Fruit Trees for Your Home Orchard

Growing fruit trees is something many gardeners aspire to, and even with space limitations it is possible to harvest reasonable crops of tree fruit. Standard sized apple trees can be planted anywhere in your yard that you have room for a shade tree. A mature standard apple tree will grow large enough to provide a shady spot in your yard besides giving you bushels of apples. For standard trees, plan with full sized spacing of 18 feet between trees in mind so you don't crowd other plantings.

Most gardeners have limited space, and in this case semi-dwarf or dwarf fruit trees are a better choice. More trees can be supported in the growing space, which allows you to grow a greater variety of fruits. Dwarf trees usually produce a full crop in 2-5 years, while a larger tree will take 5-7 years for a crop.

You will need to do some research so you can choose the right trees for your area. Fruit trees are scions grafted onto rootstocks. The rootstock determines the size of the tree, but it is the scion that determines the variety of fruit, and ultimately the fruit quality. The rootstock can also determine how long it takes for the tree to bear fruit, and the rootstock bears any pest resistance characteristics bred into the tree. Plant fruit trees suited to your overall climate. Apples must have a period of cold dormancy in order to produce fruit the following spring, so if you live in a warmer southern climate look for one of the new apple varieties specially bred for your area.

The varieties you choose must be compatible for pollination. For instance, Jonagold and Stayman apple blossoms have sterile pollen, and they will not set fruit unless another apple variety is planted as pollinator. Bartlett and Seckel pears will not pollinate each other. In general, any fruit tree will set the most fruit if the recommended pollinator variety is available, and even so called self-pollinating trees produce better with a cross-pollinator tree. Bloom time is also a factor in pollination. Gather information about early, mid, or late season bloom times and select varieties accordingly. If you are serious about producing fruit, then you will want to map out your home orchard to include the best pollinator combinations. It will be years before you can expect a full crop. You don't want to waste time or money on the wrong selections.

Your fruit trees need to be planted in full sun. You must also pay attention to air flow. A low-lying area can form a frost-pocket in which cold air settles. During the spring, a low pocket can cost your entire crop if cold air frosts your blossoming trees. If you must plant in a low area, and if you have dwarf trees, you can often successfully prevent total damage from frost by covering your budding trees, much as you would cover other tender plants in your garden. Another solution might be to find late blooming varieties that would miss late frosts in your area.

Fruit trees in your garden are a big investment, so do your homework. You'll be glad you did when your A+ crop comes in!

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html

http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort%20/articles/2007/appletreesspring.shtml