herb. But, some cultures do eat the leaves and tender shoots as a vegetable. My ashwagandha plant was given to me by a friend who collects unusual plants. He said that it a member of the Nightshade family like tomatoes and has a myriad of nutritional benefits. Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera, is one of the most popular Ayurvedic herbs and has been used in traditional Indian medicine for nearly 4,000 years. It is a natural antiinflammatory used as a tonic to promote well-being and bolster the body’s ability to fight disease. The word ashwagandha means “that which has the smell of a horse” and the roots do smell like a wet horse. But, that hasn’t kept it from being one of the most revered medicinal herbs in traditional Asian herbal medicine. It is often mixed in tonics with other herbs because it is thought to have a possible synergistic effect with the other herbs. Commonly known as Indian ginseng, Indian ginger, poison gooseberry, winter cherry, and Kanaje Hindi, it ranges from the drier regions of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and North Africa to China.

Description

Ashwagandha is a tropical perennial woody shrub usually growing 3 to 4 feet in height in cultivation with up to a 20-inch spread. The 2- to 6-inch opposite leaves are broadly oval or elliptical. The dull green leaves and branches are covered with silvery-grey tomentose hairs. The small bell-shaped, yellow-green flowers are hermaphroditic with both male and female sex organs. The small spherical, berry-like fruit are orange-red when ripe and are partially covered with a papery calyx. The fruit are full of numerous tiny yellow, kidney-shaped seeds similar to tomato seeds. The long, light brown roots are the most prized part of the plant for their many medicinal uses. The roots can reach up to 2 feet in the soil.
Site Selection
These plants prefer fairly dry conditions in full sun. They do not do well in the shade. Plant in fertile sandy to rocky soil that is well drained. Ashwagandha plants prefer slightly alkaline soil with a pH of 7.5 to 8.

General Culture

The ashwagandha is relatively easy to grow and will thrive in the poorest of conditions where other crops won’t live. In commercial nurseries, they are not irrigated or fertilized. But, in a home garden setting, it is best to fertilize once a year with a good broad-analysis fertilizer mixed at half the recommended rate. These plants do not do well planted in containers. But, if you do plant them in a container, use a sandy soil mix like cactus mix.

Propagation

Propagation of ashwagandha can be accomplished by seeds, cuttings, divisions, and tissue culture. Using seeds is the easiest way too multiple a crop. Seeds can be direct sown outdoors or planted indoors. Sowing indoors is the most efficient method. When planting indoors, sow your seeds in early spring after scarifying them. Use seedling flats or 288-plug trays filled with a light, fast-draining, seedling soil mix with a little sand added. Plant the seeds ¼-inch deep and place them near a sunny south-facing window or under grow lights since the seeds are light-dependent germinators. Keep the soil evenly moist by misting, but allow the soil surface to dry between waterings. Too much water can cause damping-off disease. The seeds will germinate in 14 to 21 days with 15 days being the average. Prick out the seedlings and move them up into 4- or 5-inch containers once they have 4 true leaves. After the seedlings are established, start gradually moving them outside in the shade once the nighttime temperatures are above 60-degrees Fahrenheit since they are frost sensitive. When the seedlings reach 4 to 6 inches in height they may be planted in the ground or in a larger container. If employing the direct sow method outdoors, plant the seeds 3/8-inch deep and 2 feet apart after the last frost.

Pest & Disease

These plants are rarely effected by pest or disease problems. But, sometimes they are impacted by pests such as flea beetles, red spider mites, and leafhoppers. Disease problems can include Alternaria leaf spot and stem/leaf rot disease caused by Choanephora fungus.
Harvest & Storage
This plant is primarily grown for its roots and can be harvested the first year as early as 100 days after planting. But, waiting till after 200 days, well into autumn when the plants are well matured and the berries have dropped will provide longer tuberous roots. The slender light brown roots are carefully washed and cut into 4-inch sections, then dried indoors in a dry dark place. Later, the dried roots can be powdered. In order to retain maximum potency, the dried roots should not be more than 2 years old.
The foliage is cut off and dried separately. The fruit can be collected for the seeds to start next year’s crop.

Nutritional Benefits

Ashwagandha is called a rasayna, a health-promoting tonic, in ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicinal manuals, and an adaptagen. Adaptagen is a term coined by a Russian pharmacologist to describe an herb that assists the body in dealing with stress caused by environmental factors. Regular daily consumption of ashwagandha can have numerous health benefits. Medical studies indicate that this plant has antiinflammatory, anti-stress, anti-oxidizing, anti-aging, anti-depressant, anti-seizure, anti-malarial, antitumor, sleep-inducing, neuro-protective and cardio-protective properties. It is also thought to have the ability to improve analytical thinking, reaction time, memory, and could be a possible cure for Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. For centuries, this plant has been widely believed to have aphrodisiac properties especially for men. Scientific research has shown that ashwagandha improves libido in men and increases testosterone production. It also has athletic benefits such as improving oxygen flow and usage on a cellular level. It reduces lactic acid formation thus reducing workout recovery time, as well. To add to its many benefits, it can also strengthen the immune system and is effective in fighting against bacterial and fungal infections.

How to use

The dried root powder can be made into a tea using ½ to 1 teaspoon of powder steeped in boiling water for 10 minutes or the root powder can be whisked into warm milk with sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cardamom. Coconut or almond milk may also be used instead of milk, if you have a dairy allergy.
The leaves can be applied externally as a poultice for boils and sprains. In a culinary use, the seeds can be ground and used to curdle plant milks (i.e. coconut, almond, cashew) to make vegan cheeses.

