Late winter and early spring are the best time to plant fruit trees and bushes. This post shares everything you need to know from picking the right fruit tree, the correct variety, and even orchard planning tips if you're wanting to grow a variety of fruit trees.
While I love my veggie garden, there is a beauty in only having to plant something once and being able to harvest if for years to come. Can I get a holler? No, sheesh, this is exciting stuff, okay, at least a high five.
Having a fruit source on your homestead is a great step towards self-sufficiency and lowering your grocery bill. Plus, there is nothing and I mean nothing, like fresh ripe fruit straight off the vine… or tree or bush. This makes jam, jelly, and syrup making almost free as well.
Growing Fruit Trees From Seed
I don't actually like to grow my fruit trees from seed, and the reason is that you're going to be adding that many more years before they being to produce fruit (usually bare-root trees or saplings you buy at a nursery are already 2-3 years old).
Another reason is that, depending upon the variety of fruit tree, when you plant them from seed, you don't always get the same variety.
So, to make sure that I'm getting the exact fruit variety that I want, I like to start with some immature, bare-root fruit trees.
When to Plant Fruit Trees
Planting in the late winter or early spring is generally the best time to get your new fruit trees in the ground. As long as the ground isn't too frozen to dig a hole, you should be good to go.
Bare root stock should be planted in winter, while raspberries and blueberries can be planted into spring.
A good rule of thumb is to check the local nursery's in your area. If they have bare root fruit trees and other fruit plants out, then it's time to begin planting. Your goal is to have the fruit tree/plant in the ground so the roots can get over the shock of transplanting and begin establishing their root system before the stress of summer and the work of growing leaves and fruit begin.
Where to Get Good Fruit Stock
You have a few options for finding good fruit stock. Your best bet is to go to a local nursery (not the garden department at big box stores but a true independent nursery). You'll be able to inspect the stock, it's most likely grown in your region (acclimated to your weather), and the varieties best suited to where you live. Many nurseries will let you schedule a meeting with an experienced staff member to pick out the best varieties based on your needs.
We don't have any local nurseries with fruit trees and my favorite online source for healthy plants is RainTreeNursery.com I've ordered both my elderberry bushes, strawberry plants, and received five fruit trees from them and all the plants are packaged excellently and have been very healthy. (Use coupon code: modernhomestead to get 10% off your order.) I've also had decent luck with fruit trees from Costco, they partner with regional nurseries/growers.
Bare root fruit trees are usually the cheapest route to go and most nurseries will have them on sale in winter, as this is the time they must be planted. Because you'll be purchasing and planting the trees before they've leafed and blossomed out, it may be harder to tell if the tree is healthy.
I look for a tree that has a good set of well-balanced limbs, a solid scaffolding in place, and no cracks or scabbing on the limbs or trunk.
If you have a friend with a good raspberry patch, ask if you can get a few canes (the viney branch part of the bush) to start your own patch. It will take a few years before your own canes need thinning, but this was how we got all of our raspberries. An overgrown patch was on my aunt's property and we transplanted an entire row in the early spring to our yard. Raspberries will also send out runners and you can dig those canes up as well.
How to Plant Fruit Trees
Digging a Hole
If you plan on moving an established fruit tree or fruit plant or planting a bare root or potted tree, be sure you dig a hole twice as wide and twice as deep. Create a cone shape of dirt in the bottom of the hole and spread the roots out and down this dirt cone (same technique in How to Plant Strawberries)
Filling the Hole
Backfill the hole with loose dirt and a layer of compost. If any of the roots are broken, remove them before planting. Keep the level of dirt at the same level it was in at the nursery. You can usually see the line on the trunk of the tree or bush.
Create a mote around the base of the tree to allow the water to filter down onto the roots instead of running off into the surrounding soil or land.
Use a small amount of water when you plant the tree. The soil will settle and you'll be able to see where you need to add more dirt.
Watering Schedule
Don't over water in the winter months. In the late spring, when the tree leaves out and the soil becomes dry, water deeply 5 to 10 gallons once a week.
Throughout the first few summers, you'll want to water the plant once a week if you don't have any rainfall. I neglected to this with one of our new apple trees and lost it. So even in the rainy Pacific Northwest, you'll still want to follow the rule of watering deeply once a week with a newly planted tree if there isn't any moisture falling from the sky.
Note: It takes an average of seven years before you'll be able to harvest a sizeable crop from your fruit trees. Most bare rootstock is a few years old, but you can ask the nursery for more specifics.
