There are so many fruit trees available, that choosing the right trees for your fruit orchard may become difficult and very confusing.
The choice becomes slightly easier when you know that you have to choose the right tree for your climate.
Generally speaking fruit trees will grow in any climate but that does not mean that they will grow well and by planting the wrong trees they are also more likely to attract pests or become diseases.
By planting the correct fruit trees for your climate you will end up with trees that will produce fruit year after year with the right care.
What is the Difference Between a Cultivar and a Crop? A fruit tree crop is basically the kinds of trees like oranges, pears and apples.
A fruit tree cultivar is the specific kind of apple, orange or pear tree.
How Do I Select a Crop and a Cultivar? You will need to do a little bit of research with regards to the sensitivity of different crops and different cultivars to the climate you find yourself in.
Just to make things a bit more confusing; different tree crops like apples grow best in a temperate climate but some of the cultivars of apples can grow in a sub tropical climate.
Just because a tree is available at your local nursery does not mean that it is suited to your climate and you will need to find out which crops (fruit trees) and which cultivars (i.
e.
Granny Smith apples or Valencia oranges, etc.
) will flourish where you live which will save you a lot of money.
Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Fruit Trees Which types of the suited trees and how many of each you want to plant will depend solely on your personal preferences as well as the space you have available.
For your fruit tree to bear fruit it needs to be pollinated and while certain fruit trees like apricots and berries can pollinate themselves, there are others like apples that need to be pollinated by a nearby tree.
This means that if you have a small fruit orchard you might have to choose trees that self-pollinate unless you would like a fruit orchard with only apple trees.
Choose Your Tree Size When it comes to choosing a size tree for your fruit orchard you basically have 3 choices namely: Standard Size The big apple tree in your neighbor's front yard is a standard sized tree.
These trees obviously need more space when you plant them as they will grow into giants.
A drawback is that standard trees take a long time to mature and will start bearing fruit within 3 to 5 years.
They also require a lot more maintenance such as pruning and spraying which will mean a lot more work.
Dwarf Size These trees are ideal for a small fruit orchard or even if you want to plant your fruit trees in pots.
You can easily prune these but they do not live as long as the standard sized fruit trees.
Although a much smaller tree, the fruit will be of normal size and they too will start bearing fruit after about 3 to 5 years.
Semi-dwarf Size This is probably the wisest choice as they are neither too big nor too small and can still be pruned with relative ease.
Semi-dwarf trees are very popular because they will produce a large crop but sometimes will take a year off during which they will produce little or no fruit.
The choice becomes slightly easier when you know that you have to choose the right tree for your climate.
Generally speaking fruit trees will grow in any climate but that does not mean that they will grow well and by planting the wrong trees they are also more likely to attract pests or become diseases.
By planting the correct fruit trees for your climate you will end up with trees that will produce fruit year after year with the right care.
What is the Difference Between a Cultivar and a Crop? A fruit tree crop is basically the kinds of trees like oranges, pears and apples.
A fruit tree cultivar is the specific kind of apple, orange or pear tree.
How Do I Select a Crop and a Cultivar? You will need to do a little bit of research with regards to the sensitivity of different crops and different cultivars to the climate you find yourself in.
Just to make things a bit more confusing; different tree crops like apples grow best in a temperate climate but some of the cultivars of apples can grow in a sub tropical climate.
Just because a tree is available at your local nursery does not mean that it is suited to your climate and you will need to find out which crops (fruit trees) and which cultivars (i.
e.
Granny Smith apples or Valencia oranges, etc.
) will flourish where you live which will save you a lot of money.
Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing Fruit Trees Which types of the suited trees and how many of each you want to plant will depend solely on your personal preferences as well as the space you have available.
For your fruit tree to bear fruit it needs to be pollinated and while certain fruit trees like apricots and berries can pollinate themselves, there are others like apples that need to be pollinated by a nearby tree.
This means that if you have a small fruit orchard you might have to choose trees that self-pollinate unless you would like a fruit orchard with only apple trees.
Choose Your Tree Size When it comes to choosing a size tree for your fruit orchard you basically have 3 choices namely: Standard Size The big apple tree in your neighbor's front yard is a standard sized tree.
These trees obviously need more space when you plant them as they will grow into giants.
A drawback is that standard trees take a long time to mature and will start bearing fruit within 3 to 5 years.
They also require a lot more maintenance such as pruning and spraying which will mean a lot more work.
Dwarf Size These trees are ideal for a small fruit orchard or even if you want to plant your fruit trees in pots.
You can easily prune these but they do not live as long as the standard sized fruit trees.
Although a much smaller tree, the fruit will be of normal size and they too will start bearing fruit after about 3 to 5 years.
Semi-dwarf Size This is probably the wisest choice as they are neither too big nor too small and can still be pruned with relative ease.
Semi-dwarf trees are very popular because they will produce a large crop but sometimes will take a year off during which they will produce little or no fruit.
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