Grapes have not been very generally planted. The Beta is the hardiest variety. The Concord does well where properly planted and cared for.
Raspberry bushes made a good growth and look healthy; although damaged by frost there was a fair crop.
Strawberries yielded fairly well where they were given attention. The Senator Dunlap, Warfield and everbearing plants should be more generally grown.
Gooseberries and currants were just fair in some localities, in others the late frost destroyed all prospects of small fruits. The Houghton and Downing gooseberries, Red Dutch and White Grape currants are some of the varieties planted.
In Ottertail, Wilkin and Beltrami counties a good deal of nursery stock has been planted and with very good success.
Very little has been done in the way of spraying orchards, as trees are young.
All fruits are going into winter in good condition, with fair amount of moisture in the ground and trees full of fruit buds.
The hardy ornamental shrubs, honeysuckle, lilac, mock-orange and spirea Van Houttii can be grown here. Hardy perennial flowers that do well are peony, phlox, golden glow and bleeding heart. This northern section of the state is the land for the hardy perennials. Nowhere else do we get such beautiful colorings and bloom.
Annual Report, 1915, Madison Trial Station.
This season has been very good. We have had plenty of rain, so that all nursery stock set out this last spring has made a good growth.
The first part of May a hard frost did quite a good deal of damage to small stock just planted or lined out in the nursery. This frost also damaged the blossoms on the fruit trees. The plum trees happened to be in full bloom when this frost came, so that froze them entirely, and so we did not get any plums to speak of. We also had a light crop of apples, especially of the early varieties. The Northwestern and Patten's Greening bore a good crop.
The grapes also froze. I expected to get some fruit off those grape seedlings I received from the State Fruit-Breeding Farm three years ago, but they went with the rest of it.
The plum trees I received this and two years ago are all doing well. They did not freeze back any when we had that hard frost; so far they seem to be hardy for this location.