UCCE Master Gardeners Plumas-Sierra
University of California
UCCE Master Gardeners Plumas-Sierra

Fruit Trees

There is nothing more rewarding than a productive backyard orchard. With proper care and maintenance fruit trees can produce heavy yields of fruit for years to come.

At higher elevations, successful fruit tree cultivation depends in many ways on the selection of appropriate crops and varieties. Selecting the right variety requires careful analysis of your site and may necessitate mail ordering specialty trees. The rewards of bountiful harvests are sure to pay off though. A general rule of thumb for selecting fruit trees for mountain regions is to look for late blooming, early maturing varieties (late blooming = high chill hour requirements).

The Big Picture from CA Garden Web - Guidelines on site considerations, tree selection, propagation, preparation & planting, irrigation, pruning, pest management, harvest, and more.

Fruit Tree Varieties for Plumas & Sierra Counties - A list of varieties that should do well in the region. Because of the region's diverse geography, use this list as a starting point and research varieties appropriate for your site.

The California Backyard Orchard - Covers the basics of home fruit tree cultivation including tree selection, site preparation, soil, planting, care, pruning, irrigation and harvest.

Fruit Tree Pests - UC Integrated Pest Management pages for fruit trees

peach tree

Helpful Links

Planting and Care of Young Fruit Trees

Training and Pruning your Home Orchard - Pacific Northwest Extension Publication

Pruning Overgrown Deciduous Trees

Rootstocks for Fruit Trees - U. of Wisconsin Extension Publication

Webmaster Email: blgoulet@ucanr.edu