Healthy plants, properly planted in the right place (sun requirements), and appropriately watered will always grow well… right? Not necessarily!  Soil health and composition are key to long term plant success.  How do you know how ‘good’ your soil is?  A soil test is the best way to find out, and we are very excited to announce we now have Good Earth brand Soil Test Kits! These easy to use kits can be purchased at Good Earth, mailed directly to the lab, with clear, concise recommendations emailed back to you.

How Good Earth Soil Test Kits Work

It’s easy; start by registering your kit.  This matches the soil sample you will be mailing out to your contact information. Instructions are on the back of the package and also on the yellow card inside the packaging. After you register your kit, measure the space you want to test, collect soil from 4 different spots in that area, and mix those samples together. Then fill the soil sample bag to fill line, place in postage pre-paid envelop and drop in the mail. Your soil will be tested by a leading national lab, who will then email your results to you. They will also be emailed to us; we love this part because we can take a look at them with you.  Which means our team can still help you, even if you don’t have results with you or have trouble accessing them on your phone.

Best of all, you don’t have to remember how to do any of this. On the front of each kit is a QR code that takes you to a website with video instructions on how this works.

Lab Results and Treatment Recommendations

The lab will be testing for all kinds of crucial soil information such as pH, macro and micro nutrients, CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), and organic matter.  The results you get back will give you concise, easy to understand results and recommendations. Up until now, we have only had basic soil kits available here.  These gave macro nutrient and pH levels but no specific recommendations. As a result, we often sent customers to their county U of A Cooperative Extension Service office, who then sent it off to a University soil lab.  This is still a good option but the difference between those results and our new Soil Test Kit results is vast.

The Extension results have been designed more for farmers growing field crops or managing forage crops for livestock. The results are great, very detailed… but they are also complicated, hard to interpret and sometimes include products not easily found in garden centers.

Our Soil Test Kit test recommendations are more concise. We take those confusing numbers and turn them into a simple report. You’ll receive the lab’s soil report, but you’ll also receive a simple overview and actual product recommendations from our soil experts. For example, if the results indicate you need to add sulfur, it will also tell you how much of our Hi-Yield Soil Sulfur to use for your square footage.

A Few Tips

As you register your sample, you will see that there are four categories for soil samples.  Garden, Lawn, Problem Area and Wildlife.  Landscape beds falls into the Garden category.  Let’s say you have a lawn area that just isn’t growing well and a landscape area where the shrubs don’t grow vigorously.  To really see what is happening in both areas, you might consider purchasing two tests and sending them off for separate analysis.  Register each kit separately, and give each a nickname so you know which is which.

Why Soil Testing is Important

The interactions of pH and nutrients is complicated, so complicated that we have a blog post just about pH, that goes into more detail about the relationship. Here is a link to that post.  Very high or low nutrient levels can affect plant health as well. If you have consistent issues in an area, have done all the ‘right’ things and can’t figure out what’s going on, send off a soil sample. If you are building a new garden bed with a variety of composted material, send off a soil sample before planting.

Soil health is important and getting a soil test is the first step to making sure your soil is as healthy as possible for what you are trying to grow.

The post Good Earth Soil Test Kits appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

The answer is yes, we do offer gift cards, in any amount!  We aren’t set up for online purchases BUT it’s still an easy process.

• If you are local, just stop by the garden center!

• If you aren’t local or won’t have the chance to visit us, give us a call at 501-868-4666 during our business hours.  Over the phone payments for gift cards can be made via debit or credit card and we can mail your receipt to you.

• Provide the mailing address of where you would like the gift card sent, along with a short message to the recipient and we will get it in the mail to them.  You can also choose to have the gift card recipient pick up the card in person, whichever works best for you.

Still have questions?  Give us a call!

The post Good Earth Gift Cards appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

What does a severe freeze mean for your landscape?  Keep reading!

