So having mostly sorted out the shrubs for around the door, I have another space I need help with. There was this massive stand of privet that I fought for 17 years. I would beat it back and then it would take over again. I finally hired a guy down the street with a chainsaw and he and his son and I have spent weeks (when he had the time) taking it ALL OUT. It was about 3 million trailer-loads of brush and I am exhausted. The stump grinder guy is out there now.

So it's gone--yay. BUT now there is a long empty place. It's a clear run of about 100 feet along the road. I want to plant some small trees just inside the fence. It's under the power line so need stuff that stays pretty small. I have 2 dogwoods on the other side--could do that again. Or apple trees? Do you need boy and girl apple trees to get fruit?? What are good small varieties that make nice apples and aren't TOO much work? Or other ideas?

I am pretty flexible, but would prefer native trees or trees that SEEM native. Nothing fancy. Just need to stay 10 feet or less to be safe. I suspect that the electric co is going to be so delighted to see the privet gone that they won't worry overmuch about small trees under the lines as long as they are officially in my front yard and it's a "groomed" area, as they put it.

Oh and it gets decent AM sun but due to the hills around me, not full day sun. I am in Zone 6-7 (on the cusp in Middle TN). I can't remember the last time it got down into negative temps.

Pic is of one of the azaleas we pulled out, but you can see the area in question in the background.


Thanks!

Hello again!

What's your zone? Forgive me if you said what it was in the previous post...

Depending on your zone, plums and pears would be a good choice. If you live in a warmer climate, then you could do citrus (such as oranges, lemons, etc.). If you would like pretty trees, you can plant oleanders (which are shrubs, but you can basically turn them into trees by cutting the bottom branches off, and you can watch a YouTube video on it). Oleanders have beautiful flowers, and can get up to ten feet tall. Oleanders are also xeriscapic (dry climate plants), so if you live in an area that gets lots of rain or water in general, oleanders won't thrive.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck with it!

Sorry--I am just S. of Nashville. Zone 7 I think?

So what's wrong with apple trees?

Yes, you are in zone 7a.

I don't believe you need both male and female plants to produce fruit. Apple trees would be a good option. What type of apple trees are hoping to plant (e.g. honeycrisp, gala, etc.)? Whether or not you need two trees of opposite genders differ with different species.

From everything I know though, you don't really need a male tree and female tree to produce fruit when it comes to apples.

Looks like you need 2 apple trees of different species for good pollination. Don't understand that really, but it's what the internet says. But apples seem to require full sun?

Ah yes, that is something I didn't mention. Apples do require full sun. But how many hours of sun do you get (on average) per day? Anything around 6-8 hours should still be fine.

Golden Delicious are one of the best all around apples for eating and baking in zone 7. I grew one for years. Notice I said one. It doesn't need two for pollination. It had an abundance of apples. Actually an over abundance. Every day I was out there cleaning up fallen apples. The fault was not with the apple tree but where I put it. In the middle of my small manicured back yard. It also drew all sorts of unwelcome critters feeding on the excess apples that I might fail to pick up. So after thousands of pies, breads, tarts, and dumplings I had it removed. Lesson learned......Also how big it grows can be controlled somewhat by the root stock it is grown on. I bought mine from Stark Bros. mail order and it was on dwarf root stock. The size of the tree was never an issue, just the amount of fruit. In the right setting, it would have been fine.........Maryl

Oleanders are seriously poisonous. I believe you said you had horses - so not a good choice. Apples can be had in dwarf varieties which might stay out of the power lines.

Bea (bumplbea) had oleanders which her farm animals ate. It is not poisonous to farm animals. She had horses, cows, and goats eating the oleanders, and nothing happened. Oleanders are only poisonous to humans, and a select few of animals (it can make dogs sick, but not kill them).

Think of raw meat. Raw meat would make us very sick, and might even kill us depending how much we ate, but to predators such as lions and tigers, it's a delicacy.

Crabapples and Redbuds are nice ornamental trees that would do well in your area

KFredenburg said:Bea (bumplbea) had oleanders which her farm animals ate. It is not poisonous to farm animals. She had horses, cows, and goats eating the oleanders, and nothing happened. Oleanders are only poisonous to humans, and a select few of animals (it can make dogs sick, but not kill them).

