Home Orchard: How to Choose a Fruit Tree

Winter is the ideal time to plant a bare-root fruit tree. As a bonus, they’re inexpensive, light, and easy to plant, and you get to see the roots.

Many trees come in size variations to suit each gardener's needs. ustun ibisoglu/Shutterstock

Choosing a fruit tree is a major commitment. It has aspects of picking a spouse: Go slowly, and select wisely. It’s also similar to adding onto the structure of a home following this advice: Plan on paper, avoid changes in concrete—or in this case, soil.

There are many factors to consider, including the minimum winter chill temperature required to bear fruit in the following season, how much fruit it will give (there are cases of too much!), how tall the tree will become, how much pruning/maintenance it needs, disease susceptibility, pollination (is it self-fruitful or does it need a friend), and more. Stoke the fireplace, grab a hot chocolate, and let’s settle in and start choosing a fruit tree—or two.

Chilly Goodness

Before getting one’s heart set on a particular type of fruit tree, it’s important to know its chilling requirements. This is different from cold hardiness, which is the lowest temperature that a plant can survive. Always check your zip code at the USDA’s handy agricultural zone online map first.