With a little planning, homeowners who like to harvest ripe, succulent fruit from their trees can successfully grow fruit trees such as apple, pear, plum, and cherry, even homeowners with one small patch in their garden.
Apple trees need full sunlight. This means they need eight hours of sun every day. Therefore, they should be placed in an open environment for best yields. Apple trees also need to be planted in pairs in order to ensure that fruits are produced. These should be placed roughly 20 feet apart.
In addition to growing what you love to eat, choose certain types of fruits and varieties based on growing conditions, space availability, susceptibility to pests and diseases, and the time and effort you are willing to put into growing the fruit of the trees.
The tables in this article summarize the number of years it takes to harvest many of the commonly grown fruit trees, as well as the soil, stamina, and spacing requirements. Smart gardeners take these considerations into account in order to successfully grow fruit in their backyard.
Preparing to Grow Fruit Trees in the Backyard
Growing fruit trees in your backyard requires careful soil preparation and several years of maintenance before harvesting can be done. Most fruit trees require annual maintenance, including pruning, growing and thinning. Whether for growing fruit or just a beautiful tree, apples require regular pruning.
In subsequent years, when the tree begins to bear fruit, pruning may be easier. Once the tree is well pruned, annual pruning is reduced; only cross branches and branch growth are removed. If you forget to prune within a year or two, the tree will return to its normal size. In most cases, you can leave it unpruned or fertilized until it begins to bear fruit.
Choosing the Right Apple Tree to Plant
You can plant a tree that blooms at the same time as your tree for more fruit, or a tree that blooms at different times to pick fresh apples at different times of the year. However, most apples require not only a second apple tree for pollination, but also a second tree of a different variety (for example, the Pink Lady apple should be combined with a Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith or McIntosh apple for fruit). You just have to plant a 5-in-1 apple tree to reap the benefits, because the varieties on the tree pollinate each other, making it self-pollinate.
Plant your 5-in-1 apple tree in a well-drained, sunny area, watering and fertilizing as needed to prepare it for success. Apple trees also need well-drained soil that is moderately fertile and retains moisture and air, so mulch with organic material after planting.
Apples are susceptible to pests and disease and require constant care and attention. Apples need full sun most of the day or all day, especially morning sun, which can dry out the leaves and reduce the risk of disease.
Apples grow best in well-drained clay soil, although they will grow in sandier soil or soil with little clay. With good drainage, most fruit trees grow well on sandy and loamy soils with a pH ranging from slightly acidic to neutral (6.0-7.0). If poor drainage is a major issue, plant trees in raised beds.
Maintaining Trees You Have Planted
In addition to disease-resistant varieties, prune trees regularly to ensure sufficient sun and air penetration into the crown of the tree, and prune off any diseased branches, leaves, or fruits.
And now that your citrus tree is outdoors again, start fertilizing it regularly, but don’t overdo it. Planting more trees of different varieties will help increase the amount of fruit your tree bears each year. You can stimulate the tree to create more fruit buds by tying new growing branches horizontally during the summer months.
If you need to keep a mature tree in a container, make sure the potting soil is moist and keep it away from direct sunlight and strong winds. Most should also have well-drained soil, although apple, pear and plum trees are somewhat more tolerant of less than ideal conditions. Place trees where they are protected from strong winds, and avoid planting on beaches where they may not grow well.
Tips for Placing Apple Trees
The best place to plant apple trees to get enough sunlight depends on the climate. Sunlight Requirements Because apple trees need full sun, they need a growing area that can receive six or more hours of sunlight per day during the growing season.
Fruit production requires a lot of sunlight, so apple trees need at least six hours a day for healthy trees and good harvests. Ideally, apple trees need 8-10 hours of direct sunlight for optimal growth, pollination and fruit production in your garden.
But at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day is normal, depending on whether the apple tree receives morning or afternoon sun. Full sun is considered to have at least 6 hours of direct unfiltered light per day, but whether those hours are in the morning or afternoon, the impact on growing conditions can be huge.
An apple tree that gets full sun all morning but gets shade during the day will grow very differently than one that gets full sun in the morning but is exposed to the sun in the afternoon. The sunniest spot in the afternoon gets 6 hours of sunshine per day.
Ensure the Apple Tree Gets Appropriate Sunlight
It may be tempting, but trees that get less than six hours of sunlight a day can develop thin, weak branches and grow inadequate leaves and fruits. Some trees need full sun all day long to produce the best fruits, while others can produce a good harvest in just six hours of direct sunlight. These partial shade fruit trees include Native American pears, plums, and papayas. The truth is that some crops do need full sun, but there are shade-tolerant fruit trees as well.
Even with good plant choices, there are times when shade starts to stress fruit trees. According to the Cloud Mountain Farm Center, if the shade covers your apple trees before 4 p.m. In midsummer, the tree may receive too little sunlight to produce good quality fruit. Apple trees grown in partial sun will not produce the same fruit as those grown in direct sunlight. Like most fruit plants, apples need as much sunlight as possible to grow optimally.
They will need at least six hours of sunshine a day, preferably in a location free of the worst summer midday sun. Most apple trees grow best in warm climates with full sun (6-8 hours a day) and good air circulation. As with any fruit tree with a temperate climate, apple trees require little or no additional water during the fall and winter months.
Fruit trees need at least 3/4 days (6-8 hours) of good sunshine. Some fruit trees will have a hard time in the scorching midday sun, so it’s best to look at the planting site first and write down which areas of your garden are shaded at 1 hour intervals throughout the day. You will also need to check the “cold hours” for the trees you are considering and match them to the average climate.