Precautions

Consuming large quantities of ashwagandha on a regular basis may cause upset stomach, diarrhea, and nausea. The use of this herb is also not recommended for pregnant women because it might cause miscarriages and is likely unsafe for breast-feeding mothers. It should also be avoided by people with stomach ulcers since the powdered root might cause gastrointestinal irritation in some people. Doctors advise caution while using ashwagandha since there is a risk of drug interaction with medications for depression, anxiety, diabetes, hypertension, thyroid hormones and insomnia. The herb might reduce or increase the activity of these drugs.

References & External Links
1) Earl Mindell’s New Herb Bible, E. Mindell, pp.41 & 204, Simon & Schuster, 2000.
2) Health Benefits of Ashwagandha, htts://www.organicbenefits.net/herbs-and-spices/health-benefits-of-ashwagandha.html.
3) Guide to Medicinal Herbs, R.L. Johnson et al, pp.316-319, National Geographic, 2014.
4) Aswagandha, Herb Gram, Issue 99, G. Engels & J. Brinckmann, pp. 1-7, Consumer Health, August 2013/October 2013.
5) Ashwagandha, www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Withonia+somnifera.
6) Ashwagandha, Organic Gardening, Vol. 62 Issue 1, M.J. Balick, p. 25-26, Alt Health Watch, December 2014/January 2015.

 A properly trellised Hardy Kiwi showing the original stake

Immature Hardy Kiwi fruit on the vine

An improperly trellised Hardy Kiwi vine on a tree trunk

Hardy Kiwi Fruit

Actinidia arguta

The hardy kiwi may be an aggressive grower, but is slow to mature and produce fruit. However, once it begins fruiting, it is extremely productive. Hardy kiwi, Actinidia arguta, is one of 90 different species of kiwi and is a close relative to camellias. It has been known by a number of different names over the years such as kiwiberry, baby kiwi, and Siberian kiwi. A. arguta is sweeter, more cold hardy, and more nutritious than its fuzzy supermarket cousin, kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry, Actinidia deliciosa, with which most people are more familiar. Hardy Kiwi is native to Korea, Siberia, and the hills of southwest China. It wasn’t introduced into the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Europe until the early 20th century. In 1906, seeds were taken from China to New Zealand to be planted. Commercial growers in New Zealand started planting hardy kiwi on an extensive scale in about 1930. It took New Zealand farmers giving it a name change and the marketing of produce brokers for it to become widely known in the United States. But, it is still not as popular as the hairy variety. Today, New Zealand and China are the largest producers of hardy kiwi. In the late 1960s, commercial plantings began in California. Commercial growers have also sprung up in Oregon and Pennsylvania in the last 20 to 30 years. But, growing hardy kiwi remains mainly an experiment in North America.
Description

The hardy kiwi plant is a highly vigorous, deciduous, perennial woody vine. The vines are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are borne on different plants so both sexes must be planted in order to produce fruit. It has 3- to 5-inch, deeply-toothed, glossy, deep-green leaves. The stems have a bright red tint. The 1- to 1 ½-inch, fragrant, white flowers have dark brown centers with purple anthers and are borne on the previous year’s growth. The 1 inch fruit are about the size of a large grape and are held in clusters. The fruit have a thin, shiny, smooth, brownish-green skin which wrinkles when ripe and emerald green flesh. The skin of the fruit is edible so peeling isn’t necessary. The fruit is aromatic with hints of pear, banana, strawberry, and pineapple flavors. The fruit’s sweet flavor and their convenient size make them an easy choice for raw eating.
Site Selection

Hardy Kiwis grow in zones 4 to 9 and are extremely cold hardy even down to -25 degrees Fahrenheit. However, their flower buds and young shoots can be damaged by late frosts so avoid planting them in low-lying frost pockets. Try to plant them in a northern exposure site where they will get some warmth from the sun in early spring. They perform well in partial shade and may do better with 20 to 50% shade in warmer arid climates. These plants are also susceptible to wind damage, especially in hot, dry conditions. So, construct a windbreak or plant along a building or fence that will offer some shielding from drying winds. Hardy kiwis like a loamy, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter with a slightly acidic pH of 6.5 to 7. These plants do not tolerate poorly drained, heavy soils. Hardy kiwis require support, so give them plenty of room for their trellis system which is detailed below.

General Culture

It is easier to establish your vines using containerized plants instead of bare root plants. Plant your hardy kiwi in mid to late April after any chance of frost. Dig a hole much deeper than the root ball and mix in lots of organic matter such as leaf mulch, peat moss, or ground pine bark. Plant the root ball about an inch above ground level and mound up a deep application of mulch, this will aid with drainage. Mulch heavily the first fall to protect the young roots. Water the new transplants frequently for the first 2 weeks. Hardy kiwis don’t like to be too dry, so water abundantly during the growing season, especially in arid climates.
If planting multiple plants, place them 10 feet apart. The male varieties can be planted side-by-side with a female fruiting variety if need be. Train 1 main cane of each plant on a 7 foot bamboo or fiberglass stake. Tie it loosely to the stake and monitor it closely to assure it grows straight and doesn’t curl or twist around the stake. It may take 1 to 2 years for the primary cane you have chosen to reach the top of the stake. Once the cane reaches the top of the stake, prune the tip to encourage lateral growth to form. Choose 2 lateral shots and attach them to the wires of the trellis to protect them from wind damage and offer them support.

Trellis System

Hardy kiwi vines require a substantial support system in place since they are incapable of supporting their own weight, especially while fruiting. Support of the vines is usually done in one of three ways: a single wire trellis, a patio cover/awning as support, or by a 3- to 5-wire T-bar trellis system. Situate your chosen trellis system so the staked plant is at the center of the system.
The T-bar system is by far the best trellis system and is what is normally used in commercial production. It can be built with two, 8 foot tall, 6 inch x 6 inch, cedar or pressure-treated wood posts each with a 5 foot, 4 inch x 4 inch cross-arm bolted in place at the apex of the main posts to form the T-shape support. Anchor the support posts 2 feet deep in concrete 10 feet apart. Also, put 2 foot dead-man post cemented underground at a 90-degree angle to each support post. Attach 3 to 5, 8- to 10-gauge, galvanized wires equal-distance apart along the cross-arms in a clothesline fashion. Use eyelet screws to attach the wires to the cross-arms. Stretch the wires tautly between the two cross-bars with a come-along. The wires should have a 300-pound tensile strength in order to support the heavy vines when fruiting.