*PLEASE NOTE:  Below are basic tips for normal hard freezes, however, we are currently scheduled for lower than normal weather early next week (specifically on January 15, 2024).  Many parts of Arkansas are projected to dip below average lows in various USDA Plant Hardiness Zones, and windchill numbers will further reduce the temperature we will experience.  Not sure what your zone and corresponding low is?  Here is a link to the official map. Notice how we mention ‘average low’; this is the number zones are based on.  It’s important to note that plants often grow well in zones that are on the fringe of hardiness for many years, and then freeze out when we go below a zone average temperature.  This doesn’t mean the plant isn’t hardy here, it means that nature was predictably unpredictable.

Plants that are most susceptible to damage are those on the fringe of hardiness (not cold hardy in zones lower than your zone), plants in pots (as opposed to those planted in ground), plants that have existing damage (from drought, drainage issues, insects or diseases), and newly planted materials. Beside following the tips below, there isn’t much that can be done but we mention this to temper expectations.  If a plant is struggling going into this winter event, it’s possible that any additional damage sustained from this event may be too much for it to come back from. Often times, freeze damage isn’t fully realized until the summer stress of heat and drought arrive.

• Plants that are fully winter hardy in our zone should be fine; they will show normal winter damage, especially on any tender new growth. Blooms that have fully opened could be damaged as well. You will most likely see some defoliation, especially on semi-evergreen materials, after a freeze event. For recovery tips, please read our Plant Recovery After a Hard Freeze post.
• Tender, just barely hardy, and subtropical plants are the most susceptible to damage. They should be moved indoors or at the very least into a garage to keep the foliage and root balls from freezing. If this is not possible due to the size or weight of the plant they can be covered with a frost cloth or sheet to protect them.
• If you have plants that need a little extra protection, we do carry frost blankets, call us for availability. Frost blankets (ours are called N-Sulate) can trap heat from the soil, raising the temperature inside the covered area above the actual outside air temperature. The covering should be secure all the way to the ground to trap as much ground heat as possible and the colder it is, the more layers will be needed to to protect your plants, just like yourself in cold weather. Pull cover back during daytime warmer temps.
• We do not recommend plastic sheeting, since it can trap a lot of moisture and heat on a sunny day and may cause more harm than good to the plant that you are trying to protect.
• Snow can weigh down frost blankets; try to give blankets support so your plants don’t break under snow weight, if snow is forecast.
• If you are growing cool season veggies, be sure to cover and protect them.
• Plants don’t like to freeze dry. Water any dry plant material well; ideally 48 hours ahead of a severe freeze. Pay extra attention to any plantings that are under cover and don’t get rainfall (think porch pots). Water is a good insulator and the wet soil is warmer that dry soil, and this will also keep the plant hydrated during the cold dry air. Mulching around landscape plants is also recommended to protect the roots form freezing temperatures and maintain moisture.
• Winter or early spring bloomers, such as Camellia japonicas, forsythia, and deciduous magnolias, may have buds and blooms to protect. Frost blankets will protect the blooms during a frost but with air temperatures in the teens and twenties for hours, the blooms might not survive even with the blankets. Expect some flower drop after this cold spell. Tight, unopened buds should be fine.
• Mulch protects plant roots; if you haven’t mulched yet, remove any leaves from your landscape beds and add mulch.  Or, leave a thick blanket of leaves for protection and plan to clean out and mulch after leaf clean up is finished for the season. For more details, visit this blog post.
• Disconnect water hoses and protect water spigots.  Hardware stores offer a variety of freeze protection options for spigots.
• Remove your RPZ meter or protect with heat tape.  For more details on this, visit our recent video blog post on winter watering.

Have questions?  Give us a call!

The post Freeze Warning appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

 

Preparation for a Hard Freeze

Let’s go back to the ‘before’ for a minute. Here is a link to our Freeze Warning post with extensive preparation tips.

Keeping your plants healthy and happy year round also helps reduce winter damage.  Keep in mind that newly planted shrubs and trees might experience more freeze damage than older, healthy plants with a more established root system.  Plants in pots are more susceptible to damage than ones planted in the ground.

