I love my fruit trees. No, I don’t have an orchard, but I do have Meyer lemon, pawpaw, Mexican plum, native persimmon, fig, and peaches. A neighbor has a beautiful grove of Asian pears (which he, his wife, a daughter and my wife cooked and canned 47 quarts of the delicious fruit). Other friends have different kinds of fruit trees – apples, an abundant variety of citrus (oranges, lemons, satsumas, tangerines), nectarines, pomegranate and a lot of other varieties of fruit. I live in USDA cold hardiness Zone 9A. The idea that we cannot raise fruit trees in our hot environment is not at all true.
Many types of fruit trees need a certain amount of chill hours in order to break dormancy in the spring. A chill hour is anytime the temperature drops between 32°F and 45°F. Anytime that the temperature falls within this range, it counts toward the chill hours a tree needs to break dormancy and bloom in the spring.
Fruits that need chill hours include apples, nectarines, peaches, plums, Asian and European pears.
In New England, for instance apple varieties that grow well there need 800 to 1,750 chill hours to break dormancy. But here, certain varieties can break dormancy with only 250 to 300 chill hours.
Many of the land grant agricultural colleges have developed new varieties, and also have listed already established varieties that can thrive in our climate. Here are some links to fruit trees that do well in our USDA zones.
Tips for planting Fruit Trees
- Potted Trees – Plant potted fruit trees in spring or fall. However, check with your local extension service to find out which varieties can survive our hot summers.
- Bare-root Trees – Plant in late fall or early winter. Bare -root trees are dormant, so they tend to be hardier during harsh winters.
- Sun – Fruit trees need at least 6 hours of sun.
- Wind – Try and plant your fruit trees out of the wind.
- Water – Fruit trees need to be close to a source of water so you can irrigate easily.
- Planting Hole – Dig a hole twice as wide as the spread of the tree’s roots, but not too deep.
