Grapes and dwarf fruit varieties*

(Question)

I am looking for varieties of fruits to plant in my garden. would you be able to tell me the good varieties (names) for each fruit that I have given below. I live in Northern Scarborough. (I am NOT asking for a garden center who will have them). I am asking for varieties of fruit trees that give the sweet fruit, so that I can go to garden centres and look for those varieties to buy)

Grapes to plant in my garden. Looking for sweet, seedless grapes.

Cherry – sweet if dwarf variety better – I know that mostly I will have to plant two cultivars for pollination.

Plum – sweet plums, dwarf variety if available is better. I am aware that I will need two cultivars for pollination.

Peach – sweet peaches. do they have dwarf plants?

Nectarines – sweet varieties – do they have dwarf plants?

Your help would be appreciated.

 

(Answer)

Hi.

Seedless sweet grapes are available.  I have discovered one with a honey sweetness that sounds like it should do well here.  ‘Himrod’ is a very early ripening cultivar. It produces large bunches of medium size tender-skinned greenish-white berries with sweet, delicious, honey-like flavour and melting, juicy texture.
The clusters are loosely filled, but cane girdling, gibberellic acid treatments, or thinning may be used to increase cluster compactness and improve berry size. It is a very popular grape. Cane pruning is advised.
Bunch weight = 163 gm. Berry weight = 2.1 gm.

I have discovered a dwarf sweet cherry cultivar that is self-pollinating, Prunus avium ‘Compact Stella’.  You might consider that one for your garden.  You could plant 2, even in planters.  ‘Starkrimson’ and Glacier are 2 other sweet dwarf cultivars.

Sweet dwarf plum cultivars are ‘Superior’ Plum and Green Gage Plum which is self-pollinating.  Both are sweet and can be eaten right off the tree.

Sweet dwarf peach cultivars are Elberta Queen and ‘Redhaven’ which are both self-pollinating.

Sweet dwarf nectarine cultivars are Crimson Snow, SunGlo.

Dwarf fruit trees aren’t always really dwarf themselves.  It is often the rootstock to which the variety is grafted to that gives it the dwarf characteristic.  Another rootstock characteristic can be insect and disease resistance.

There are other cultivars available but not all are hardy here in Canada.