- 1.
Fruit trees can be both productive and ornamental.
Think about size before you purchase a tree. If you want to grow productive trees in a small space (unless you have a big garden), select dwarf varieties or plants that are grafted onto dwarf rootstock. You’ll save time climbing up a ladder to pick fruit or prune the tree, too. Good choices include citrus, apple trees, mangoes, avocados, pears, peaches and apricots.
- 2.
Fruit trees can be complex to manage in an orchard
or where production is the number-one aim, but in an average-sized backyard, general care and management is much easier. As a rule, prune fruit trees after they have produced a crop. And always remove suckers or any dead, diseased or broken branches as soon as you notice them.
- 3.
Whenever you buy a fruiting plant, check whether a pollinator is required.
Many fruit trees only bear fruit if another variety is nearby to provide cross-pollination. The simple way to cross-pollinate is to have two varieties grafted on one plant.
Even if you have a small garden, you can still grow fruit trees. Here are a few basic guidelines about planting productive and ornamental fruit trees for a garden of any size.