Irrigation

Hardy kiwis do not like to get too dry. The vines and large leaves of the hardy kiwi transpire large amounts of water rapidly during the hot, windy days of late spring and summer. So, it is necessary to water young transplants deeply once a week. Established kiwis need a great deal of water also and should be irrigated throughout the growing season as needed for optimum plant growth and good fruit production. Overhead irrigation by sprinklers or by hand watering is acceptable, but drip irrigation is more efficient.

Fertilization

Hardy Kiwis burn very easily, but they are also heavy nitrogen feeders, so apply fertilizer judiciously. Don’t fertilize the first year after planting to let the young plant get established. Early spring the second year, apply 2 ounces of 10-10-10 N-P-K fertilizer per plant. Increase the application by 2 ounces each year until you are putting out 8 ounces per plant, then do not exceed this amount of fertilizer per plant in the following years. These applications can be split with half in early spring and the other half in early summer. Don’t fertilize after June in order to let the plants harden-off for winter. Instead of chemical fertilizer, well-aged manure can be applied at a rate of 3 to 5 pounds per plant in late winter and again after fruit set. To avoid crown rot, do not apply manure or mulch in direct contact with the vine.

Pruning and Training

As mentioned earlier, you must prune the tip of the primary vine once it reaches the top of its 7-foot support stake in order to promote lateral growth. Once 2 lateral branches or cordons are produced, drape them over the center wire in each direction of your trellis system. These cordons will form the permanent framework of your trellised plant. Fruiting laterals will develop about every 24 to 30 inches along these cordons and grow perpendicular across the wires of the T-bar trellis. During the first dormant season, cut these first year fruiting laterals just beyond the outer most wire of the trellis. Kiwi vines must be pruned throughout their lifetime in order to keep the plants tidy and promote maximum fruit production. They produce their fruit on current season’s growth that comes from 1-year-old wood. Thus, it is important to maximize these fruiting laterals each year. When maintained like this, the vines can stay productive for 60 years or more. It is best to do most of the pruning in late winter while the plants are dormant, this will avoid excessive bleeding of sap that is prone to happen during the growing season. Light pruning several times during the growing season to manage the rampant growth by simply nipping off any overlapping leaves or stems that might shade out fruit is acceptable, but don’t cut any vines of a quarter inch or more.

Pollination

Since hardy kiwis are dioecious (male and female flowers are on separate vines), female plants produce the fruit but male plants are also needed for cross-pollination. One male plant pollinizer inter planted among five to nine females is usually enough to ensure good pollination. Because different cultivars bloom at different times, make sure that both the male and female plants bloom at the same time in order to guarantee pollination. Pollination is done by wind or insects such as honeybees.

Propagation

Propagation can be accomplished by seeds, cuttings, layering, or grafting. When done by seeds, remove the seeds from a mature fruit and let them dry on a paper towel for two days. Next, refrigerate them for four months in moist perlite at 40-degrees Fahrenheit to fulfill the stratification process. Then, plant the seeds no deeper than 1/8 inch in a seedling potting soil mix. Cover the container with plastic to keep it moist and the humidity high. Uncover the container once the seedlings start to germinate. When all the seedlings are up, put a thin layer of clean sand on top of the potting medium. Also, keep the seedlings well ventilated since they are prone to damping off. Transplant the seedlings to individual 4-inch pots once they have put on 4 true leaves. After the plants get 6 inches tall shift them to a 1-gallon pot. Later, when the plants get 12 inches tall, transplant them to where they will be growing.
When propagating by cuttings, you can take softwood cuttings in late spring of wood that has had at least 500 chilling hours or ripe hardwood cuttings in October or November. Clip the cuttings just below the node and remove the 2 lowest leaves and use a rooting hormone like indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) before sticking the cuttings in a well-drained soil medium comprised of 50% peat moss and 50% perlite or a mix of equal parts garden soil, perlite, and peat moss. In order to expedite rooting, employ bottom heat and mist irrigation inside a hoop house. Also, use plastic sweat tents or cloches made from 2-liter soda bottles to keep the humidity constant. Cuttings usually take 6 to 8 weeks to root properly.

Pest & Disease

These fruit are not normally affected by most pest and disease problems. Their fruit, unlike most fruit and berries, does not attract birds. But oddly enough, cats can be a major problem with damaging the bark of young vines because of their catnip-like scent. Cats like to rub up against the vines and can cause damage to the new growth. Protect young vines from cat damage by building small chicken wire cages. Garden snails can also be a problem on younger plants. Voles, deer, and rabbits can be a problem as with so many other crops. Root knot nematodes can be a problem as well, but can be controlled with predatory nematodes. Scale insects and greenhouse thrips can be damaging, too, if allowed to reach extensive populations. But, the most prevalent problem is root and crown rot that is exacerbated by poorly drained, heavy soils like southern clay soils. Hardy kiwis have fleshy roots that are prone to root rot when they sit with water around them too long.

