How to Get the Best from Fruit Trees

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How to get the best from fruit trees

Fruit trees are some of the most versatile plants you can use in your garden. They give back in so many ways. Here are some tips on how to get the best from your fruit trees.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Fruit trees offer free, healthy and tasty food.

The most obvious benefit you can have from a fruit tree is the fruit, of course. Choose a fruit you like and will use. Consider if you want to eat fruit fresh, preserve it, dry it or use it in another manner. This will influence the type and variety of fruit tree you use. Also select a variety that is appropriate to your climate.
Step 2

These bi-colored flowers are decorative.

Find the best ornamental tree for your landscape. Since fruit trees come in many sizes, shapes and flower colors, you can use them to decorate your garden just like you would any other flowering plant.
Step 3

Cut a flowering branch from a fruit tree to decorate the indoors.

Enjoy the beautiful spring flower show put on by fruit trees. Some have large flowers and even double flowers. Most flowers are white, pink or red and can be bi-colored. There are varieties that are cultivated for their extremely showy flowers and do not set large fruit. These are appropriately called ‘flowering’ varieties. Consider cutting some branches as the flower buds start to swell. They make beautiful arrangements for the house.
Step 4

Get shade in your landscape by using a large-growing fruit tree. Many standard sized fruit trees grow large and well-shaped making excellent shade trees. As with all trees that lose leaves in the winter (deciduous), these trees offer shade in the heat of summer yet let the warm sunshine peek through bare branches during the cooler months.
Step 5

Fruit trees turn bright colors in the autumn.

Design with fruit trees for autumn color. Apricot trees tend to turn a brilliant yellow in the autumn while most plum foliage can turn purple and red before losing leaves to winter. Plant your fruit trees so the color will be seen to its best advantage. Remember you can find fruit trees in standards (from 25’ - 40'), semi-dwarfs (15’ – 20’), dwarf trees (4’ – 12’) and ultra-dwarf (3’ – 5’) heights.
Step 6

Get the best from your fruit trees.

You can get lots of payback for using fruit trees in the garden. For more information on how to get the best from fruit trees, check out the Resources offered below.