 

During a Hard Freeze

If you cover plants, remember to keep an eye on them during warm days, so as not to overheat them with the covering. You may have to remove the covering for a period of time and the recover if another freeze is about to happen. Support blankets or take them off during snowfall to avoid plant breakage.

During a heavy snow event, plant branches may get weighed down and begin to bend or even break.  When it is safe, try to knock snow off bending branches.  Evergreens tend to experience this more; snow usually safely goes through bare branches just fine. However, snow can act as an insulator, protecting plant roots and even lower limbs so it’s not always a bad thing!

Ice is a different story, and unfortunately, can be much more difficult to trouble shoot. Avoid trying to remove ice from plant branches.  They are brittle when ice covered and more likely to break.

 

Hardiness Zones

You may have noticed zones printed on plant tags and signs. Each plant has a zone that it should be hardy in; Little Rock is Zone 8a, which has an Average Annual Extreme Minimum Temperature of 10-15°F. Almost every year, we have experienced weather that has been in the 7a to 6b Zones, with actual temperatures reaching into the single digits and wind gusts over 30 MPH, taking feels-like temperatures into the negative range.  Here is a link to a Plant Hardiness Zone map for reference.  Even plants that are considered winter hardy in our zone (and even colder zones) can quickly show significant damage from these extreme temperatures, and wind chill factors.

 

Recovery After a Hard Freeze

The signs of of freeze damage are evident on many plants but do not always look the same.  On tropical and sub tropicals they may appear droopy or shriveled, like they are in need of water. Additionally they may turn for green to brown or purple, and stem splitting may happen. If this happens plant recovery is unlikely, or it may take several growing seasons to recover. In extended freezing temperatures, ice will form in the plant cell and the cells rupture causing damage to the plant tissue. This kind of damage is irreversible with most tropicals.

If you get caught off guard, or we have record breaking lows, and your plant suffer from a freeze, BE PATIENT, don’t go for the pruner and start cutting everything back. It may take several days or weeks to show how much damage has been done to your plant. If the plant top growth becomes mushy and soft, remove to avoid getting secondary fungal growth. Broken branches can be removed.

With many woody plants, we suggest waiting until spring when the new growth appears before pruning out damaged plant branches. You can check for life in woody plants by scratching the bark on the stems to see if it is green underneath, if you find green that branch is still viable and your plant is still alive.

As for right now, we are seeing partial defoliation, or at least leaf discoloration, of broadleaf evergreens. Again, don’t start pruning now; wait until new spring growth emerges and cut out branches that don’t leaf back out.  Ideally, plants will shed damaged leaves and new ones will emerge this spring.  Landscapes might start looking pretty bad before they recover.  We already know this will be concerning and you will want to do something.  Truly, the best thing you can do is have patience.  If they haven’t leafed out in April, do a scratch test and go from there.

A Few More Tips for After an Unusually Hard Freeze

Cool season annuals such as pansies could look worse for the wear. Those planted in ground and covered are looking like they will be fine, but those in planters don’t seem to have made it through. We don’t cover pansies in our display beds and although there might be damage after extremely low temps,the plant roots usually make it through just fine. With temperatures are above 50 degrees for a few days, feed them with liquid fertilizer,such as Miracle Gro. You can also apply slow release Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food if you haven’t given them any since planting.  While it’s not necessary, deadheading (removing spent blooms) will encourage new blooms, give them a cleaner look overall and in general, help them recover faster.

With perennials, it’s a wait and see game.  Tender perennials may struggle to come back or not come back at all but winter hardy perennials should fair better. Wait to trim woody perennials; examples of these include Russian sage and butterfly bush. You might find that they leaf out lower on the plant than usual. After they flush out this spring, cut dead growth off above where the new growth is emerging. For evergreen ferns, like the Autumn ferns shown below, remove all winter damaged fronds before new ones emerge.

