How to grow fruit trees in your backyard

Growing your own fruit trees is an exciting and worthwhile endeavor. While it takes a few years for the trees to begin to bear fruit, you will be rewarded with a bountiful supply of fruit for twenty to fifty years in the future. The development of dwarf and semi dwarf trees make it possible for anyone with an average sized yard to enjoy raising their own fruit trees. You can plant trees in either the spring or fall and will begin to enjoy the fruits of your labors in three to five years.

To get started, decide what type of tree you want to grow. Most fruit trees require two different trees to bear fruit (this is called cross pollination), so bear in mind that you will need to have room to plant two trees, ideally within fifteen to twenty feet of each other. On the plus side, both of these trees will bear fruit, so you can have two different types of fruit to choose from. For example you could plant a “Granny Smith” apple tree and a “Macintosh” apple tree, and have enough wonderful apples to eat, cook with, make apple sauce, and share with your neighbors. Even trees that are marketed as being self pollinating usually do better when there are more than one variety planted, producing more and larger fruit.

Once you have decided on the types of trees you want you should go out to your garden center and buy them. They are available as bare root plants or in pots, and either one is fine. Once you get them home, it is time to get planting. It is best to plant at a time when it is overcast, or in the evening, so that your tree will not be stressed by the heat too much. Dig a hole deep enough so that the tree will be planted at the same depth that it was planted at the nursery, and about 1 1/2 times as wide. When you are digging your hole, it is helpful to pile the dirt from the hole onto a plastic tarp or garbage bag, so that it is easy to shovel back into the hole when you are ready for it. Once you have completed the hole put several shovels of organic material or compost into the hole. Now sit the tree into the hole and shovel the dirt back around the tree, packing lightly. Step back and look, is the tree in straight? If so water thoroughly and pack the soil again. You can now apply shredded bark mulch or pine needles to the circle around the tree to discourage weed growth and help the soil remain a consistent temperature.

As you wait for your fruit tree to mature there are some things that you can do to help it along: Maintain mulch around the base of the tree, fertilize it with any lawn fertilizer in the spring and in the fall, and protect its tender, emerging branches from deer, mice and other wildlife (as well as the family dog).

Once your tree begins to bear fruit you will want to continue with the maintenance as you have been doing, in addition you may find you need to spray it occasionally with a fruit tree spray if bugs are a problem. Once your fruit gets to be about the size of your thumbnail, you may want to thin it out some, as the fruit that grows closely in clusters will not reach a good size. Other than that you can sit back and wait for our fruit to ripen, and enjoy.