By Ken Hodge, Butte County Master Gardener, February 15, 2013

Growing your own fruit has become very popular, especially in these times of economic downturn.  And February and March are an excellent time to plant fruit trees bare-root, which can be a budget-friendly way of starting a home orchard.

It is not difficult to grow fruit trees, but with some help and planning, growing your own fruit can be even more rewarding.  Everyone has their favorite fruits to eat, and some fruit lovers may know which varieties they prefer (such as the Bing cherry, the O'Henry peach, the Freckle Face nectarine and the Dapple Dandy pluot), so your own preferences are a good place to start when planning your home orchard.

It's also good idea to look at a ripening chart to see when different fruit varieties ripen.  Choosing species and varieties that spread out ripening dates can provide tree-ripened fruit throughout the year. It is possible to have some type of fruit ripe in your little orchard every season of the year, especially if you include winter- and spring-ripening citrus, such as Washington navel oranges and Clementine or Pixie mandarins.

Another consideration in variety selection is flavor and sweetness. White peaches and nectarines tend to be sweeter than yellow-fleshed peaches and nectarines because they have lower acid content.  Since even a small fruit orchard is a long-term project, it's important to read a good description of each variety before selecting your fruit trees.

With plums, many people object to the tartness of the fruit, especially in the skin and around the pit. But in Pluots, plumcots and Apriums (a plum x apricot hybrid), the tartness is replaced by more sweetness.

Many varieties of cherries, pears, Asian pears, plums and pluots need to be pollinized by another variety. For instance a Santa Rosa plum is fine by itself, but a Flavor Supreme pluot needs the Santa Rosa plum or another pluot that blooms at the same time, in order to pollinate it and set fruit.

Likewise a Stella cherry is fine by itself, but a Bing cherry requires the Stella or a Black Tartarian cherry for pollination. Pollination is not overly complicated, but it is important to get it right. Fortunately fruit growing is so popular in Butte County that one of your neighbors may have a tree that fulfills your pollination needs, so you might ask your neighbors what kind of fruit trees they have growing already.

The site you select for growing trees can be a designated orchard area or the trees can be spread out throughout your landscape. Many trees such as persimmons also make good shade trees and they have nice fall color.  Citrus trees or shrubs are evergreen, so they can be used to create a good barrier, similar to a hedge of Photina or privet, but with the added benefit of edible fruit, fruit trees are a practical landscape ingredient that can serve both aesthetics and food production.

Generally fruit trees need full sun to be the most productive, but even a half day's sunlight may suffice although fruit production will be reduced.  If partially shaded trees stretch for sunlight, more pruning may be required to keep the trees bushier.

Growing your own fruit can be very rewarding and you'll be surprised how many friends you have when your fruits are ripe.  But seek good advice and check out your options before planting, since even a mini fruit orchard is a long term project that you’ll want to get right from the beginning.