Ripe for the picking

Fruit tastes better plucked from your own tree

Rob Proctor, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 8, 2007 at midnight

Text size

More dig!

More stories »

Growing your own fruit has distinct advantages. One is that it doesn't come with a wax coating. It's also sweeter and juicier since you pick it at its peak (rather than weeks ahead of time to process and ship).

You also might grow varieties that aren't commercially available, such as heirloom apples, or varieties best suited for freezing, canning or preserves.

Imagine your own miniature orchard. I grow apples, pears, cherries, plums, peaches and apricots along my driveway.

If you have a crabapple tree, you can grow fruit trees; you just have to take care in selecting the right varieties. Most home gardeners prefer semidwarf trees. It's unusual these days to find a full-size apple tree because harvesting is an ordeal.

In addition, semidwarf varieties come into bearing stage earlier than standard-size trees. They occupy less space, of course, and are easier to pick and prune.

If you plant a seed from the Granny Smith apple you ate for lunch, guess what? It won't grow into a Granny Smith tree. Fruit trees are propagated vegetatively by grafting cuttings (called scions) on a rootstock. The kind of rootstock used determines the ultimate size of the tree. A number of rootstocks can be used, capable of producing 40-foot trees or 7-foot ones. The more dwarfing the rootstock, the earlier a tree will bear fruit.

A 1-year-old tree is your best bet for planting. It won't look like much the first season but bigger isn't better. Younger trees bear almost as soon and are easier to transplant and keep alive. They develop into more healthy, more vigorous trees than older, oversize stock.

Cross-pollination is necessary for satisfactory crops on many fruit trees. Apples, pears and plums need two varieties that are both cross-fruitful and that have overlapping bloom dates. If your neighbors have apples or pears, you may be in luck, since there's already a pollinizer in the neighborhood. Plums make it even more confusing in that European and Japanese varieties won't pollinate each other. When you purchase trees, make sure you get compatible partners. Thank goodness cherries, peaches and apricots are self-fertile.

Fruit trees need a sunny location and regular, moderate moisture. Our unpredictable spring weather can disrupt fruiting; some years the blossoms are nipped by frost and the crop is lost. Drought also can affect the size and quality of fruit. In a good year, however, it's possible to harvest as much as a half-bushel from a productive tree.Some growers specialize in heirloom varieties that you won't find at the market. The "Yellow Transparent" tree is an antique Russian variety. It bears young and heavily. The fruit is sweet, crisp and juicy but it has a very short life after ripening. It's a delicious chore, eating and baking all those apples.

Crabapples

Crabapples and chokecherries are great for making preserves. Instead of complaining about "those messy crabapples" this season, be proactive. Harvest them to make the very best jelly you’ll ever taste.

Plums

Plums fall into two categories: European or Japanese. The European types are generally the blue forms such as "Blue Damson," while the Japanese are generally the more juicy, red types such as "Satsuma" or "Santa Rosa." The wild American plum is also grown in our area and can be used for jellies and preserves.

Pears

The selection of pears is less than that of apples.

A favorite is "Seckel," also called sugar pear, prized for its sweet fruit. This variety is hardy and self-fertile. The tree is naturally semidwarf and is not grafted.

Cherries

The "Montmorency" cherry is the one most often grown in Colorado. It is considered by many to be the ultimate pie cherry. You must keep an eye on the cherries as they ripen. The trick is to harvest them the day before, otherwise the birds will beat you to it.

Peaches and apricots

Some people have problems growing peaches and apricots. The main considerations seem to be with drainage and heavy clay soils. These trees are quite drought-tolerant. The apricot "Moorpark" and the peach "Red Haven" usually perform well.

Apples

There are dozens of varieties of apples from which to select. It doesn't really make sense to grow a variety that's readily available commercially. Some growers specialize in heirloom varieties that you won't find at the market. The "Yellow Transparent" tree is an antique Russian variety. It bears young and heavily. The fruit is sweet, crisp and juicy but it has a very short life after ripening. It's a delicious chore, eating and baking all those apples.

Thin is in

You'll get bigger size, earlier ripening and better flavor by thinning large tree fruit - apples, pears, European plums, apricots and peaches. Smaller fruit, such as cherries or small plums, do not need thinning.

Thin now while fruit is marble-size, or just after trees have June drop of excess fruit. June drop is normal, and often eliminates the need for additional thinning.

Remove all fruit that is deformed, diseased or maimed by insects.

Space fruit 10 inches apart, and leave only one per cluster.

Leave fruit on alternating sides of branch to balance the weight.

To thin fruit by hand, gently twist to break it off, or clip with pruners.

On tall trees, or to speed the process, use a pole with padded tip to tap branches, jarring fruit loose.

In years when fruit set is heavy, up to 80 percent of fruit may need to be removed for best spacing.

Toss away removed fruit; don't leave it to ferment on the ground.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News