Choose the Right Fruit Trees

fruit trees, apples
fruit trees, Italian plum
Italian prune plums

There was a wonderful article about growing fruit trees in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review newspaper. I’d share the link with you but you have to be a subscriber in order to read it. However, I wanted to make a few important points about this topic.

Are you planning to shop for fruit trees this spring? If so, I wanted to share a few tips so you will be happy with your purchase.

Pick the right tree based on your needs and the time you’re willing to invest in them

First of all, Italian prune plums are the easiest fruit tree to grow. They have minimal issues and they’re self-pollinating so you don’t need to buy an extra tree. They’re also hardier. Apricots, nectarines and peaches also are less prone to insect problems.

While homegrown apples, pears and cherries are wonderful, they require a LOT of care… This particularly applies when it comes to insect control:

  • Apples and pears are susceptible to apple maggot fly damage or apple codling moth damage, depending on where you live. However, since pears have a slightly thicker skin, they tend to fare better with insects than apples do.
  • Cherries are plagued with cherry fruit flies. If you’ve ever discovered a little worm inside a cherry, that’s a cherry fruit fly maggot. Ewww.

Because of these issues, it’s so important that you keep up with these insects on your fruit trees. If you don’t, you not only ruin the fruit in your garden, you make it difficult for your neighbors to grow insect-free fruit as well. That’s where the time element comes in: if you’re going to grow them, make time to care for them properly.

When I was a Master Gardener trainee back in 2002, I remember learning something that shocked me. The instructor said, “If you’re not going to take the time to care for fruit trees, cut them down.” But it’s true: they need care.

Looking for information on how to grow fruit trees?

Your local Master Gardener program can provide you with excellent information on growing all kinds of fruit trees. Even better, it is a FREE service! You can reach the Spokane County Master Gardeners by going to their website. Don’t worry if you live elsewhere am don’t know how to get in touch with your program. Just do a search on the words “Master Gardeners” + the name of your county + your state or province. (for example, Master Gardeners Spokane County Washington)

Use organic insect control methods

Organic is totally the way to go and it’s doable. You don’t want to go to the effort of growing your own fruits, only to cover them with nasty pesticides. I sure don’t!

The good news is that Bill and I have been growing fruit trees organically for about 30 years. I should add that he is the expert on the methods that work. I just do some small tasks in our little orchard plus eat the yummy harvests!

Did you know that there is helpful information about growing apples and cherries organically on this website? I’ve also shot some YouTube videos on these topics. Here are links to them:

I hope this information will help you make an informed decision on choosing the right fruit trees.