2025 Mostly Edible Plant Sale
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Collapse ▲It is time again to start ordering your fruit plants and trees! The N.C. Cooperative Extension – Caldwell County Center is now taking orders and will until sold out. Please know that the earlier you place your order the better chance we will be able to complete your request.
Plants will be available for pickup on March 13, 2025. There are some new items this year as well as some we have offered previous years. As always, should you have any questions please contact the center at 828-757-1290 or email Sarah Christas, Horticulture Agent, at sarah_christas@ncsu.edu.
Below is a list of available plants we have this year:
STRAWBERRIES $10.00 / 25 plants 1 yr. old, bare-root plants
Strawberries are easy to grow and are typically grown as a matted row. Strawberries perform best with a soil pH of 6.5 to
6.8. June-bearing types bear fruit in the spring of the second year and every spring after that. Everbearing types should bear fruit in the first year.
| Varieties | Type | Season | Comments |
| Chandler | June bearing | Early | Great for fresh eating, jams, and freezing; vigorous grower |
| Eversweet | Everbearing | Late | Large, sweet strawberries throughout spring, summer and fall. Especially tasty, bright red cone-shaped berries can be enjoyed fresh or frozen |
| Ozark Beauty | Everbearing | Late | Fresh eating, canning, making strawberry jam or strawberry jelly, freezing |
RHUBARB $6.00 each bare-root crowns
Rhubarb produces edible, scarlet stems with a tart flavor. Often combined with sweet fruit in recipes, like strawberry rhubarb pie.
| Varieties | Ripen | Characteristics | Comments |
| Victoria | Summer | Large, tender stalks | Vigorous, upright grower; some root rot resistance |
Asparagus $12.00 or $10.00 each bare-root crowns
Asparagus has been considered a spring garden delicacy since Roman times. Any home gardener can grow and enjoy this vegetable. Asparagus is a perennial. If you plant and manage it properly, it will produce for 15 years or more.
| Varieties | Ripen | Characteristics | Comments |
| Purple Passion($12) | Spring | Large, tender stalks | This hardy perennial vegetable is a delight in many dishes. Grown for the stems or spears, a well-tended plant can produce 8-10 pounds per 100 square foot. A planting can last 15-20 years. |
| Ripen | Characteristics | Comments | |
| Mary Washington($10) | Spring | Large, tender stalks | Grown for the stems or spears, a well-tended plant can produce 8-10 pounds per 100 square foot. A planting can last 15-20 years. |
Muscadines $10.00 each 2yr old bare-root
Avoided shaded areas. Fruit set and production will be reduced if the vines are shaded for more than several hours each day during the growing season. Muscadine grapes will survive and produce a crop on a wide range of soils as long as drainage is good. Plant failure can be expected in locations where water stands for even a short period after heavy rains. Apply and work in dolomitic lime at the recommended rate by the soil test to bring the pH to 6.5 before planting.
| Varieties | Ripen | Characteristics | Comments |
| Supreme (black) | Mid-season | One of the very best and biggest muscadines. This vine is a very heavy producer with large clusters. | NOTE: This is a female variety that must be planted within 50 feet of a self-fertile variety in order to produce fruit. |
| Dixie Red (bronze) | Mid-season | Vigorous and cold hardy, large fruit size, and disease resistant. | Self-fertile. Known as one of the most productive varieties available. |
BLACKBERRIES $10.00 each 1 yr. old plants, bare-root plants
Blackberries are among the easiest fruits to grow. They tolerate most soils but do best at a pH of 6.5 to 6.8. Plants need full sun to produce flowers and fruit. Trailing blackberry varieties require trellising, while erect types may not.
| Varieties | Type | Season | Comments |
| Sweetie Pie | Trailing; thornless; floricane-fruiting | Mid- Late | Excellent flavor in a juicy, black, medium to large sized berry. Sweetie Pie is a winner for home gardens and U-Picks |
| Apache | Erect; thornless; primocane fruiting | Late | Medium-size fruit, portions of fruit may turn white during hot weather. |
| Natchez | Erect; thornless; floricane-fruiting | Early- Mid | Very large, elongate fruit; good disease resistance. |
BLUEBERRIES $10.00 each 18-24 inches tall, 1 gallon
Blueberries require well-drained soil with abundant organic matter and a pH of 4.5 to 5.8. They will bear well in full sun to light shade. A few inches of mulch helps reduce water stress. Under good conditions, plants produce in abundance.
The following varieties produce best when at least two different varieties are planted together. Plant 6’ apart.
| Varieties | Ripen | Fruit Characteristics | Comments |
| Powderblue | Mid-Late | Lg, very good flavor, medium color | Upright, vigorous, good post-harvest fruit Quality, rabbiteye type. |
| Climax | Early | Lg, Very good flavor; medium color | Upright; concentric ripening; medium color; rabbiteye type. |
| Tifblue | Mid | Med-Lg, Good flavor | Upright, vigorous grower, rabbiteye type. Tifblue leaves turn red in the fall making it a good ornamental plant. |
PAWPAW TREES $20.00 each bare-root whips
Produces large tropical custard-like fruit that is oblong in shape and has light green skin. Enjoy the pleasant aroma when it ripens. Texture is firm with a delicate blend of flavors. Many describe the fruit as an intense banana pudding with a hint of mango flavor.
| Varieties | Fruit Characteristics | Comments |
| All-in-One | Produces large tropical custard-like fruit which begins to ripen in late summer and peaks in September – October. | Pawpaw trees grow best in fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil(pH 5.5-7). Plan to provide ample water to pawpaw trees, especially during the establishment year. |
AMERICAN HAZELNUT $15.00 each 1-gallon containers
Fruit set and production is best if trees are in full sun. Hazelnuts will survive and produce a crop on a wide range of soils as long as drainage is good. For ample fruit formation, plant more than one Hazelnut to ensure cross-pollination.
| Pollination | Season | Flower | Comments |
|
Not self-fertile. Plant more than one. |
Fall- Sept. – Oct. |
There are separate male and female flowers on the same plant (monoecious). | Hazelnut is a suckering, native deciduous shrub in the Birch family that may grow 9-12ft. tall. The nuts are typically produced on plants that are 2-3 years old and older. |
WITCH HAZEL $15.00 each 1-gallon containers
Ozark Witch Hazel is a native, tough, durable plant. It is easy to grow in both sun and partial shade but flowers best in full sun. Prefers acidic soils. This plant has seasonal interest all year round. While they do bear edible fruit, we’d suggest letting the birds have it. This shrub pairs nicely with the native shrubs offered above.
| Flower | Shrub Size | Plant Characteristics | Comments |
| Late fall – early winter | 6ft-10ft tall | Prefers well-drained, moist, acid, organic soil; full sun or partial shade; intolerant drought; no serious pests. | Historically, this plant was used to treat wounds, muscle soreness, insect bites, bruises, and burns. |
When deciding which fruit plants to grow in your home garden be sure to think about the following:
✔Do you have an appropriate site – full sun, well-drained soil?
✔Maintenance requirements: pest management; training and pruning requirements; irrigation.
✔Do you have space for plants to mature?
✔What is the pH of your soil? Do you need to add lime or nutrients? Have you done a soil test?
For more information consult the following publications online, or stop by the Caldwell County Center of the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service located at 120 Hospital Ave., Suite 1, Lenoir to pick up a copy.
Horticulture Information Leaflets
Growing Blueberries in the Home Garden
Blackberries for the Home Garden
Pruning and Training Blackberries
Strawberries in the Home Garden
Extension Bulletins
Grapes and Berries for the Garden