- Author: Dustin W Blakey
Although it's cold out and our fruit trees, bushes, and canes are still dormant, you can still dream about warmer conditions to come!
Dreaming then often evolves into the desire to plant fruits in the landscape.
We can grow many kinds of fruits in the Eastern Sierra if we accept that some years we'll lose our crop to frost. (And that subtropical species like citrus are a no-go completely.)
Tree fruits like cherries and pears are usually the first place our minds end up when thinking of fruits. Those are fine, but we are also surprisingly well suited for growing small fruits. In general, they have fewer issues with pests here (but not zero), are simpler to maintain at a practical size, and usually miss out on the worst of our late freezes. Trees can get taller than you if you let them, and ladders are really no fun.
If you are shopping in catalogs for your fruits, this is the time to give careful thought and planning. Waiting until May will likely mean missing out on variety choices. The Master Gardener website has some information you might find useful in planning your own fruit endeavor. If you're not the planning type, most of our local plant places do fairly well in offering OK varieties for Owens Valley.
For some very basics about growing fruit trees, check out this brief fact sheet from retired Farm Advisor, Rick Delmas if you're a complete novice. If you're not, the Master Gardeners are glad to answer more in-depth questions.
I am of the opinion that small fruits are a better option in Owens Valley for most gardeners. We have a few fact sheets with local information on varieties and growing requirements of cane fruits (blackberries, raspberries, etc.), blueberries, and a few others at this page—scroll down a bit to see the links.
There is also information for high-elevation gardeners, and chilling requirements as well.
In all cases, we will need to provide reliable irrigation for fruits, but the amount varies by species.
As always, if you have questions about growing fruits or gardening in general, contact the Inyo-Mono Master Gardeners at immg@ucanr.edu or search for us on Facebook.