A Quick Guide to Standard Fruit Trees Grown in the USA

No doubt, growing fruit trees at home is one of the best ways to start producing your own food. Even a couple of dwarf apple trees can provide harvests large enough to provide apple quantities sufficient for making preserves, homemade apple cider vinegar, and basic eating apples.

Start doing the same with peaches, plums, cherries, and pears, and the pantry and root cellar fill up quickly. Mature fruit trees provide hundreds of pounds of food. Vegetable plants, nay most vegetable gardens, only dream of producing so much.

What’s more is that most of us want pretty trees to tie the yard together, and fruit trees are magnificently beautiful. They have nice fall foliage, tons of flowers in the spring, and colorful fruit hanging to boot.

The US basically has five fruit trees that are found regularly in most places. Apples, peaches/nectarines, pears, plums, and cherries make for a fantastic American backyard orchard. Aficionados might toss in a fig or apricot, but the big five-run the show for US fruit production without specialty climates like SoCal or Florida.

With that in mind, it’s time to get familiar with the basics of these fruit trees and gauge whether or not they might work for you.

Apple Trees

There are thousands of varieties of apple trees, so surely amongst those, finding one suitable for your particular taste and general USDA climate is possible. Here are some of the top considerations:

• Popular Varieties: Of the thousands out there, only a few apple varieties are familiar to most. Honeycrisp, Fuji, Gala, and Granny Smith are common finds in the supermarket. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Pink Ladies are all familiar. Be aware that there are loads more. Tune in to what grows best where you live.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: There are apple varieties for every region of the US. There are choices better suited to the cold of Northern states, the warmth of Southern states, or the climate of Western states. Do a quick search and choose those that fit your location. There is something for everywhere in the Continental US.
• Size: Apple trees come in a variety of sizes. Dwarf apple trees can be as small as 8-10 feet whereas standard apple trees reach about 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Semi-dwarf is right in between.
• Years to Production: Apple trees require at least three years to produce. Dwarf trees are going to produce the quickest, and standard trees might take seven or more years to start providing fruit.
• Pollination: Primarily apple trees are pollinated by bees. For best pollination, it is important to pick apple trees that have the same bloom period: early season, early mid-season, mid-season, late mid-season, or late season.

Cherry Trees

More often found in cooler states, cherry trees are quite as versatile as apples, but they can be grown in most states.

• Popular Varieties: Cherries are considered either sweet or sour (pie) cherries. Popular sweet cherries are Bing, Sweetheart, Stella, Tulare, and Rainiers. Popular pie cherries are Montmorency, Morello, North Star, and Early Richmond.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: There are cherries better suited for warmer climates, but by and large, cherry trees prefer cooler states. Think USDA Zone 8 or cooler. There are some off-beat hot weather varieties like Barbados cherries and pitanga.
• Size: Cherry trees come in dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard sizes. Standard-size cherry trees can vary greatly. Sweet standards reach about 25 feet, sour standards about 20 feet, and wild cherries, like the black cherry, up to 80 feet.
• Pollination: Like apples, cherry trees do best with companion trees that bloom during the same period. Honeybees do the bulk of the work.
• Years to Production: Depending on the variety and size, cherry trees take 3-8 years to yield fruit.

Peach/Nectarine Trees

Peaches and nectarines are the same save for a bit of peach fuzz, literally. These are fantastic, quick produce for orchards in warmer climates.

• Popular Varieties: Clingstone peaches hold tightly to their pips whereas freestone don’t. It’s best to opt for freestone varieties like Glohaven, Contender, and Elberta.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: Some peach trees can survive in USDA Zone 4-5, but the best climate for them is in the USDA 6-8 range. Outside that, the trees are being asked to do something special.
• Size: Peach trees grow to be about 20-25 feet tall and wide. They can be pruned to stay a bit smaller.
• Pollination: Bees are the primary pollinators of peach trees which tend to be self-fertile trees. They can also be pollinated by wind or hand.
• Years to Production: Peaches and nectarines can start to produce within 2-3 years.

Plum Trees

Plums don’t get adequate press. They are delicious, high-yielding fruit trees that work in most of the country. They are awesome fresh and in preserves.

• Popular Varieties: Plums come in American, European, Japanese, and hybrid varieties. American plums are wild, the rest have been cultivated for orchards. Popular choices are Methley, Stanley, and Bruce.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: Plums are a bit more comfortable in colder regions than peaches, and they can play in warmer climates, too.
• Size: Semi-dwarf plum trees are in the 15-foot range, and standard trees can hit the 25-foot mark.
• Pollination: While some plums are self-fertile, they work best with companion plants that bloom during the same period.
• Years to Production: Plums will start bearing between 3-6 years into it.

Pear Trees

Pears get overlooked in place of apples, but they have some seriously awesome qualities, particularly adding sweetness to mixed jams and jellies.

• Popular Varieties: Pears are usually categorized into Asian pears and other varieties, but really what most folks want to know is whether they are firm or soft. Asian pears tend to be firm and very sweet. Bartlett, Comice, and Anjou are softer pears while Bosc and Concorde are firmer.
• USDA Hardiness Zones: Some cultivars can take the cold of USDA Zone 3, but they prefer things a bit warmer than that.
• Size: Pear trees can come in dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard sizes. Standard pear trees can easily get 25 feet tall and wide.
• Pollination: Pears are highly dependent on bees for pollination, but most species of pear bloom at the same time.
• Years to Production: Think 3 for smaller, quicker varieties and potentially 10 for larger, slower cultivars.

Plant Fruit Trees

There are plenty of other fruit trees to check out. Figs, apricots, persimmons, and mulberries are great choices for much of the United States. Nevertheless, the big five play great anchors to a productive, rewarding backyard orchard or food forest.

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• Everything a Fruit-Based Vegan Eats In a Day

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