For groundcovers like liriope, trim back as usual after this cold snap ends. Same with shrub roses.  Getting rid of damaged growth could help them flush more strongly this spring. For tips on what to prune and when, visit this post.

Plants like lantana, Mexican petunia, and purple fountain grass are not perennial here, even though many people have them come back year after year.  There is a good chance these plants won’t come back this year.

Protect your lawn by staying off it as much as possible until it dries out.  Putting weight on saturated lawns can damage the root system and cause ruts. St. Augustine and Centipede turf grasses might have significant winter damage and fail to break out of dormancy this spring.  There are no actions you need to take now, just prepare yourself for that possibility.

Speaking of lawns, if you haven’t applied pre-emergent (weed preventing herbicide) in the last 90 days, we suggest doing so.  Weeds are opportunists and will start sprouting up in bare spots.

 

Long Term Recovery

Plants that seem fine for the next few months may suddenly show signs of root damage in the summer.  This would happen if the root system or a large portion of the root system was damaged or killed due to these unusually low temperatures.  The plant may not show the damage until the heat stress of summer arrives.

To give your plants a boost in April, feed with a balanced, slow release fertilizer such as Good Earth brand Jump Start or Ferti-Lome Start-N-Gro. Make sure the plant gets adequate water but avoid over watering.

Caring for your plants is a labor of love and it may take some additional time to protect them and help them recover from a hard freeze.  If you have any questions, please reach out to us.

The post Plant Recovery After a Hard Freeze appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

1.  Start by shopping at a good garden center with consistently fresh greenery and cut trees. We typically get our greenery and trees Thanksgiving week. Follow us on social media or sign up for our email newsletter for updates.

2.  We will give your tree a fresh cut before loading for you; and if you bring your stand or purchase one here, we will put your tree on the stand for you!

2.  At home, place the tree in water quickly, spray it with Wilt-Stop to keep the tree from losing moisture and then keep watered.  Once the tree dries out, a callous forms and the tree will not take up any additional water.  Place Christmas Tree Preservative in the water to help absorption and place a disposal bag UNDER the tree stand so the bag will easily lift up over the tree at the end of the season.

4.  The same rules applies for cut greenery, and it’s even easier!  Just place in a plastic bag, fill with water and leave it for a few hours or overnight if possible.  Shake off the excess water, apply Wilt-Stop, let dry and start decorating!

5.  For poinsettias, choose a plant with soil that is not too wet or too dry; the perfect soil moisture when the soil surface feels dry but is damp an inch or two down.  These are often sold with foil pot covers that can fill with water and poinsettias plants cannot tolerate an excess of water. Here is a post with complete poinsettia care tips.

6.  Poinsettias are poisonous… but only if you, a pet or child eats them like a salad!  The white sap can irritate skin so wash it off as a precaution.

7.  If you skipped going to the poinsettia care link but are mildly regretting it because you do have one that you would like to keep alive through the holidays, here are the basics.  Keep poinsettias in bright, indirect light, and water as needed throughout the season. Enjoy them for the season and then toss them out with the tree. Unless, of course, you are emotionally invested in it, which we understand completely!

8.  Stems can be cut from plants like hollies and magnolias to add to your garland.  Treat for moisture like you would a garland or wreath.   For decor tips on how to use boughs, visit this post.

9.  Amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs are a colorful and easy decoration and can be found in ready to go containers or you can make your own. Here is our post on growing paperwhites.

10.  For best results choose fresh, well-kept materials.  And keep it REAL!

The post Tips for Keeping Your Christmas Decor Fresh All Season appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Poinsettia

Are you thinking this is going to be all about poinsettias?  Nope!  But we do have a whole post about them, including care tips.  Follow this link for all the poinsettia information you might want.  We went a little plant nerd on the topic and understand if you skip the history bits at the beginning!  Key things to remember for poinsettias are to place in bright, indirect light, water as needed and avoid over watering. For detailed information, we suggest visiting the poinsettia blog post.