Harvest & Storage

The fruit ripen in late summer or early fall depending upon the variety. The harvest usually comes as one single, large, manageable harvest instead of a selection harvest over several pickings. The kiwi fruit are ripe when they become soft to the touch, are slightly wrinkled and pull off easily. They taste best when harvested completely ripe. But, can be picked early while still firm then ripened with the ethylene gas from a bruised apple or banana in a paper bag. When harvested early in this manner, they can be stored in the refrigerator using an air-tight plastic bag for up to 2 months and consumed as needed. Hardy kiwis have a shorter shelf life due to their higher sugar content (18 to 29% sugar content) that is nearly double that of their fuzzy commercial relative. Although, it may take up to 5 years before hardy kiwi start to bear fruit, they are one of the most prolific fruiting plants. A single mature plant can yield 50 to 100 pounds of fruit per year.

Culinary Uses

Hardy kiwis can be eaten fresh as a snack or added to tropical-style salads. Nutrient-packed hardy kiwi can be used as a practical ingredient to bakery goods. The fruit can be sun dried or pickled in brine as is popular in China and Japan. The juice can be made into a delightful wine. The juice can also be used as a meat tenderizer since it has the enzyme papain, which is also found in papaya. When adding the fruit to dairy or gelatin dishes, cook it first to neutralize the enzyme.

Nutritional Benefits

The fruit of the hardy kiwi is higher in vitamin C than oranges. One serving can have over 200% of the RDA for vitamin C. Vitamin C assists in boosting the immune system, healing wounds, as well as increasing iron absorption. Scientific studies show that dietary fiber and phytonutrients in the fruit not only inhibit some cancerous cell growth, but are cytotoxic to the malignant cancer cells without affecting normal cells. Eating this fruit has cardiovascular benefits also by reducing triglycerides in the blood, thus avoiding blood clots, and the trace mineral chromium helps regulate heartbeats. Other studies show that consuming kiwi fruit weekly aids in lessening the effects of asthma. Asthmatics experience decreased wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath during the study. Hardy kiwi is a source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytochemicals which contribute to eye health. The fruit’s vitamin A also protects the eye from macular degeneration and cataracts. These nutrient-rich fruit also have high levels of folate, vitamin E, vitamin K, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and other anti-oxidants that are helpful in neutralizing free radicals.

Recommended Varieties

Development of new varieties of hardy kiwi is still in the early stages due to the newness of the crop in the United States. Several standout varieties are as follows:
‘Ananasnaja’ or ‘Anna’ – bears relatively large smooth fruit with a sweet aroma and intense flavor. Fruit color is green to a red-purple blush. The stems have a red tint. It is highly productive and recognized as the standard by which all other varieties are compared. Does best in Zones 5 to 7.
‘Geneva’—the fruit has good quality and good flavor. It ripens earlier than ‘Anna’.
‘Dumbarton Oaks’—the fruit is green and slightly ribbed. Appropriate for short-season areas since they produce early but will do well in all regions of Zones 5 to 7.
‘Issai’—is one of the few self-fruitful varieties. It has small sweet green grape-size fruit. The vines are less vigorous and produce far less than other varieties. This cultivar will have larger harvests when cross-pollinated. Good for Zones 5 to 8.
‘Langer’—shows promise since it tolerates many adverse conditions such as drought, high winds and severe cold. It yields medium-size fruit of good quality.
All varieties of hardy kiwi except ‘Issai’ and an experimental variety, ‘119-40B’ require a male pollinizer. A couple good male pollinators are ‘Male’, ’74-46’, and ‘Meader’ (male).
Other hardy kiwi cultivars of merit are ‘Ken’s Red Hardy’, ‘Fortyniner’, ‘Michigan State’, and ‘Meyer’s Cordifolia’.

References & External Links

• The Berry Grower’s Companion, B.L. Bowling, pp. 231-238, Timber Press, 2000.
• Edible Landscaping, R. Creasy, pp. 249-251, Sierra Club Books, 2010.
• Growing Kiwifruit, Oregon State University Extension, 2005, http://catalog.extension.oregon.edu/sites/catalog/file PNW 507.
• Kiwi Fruit: Health Benefits and Nutritional Value, https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/kiwi.html.
• Kiwifruit Production Guide, D.G. Himelick & A. Powell, Auburn University Publication ANR-1084, 1998.
• Hardy Kiwifruit, https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/hardy-kiwifruit.html.
• Kiwifruit Production in California, J.A. Beutel, University of California – Davis, Small Farm Program, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication, 1990.
• Uncommon Fruits Worthy of Attention, L. Reich, pp.121-138, Addison-Wesley, 1991.

3 Gallon Gynura

Cuttings of Gynura

Longevity Spinach

Gynura procumbens

A fellow plant collector in LaGrange, Georgia, gave me a small Gynura procumbens plant that his friend from the Philippines had given him.  After a little research, I found that this unique herbaceous plant has so many uses and benefits that it’s surprising that it doesn’t wash and wax your car, too.  Considering its extensive medicinal value, I am embarrassed to say that I knew nothing about it.

Historical Origins

It’s not exactly clear if this member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae, originated in West Africa or in Southeast Asia. It has been passed around the world so many times. Gynura procumbens is especially widely consumed in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It is known by several different common names. In Thai it is called longevity spinach and in Chinese it called “pointed phoenix tail”. Other names are sabungai, cholesterol spinach and leaves of the gods.

Description

Gynura procumbens is a tropical evergreen vegetable. If left to its own natural form, it will grow as a scrambling vine about 2 feet tall with floppy stems stretching out to 18- to 20-feet long.  It can also be maintained as a small bush in a container if given regular pruning and support.

General Culture

Longevity spinach grows best in partial shade but will tolerate full sun if given regular irrigation. It is only cold hardy in Zone 9 to 11, so protect it from freezing during the winter months. It will take a light frost, but it is best to keep it indoors or in a greenhouse when temperatures dip below 40-degrees F. The plant’s growth slows to a crawl during the winter months and when it is in its blooming cycle in spring. Then, its prolific growth accelerates again during the warm summer months. Gynura procumbens prefers moist fertile soil and doesn’t perform well during times of drought.

