| Image | Plant | Status | Notes | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Common Fig (Ficus carica 'Chicago Hardy') |
Have Berries, Fruit Shrubs and Trees |
STATUS UPDATE: Is growing well in the pot this first year. Will bring indoors soon (garage) to overwinter, dormant. Purchased a small pip of a tree from Lowes. Listed as a cold tolerant fig tree, USDA zones 5-10. The 'Bensonhurst Purple' can be pruned to stay at 6 feet, otherwise it will grow to height: 10 to 15 feet, spread: 8 to 12 feet. Chicago figs can be container grown and overwintered in a greenhouse, garage, or basement. Reduce watering in the fall prior to dormancy. The Chicago fig stems are hardy to 10 F. (-12 C.) and the roots to -20 F. (-29 C.). In zones 6-7 the tree needs a protected area, such as against a south-facing wall as well as mulched roots. The tree may still die back during a cold winter but should regrow from the roots in spring. The tree can also be heeled in over the winter. |
April 6, 2022: Transplanted (Planted into a medium size container. First tree in the greenhouse.) May 16, 2022: Transplanted (Moved to large pot in the new backyard bed (replacing burning bushes)) October 15, 2022: Winterized (Brought in for the winter. Plan to store in garage.) April 15, 2023: Transplanted (Planted in large pot outside. Will protect against freezing nights for the next period until we're past the last frost date. Did fine stored indoors over the winter.) |
 |
Passion Flower (Passiflora edulis) |
Have Berries, Fruit Decorative Edibles Feature plant Houseplants and Tropicals Vines & Creeping Shrubs |
Planning to leave and remove in spring. Did not flower again. I will put my attention to a new Plumeria (yellow) that I plan to overwinter and then grow outdoors in May - October. | November 3, 2021: Potted up (Brought in this 3 year old plant for another winter indoors. This is Passiflora edulis, the tender passion fruit plant, that is frost tender and NOT native to Michigan. It is native to Hawaii and tropical - warm weather climates. I hope I can get it to flower and set fruit, if I'm lucky, in 2022.) |
 |
Ground Cherry (Physalis pruinosa) |
Have Annuals Berries, Fruit New plants and seeds |
Seeds obtained in Jan. 2022 seed swap. Plan to plant in March 2022. Did not grow in 2022. Have new seed from DnD Swap #9, trying again in 2023. Winter Sowing in January this time. | January 17, 2023: Seeds sown (Did not grow in 2022. Have new seed, trying again in 2023. Winter Sowing in January this time.) |
 |
Pie Cherry (Prunus cerasus 'Montmorency') |
Have Berries, Fruit Feature plant Shrubs and Trees |
2022, tree is robust and is growing well. Perhaps there will be some first cherries in 2023. 2021: Ordered small tree from the Arbor Foundation and planted. |
May 28, 2021: Obtained plant (Arbor Foundation ORDER DATE 2/25/2021 SHIPPING DATE 5/21/2021) June 1, 2021: Seeds sown (Bare root small tree soaked overnight and planted the next day in a 10 inch pot. ) June 15, 2021: Transplanted (Planted in full sun, front yard.) April 27, 2023: Bloomed (First blooms on this growing young tree!) |
 |
Peach (Prunus persica 'Red Haven') |
Have Berries, Fruit |
2022: WHAT a tremendous bounty of luscious peaches! We canned (sliced and jam) for the first time ever, seem to have about 1.5-2 bushels of fruit, after giving away 12 bags of peached. They are delicious. The fresh taste of the jam is FAR superior to store bought. | April 18, 2018: Transplanted (Purchased Red Haven peach tree from Lowe's and planted in the front yard to the left of our driveway. It receives full sun most of the day and some house shadow in the evening.) August 17, 2022: Harvested (Picked at least a bushel of peaches. BUMPER crop! We will be canning them this year. Read more about growing this peach tree in our front yard in the city here: https://garden.org/blogs/entry... ) April 20, 2023: Bloomed (We're having five days of freezing weather so I am spraying the blooms with water to help preserve future peaches) |
 |
Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum) |
Have Berries, Fruit Perennials Veggies, Tomatoes |
2022 September: Had enough rhubarb to make cherry / rhubarb crisp! SO yummy! Made both vegan and keto types of crisp. | April 29, 2022: Transplanted (Received two cuttings from a neighbor. Planted at CSS Project Grow garden. ) |
 |
Thornless Blackberry (Rubus 'Arapaho') |
Have Berries, Fruit New plants and seeds |
New in 2022. Purchased at Costco. Robust two plants. | April 24, 2022 - April 27, 2022: Transplanted (Planted purchased canes at Johnson Project grow in new cutting and veggie bed. Added lots of well rotted leaf mulch as bed is clay and is infested with thistle.) March 14, 2023: Plant emerged (Growing, still growing well in May.) |
 |
Garden Huckleberry (Solanum nigrum 'Chichiquelite') |
Have Berries, Fruit New plants and seeds |
The Schwartzbeeren. New to me, received from the 2022 Tom Jones "First Swap of the Year" seed swap. Schwartzbeeren are not the same species as what is often called "Garden Huckleberry" in the United States. Unlike Garden Huckleberry, which benefits from a very long growing season (they are generally picked just before frost), Schwartzbeeren may be eaten as soon as their skin turns from shiny to dull and from green to dark, purplish black. Although the flavor is fairly acidic, it is sweet when the berries are dead ripe, and beloved by many who grew up eating them. According to Baker Creek, Rare Seeds and other sources, it was brought to Kansas by Volga German immigrants about 1875. In Wikipedia, the species was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD and by the great herbalists, including Dioscorides. In 1753, Carl Linnaeus described six varieties of Solanum nigrum in Species Plantarum. |
March 8, 2022: Seeds sown (WS in jug.) June 8, 2022: Transplanted (In front yard garden spot. Not enough sun or the right kind of mulch. Have new seed from 2022 seed swap and will try again in better conditions in 2023.) |