Christmas Cactus

If we aren’t talking about poinsettias, what are we talking about?  Great question! Let’s start with maybe the second most popular Christmas cactus.  Which is really usually a Thanksgiving cactus but it blooms this time of year and is often referred to as a Christmas cactus. Recently, we have seen other stores call them Holiday cactus, which about covers all the relatives, including Easter cactus.  We have a whole post about these too, here is the link to that.  It seems like this plant meanders in and out of popularity but this year, all things plant are popular, especially traditional ones like this. Just in case you aren’t sure what plant we are even talking about, it’s pictured above.  It’s easy care and a great pass-down plant.  If you have always wanted one or know of someone who has, we have plenty in bloom as of today.

Norfolk Island Pine

Lemon Cypress

The post Great Holiday Plants For Gifts and Decorating appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Keep reading for landscape lighting tips, including how it can increase your home value, add safety and more.

First of all, what is quality landscape lighting and how does it differ from the lights at box stores?

Professionally installed, high quality, low-voltage outdoor lighting is more efficient than ever before by utilizing energy efficient LED fixtures.  These new fixtures require roughly 80% less voltage!  Traditionally, fixtures became quite hot; LED fixtures create far less heat, resulting in significantly longer lamp and fixture life. Depending on application, LEDs can last 50,000 hours or more. Additionally, with FX Luminaire LED lights (pictured above), you have the option of creating different themes that vary the mood and ambiance in your outdoor space to fit a quiet evening with family or a festive gathering with friends.  LED lights are easy to come by but there is a wide range of quality.  The FX Luminaire LED light fixtures our Landscape Services team installs are durable, constructed of brass and/or copper and come with a great warranty.

Why install landscape lighting?

Simply put, landscape lighting is a cost effective way to both beautify your home and add outdoor living space without costly renovations. High quality, professionally designed and installed landscape lighting has been shown to increase the value of your home. Landscape lighting also provides everyday benefits such as safety and curb appeal. In addition, it enhances outdoor gathering areas as well as illuminates walkways, steps, entryways and of course, highlights your home’s landscape plantings and architectural details.

Who can install landscape lighting?

By hiring a lighting professional, such as The Good Earth Landscape Services team, you are guaranteed a custom designed, properly installed and maintained functional system for years to come. As with any project at your home, hiring properly licensed, insured and skilled experts saves you money and future hassles. Choosing unskilled labor to install high quality products such as the FX Luminaire line won’t result in lasting success.  Our Landscape Services team are experts in designing and installing these lighting systems, with a focus on safety and proper voltage requirements. Our skills insure that your lighting system will operate trouble-free for many years to come.

Where can landscape lighting be placed?

From specialty underwater lights to uplighting and downlighting, FX Luminare’s products can create a variety of effects at your home. In addition to the aesthetics, these systems can be easily controlled from your smartphone or tablet. Email The Good Earth Landscape Team today for your estimate!

The post Landscape Lighting Tips appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

You picked out the right plant for your space, got it home, your shovel is in hand… now what?  We suggest watching these quick videos before planting. Getting to know your soil and how it drains is just as important as how to properly plant your new plant. Learn what a drainage test is, how to amend your soil and how to correctly plant a container or B&B plant in these videos.  One last tip; plants will usually signal if they aren’t happy in their new environment and that’s your chance to make adjustments. Watch your new plant for any signs of stress, such as yellowing leaves, and address issues quickly.  We are excited to help you grow; email or call us if you have questions along the way!

The post Planting Guide appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Keep reading for details on growing fruit trees in Arkansas!

Home gardening as a hobby experienced huge growth last year and we are expecting this trend to continue.  With this trend in mind, and knowing that many in our community are interested in either adding onto their ‘grocery’ garden or getting started, we are going to focus more this spring on vegetable, small fruit and tree fruit gardening.