Fertilization

When a pH of 6.5 is maintained, frequent fertilization is not necessary. A light application 3 to 4 times a year with a 20-10-10 or 20-0-0 N-P-K analysis liquid fertilizer is adequate. Bone meal (4-12-0) is a good, inexpensive, slow release, organic fertilizer to use in addition to the liquid fertilizer.

Pruning

If you are going to maintain this prolific plant as a small shrub, it will require monthly pruning. Trimming plants only forces them to grow faster.  It should be sheared back to a conical form and the clippings can be consumed or placed in water in order to propagate more plants. The plant seems to take well to being supported by a bamboo teepee or espaliered on a wooden trellis.

Pollination & Propagation

Pollination is not important since no viable seeds are produced by the flowers. Propagation is best accomplished asexually by cuttings. Each cutting should be 10- to 18-inches long and placed in a vase of filtered water. The cutting will root in 10 to14 days at 65 to 75 degrees. Then, the rooted cuttings can be potted into a general potting mix and kept moist for the next 10 days until they get established.

Pest & Disease

This tough plant seldom has pest problems, but aphids and spider mites can be a minor nuisance.  A strong spray of water can usually wash off most of these pests. Repeat the rinsing if the pests return. If these pests continue to persist, try using insecticidal soap or neem oil-based pesticide.

Harvest & Storage

This plant is so prolific that during spring and summer it doesn’t miss losing 3 to 6 leaves per day. The leaves will keep refrigerated in a plastic baggie for up to 10 days. The leaves can also be shredded in a blender and frozen for consumption later.

Culinary Uses

The leaves should be eaten raw for the best medicinal effects. It also has many other culinary uses. It may be substituted for lettuce in a sandwich and it is excellent as a crunchy salad green, too. It can be eaten steamed, used in stir-fries, or chopped up in stews or soups just like regular spinach. The stems can also be sliced up and used like celery.

Nutritional Benefits

This sprawling, leafy plant has been used in Asian folk medicine for centuries. There are numerous health benefits attributed to Gynura procumbens, but the most profound ones are its ability to lower blood pressure and its ability to lower blood sugar levels for diabetics. Longevity spinach’s anti-hypertensive properties may revolve around its capacity to increase nitric oxide, a vasodilator, in blood vessels. Scientific research has shown that both type 2 and type 1 diabetics benefit from the plant’s ability to reduce blood glucose levels. This plant, also, has an anti-hyperlipidemic effect which lowers cholesterol and triglycerides as it protects the body from heart and liver disease. Bioactive steroids and alkaloids in Gynua procumbens have shown promise as anti-inflammatory agents in scientific studies. Other medical research has indicated that this plant may enhance the body’s healing capabilities. Also, it may have anti-fungal, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties, as well as, being able to scavenge free radicals.

Recommended Varieties

There is a purple-stemmed unnamed cultivar of Gynura procumbens in addition to the common green variety. Okinawa spinach (Gynura crepiodes) and purple passion vine (Gynura auranbaca) the house plant are both in the same genus with longevity spinach.

Summary

I can personally attest for this plant’s ability to adjust ones blood pressure. I had slightly elevated blood pressure until I started eating 3 raw leaves per day. Now, after several months, my blood pressure is nearly text book for my age and the lowest among any of my co-workers. I don’t have personal experience with the plant assisting leveling off blood sugar, but medical research points in that direction.

References & External Links

• “ASHITABA vs Gynura Procumbens”. http://ashitabaplant.blogspot.com/2011/06/ashitaba-vs-gynura-procumbens.html
• “Longevity Spinach Cuttings – Gynura Procumbens.” http://www.localharvest.org/longevity-spinach-cuttings-gynura-procumbens-C26494
• “Gynura – for Diabetes, Hypertension, High-cholesterol, Rheumatism, Viral Ailments, and Other Illness.” http://www.spiritguidedhealer.com/herbs/gynura.html
• “Gynura Procumbens.” http://www.gynura.blogspot.com

A loquat tree in bloom this fall.

A loquat tree that has been pruned for easier fruit harvesting.

A close-up of loquat foliage.

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica

I try to stay at a hotel in Valdosta, Georgia each January that has a heavy landscape planting of dozens of loquat trees in order to eat the many ripe fruit. No one else in the area seems to know that the abundant small yellow-orange fruit are edible so I have them all to myself. The hotel staff has gotten used to my foraging visits, but they still must think I’m quite odd climbing in their trees to harvest bags full of the delicious fruit.

Historical Origins

The loquat originated in the cool hilly regions of southeastern China where the fruit were solely reserved for royalty. They were brought to Japan about 700 A.D. Japan is now the largest commercial producer of loquats in the world. These unique fruit trees were mentioned in western literature as early as 1690 and were first imported from Canton, China to Kew Gardens in London in 1787. Chinese immigrants brought loquats to California and Hawaii in the early 19^th century. The loquat is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, and is known by many names including Chinese plum, Japanese medlar, biwa, pipa and nispero.

Description

An attractive small sub-tropical tree, the loquat can reach 30 feet in height with a 10- to 20-foot spread. It has a short trunk and a rounded spreading crown similar to that of a magnolia tree, but with large tropical-looking evergreen foliage on wooly twigs. The corrugated obovate-lanceolate leaves are 5 to 12 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide, glossy dark green on the upper side and downy white or gold underneath. The small, sweetly fragrant, creamy white flowers are borne in rust-colored hairy clusters. The loquat blooms in the fall, and 90 days later, the fruit ripens in winter. The yellow-orange fruit are 1 to 2 inches in diameter and form in dense clusters. Fruit can be oblong, spherical, or pear-shaped and white to yellow fleshed, depending on the variety. The chewy succulent pulp of the loquat fruit can vary from sweet to semi-acidic. Each fruit can have up to 10 large black-brown seeds, but usually average 3 to 5 seeds.

