I Have Enough Room In My Garden To Grow A Fruit Tree , Any Suggestions As To What And Why?
Posted by admin on February 23, 2010
What and why……hmmm.
Unless you are in a very warm climate where citrus rule, then the standard apple/pear/cherry/peach/etc type fruits are what you are going towards.
Problem is if you have room for only one tree, then you want one that will pollinate itself. This cuts us back quite a bit. Most apples need a friend, Golden Delicious might pollinate itself, but prefers a buddy. Pears also need a friend…..usually. Sweet cherries need a friend except for Stella. Sour or pie cherries Don’t! You can grow sour cherry.
Peach and nectarine don’t….you can grow just one of these. Apricots don’t and plums vary….blue plums don’t, reds are iffy.
Size…..ah, here’s the rub. How big is big? Standard apples are huge! Semi dwarf are just 10-15% smaller than huge. Dwarf…….ah, these are better, about 8 feet tall. Standard peach is OK for most areas as is a nectarine….they can get somewhat big. Pie cherries……Dwarf North Star is 8 feet, the other varieties are larger. Plums are 12+
We haven’t really touched on late spring frosts……..which kill the flowers of the early bloomers such as apricots and red plums.
So first do some homework: http://starkbros.com/
And then contact your Cooperative Extension Service (google your “state” cooperative extension service to get your local office) and ask them for varieties that do the best in your area. It’s there job to know what works best for you.