Our fruit trees, blueberries and brambles arrived this week, earlier than ever, so you can start planting now! For details on growing blueberries in Arkansas, follow this link. This particular post is about fruit trees, specifically ones that can grow successfully in Arkansas. Follow these links for other fruit posts:

How to Grow Blueberries in Arkansas

How to Grow Blackberries in Arkansas

Fruit Tree Terms

Self-pollinating trees (also known as self-fruitful or self-fertile) are pollinated by pollen from another flower on the same tree or even the by pollen from the same flower. The benefits of self-pollinating trees is that you only need one to get fruit. However, having an additional tree of the same type, such as two self-pollinating trees, will often result in better yield. A good example of this is Santa Rosa plum.  These trees are considered partially self-fertile.

Some fruit trees require cross pollination (these are also known as self-unfruitful or self-sterile), and need to be planted near a different variety of the same tree species with similar bloom time. Another tree of the same variety will work for some fruit trees.

Fruit trees with pits, including peaches, plums and nectarines, are referred to as stone fruits. Freestone is another term you will see below; freestone peach varieties have fruit that falls right off the pit when ripe. Clingstone peaches have fruit that clings to the pit.

Fruit Tree Growing Tips

Fruit trees need full sun, which is at least six hours of direct sun.  They also need room to grow so take note of mature size of your new fruit tree before planting.  Good air flow cuts down on disease and insect issues so consider this before planting as well.

Once planted, water as needed, avoid over or underwatering your tree. Plant in soil that is well-drained.  We say that a lot because most plants need this kind of soil. Basically, it means that the soil doesn’t hold onto too much water.  We have some clay soils around here and depending on how much clay is in your soil, it could be poorly drained, the excess water cutting off oxygen to tree roots.  Adding organic matter at planting is recommended, and we suggest using Good Earth Jump Start as well to get the roots established faster.

Fertilizing of fruit trees will help overall tree fruit as well as fruit production.  Fertilize twice a year with Ferti-Lome Fruit, Citrus and Pecan Tree Food. Follow label instructions for rates and timing. Apply in the drip line of the tree and water in.

As with growing vegetables, monitoring for disease and insect issues is part of successfully growing fruit trees and small fruits.  Although more and more varieties are disease resistant, this doesn’t mean they won’t get any diseases.  For example, all peaches are prone to disease and will most likely need to be treated at some point. Monitor and address issues as they arise. We carry Bonide Fruit Tree Spray which is an all-in-one disease and insect spray plus spreader sticker to increase absorption. Always read label instructions and follow carefully.

A Few More Fruit Tree Tips

Pruning of fruit trees is necessary for a variety of reasons including shaping, training, increasing light for higher yields, controlling the tree size and the removal of dead branches. This is a pretty big topic; the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service has a great fact sheet on this.  Follow this link for detailed fruit tree pruning information.

One other item to note; many fruit trees have been grafted. This is when the root system, or root stock, portion of the plant is different than the top growth of the plant.  Trees are grafted to produce a stronger plant; varieties with a strong root system are chosen as root stock.  A variety with desirable fruiting traits is chosen for the top growth.  The result is the best of both worlds, so to speak.

One effect of grafted trees is that there are often dwarf or standard sizes of the same type of plant.  As an example, not all Santa Rosa plums are standard OR dwarf, it depends on root stock chosen.  Dwarf fruit trees will be labeled as such. Unless a tree is labeled as dwarf, then it is a standard growing tree. Semi-dwarf trees are also available with some varieties.

Fruit Tree Resources

We mentioned the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service above in the section about pruning.  They have a variety of other fact sheets on home tree fruit production as well.  Here is a link to that page; it’s worth a visit for sure. And of course, our team is here to help you keep growing too.  Email, call or come by The Good Earth for answers to your questions!

Fruit Tree Varieties

This is not an exhaustive list; instead, it’s a list of fruit trees that can grow well here in central Arkansas and ones we typically carry. Soils are different around the state and so are average last frost dates.  We get fruit trees in the spring and fall; we suggest shopping during these seasons for best selection.  As you might guess, the best time to plant fruit trees in Arkansas is either spring or fall.