General Culture

The low maintenance loquat is an easy plant to grow. It prefers full sun to partial shade and adapts well to most well-drained soils with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 that has modest fertility. Loquats do not tolerate standing water well. These trees can survive in Zones 7 to 10, but they will only produce mature fruit where the winter temperatures stay above 27 degrees F. Therefore, loquats are used only as an ornamental landscape plant in Zone 7. They are wind tolerant and drought tolerant but need regular watering when young or while fruiting.

It is best to plant loquats in the fall, but anytime is fine. Young loquats can be slow to root, so stake them for the first two years. They are also sensitive to competition from weeds so prepare a 3 inch deep mulched weed-free zone of 2 to 3 feet around each tree. Be careful when cultivating near a loquat since they are shallow rooted. Loquats also need plenty of space to grow so plant them no closer than 25 to 30 feet from the next closest tree, structures, or above ground power lines. Also, do not plant these trees near swimming pools or outdoor living spaces since they drop lots of ripe fruit which attracts bees and wasps.

Fertilization

Fertilize with a 6-6-6 NPK fertilizer, or use well composted manure, three times per year when the tree is actively growing. If growing in sandy soil, use a slow release 14-14-14 NPK fertilizer once a year in addition to your other fertilizer applications. Be careful not to over-fertilize since it can reduce flowering thus reduce fruiting and make the plants more susceptible to fire blight.

Pruning

Loquats usually only require remedial pruning such as pruning out dead, diseased, or crossed limbs. They will tolerate hard pruning, so it is possible to prune to adjust height and spread. This type of pruning is often done by commercial loquat growers for ease of picking and thinning. Loquats have a tendency to bear in alternate years; in order to prevent this, prune after harvest each year.

Pollination

Loquats can be either self-fertile or require cross-pollination. Whether your trees are self-fruitful or needing a pollinator, it is still a good idea to plant at least two varieties to ensure a good harvest. Loquats are pollinated by bees.

Propagation

Loquats can be propagated by numerous methods including seed, grafting, air-layering and, softwood cuttings. Seedlings are usually too variable for good fruit production and are instead used as grafting rootstocks or as ornamentals. Softwood cuttings are a common propagation method and are normally taken in spring using bottom heat to accelerate their rooting. Various grafting methods can also be employed such as shield-budding, side-veneer grafting, and cleft-grafting. Commercial growers use pyracantha or quince rootstocks to form a dwarfed tree for easier picking and earlier bearing. Grafted trees usually bear fruit within 2 to 3 years, whereas seedlings take up to 8 to 10 years.

Pests and Disease

Loquats are relatively pest-free, but they can be affected by several pests including Caribbean fruit flies, aphids, caterpillars, scales, and Codling moths. Most of these pests can be readily managed by better sanitation of old fruit beneath the tree and spraying dormant oil or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Birds can also be a nuisance pecking the fruit, but netting around the tree or cheesecloth bags over the ripening fruit can solve this problem. The cheesecloth bags can also be used to alleviate any sun scald problems. Fire blight and pear blight can be disease problems, but these can be remedied by carefully pruning out infected limbs and by spraying an agricultural form of streptomycin.

Harvest and Storage

Loquats are easily bruised, do not keep well, and are labor intensive to harvest, so they have not been attractive to most commercial growers. However, these factors shouldn’t deter the home orchardist.

The fruit are ripe once they turn a distinctive deep yellowish-orange. Be careful to make sure the fruit are ripe before harvesting since they won’t continue to ripen once picked, and unripe fruit are highly acidic and tart. The fruit can be simply gathered by loping off whole clusters of fruit and then using a knife or pruners to cut off individual fruit. Eat the fruit only after being peeled and seeded. The seeds, and to some extent the skin, of the fruit contain a common plant toxin, amygdalin, which can be poisonous if consumed in large quantities. Because these fruit only last a few days before spoiling, it is a good idea to freeze a portion of your crop.

Culinary Uses

The soft and juicy fruit of the loquat can be eaten fresh or stewed in sweet syrup. Fruit can be made into jams or jellies and used as pie-fillings. They can also be substituted in many recipes calling for apples or peaches. Fermented fruit can be used to make wines and liqueurs.

Nutritional Benefits

Loquats are rich in vitamins A and C, as well as the minerals potassium and magnesium. These fruit also have a high pectin and sugar content, yet they are low in dietary fats and sodium. In Chinese herbal medicine, syrup made from loquat leaves is used as an expectorant, cough soother, anti-diarrheal, and as an anti-nausea medication. Japanese herbalists make a beverage from dried loquat leaves used to heal bronchitis, other respiratory maladies, and inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis. Loquat fruit is also said to act as a gentle sedative, if eaten in quantity, lasting up to 24 hours in some people.

Other Uses

Loquats make an excellent ornamental landscape screen, specimen, or espalier. The dense pink wood is used to make rulers and other drawing instruments. The young branches can also be used as livestock fodder.

Recommended Varieties

There are over 800 named loquat varieties worldwide but only about 40 are used in the United States with any regularity. The following are some of the best varieties commonly grown:

‘Advance’ – The natural dwarf with medium to large juicy pear-shaped yellow fruit with white flesh is a good pollinator.

‘Big Jim’ – The 15 foot tree, with large to very large pear-shaped fruit has orange-yellow flesh and is cold hardy down to 12 degrees F.  It is partially self-fertile but would benefit from cross-pollination.

‘Champagne’ – A white-fleshed variety with elongated pear-shaped to oval deep-yellow fruit with an excellent sweet to mildly sub-acid flavor. It is self-fertile.

