Sizing does matter

[Jaz]

I would just like to say Hi! to all those gardeners out there on web and thank them for sharing there gardening tips.

I have a little bit of a vegie and herb patch in the back yard. I want to expand starting a fruit section but unfortunately too many trees would over lap in the ground soil looking as if squashed together making the garden look smaller in size than it actually is?

Q: Are there any fruit trees out there that are catered for small areas and won't grow so huge?

 

[Tyche]

Hi Jaz!

Generally you can find fruit trees in 3 sizes:
Dwarf - 6 to 8 feet needed for growing area
Semi dwarf - 10 to 12 feet
Standard - big enough to climb on

Your local nursery can point you to good dwarf trees that will work in your area.

 

[jenelis]

I was going to say about the same thing. Depending upon where you are, there should be a solution for you. Another option is espalier for fruiting trees, where you can train your tree to climb a trellis. It's really "in" for gardening.

 

[MyHeartIsAllForU]

If you're expecting big fruit then a dwarf tree is not what you want. If you don't care what size the fruit is (i.e. you're cooking with them) that would be perfect. Many different types of trees can be "trained" to grow on or around anything. They don't necessarily have to be dwarfs. As long as you keep an eye on them and chck them every week you can train an apple, a pear, an orange or a lemon tree around a very tall pole sunk 18" in the ground (no concrete). I have a very close friend of mine that has grown her trees like this for a long time and she loves the way they look when you are done "training" and cut down the pole. I wish I could get a picture from her.

 

[HotToast]

Hey Jaz.

I agree with what everyone said. You are probably looking for dwarf varieties. I am trying to grow a lime and manderine in pots, but it isn't working to well.


Also some fruiting plants grow on small shrubs, less than 1m blueberries (which need full sun) and pepinos are two such plants which I have grown. Just make sure you water bluberries heaps in summer, otherwise they die (I know due to leaving them with a house sitter, hopefully I will get more this year).

Good luck!

 

[Athaliamum]

You could also get a fruitsalad tree. They're new and is the result of up to 7 different fruit trees grafted together. As long as you don't want heaps of one fruit it may the go. You don't really need to go that extravagent and could just get a couple of grafted trees with only two different fruit varieties like a plumcot - one side of the tree has plums the other side has apricots.