Peach

• Belle of Georgia – Self-pollinating, disease resistant*, freestone, red fruit color
• Scarlet Prince – Self-pollinating, freestone, Southern standard for peach, large fruit, yellow-red fruit color
• Red Haven – Self-pollinating, freestone, disease resistant to leaf spot*, red fruit color, late blooming to avoid frosts
• Contender – Self-pollinating, freestone, yellow flesh. Red skinned fruit is firm and resists browning and bruising. Matures mid season
• Crimson Lady – Self-pollinating, clingstone, yellow flesh. Large fruit is firm and better than most peaches for storing. Matures very early.
• Bonfire Patio – Self-pollinating, clingstone, grown primarily as an ornamental tree, insignificant fruits, stunning pink blooms and eye-catching purple foliage
• Bonanza Patio – Self-pollinating, large pink blooms, freestone, genetic dwarf tree (4-5 ft tall and wide), yellow- red fruit color

*Please note that even disease resistant varieties can experience disease issues. Monitor and treat as needed.

Plum

• Santa Rosa – Self-pollinating but crop yields increase with pollinizer tree, freestone, grows to 10 ft tall and wide, good fruit producer, purplish skin and yellow fruit color, sweet fruit, keeps well, Japanese plum, heat tolerant
• Au Rosa – Self-pollinating but crop yield will increase with pollinizer tree such as Methley, highly disease resistant*, good flavor
• Methley – Self-pollinating, clingstone, sweet purple-red fruit, heavy bearer, disease resistant to fungal diseases like rust*, good pollinizer for other Japanese plums such as Santa Rosa, heavy fruit producer, heat tolerant
• Bruce
• Ozark Premier

Persimmon

• Fuyu – Self-pollinating but produces larger crop when planted with a cross pollinizer tree, mildly sweet with great flavor, tough fruit tree that does well in Arkansas, heat tolerant, large fruit yields, seedless when not pollinated, fruits keep well
• Suruga (first year carrying)- Self-pollinating and astringent. Late ripening with exceptionally sweet fruit
• Tanenashi- Self-pollinating. Fruit can be eaten while firm like an apple but is sweeter after cold weather softens the fruit to a jelly like consistency.

Pear

• Kieffer – Self-pollinating but requires cross pollinizer tree (another Kieffer will work) for good yield, heavy bearing, tolerant of drought, resistant to fire blight*, big yellow fruit with a coarse texture
• Bartlett – Requires pollination by another pear, produces abundant fruit, good for fresh eating, canning and cooking, fast growing
• Shinko- Requires pollination by another Asian pear, also called an apple pear because of the apple shape, medium fruit size, resistant to fire blight*, crisp, sweet fruit
• Ayers – Self-pollinating but will produce higher yield with a cross pollinizer tree, also called sugar pear because it’s candy sweet, fire blight resistant*, medium yellow fruit with a red blush
• Moonglow- Self-pollinating and good pollinator. Newer variety with very good resistance to Fireblight. Great for eating fresh as well as preserving.

Apple

• Yellow Delicious – Self-pollinating and a good pollinizer for other apples, mild, sweet taste
• Red Delicious – Requires a cross pollinizer tree such as Gala, mild taste, outstanding red color, best eaten fresh, doesn’t hold up well to cooking
• Granny Smith – Required a cross pollinizer such as Red or Yellow Delicious, great for fresh eating, baking and cider, bright green color
• Fuji – Requires cross pollinizer tree (Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonathan), very popular fresh eating apple, stores well
• Arkansas Black – Self-pollinating produces higher yield with across pollinizer tree, disease resistant*, late maturing, stores well
• Gala – Somewhat self-pollinating but another apple is highly recommended. Red fruit is crisp and very sweet.
• Jonathan – Self-pollinating but another apple is highly recommended. The crisp, red fruit is sweet and tart. Good eaten fresh or cooked. Heirloom variety from the early 1800’s.
• Stayman Winesap – Requires a pollinator, does not act as a pollinator. The red fruit is crisp and sweet with a good tang. Heirloom variety from 1700’s with good to moderate disease resistance.

