European plum trees might work well in your climate. Vigorous varieties on St. Julien rootstocks can easily put on 3ft-4ft on each of the main shoots in the first years.

I can't comment on zone 7 but I have a Fiesta tree in my back garden, it is a great apple with a really excellent Cox-style aromatic flavor. Cropping is fairly good too, and it is easy to grow without chemicals. I have not noticed any particular disease problems. The apples stay crisp for several mo...

Rubinette is probably your best choice, it is better suited to warmer climates like VA than Cox (which needs a cool temperate maritime climate). Having tasted English-grown Cox and Rubinette, I don't think you will be disappointed, certainly one of the best flavors around. However it is still not ea...

The age at which a Honeycrisp tree will start fruiting (assuming you have taken care of the pollination requirements) depends primarily on the type of rootstock you have used. It could be anywhere from 2 years to 5 years or more - usually the more vigorous the rootstock the longer it will take to st...

Jonathan and Fuji should cross-pollinate well, they flower at roughly the same time.

Right now is a good time to propagate a new tree from your one. Are there any new shoots which have grown this season? If so see if you can find a local nursery that could bud-graft for you.

I think it is self-sterile so needs a compatible tree of a different variety nearby. It flowers slightly early, so look for other mid or early season blooming varieties.

See this article also:
http://www.orangepippin.com/resources/g ... esh-apples

What rootstock are these trees grafted on, as that can have a big influence on when the trees start to flower?

Interestingly Northern Spy is in the parentage of the popular MM106 rootstock, and if you let a MM106 rootstock grow into a tree (instead of grafting it) the resulting apples are of reasonably good quality.

D'Arcy Spice is not especially vigorous, so on M9 I reckon you could probably plant it in a large barrel without problem. Make sure it is fully supported with a stake etc.

Interesting the UK national fruit collection doesn't have the "original" Foxwhelp, but has a popular sport called Broxwood Foxwhelp. I have just added an entry and some ID photos for the Broxwood sport to the site so you can compare the US and UK versions. http://www.orangepippin.com/apple...

You might find that different sports / variants of Gala perform differently, but if you have experienced a persistent problem growing Gala then I would be tempted to try something completely different which might be better suited to your particular climate and situation. If you like Gala apples, per...

Some varieties perform very differently in different climates and seasons, and from our limited experience I would say Honeycrisp is in that category. Contrast it with say Spartan, or Rubinette, two varieties that seem to taste the same year in year out and regardless of where you get them from. Ano...

It's a modern disease-resistant apple called Ariane, developed by INRA at Angers in France. I don't know if it is grown in the US yet, although it is related to Golden Delicious.