The bigger or older the stock, the more expensive it will be.
Raspberries will produce the following year (or the same year in the fall if they're an ever-bearing variety and planted in the spring) and blueberries usually take a couple of years. Learn how to plant berry bushes here.
Picking Your Variety of Fruit
An important thing to remember when planting your fruit trees is to be sure you either pick a self-pollinating fruit tree or you purchase two varieties that will cross-pollinate. A crab apple will cross-pollinate almost all apple tree varieties as it blooms for a longer period of time than a regular apple, allowing it to pollinate early, mid, and late-season apples. Although a crab apple is so sour you'll never make the mistake of biting into one twice, it is high in natural sources of pectin and will help you get a beautiful set on your jams and jellies.
Some varieties of apples become ripe later in the season. If you live in a zone with early frosts or shorter growing seasons, you might want to pick an earlier ripening variety.
You can also purchase “fruit cocktail” trees, where several varieties have been grafted onto one stock. We haven't had much luck with these as the grafted branches tend to die off after a year or two and the main stock of the tree takes over.
Even if a fruit variety is self-pollinating, you'll get a larger harvest if a cross-pollinator is nearby.
My favorite apple is the heirloom Gravenstein, but because it's sterile (doesn't pollinate anything else) so we have a crab apple, and also a Gala and Honeycrisp. (Here is more information on heirloom apple varieties and how to save them for future generations.)
The best fruit trees for small spaces are dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties.
Need help picking the right fruit trees for your area? Read 5 Tips to Starting an Orchard
Self-Pollinating vs. Cross-Pollinating Fruits
As mentioned above, you'll want to be sure whether or not your fruit tree is a self-pollinating or cross-pollinating variety. Here's a list to keep in mind, but wherever you buy your tree, you should be able to find out which variety you're purchasing.
Self-Pollinating Fruits
- Apricots
- Pomegranate
- Citrus Fruit
- Grapevines
- Persimmons
- Sour Cherries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- European plums
Most berries and European plums will do better if they have another variety to cross-pollinate with.
Cross-Pollinating Fruits
- Apple (there are a few self-pollinating varieties like Golden Delicious, but they will do better if they have a cross-pollinator)
- Blueberries
- Elderberries
- Pears
- Japanese Plums
- Sweet Cherries
- Most nut trees
Bare Root Fruit Trees to Plant in Winter
- Apple
- Apricot
- Asian pears
- Crabapple
- Sweet Cherry
- Sour Cherry
- Pears
- Peaches
- Plums
Bonus: Use the same tips for planting Filberts or hazelnut trees.
Fruit Trees for Small Spaces
Even if you don't have a large yard or any land you can still plant fruit trees. Look for dwarf varieties. They can be grown in containers.
Berry bushes like blueberries are well suited to containers as well.
More Resources for Growing Fruit:
- 5 Tips to Starting an Orchard and Growing Fruit
- How Many Fruit & Berry Plants Per Person to Plant
- How to Prune an Apple Tree in Winter
- How to Treat Fruit Trees Organically: When to Spray for Disease
- Gardening in April (Garden Tasks by Month)
- How to Care for Fruit Trees in the Fall & Winter
- Planting a Fruit Tree Guild
- Growing Fruit Trees in Pots
- Pruning Blueberry Bushes
- How to Get Rid of Mummy Berry Disease on Blueberry Bushes
- How to Prune Raspberries
- How to Make Fruit Vinegar
- How to Can Pears the EASY Way
What kind of fruit do you grow? Do you have a favorite variety or tips to share?
Very interesting. Love fruit trees & raspberries. Also gardening
You can plant fruit trees in the winter if the ground is above freezing. Do not put fertilize or add any thing to soil while planting. Wait till 6 to 8″ of new growth before fertilizing. When fertilizing wait till a good rain is in the forecast so it will soak in the soil.
Thanks for that tip Beatrice.
I have 2 year old peach, pear, fig and lemon trees in my yard, what is the best fertilizer to use on them and when should I fertilize them?
Fertilizer will depend upon your current soil to a degree. You want to fertilize when the trees are fully leafed out. I’d go to your local nursery as they should know your local soil and what it lacks, therefore, what it needs. 🙂 Usually you can’t go wrong with organic compost, but you may need more specifics.
Same question as Mellisa’s above
[…] Check out When and How to Plant Fruit Trees for Years of Harvest. […]
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I would like to grow lemon, avocado and mango trees. How do I plant their trees?