Pecan

• Desirable – Requires a cross pollinizer tree (such as Stuart or Choctaw), heavy producer of large, sweet pecans, papershell
• Choctaw – Plant with a cross pollinizer tree (such as Stuart or Desirable) for best yields, papershell, disease resistant*
• Stuart – great pollinizer for other pecan trees, papershell, long lived pecan tree variety, medium pecans

Fig

• Brown Turkey – Self-pollinating, hardy in our area, produces brown fruit in late spring and late summer, delicious fresh, in preserves or dried, heat tolerant
• LSU Purple – Self-pollinating, produces purple fruit with white flesh, mild and sweet flavor, high producer, disease and pest resistant*
• Celeste – Self-pollinating, heat tolerant, pest (closed eye helps reduce insect issues) and disease resistant*, medium size sweet fruit
• Miss Figgy

*Please note that even disease resistant varieties can experience disease issues. Monitor and treat as needed.

The post Fruit Trees in Arkansas appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

We have some other Arkansas fruit growing posts too; check out the following:

How to Grow Blackberries in Arkansas

Fruit Trees in Arkansas

Planting blueberry shrubs

Start by picking a sunny location; it can be in a garden, a raised bed or somewhere in your landscape.  These fruits will do best planted in a mounded area at least a couple of inches (or up to a foot) high, and a couple of feet wide.  Next, consider the soil.  Blueberries prefer well drained, acidic soils with a pH in the 4.8 to 5.4 range.  Arkansas soils tend to be acidic although it’s a good idea to get your soil tested.  We can help with that; ask us about our Good Earth SoilKits!

Prepare the soil by adding some peat moss and Good Earth potting soil.  The finished soil should be about 65% original soil to 35% amendments.  If you need to acidify your soils, consider adding coffee grounds as this will both add organic matter and increase the acidity.

Blueberry varieties

Choose your variety of blueberry; both the southern highbush and rabbiteye types are good in Southern Arkansas, and Northern highbush varieties are good in Northern Arkansas.  All three types can be grown successfully in Central Arkansas.  Here are several varieties within each type:

Northern Highbush- Bluecrop, Duke, Elliot

Southern Highbush- Ozarkblue, Summit, Legacy

Rabbiteye- Climax, Premier, Tifblue

We typically carry Rabbiteye blueberries here at Good Earth.  Plant multiple varieties of the same type to increase fruit set and berry size. Figure on planting about 2 plants for each person in your family and double that if you plan on growing them for baking or freezing.

Growing tips

After planting, add five to six inches of pine bark or pine needle mulch.  This will help the soil retain moisture and reduce the weed growth (sawdust would also work well).  Add an inch of mulch material each year.  Blueberries need irrigation here in Arkansas in order to be successful so water well at planting and water throughout the year as needed.  Prune off the large flower buds at the tips of the shoots the first and second seasons, especially on smaller plants.  This will allow a larger, better producing plant to develop.

After the second growing season, remove some of the canes and reduce excess flower buds.  In addition, cut back any canes that are much taller than the overall height of the blueberry.  Too many blooms can result in a weaker plant and small fruit so remove weak or twiggy growth.  After the fifth year, begin removing some of the old canes.  Ideally older blueberry plants will have equal parts of one-, two-, three-, four-, and five-year old canes.

Feeding blueberries

Blueberries can be planted both in the Spring and Fall.  Fertilize the plants only after new growth has began with our organic Espoma Holly-Tone Fertilizer and then after 6 weeks, start applying Ammonium Sulfate unless otherwise directed by your soil sample results. Avoid applying fertilizer to the crown or stems of the blueberry.

Now, all you have to do is collect blueberry recipes!

The post How to Grow Blueberries in Arkansas! appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.