… or shrubs. The mail order nursery I got my pear trees from had an end-of-season sale flyer. I was still willing to dig a few more holes after I put in the walnut trees. They were out of the dwarf cherry trees by the time I called, but I got two beach plum plants. One of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten, and this might have been thirty years ago so you know it made an impression, was a slice of my whole wheat bread toast with some beach plum jam that my Aunt Elsie had made from fruit she picked near her beach house on Long Island. So I have a soft spot for beach plums. I don’t know how they’ll grow in Maine, but on end-of-the-season sale from the nursery two shrubs didn’t cost more than Arlene routinely spends for a few flats of annuals. The flyer says “usually produces fruit the next year.” That probably means there will be one or two fruits next year, not enough to do much good, but I can still hope. Here’s one of them in the ground right after I planted it two weekends ago:
Waiting until the end of the year to buy your fruit trees is a great idea. Fruit tree sales have soared the last couple of years, as it seems more people want to grow their own food.