Fruits as Ornamentals

by Marvin Pritts

It is commonly believed that fruiting plants are too susceptible to disease and insects, or require too much spraying, to be considered as ornamentals. Much of this thought comes from gardeners who ordered that Red Delicious or McIntosh apple, only to find that it succumbs to fire blight or the fruit is riddled with apple scab lesions. Few gardeners are aware that disease resistant apple varieties exist, and the varieties commonly offered for sale in grocery stores are among the poorest choices for the home garden.

Apples

Good choices	Poor choices
Liberty	Red Delicious
Freedom	Golden Delicious
Jonamac	McIntosh
Macoun	Idared
Keepsake	Jonathan
Enterprise	Granny Smith
Williams Pride	Jonagold
Goldrush	Rome
Burgundy	Crispin

Great advances have been made in breeding apples for disease resistance. At Cornell, our scientists have travelled to the far reaches of the world (central Asia) to gather wild apple germplasm from the forests there. The genes from these apples enable breeders to develop varieties resistant to pests, and some never have to be sprayed with fungicides.