One thing that you must not get confused with, is buying a cherry tree that does not bear fruit...????......come again??

Yep!......there are cherry trees that are 'ornamental'. They have no fruit!....they look absolutely gorgeous but will not give you a single fruit that you can eat. Don't worry though. This is a well known confusion. If you thought that a Cherry tree was a tree that had cherries, well, you're not alone...and that goes for apples as well as other fruits......but that's getting ahead of ourselves.

You just need to be aware that when you order a cherry tree, you want something that will have cherries on it!!!

And like so many of the fruits on this site, you gotta decide if you want fruits that you just pop in your mouth and munch...Oh my god!... I was there this summer...I'm drooling already!......I think I harvested 10lb if memory serves me right.....or you can do what I did, and ordered a tree that was both an eater and a cooker.

Or you want a cooking variety

Or both??

Imagine the scene, you have bought your tree and you have placed it where everyone can see it so that you can show your friends how 'green' you intend to be.

You say "I want to eat fruit that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides, so I decided to grow my own!. And I can grow it in such a way that the whole tree will be within easy reach, no stools or ladders for me!".

Your mate says "Wow, how will you manage to do that?"

You "Easy, this is a Dwarf type tree. They grow from 3 to 15 feet high"

Your mate "So how big will your tree grow?"

You "This tree will grow about 10 feet"

Your mate "How do you know?"

You "Erm....it said so on the label!!!!"

End of conversation.......and boy, dont you feel an idiot.

What you should have said was "See that knobbly bit on the tree just above the soil?. Well the bit above that is the actual tree and the bit below it is called the rootstock and that is the part that keeps it dwarfy".

You can buy rootstocks from reputable suppliers and 'graft' them to your tree. But this is beyond the scope of this site (although I may just write a piece on how to do this at a later date). Rather, I prefer to keep things simpler and explain how rootstocks work, what types are available, and what rootstock you should ask for when ordering your tree, so that when your tree arrives you will know the answers to most questions and be comfortable in you own mind how you can expect your tree to perform........good eh?.

The first thing you need to understand is that there is no 'magic rootstock' that can be used for all fruits. There does not exist a rootstock that you can use for all your trees. Apples use different rootstocks than cherries for example. When you call your supplier to order your tree, he will know what the best rootstock is for your needs...as long as you have an idea of the height you want (at maturity) and you understand some of the requirements needed to keep your tree happy, you wont go far wrong.

roortstock 2

Dwarf fruit trees....Why on earth would anyone want to grow small trees when they could just as easily grow something that would be 10 times the size with 10 times the yield?
Well, the reason is very obvious. Large fruit trees mean getting a ladder to reach the topmost fruit. It also means getting on the ladder to prune the trees to get the optimum yield. Then there is the excessive 'drop' that occurs when trees naturally thin themselves out to keep themselves producing. And what about trees that need a pollinating partner?
If I want to grow more than one variety.....are we talking about an orchard here?

No... No... And no again!!!

You Can Easily Grow Dwarf Fruit Trees In Small Spaces

Dwarf fruit trees are ideal if you only have a limited amount of open space in your yard. They take up as little as only as eight-foot diameter plot of land. Dwarf fruit trees are trees that have a naturally restricted growth to enable their growers to grow the fruits they want in a very small space either in the ground or in containers. And although they are smaller than the others, their fruit is just the same size and the lack of height makes them easier to prune and harvest.
Have you ever seen slender columns of pears 8' high clinging to the stems like water balloons of colour? Have you ever seen an orchard of apples, 6 varieties grown in an area of just 10’?
Have you ever seen 'stepover' trees surrounding the lawn like a living fence?
Do you want a tree that’s easy to care for with the least hassle?

What Dwarf fruit trees are available?

Well these small trees are the answer: Apples, Pears, Figs, Cherries, Plums, Peaches, Nectarines...the list goes on! The fruits are of normal size as well, because having a dwarf fruit tree doesn't mean that the fruits are small. Take a look at two photos showing you what they look like in pots or in the ground...

Have you noticed recently how many times we are being told to take a good look at our current lifestyles? The amount of information appearing in the media which is aimed at getting us to lead a more healthy life is absolutely incredible. All kinds of diets and exercise plans are constantly being developed to entice us to eat healthier and take more exercise on a regular basis. As we are continually being told to eat more fresh fruit it would make sense to grow our own fruit trees in our backyard.

When I started out growing these trees I began reading as much on the subject as I could. With the advent of the internet this has become so much easier. With one click of a button I can buy fruit trees online without any hassle...and you can begin a great hobby too.

And when you pick the fruit..what then? Well you have the choice of creating something to eat or dare I say drink!!

So come on in and have a look around and discover the wonderful world of Dwarf Fruit Trees in your own backgarden or backyard and be the envy of your family, friends and neighbours.