[…] crops and how to grow them at your house. How to grow strawberries, how to grow beets, and when and how to plant your own fruit trees and orchard. P.S. there’s even container gardening tips for fruit trees. You can see all of […]
Great to hear how passionate you are about your fruit trees etc.
Many years ago I spotted a tip in a garden article which said that if you plant or transplant ANYTHING always to put a bit of Epsom salts in the planting hole.
Epsom salts which is Magnesium Sulphate helps whatever you transplant to deal with the shock of being moved to another location: however it also assists to prevent dehydration to the plant in a MAJOR WAY.
Then water well.
When you add Epsom salts to the hole/holes when you are planting it also gives the plant a good boost by helping the roots to get growing fast.
I do this with all plants; including all slips and also seedlings and bulbs.
It makes all the difference with shrubs and trees too!! Use it generously by the handful!
Magnesium sulphate apart from benefitting the roots is also of great use to the leaves, fruit, flowers and veins. Use it also with underground crops.
It will send slugs, snails and caterpillars to Heaven too…
Love this site
Thank you!
I need to know when I can prune my fruit trees. I lost my almanac for for this year. I live in Southeast corn of Arkansas. Can I wait for spring. When is the best time.
As long as the leaf buds and blossoms are just starting to swell, you should be okay. I’m not familiar with Arkansas weather. We usually do ours in February.
Know your fruit variety and maturation times. I have an apple tree that I was ready to cut down because it had not borne fruit after 10 years. Then I met an apple grower at a farmers’ market and he told me that Northern Spys do not bear apple for 12-15 years!Thankful I met him because now my tree is bearing beautifully.
Great tip Gayle!
I really appreciate this. You answered several
Questions for me. Now I can’t wait to get started.
Thank you!
i want to plant a few seed of nectrines how do i plant them and when.thanks for your help
We love having all the options for growing fruit trees. Either in a yard or container, they are sure to bring any gardener joy when the fruit sets year after year. Thanks for this info!!
Hello,
Is it good time to plant apple tree (Location Atlanta GA)? If not , when is the optimum time to plant ?
Thank you!
Mahantesh
I have 10 heirloom Gala apple seeds I was going to start inside this year because we still rent. Any tips or info on starting these trees from seeds? Can I keep them indoors until they are big enough and how long does it take? ECT thanks
Hi
We are interested in you coming out to Brookdale Hermitage to plant some fruit trees for the residents. Please email me or call me @422-3397. Thank you for your time.
I bought some sweet cherries and saved the seeds. Do you know if they’ll make trees in Zone 8A? I want to grow some cherries. Thank you!
Hi, and thank you for sharing your accumulated wisdom/farming/homesteading information. I wanted to share with you a little short cut on the planting of fruit trees. I got a bare root plum from a neighbor with three of her own. So before I planted the tree I cover the roots in a rooting hormone to encourage root growth. It’s worked on other bare root plants and bushes I’ve planted in the last few years.
Really enjoyed your ‘fruit’ page!
If you ever rework this page, I’d like to see more coverage of more heirloom fruits, such as gooseberries, rhubarb, kiwi fruit, kiwi berries, goumi berries, currants; maybe even a mention of quince as super pectin source like crabapples.
I have a tip for you this year!
If you like strawberries, you’ll LOVE white strawberries…
They are the very sweetest strawberry, but they do need nearby red strawberries to pollinate successfully. Hula berries sound like they could be a science experiment, but they’re totally natural. The hula berry is a descendant of the red strawberries native to North America, Fragaria virginiana, and white strawberries native to Chile, Fragaria chiloensis. They’re most often referred to as hula berries, pineberries, alpine berries, or simply white strawberries.
I pooh-pooh’d these for years, but a fellow gardener gave me a taste, now I’m hooked! They are white when ripe; if you have ‘strawberry snatchers’ around your patch, these have the advantage that they look like unripe red strawberries. Unless the ‘snatcher’ knows about hula’s, they’ll pass them by. They spread like wildfire (watch out so they don’t completely overgrow the red pollinators in your bed)
Anyway I hope you grow this to be the best fruit page on the web!
HI Melissa ,ilive in Melbourne Australia.We got a orchad in the back garden with 24 different fruit tree.My 2 mandarin tree they doing a lot of fruit , but the last couple years the mandarin they are beautifull on outside but inside they are dry and we can not be able to eats them. They have plenty of water during autom and winter.Can you please be able to ressolve the problem. Thanks.
Regards.
Giuseppe Tondo