How to Grow an Almond Tree

Growing almond trees

The almond tree is in the prunus family just like the peach, apricot and plum. These are all called 'stone' fruits since they have stone-sized hard pits. You might notice that an almond (the pit) looks very much like the pit of a peach. The almond tree grows to a 20' shapely tree that will offer lovely light pink flowers in the late winter or early spring and healthy, tasty almonds in the summer. Here are some tips on growing almonds successfully.

Instructions

1. 

   Almond trees are not difficult to grow, but they are not self-fertile and need another variety that blooms at the same time to provide cross-fertilization from the bees to produce nuts. Don't forget to plant at least two trees for cross-pollination. You can even plant two or three young almond trees right next to each other if space is limited. By planting them in the same hole, they will grow together with the branches intertwining as if they were one tree, yet the flowers will still cross pollinate to set fruit.

2. 

   The nuts form fruits that look like flattened peaches or apricots. They stay green for quite a while before turning brown and starting to split. This is the time they are ready for harvesting. You will have to beat the local wildlife if you want to crop your nuts before they do. Netting trees will help protect form squirrels and birds.

3. Grow the almond in full sun. It will need the same deep watering common to most other fruit trees, though it is a little more tolerant of drought than most. Handling of a variety of soils, the almond tree will only balk when it has poor drainage. Give it deep and even watering, letting the surface soil dry out between waterings to produce a good crop.

4. When you plant your almond tree(s) dig the hole wider than than deep, but make sure the roots fit easily into the depth of the hole. If the soil is dry in the bottom of the hole, water it.
   If you live in a windy area, you will want to add your stakes and ties to support the young tree. If you do stake your tree, remove the stakes within a year or two to allow motion and the proper development of roots.

5. Although almond trees do not get a lot of insect problems, you should keep an eye out for spider-mite and leaf rollers. You should also keep your almond trees lightly pruned for shape, cut out crossing branches, and keep overgrown branches thinned annually while the tree is dormant.

6. 

   Like most fruit trees, the almond tree is decorative enough to be used in your landscape design. It is highly decorative in the spring when it is smothered with flowers. The fruit is not very colorful, but leaves can turn nicely in the autumn. And, well, there is nothing to compare with the fun of harvesting fresh almonds!

Resources

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• Gates & Croft Horticultural Design Info & Ideas