New Fruits for a New Year

Seasonal Planting Guide

Bare root fruit trees are now available. Choose one tree or a whole orchard and get them planted while the weather is good for digging. Strawberries can be planted any time now—get them in early, and you’ll be picking strawberries this summer. Primroses will give you the most color during this cold weather; choose some pretty ones now for your boxes and beds.

Prune fruit trees, grapes, berries, and ornamental trees this month. Take in a pruning class and sharpen your shears before you start.

Upcoming Event

FREE Fruit Tree Pruning Class on Sunday, January 30 from 10 AM to 2 PM at Sanhedrin Nursery, 1094 Locust St., Willits.

New Varieties for the Orchard

Whether it’s a new variety for an old orchard, or an old variety for a new orchard, home-grown fresh fruits just can’t be beat. Consider planting some of these tasty fruits this year:

• Apples
  • Honeycrisp: Developed at the University of Minnesota, this red-over-yellow apple is crisp, juicy, and stores well. Its popularity has grown nationwide.
  • Pink Pearl: Named for its bright pink flesh, this apple has yellow-green skin and a tart to sweet-tart flavor. It keeps well and produces colorful applesauce. The spring blossoms are an added bonus.
  • York: A late-harvest apple with greenish-yellow skin and firm, crisp flesh. Excellent for baking, cider, and storage.
• Pears
  • Magness: A cross between Seckel and Comice, this short-necked pear is soft, sweet, and nearly free of grit cells. Resistant to fire blight.
  • Potomac: A small, sweet pear with buttery, fine-textured flesh and a pleasingly tart flavor. Light green, glossy skin and fire blight resistant.
• Peaches & Nectarines
  • Donut Peach: A white-fleshed peach with a sunken center, resembling a doughnut. Juicy and sweet.
  • Baby Crawford: An antique yellow freestone with intense flavor, golden-orange skin, and rich dried fruit quality.
  • Rio Oso Gem: A late yellow freestone with large, sweet fruit. Excellent fresh or for freezing.
  • Cavalier Nectarine: Orange-yellow skin with dark red blush. Firm, aromatic yellow freestone resistant to brown rot.
  • Arctic Jay & Arctic Rose: White nectarines that are taste-test winners. Arctic Jay balances acid and sugar, while Arctic Rose is extremely sweet. Both are self-fruitful.
• Jujube
  • Li Jujube: Also known as the "Chinese date," this tree produces reddish-brown, sweet, chewy fruits. Hardy, drought-resistant, pest- and disease-free, and self-fruitful.

Now is the time to plant fruit trees of all kinds from bare-root trees available at local nurseries. Add some of these tasty varieties to your orchard.