Fruit or nut?

Put me down for a sparkler crab.

That is a pretty tree!

Is the fruit edible?

we have a beautiful flowering crab in the yard

I would personally plant a cherry tree, but that's only because I love cherries.

I'd take a cherry tree, they're just beautiful when in bloom.

Nut. Just in case somebody doesn't feel like doing a lot of picking, the nuts are easier to get off the ground, like with a mower.

On the other hand, I know of no other way to get genuinely fresh peaches.

CJ
That tree is gorgeous. My cousin has some in her yard and she told me she'd give me one of the small ones if I wanted it :-)

I have blueberries, grapes and blackberries in my yard. If I could cut down the towering white pines and plant some cherry trees I'd be a very happy guy. Just can't bring myself to cutting down 100+ year old white pines though...

I hear that, Fishin. I couldn't do it either.

Maybe we should both go plant some cherry trees in Boomer's yard. We could show up once a year and have a harvest party!

Sounds like a lovely idea :-D

Take the cherry tree if you can get it, Montana. THey're lovely in every
season.

The reason I think "cherry" is that my neighbor's tree is so wonderful -- but it is probably 50 years old. Plus, he says the birds take care of whatever he doesn't pick - and he doesn't pick many because he thinks they are too sour.

But even he agrees that it is a beautiful tree.

The reason I think hazelnuts is because I know the squirrels will take care of any ungathered nuts and, as roger points out, the harvest is easy.

As far as fresh any of these things I can go to the "U-Pick" orchards and get my fill by barely leaving my neighborhood (God bless the strict urban growth boundry). That goes for just about any kind of berry as well.

I just thought it would be nice to have my own tree.

And I need another lovely tree in my backyard.

You are all invited! We can plant and we can get together every year for a test until tasting!

Let's get back to that idea, after everyone gets this Chicago thing out of their systems.

I have an apricot tree in the back yard, and it's bloom in spring is just as beautiful as a cherry tree. Also, the apricot tree is very hardy, and I've been cutting back branches almost every year without harming it. Now, if I can get it to fruit properly. LOL

Many trees have great blossoms and have uninteresting form much of the rest of the time. One fruit tree that once looked great to me when it wasn't blossoming was a persimmon tree in a Neutra house yard - I've no idea if it makes it in your area. I don't know fruit trees well enough (most don't do well in my old LA area) to know which are best for tree structure. You might take a look at some websites for that, if it interests you, Boomer.

If you're considering a cherry tree, don't you need two?

Cherries (or at least choke cherries, which is what my folks have) = birds = guano everywhere. If you plant the tree far enough from the car and front door, no prob. But theirs is right by the driveway and the car gets it every year.

Peaches are nice, I think they may be squirrel magnets, someone else can confirm or deny, I'm sure. Same with nut trees.

So there's a downside to all of them, to go along with the upsides of prettiness, fruit and flowers.