Temperate Fruit & Orchards > Temperate Fruit Discussion

Most exotic fruit for cool/short summers

(1/5) > >>

Florian:
I live in Switzerland, most years we're in zone 8a. Winters are usually long and very damp and summers lack heat. Prolonged freezes are not unusual.
To give you an idea: I can grow figs succesfully although the second crop only ripens in good years.

I have acquired some early pomegranates and a Kaki "early fuyu" but they haven't flowered yet.

Any additional ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Patanax:
A pawpaw maybe?

SoCal2warm:
Maybe the varieties of quince (particularly Russian) that are better for eating out of hand?

Some rare cold hardy citrus varieties can survive where you are.

Have you considered Chinese Bayberry (Myrica rubra) or che fruit (Maclura tricuspidata) ?
The Osage Orange is an interesting ornamental (despite the name, not citrus).

There are some Russian varieties of pomegranate that can survive, but where you are the fruits probably won't get very ripe or sweet.

There are also of course persimmons and Asian pears, which should have no problem, although they are not really all that uncommon.

How about lingonberries or cloudberries (Rubus chamaemorus), if you're going to look to the far North for something exotic. On that note, how about Brandywine raspberry, it's a hybrid between red raspberry and black raspberries native to North America. They have a somewhat blackberry-like taste and don't tend to spread out of bounds like regular raspberries.

kernol:
Pomegranates should work for you if you go for a cold-hardy and early riping variety since normal ones wouldnt ripe in time.

If you have a sheltered spot, Feijoa could work for you as well - maybe giving it some light protection (fleece) during winter months. Mine seems to be alive after this winter in zone 7a.

Florian:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. There are some that I have never heard of, i.e. the Chinese bayberry which I will definitely check out.

Regarding pomegranates, I have been recommended the variety called Agat which is said to be both very coldhardy and early-ripening and as a plus does have soft seeds. Does anybody have one and can tell me more? I've just planted a small 3 litre plant.

Feijia survives but rarely fruits outdoors here, works well in a polytunnel though.

Btw. the Swiss are rather conservative gardeners – almost anything that isn't an apple or a cherry is pretty uncommon here:-).

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page