‘Gold Nugget’ (aka ‘Thales’) – A tough variety with medium to large round yellow-orange fruit has orange-colored, juicy flesh. It is self-fertile.

‘Oliver’– The medium to large-sized orange fruit has pale orange flesh. This variety is considered to be the best loquat for southern Florida. It is a cross between ‘Tanaka’ and ‘Olivier’ and requires cross-pollination.

‘Tanaka’ – The cold hardiest variety and the choice of many commercial growers, it has very large round orange to yellow-orange fruit with orange flesh. It has excellent flavor and is partially self-fertile, but it will produce better with cross-pollination.

‘Wolfe’ – The 25 foot tall tree has large yellow fruit with orange flesh. It has round to slightly pear-shaped fruit with firm tasty flesh. It requires cross-pollination.

Summary

I had a loquat in my yard in north Georgia for 12 years. It never produced fruit and the severe winter of 2013 killed it.  I am replacing it with two loquats next spring because I think they are such attractive landscape trees, and in my area that is the only choice. I guess I will have to continue going to Valdosta for my loquat fruit fix.

References and External Links

• Fruits of Warm Climates, Morton, 1987, pp. 103-108, hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/Morton/loquat.html
• Storey’s Guide to Growing Organic Orchard Fruit, Barney, pp.147-149, Storey, 2012.
• org, Loquat, www.gardenology.org/wiki/Loquat.
• Carolinas Fruit & Vegetable Gardening, Elzer-Peters, pp. 92-93, Cool Springs Press, 2013.
• Eriobotrya japonica: Loquat, University of Florida IFAS Extension, 2015, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st235.

Several leaf forms of the red mulberry

A young 5 year old red mulberry tree

A mature red mulberry tree

Mulberry

Morus spp.

Historical Origins

The mulberry was considered to be the “king of tree crops” in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, but with the advent of commercial truck farming, it fell out of favor since the berries are soft and do not travel or store well. There are 16 varieties of mulberries, but only three are economically important: the red mulberry (Morus rubra), the white mulberry (Morus alba), and the black mulberry (Morus nigra). Only the red mulberry is a native to North America and has been used as a food source by Native Americans for centuries. The white mulberry was brought here from eastern and central China in the early 1700’s to start the silk trade, the black mulberry was imported to America from western China for fruit production.

Red Mulberry

The red mulberry is an attractive fast growing deciduous tree 40’ to 70’ tall with a range from the Gulf Coast northward to Kansas and eastward to Massachusetts. These trees are found in areas of rich soil in the open woods or along fencerows. They are short-lived trees, rarely lasting more than 75 years and are hardy to sub-zero temperatures (Zone 5 to 9).  Some clones have survived as low as -25 degrees F. Their 3” to 6” leaves are larger and thicker than the other two main species. Red mulberry leaves are dark green with fine-toothed margins, rough on top and pubescent underneath with an overall sandpaper texture. The leaves vary in shape from heart-shaped to mitten-shaped or sometimes can be three-lobed. The leafstalks, twigs, branches, and roots bleed a milky sap when cut. The thin rough bark is reddish-brown with smooth ridges. The insignificant flowers of the red mulberry appear in June and July. Both male and female catkins can be present on the same tree. The fruit of the red mulberry looks like elongated one inch blackberries that vary when ripe from deep red to nearly black. The plentiful berries have a good mixture of sweetness and tartness. The fruit is usually ready to harvest in June and July.

White Mulberry

The white mulberry is a weedy, large, short-lived tree that grows up to 80’ tall. This species of mulberry was brought to North America in the early 18^th century in order to feed silkworm larvae for the silk industry. The white mulberry is now considered an invasive species by a number of states. They are the most cold-hardy (Zone 4 to 8) of the three predominant species with many ranging across the northern United States. The leaves are light green, variously lobed, hairless, and leaf-out two months earlier than the black mulberry. White mulberries are so named for the flower bud color, not the fruit color. The berries usually ripen in late spring and vary in color from lavender-black to white. The flavor is bland since they have little tartness to off-set their extreme sweetness. The bark is rough, flaky yellow-brown with vertical cracks and furrows.

Black Mulberry

The black mulberry is the smallest of the three trees and tends to be a large neat shrub at up to 30’ in height. They take well to container culture and can live for hundreds of years. These mulberries are the least cold-hardy preferring a Zone 6 climate or warmer. They range from Virginia to Washington and are the most popular along the Pacific Coast. The leaves are like the red mulberry but the twigs are tougher and the buds are fatter. The fruit are large and juicy with a good balance of sweetness and tartness, and are the best tasting of the three main species. The fruit ripen in late summer and are difficult to pick because the berries are so soft.

Hybrids

There are many white and red mulberry hybrids (M. alba x M. rubra) scattered across the countryside. These hybrids have variable fruit color and flavor but all ripen in late spring.

General Culture

All three primary mulberry species perform best when planted in full sun to partial shade where they are protected from the wind since they have weak branches.  They tolerate a wide range of soils, but prefer a fertile, deep, loamy, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7. Mulberries don’t do well in shallow, rocky soil, or near a compacted roadway. When you plant, give them plenty of space, and allow for a minimum 15 foot spread. They establish best when planted while still dormant in early spring. Both bare root and container grown trees seem to grow off well. It is wise to not plant these prolific trees near sidewalks or patios since the fruit will stain the pavement and can be tracked indoors or into your car.

Although these trees are fast growing, they can take up to 5 years before starting to produce a heavy fruit crop. All the species of mulberries are somewhat drought-tolerant, but dry weather during fruiting can cause the berries to drop before fully ripening. It is advisable to give young trees extra water during dry periods the first 3 to 4 years until they are well established, as well as mature trees that are fruiting.

