How to Grow Fruit Trees

Imagine walking no further than your front yard to pick beautiful, crisp apples or plump, juicy plums. Fruit trees add beauty to any landscape and provide growers with delicious gifts each year. To flourish, fruit trees require consistent care and proper maintenance. Under the right conditions, a tree can produce fruit for up to 50 years.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Choose climate-appropriate fruit trees. Which trees will thrive in your yard depends on macro and microclimate-related factors. Certain varieties of plums and disease-resistant apples, for example, tend to do well in coastal areas where rain and fog are common. This does not mean that these fruit trees will grow well in every coastal yard. Microclimate conditions include drainage and availability of sunlight in an individual yard or neighborhood.

2. Grow more than one type of fruit tree. Most trees require cross-pollination to bear fruit, so you must plant different varieties to have a successful harvest. Although some fruit trees self-pollinate, they produce larger fruit in greater abundance when planted in diverse clusters.

3. Add bark mulch or pine needles around tree bases to discourage weed growth, which can cause competition for root space over time. Continue this process over the tree's life course. In the spring and fall, add lawn fertilizer to fruit tree bases.

4. Be patient. Fruit trees take several years to bear fruit. For example, peach trees take 2 to 4 years to mature and plum trees take up to 6 years to produce fruit. If a fruit tree blossoms during its second spring, gently remove fruit-producing flowers to allow another year of root growth and establishment.

5. Protect fruit trees from pests, disease and wildlife. To control pests, spray trees with insecticides. Plant disease-resistant trees or pick all fruit at harvest, removing all bad fruit from your property. Place guards around the lower trunks of young trees to prevent removal of bark by wildlife.

6. Prune fruit trees regularly; ideally, when they're dormant. Remove all bad branches, cut away one branch from every fork and keep horizontal branches at least 5 inches apart. Proper pruning will encourage healthy growth and improve the quality of your fruit harvest. Balance is important, as over pruning can cause significant tree damage.

7. Spread out your harvest by planting fruit trees with different ripening times. Cherries stop producing in July; peaches in September; apples in November, pomegranates and berries in November. In some regions, it's possible to have fresh fruit virtually year-round.

Tips & Warnings

• If you live in a climate with frequent snow, paint lower fruit tree trucks with a mixture of half white latex paint and half water. This will protect the bark from splitting due to heat created by the sun's rays bouncing off the bright white snow.
• To minimize heat stress, plant fruit trees in the evening or on an overcast day.
• For optimal results, plant fruit trees in full sunlight.
• Some fruit trees, especially citrus and dwarf varieties grow well in large garden containers.
• Use insecticide with caution and according to manufacturer's instructions. Organic pest control products are highly effective and are much safer to use than conventional pesticides. Remember that you will likely eat the fruit that you spray.