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Many fruit trees require at least two varieties for cross pollination in order to get a good crop of fruit:
most apples except Braeburn, Gala, Jonagold, Golden Delicious and Gravenstein,
most sweet cherries except Early Burlat, Lapins, Rainier and Stella,
most pears except Moonglow, Starkcrimson and 20th Century,
most plums except Green Gage and Methley.

Some fruit trees will have a good crop by themselves, though they will often have more fruit with cross pollination: apricots, pie cherries, figs, nectarines, peaches, prunes and persimmons.

Asian pears will often have fruit the first year. They are the easiest tree fruit to grow. Apples, European pears, and figs are also easy to grow. Apricots, peaches, and cherries need more care because of disease problems.

Dwarf and semidwarf rootstocks are available for most fruit trees. Dwarf trees will grow 8 to 15 feet tall. Semidwarf trees will grow 12 to 20 feet tall. Pruning makes a big difference in size.

Semidwarf trees are usually stronger and bear fruit sooner than dwarf trees.

Fruit trees should be trained to have a single, upright trunk with well spaced, spreading side branches. The tree should be cone shaped so the upper branches don’t shade out the lower branches. The first five years are the most important for training a fruit tree.

Apples, cherries, pears, and plums bear fruit on fruit spurs, which are short twigs on older wood. Spurs will die out if they are shaded too much. Upper and outer branches should be thinned out and cut back to let light and air into the center of the tree so the fruit spurs will remain healthy.

Peaches, nectarines and apricots bear fruit on one year old wood. A few older branches can be removed each year to encourage lots of new growth.

Suckers and water sprouts grow rapidly straight up. They don't produce fruit, and they shade out the spreading branches that do produce fruit. They can be plucked off when they first appear in June much easier than cutting them off later. Or, they can be tied down so they grow outward and become productive branches. The most productive branches grow at an angle between horizontal and forty-five degrees.

Fruit trees can be pruned in the winter, spring, or summer. Winter pruning causes a tree to grow more vigorously. Spring pruning, after the fruit has set, keeps dwarf trees smaller and doesn't reduce the fruit crop as much. By mid-spring, it is obvious which branches are producing fruit and which are not so productive branches can be saved. Cutting back vigorous apple and pear twigs to three buds in mid summer will encourage more fruit spurs.

Fruit will have the most flavor if it is allowed to ripen on the tree and eaten right away. But, it will store longer if it is picked before it is fully ripe. When ripe, the green background color will change to yellow. For red fruit, look at the bottom of the fruit to see the background color.

To harvest fruit easily without bruising or damaging it, put your thumb next to the stem and wrap your fingers around the fruit. Lift and rotate the fruit so the stem is bent. If the fruit stem doesn't separate easily from the tree, the fruit is still green.

Watering recommendations for fruits taken from The Sunset Western Garden Book.
 
Apple        Low-Medium    Water during long dry spells.
Apricot      Medium        Infrequent, deep watering.
Banana       Very High     Ample water.
Blackberry   High          Water during growing season. 
Blueberry    Very High     Frequent water.
Cherry       High          Regular, deep watering.
Citrus       High          Do not let root zone get dry or soggy.
Currant      High          Regular water.
Fig          Low           Needs no water once established.
Gooseberry   High          Water to maintain growth.
Grape        Low-Medium    Little water once established.
Kiwi         High          Regular watering.
Mango        High          Maintain steady soil moisture.
Nectarine    High          Water while fruit is forming in hot weather.      
Papaya       High          Ample water during warm weather.
Peach        High          Water while fruit is forming in hot weather.
Pear         Medium-High   Regular water during growing season.
Persimmon    High          Regular deep water.
Plum         Medium        Best with some deep watering in summer.
Raspberry    High          Regular water.
Strawberry   Very High     Frequent, deep soaking.

Recommended Varieties

Apples

Braeburn: Green/red. Excellent flavor. Self-pollinizing.
Freedom: Red. Highly resistant to scab, mildew and rust. Self-pollinizing.
Gala: Orange red. Excellent flavor. Self-pollinizing.
Jonagold: Reddish gold. Resistant to scab. Excellent flavor.
Liberty: Dark red. Highly resistant to scab and mildew.
Shay: Red. Resistant to scab and mildew.

Apricots

Chinese: Orange with red blush. Tolerates late frosts. Self-pollinizing.
Puget Gold: Orange. Very good flavor. Tolerates cool spring weather. Self-pollinizing.

Cherries

Bing: Almost black. The most popular variety.
Rainier: Yellow and red. Resistant to cracking. Excellent flavor. Self-pollinizing.
Stella: Black. Resistant to cracking. Self-pollinizing.
Van: Dark red. Resistant to cracking. Very sweet.

Figs

Brown Turkey: Mahogany brown skin. Cold hardy. Self-pollinizing.
Lattarula: Yellowish green. Honey colored flesh. Cold hardy. Self-pollinizing.

Peaches

Frost: Yellow. Freestone. Very resistant to peach leaf curl. Self-pollinizing.
Redhaven: Red. Semi-freestone. Very resistant to peach leaf curl. Self-pollinizing.

Pears

Anjou: Green. Good keeper.
Bartlett: Yellow. The most popular pear.
Red Bartlett: Red. Self-pollinizing.

Asian Pears

20th Century: Yellow. Self pollinizing.
Hosui: Golden brown. Excellent flavor.

Plums and Prunes

Brooks: Blue skin. Yellow flesh. Midseason. Very reliable. Self-pollinizing.
Nubiana: Purple-black. Midseason. Self-pollinizing.
Santa Rosa: Purplish red. Early. The most popular Japanese plum.
Stanley: Purplish black. Yellow flesh. Midseason. Self-pollinizing.

Boysenberry: Reddish black.
Marionberry: Black.

Blueberries

Bluecrop: Blue. Midseason.
Blueray: Light blue. Midseason.
Earliblue: Blue. Early midseason. Bright red wood.

Grapes

Flame: Red seedless. Early. Crunchy sweet.
Lakemont: White seedless. Midseason.

Raspberries

Autumn Bliss: Red. Everbearing from late July through September. Disease resistant.
Canby: Bright red. Thornless.
Heritage: Dark red. Berries in June and September.
Meeker: Bright red.
Munger: Black.

Strawberries

Tri-Star: Very sweet and flavorful. Day neutral so it bears fruit from June through September.
Hood: Sweet and flavorful. June bearing.

More information can be found on my webpages:
Landscape Design | Improving Soil | Plant Nutrients | Planting in Clay Soil | Roses
Edible Landscaping | Fruit Tree Tips | Planting a Vegetable Garden | Lawn Care | Pest Control
Pruning for Shade, Flowers and Fruit | Seasonal Pruning Guide | Remove Trees Roots and All
Fall Planting | Water Wise Gardening | Winter Plant Protection
House Plants | Plant Propagation

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