Fertilization & Pruning

These trees tend to thrive with minimal fertilization. Usually, a yearly application of organic compost or 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer will maintain satisfactory growth. Try to limit pruning to when the tree is fully dormant, otherwise, sap will bleed extensively from the wounds, and don’t prune any limbs larger than 2 inches in diameter since those wounds usually won’t heal. Remove limbs that are below the main framework of the tree and shape up the overall form of young trees.  Espaliers, half-standards, and standards can be made with young trees. On mature trees, only prune out dead, broken, or crossing branches. In a commercial production setting, prune the lateral limbs to six leaves length to develop more fruiting spurs near the main branches.

Pollination

Mulberries are self-fruitful with both male and female flowers usually on the same tree. These trees are pollinated by wind, and they do not require cross-pollination, but it may provide for a heavier berry crop.

Propagation

Mulberries can be propagated by a number of different methods such as by seed, hardwood cuttings, air layering, and softwood cuttings. But the most common method is spring bud grafting. Seeds will germinate in 9 to 14 days, but the tree will take up to 10 years or more to produce fruit. So, propagation by seed is seen as being far too slow.

Pests & Diseases

Mature mulberries seldom have issues with diseases or pests but they can get a bacterial canker. Mulberry canker can be held in check by removing the diseased branches a foot below the infected area while sterilizing your saw or pruners with a 10% alcohol solution between cuts. Potential pests are scales, whiteflies, mealybugs and webworms. These common pests can usually be controlled by timely applications of horticultural soaps and oils or a simple strong blast of water.

Harvest & Storage

Red, white, and red/white hybrid mulberries ripen in late spring and can be shaken off the tree. The easiest way to harvest them is to spread a clean tarp or sheet beneath the tree. Have someone climb into the tree and give it a hardy shake in order to harvest gallons of berries.

While black mulberries are ready to harvest in summer or late summer and must be pulled off the tree by hand. The fruit of all the species mature over several weeks. Use latex or nitrile gloves to protect your hands from being stained while harvesting the berries. Also, be careful not to stain your clothes.

Use the berries as quickly as possible since they will only store for a couple of days in the refrigerator before they start to mold or ferment. This short shelf life is due to the mulberries thin skins and high water content. The berries can be eaten fresh, frozen, dried, or cooked in a multitude of recipes.

Culinary Uses

Mulberries can be made into puddings, sauces, pies, cakes, candies, ice cream, jams, and syrups. They make especially good smoothies since their flavor blends well with other fruit such as pears and apples. The berries can also be dried to a crunchy consistency like figs.

The young leaves and twigs of the mulberry tree can also be boiled and used as a cooked vegetable. The twigs and unopened leaves are especially sweet in early spring.

Other Uses

Mulberry leaves are used to feed silkworms for the silk industry, as well as, to fatten up livestock, especially poultry and hogs. However, there are many other uses for the mulberry tree other than as a food source. The wood is soft but durable and is used for furniture, fence posts, paneling, sporting goods, toys, smoking meats, and as firewood. The bark is used to make paper in Europe and the twigs are used to make baskets. The fruit are used as a natural dye for cloth and as a food color extract. Mulberry varieties are also used in ornamental landscape as background plants, screens, and as specimen plants.

Nutritional Benefits

Mulberries have been used medicinally by Native Americans for hundreds of years. Infusions of the root bark were used as a remedy for tapeworm, overall weakness, urinary problems, and as a purgative. These tribes also used tree sap applied topically to heal ringworm. Various parts of the mulberry were also used in Ayurvedic medicine. The leaves were used in a gargle for throat infections. The leaves and the juice of the roots were used in a tea to control high blood pressure. The fruit were also used to control fever, sore throat and depression. Health benefits of mulberries currently accepted include their ability to lower cholesterol, bolster the immune system, lower blood pressure, and enhance the overall metabolism of the body. They are also thought to prevent some cancers, improve digestive health, enhance the body’s production of red blood cells, and decelerate the aging process. Mulberry fruit are extremely nutritious. They are rich in many vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, C, K, E and B complex as well as minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, and magnesium. The leaves alone contain 18 amino acids and the fruit also contain many beneficial organic compounds such as resveratrol, antioxidants including anthocyanin, lutein, beta carotene and a carotenoid called zea-xanthin.

Suggested Cultivars

Although, the native red mulberry (M. rubra) is the most common red mulberry in production there are several cultivars that are worth mentioning such as ‘Geraldi Dwarf’, a compact 6 foot tree with large black fruit, and ‘Red Gelato’. The white mulberry varieties that are worth noting are ‘Pakistan’, ‘Whitney’ and ‘Shangri-La’ which does well in warmer climates like Florida. ‘Illinois Ever Bearing’ and ‘Collier’ are the recommended varieties of the red/white hybrids. Good performing varieties of black mulberries (M. nigra) are ‘Black Beauty’, ‘King James’ (aka ‘Chelsea’) which has large juicy dark red fruit, ‘Black Persian’, and ‘Superberry’.

Summary

The mulberry tree is one of the few fruit trees that will produce enough fruit to satisfy both the local wildlife and the grower. The mulberry tree will make an exceptional addition to your food forest or backyard orchard.

Cautions

Mulberries are very efficient at lowering blood sugar levels which is good for diabetics but can be dangerous for hypoglycemics. Also, uncooked leaves and green berries are hallucinogenic.

References and External Links

• Edible Landscaping, R. Creasy, Sierra Club Books, 2010.
• Handbook of Energy Crops, J.A. Duke, 1983, hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/morus_alba.html.
• Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home, “More Minor Fruits”, www.gardening.cornell.edu/moreminorfruits.
• Mulberry, California Rare Fruit Growers Inc., 1997, crfg.org/pubs/ff/mulberry.html.
• Health Benefits of Mulberry, Organic Information Pvt Ltd. www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/fruit/mulberry.html.