Check these tips on harvesting deciduous fruit in Brevard
It feels like winter is on its way, now that fall has arrived, and the deciduous fruit trees, shrubs, and vines need those colder temperatures. Deciduous fruit crops need a minimum number of chilling hours, which are when temperatures range from 44⁰F and 32⁰F, to initiate flowering. When choosing a cultivar or variety, pay attention to the required number of chilling hours they require.
To harvest deciduous fruit here in Brevard County, select a “low chill” cultivar that only requires 150 chilling hours. Take, for example, Red Delicious apples, which need 400 chilling hours. Even if a red delicious tree would grow here, it would never produce fruit. Here in Central Florida, we have four cultivars that we can grow, and those cultivars are “Dorsett Golden,” “Ein Shemer,” “Anna” and “Tropic Sweet.” Our bulletin also mentions if cross-pollination is required, as is the case for Tropic Sweet which is not self-fruitful and needs to be planted with Anna or Dorsett Golden.
For all those interested in growing their own fruit at home, the “go-to” source for information is our FruitScapes site at This site contains information on growing temperate (deciduous), subtropical, and tropical fruit crops.
Just to give you a quick overview, here are the deciduous, or temperate, fruit crops that we have bulletins on apple, blackberry and raspberry, blueberry, Chinese date, fig, bunch grape, muscadine grape, peaches and nectarines, pecan, common persimmon, Texas persimmon, and pomegranate. We have bulletins for each of these crops that cover topics such as cultivar selection, planting, watering, fertilizing, general care, and pruning.
When it comes to blueberries, we have the Blueberry Gardener’s Guide Bulletin. This bulletin covers how to grow blueberries in the ground and containers. Southern highbush are recommended for our area and since most cultivars are not self-pollinated, it is recommended to plant another cultivar for cross-pollination. The recommended cultivars include “Emerald,” “Jewel,” “Star,” “Windsor,” “Springhigh,” “Sweetcrisp” and “Farthing.”
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Chinese Date or Chinese Jujube is a deciduous tree with an open, irregular growth habit and spiny, gnarled branches. The tree can grow 15-35’ tall with a spread of 10-30’. Small clusters of fragrant white or yellow flowers appear in spring, though you may not see them since they are hidden in the foliage. One-inch-long fruit is produced that goes from green to dark red and finally black when fully ripe. The sweet fruit is typically eaten fresh, candied, dried like dates, or canned. Young 2-year-old trees can produce delicious fruit, but because of the high quantity of fruit produced, some people may consider them messy. Therefore, be sure to plant the tree away from sidewalks, driveways, and patios. Another great characteristic of this tree is that it is very cold-tolerant and can survive all the way up into hardiness zone 6A, which is up to Ohio and Kentucky!
Fig trees, such as “Brown Turkey” and “Celeste,” are grown throughout the county. Our bulletin lists 18 additional cultivars, so if you are interested in growing figs, check out the seven-page bulletin for all the details
If you are interested in growing grapes, you may want to read both our Bunch Grape and Muscadine Grape bulletins so that you can pick the right grape for you. In addition to differences in the ripening characteristics and the actual grapes, they also require different pruning practices. Make sure to read about the pruning requirements, so that you know what you are getting into.
The Florida peach varieties for our area, which require only 100-150 chilling hours, include “UFSun,” “UFBest,” and “Tropic Beauty.” UFSun produces early, heavy crops of medium-sized fruit, with yellow flesh and clingstone pits. UFBest also produces large crops annually of large fruit. Most of the skin is red over a yellow ground cover, and the flesh is also yellow with a clingstone pit. UFBest takes about 85 days before the fruit is mature. TropicBeauty produces medium-sized fruit with semi-freestone yellow, melting flesh.
Next on the list is the pecan tree. I know of established pecan trees here in Brevard County, but the Atlas of Florida Plants only has vouchered plant samples from wild populations from Orange County and then primarily the panhandle area. The cultivar that I have heard has been grown locally is “Elliott.” Since we appear to be on the southern end of its range, be sure to establish the soil food web throughout the root system if you plant a new pecan tree (and all fruit trees and trees in general since they are all considered mycorrhizal dependent), and for all your plants (including the lawn) throughout your yard. For more information on this topic contact the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardeners at [email protected].
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There are also separate bulletins on the Fruitscapes website for both the Common and Texas Persimmon if you would like to add one or both to your landscape.
Pomegranates, which are also attractive (ornamental) deciduous shrubs, are the last temperate fruit listed, and they don’t require cross-pollination. The University of Florida has been running preliminary pomegranate trials, and the results show that the varieties Girkanets, Kazake, Wonderful, Al-Sirin-nar, and Medovyi Vahsha look promising.
If you are interested in growing and harvesting your own fruit (and I hope everyone is growing at least one plant that will provide fruit, vegetable, or herb to enjoy, even if you only have a balcony) you may want to check out your local garden centers, Tractor Supply store, etc. You may also want to check out the Brevard Tropical Fruit Club to learn more about the club and to keep informed about the plant sale scheduled for next April.
So, if this sounds delicious, start planning now. Once you decide what you want to eat and where to plant it, you will be ready to figure out whether to wait until the April plant sale or buy it earlier!
Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Science.
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