Backyard Orchard Culture

Seasonal Gardening Tips

Bare root season is here. Choose and plant your favorite fruit trees and roses now. Fruit trees can be pruned this month. If you’re not sure how, take advantage of one of the fine classes being offered this month. Primroses will give you the most color during this cold weather—choose some pretty ones now for your boxes and beds. Strawberries can be planted any time now; get them in early, and you’ll be picking strawberries this summer.

Free Fruit Tree Pruning Classes

Join us for FREE Fruit Tree Pruning Classes on Saturday and Sunday, January 19-20 from 10 AM to 3 PM. Call Sanhedrin Nursery at 459-9009 for details.

Backyard Orchard Culture

For years, most fruit-growing information came from commercial orchard culture, which prioritizes maximum size and yield—requiring 12-foot ladders and 400 to 600 square feet of land per tree. However, backyard orchardists have different needs: maximizing fruit production in limited space and extending the harvest season. Here’s how to adapt:

• Multi-tree planting: Plant two, three, or four trees in one hole to restrict vigor and dwarf them. Use rootstocks of similar vigor (e.g., four trees on Citation rootstock rather than a mix of Lovell, Mazzard, Citation, and M-27). This also improves cross-pollination for pears, apples, plums, and cherries, ensuring more consistent production.
• Espalier: Train trees to grow flat against a wall, fence, or trellis. Plant 6–12 inches from the structure, remove non-flat growth, and selectively thin/train fruiting wood.
• Hedgerows: Plant trees 4–5 feet apart to create a living screen. Ideal for edible landscapes or blocking unsightly views. Use similar rootstocks for uniformity.

Smaller trees are easier to spray, prune, thin, net (to protect from birds), and harvest. With compact trees, you can grow more varieties that ripen at different times, extending your harvest and enjoying diverse flavors.

Pruning Tips

Pruning is essential to keep fruit trees small. Prune in both winter and summer—summer pruning is the easiest way to control size. Attend a pruning class to build confidence and learn proper techniques.

Rewards of Backyard Orcharding

Growing your own fruit offers special pleasures: cultivating unique varieties, harvesting unusually sweet and tasty fruit, enjoying a long harvest season, and sharing tree-ripe fruit with others. Experiment with new techniques to become an accomplished backyard fruit grower.