Oleanders are highly toxic to livestock but most animals will eat around it unless they are really hungry.

https://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/-f...

KFredenburg said:
Think of raw meat. Raw meat would make us very sick, and might even kill us depending how much we ate, but to predators such as lions and tigers, it's a delicacy.

Raw meat won't hurt you unless its spoiled or has live parasites. I bet you don't eat sashimi either.

True Daisy!

But Bea said it never harmed her livestock. She said that when she saw the horses mowing down the oleander bushes, she was very frightened, but nothing ever happened.

Maybe it doesn't harm specific breeds??

There are lots and lots of articles explaining how toxic Oleander is to horses (and other animals). So either Bea's horses didn't actually eat it, just around it or, didn't eat enough to kill them or, Bea doesn't know what an Oleander looks like.

In my experience, its so bitter most animals avoid it but, if they are really hungry, they will eat it. Oleander doesn't kill snails though.

I don't think the breed matters but, if its a percentage of weight (as stated in one study), it would take more to kill a large horse.

Chionanthus virginicus- white fringe tree. Great tree, I have two and love em.

Amelanchier sp- serviceberry is another one I like.

Here's a list from the University of Tennessee extension. https://extension.tennessee.ed...

I hadn't thought of critters . . . I want to feed the birds, etc., but in the past I had a rat problem, and given that I ended up live-trapping them all and re-homing them in an undisclosed, very out-of-the-way place, I don't want to have to repeat that. Fallen fruit would be a real draw there.

I would like something pretty, small, and native to the area or at least something that would look like it fit in out here in the boonies. Serviceberry sounds nice--but would they get too tall? Are there dwarf varieties?

I love dogwood, but the 2 I have, which were planted by the electric co when they took out 2 of my trees a few years ago, are weird. I think the guys planted them too close together. They don't flower normally and one of them has strange branches. I tried to correct that, but I didn't really succeed and now it's too late.

Ugh. I don't kno!

Pear trees? Hawthorn? Viburnum? Some might have to be trimmed to stay short.

RJ mentioned one of my favorite small trees. Crab Apples. There are ornamental ones, with little to no fruit drop, there are fruiting ones that can be used for making Crab Apple Jelly. On a side note. I LOVE a good batch of Crab Apple jelly. Just enough tart in it to set it apart from some of the sweeter jams and jellies. Unfortunately I can't find any for sale for love nor money......... There are lots of varieties of Crab Apples to choose from, and most stay a reasonably small size. The drawback with the older varieties is disease. I grew an older variety of an ornamental Crab Apple for over 20 years and it was very susceptible to scab which marred the leaves pretty badly in rainy years. Since then they have hybridized a multitude of scab resistant Crab Apples, along with resistance to the other diseases that can plague them (Cedar Apple Rust, Fire Blight etc - diseases I never encountered). After consultation with an arborist about scab , he advised that when in doubt choose a white flowered variety.....I'm still mulling over where I can put another one. I really love them..........Maryl.

I will ask about crabapple when I am at the nursery this afternoon but their price list only lists one and it's not a dwarf. They have a number of dwarf apples. I could just be really good about picking up the fruit . . . and I could take damaged fruit and toss it up in the woods for the critters. Will see about maybe choosing 2 separate species of dwarf apple? I will have to learn how to prune. I messed up the dogwoods and don't want to do that again.

With decent AM sun, I'm starting to think that Japanese Maples would do good there. Perhaps some dwarf size dogwoods, magnolias, or rhododendrons... I don't know if Apples would be happy with the less than full day light, but you could look for Genetic Dwarf types that will only grow to 10' high. Garden Delicious and Apple Babe are two of these cultivars I'm planning on getting familiar with this year, that scored high in taste tests as well. Apples don't come in male and female, so much as they simply aren't self-fruitful... so need another cultivar in the area blooming at the same time, to set fruit by. Crabapples will pollinate apples, too, as they are just cultivars bred for aesthetic appeal rather than apple size, quality, and taste. With the exception of a few weeping or sargentii cultivars, I don't know which of those would qualify as dwarf.

I think looking online for specific cultivars this time of year is likely to be your best bet, as local places may not have a wide selection.