I don't think they are at all. The new buyers could find it a nice way to meet the neighbors by sharing the harvest.

My in-laws had fruit trees in their backyard in PA & it was great when they bloomed & also when the fruit ripened. I would love to have fruit trees here but I am too far south for much more than citrus to do well. I have to say that when my in-laws sold their house the buyers loved the trees but a year or so later we saw they had cut most of them down. Don't know why but it didn't turn them off buying.
I would mention that there is edible landscaping as well as ornamental. Seems like edible landscaping is hot now.

I think it's a real asset. The main issue is whether someone likes the house itself, but I've never heard anyone say: "I loved the house but didn't buy it because it was landscaped and had fruit trees." If there are people out there who don't like your trees, they're outnumbered by those who see it as a plus.

where I am, it is always advertised as an amenity - pick your own luscious fruit at the height of the season

The popular 'fruit' tree around here are the pecan trees. In my opinion, they are a turnoff because you can't mow without raking up first. The locals like them because they can sell the pecans and get cash. I told dh if we buy another house here, we will not get one with one of those trees. Other than that, I wouldn't mind fruit trees unless the fruit was a bad variety. If you don't want it, the birds could eat it. I think fruit trees would add a 'homey' touch.

Wow - I would love to have landscaping like yours. Got any pictures to share????

Fruit trees are great, though some buyers will realize that most have to be regularly sprayed, pruned, and otherwise maintained for them to bear fruit, and that takes considerable effort. If they are standards, it becomes very difficult once they reach maturity.

I have 12 pecan trees on my small lot and have never had to rake before I mow--what exactly are you raking, the pecans or the branches? We do have a lot of fallen branches but we just quickly pick them up and mow. If you don't want the pecans, just mow over them. The squirrels will take care of them.

We'd love a yard with fruit trees and I don't see that as a turn off to any buyers. If they don't like them they'll just cut them down (I know you don't want to think about that).

De

I'm a bit confused why it might be considered a liability? I live out on the prairie where growing any tree is a major undertaking and I'd be in heaven to have them.

The pecan trees I'm seeing may be older. There are small things falling off like the old hulls, twigs, the spring time fuzzythings???, the pecans themselves, and then of course, the leaves. Not all of it is raking, but does seem like constant work especially if also using the pecan trees as a shade tree close to the house. I wouldn't mind them if they were further away from the house where I could ignore them or had more acreage. I don't have a tree in my yard, but several friends do right near the back door. They complain about the mess.

I'd be afraid of mowing pecans because of the projectiles. Trees are expensive to cut down.

In Florida, homes with fruit trees(citrus) usually have MLS comments stating so, and it is also stated on the flyers. It is an asset.

Most folks really like fruit trees.

I wouldn't notice and don't really care. DH would notice and would really like it. If I later found out that they were messy and needed to much work, I would have them taken down. Taking some trees down is insignificant when compared to the current cost of real estate in most places.
The main things are location, location, location!!

I think it would be a huge plus even for people that aren't gardeners. What a wonderful image buyers could have of going out to the backyard to pick fresh fruit for a salad!

On the pecan tree issue - we have a very large pecan tree pretty close to the house. We just pick up the few branches and that's it. We don't find it more messy than other trees. And in 10 years of mowing every week, 7 months out of the year, we've never had a projectile pecan.

During my childhood and the next 20 years, my father planted a huge variety of fruit trees and other edibles around our Northern California home. For years, my mother would can, freeze, share the harvest with the neighbors, make jams, jellies, pickles and fruit leathers. Golfers and walkers would just help themselves off the various trees, and to this day, I can't even eat a store-bought peach, having grown up on the tree-ripened variety.

I assumed when selling that the beautiful trees and mature landscaping would be a huge asset, and it seemed that way since the house sold before the listing agreement was even signed. But the next time I visited, the whole house had been remodelled and virtually all of the landscaping had been ripped out and replaced with the most generic-looking stuff. Oh well...

I would consider it an asset. What is growing wouldn't turn me off a bit because I can pick and choose and get rid of things in the yard if I wanted to.

Advertise it as an asset.. Gardeners delight or something like that.

I wouldn't mind having an orange tree in my yard. The neighbors behind us have one, and they never eat any of the oranges (and so they fall off the tree and into our yard, which is mildly annoying).

spewey, some of us do garden organically. I never sprayed my trees, so it isn't a given that they are ton of work.

Buying my last home got me interested in gardening. The PO had planted apple trees, which I didn't know a thing about. The first season in this house, I had to go get fruit trees or it wouldn't be home.

If the new owner is so inclined, they are easy enough to chop down.

Gloria

Looks like I am in the minority. I would consider them a huge liability. First, I would not want to tend to them, second, the resulting bird poop, animal visitors and other debris would be a giant turn off.

We are currently re-landscaping the front yard. Our designer picked a lovely fruit tree. When I mentioned the bird poop issue he stared for a second and told me, "You are the first person that ever mentioned that concern."

The fruit tree was dropped from the design.

I was very excited to learn (after closing) that our property had two apple trees which produced great big apples. Red and yellow. You have to have two different varieties which flower at the same time to make fruit. Anyhow I digress. The only concern is picking up dropped apples to control for bees/yellow jackets but overall I think they will be fun.

That was my first thought too -- the yellow jackets! I wouldn't *not* buy it, though, because of the fruit trees. What you have sounds lovely. I would advertise it.

I'm in the minority too. My grandmother had apple tress all over her yard. It just wasn't possible to pick them all. The yard was filled with rotting fruit, bees, and yellowjackets. And more often than not, the fruit was invested with worms. I like the idea of fruit trees, but they're way more work than I'd want to take on.
All things being equal, I'd take a well landscaped yard w/out fruit trees over one with them. Except for the blackberry bushes. I do remember eating blackberries off the bushes in our backyard. They grew wild everywhere. Blackberries and honeysuckle just taste like childhood summers to me.

Our fruit trees were a Big Plus when we sold our previous home, had 17 or so asst trees and people were fascinated when touring the yard. Got 3 offers that day. As food prices continue to rise the thought of having one's own personal source is gaining momentum.

We have a small pear tree in our backyard. We planted it only about 3 years ago, so it's nowhere near the state to bear fruit (I think it has another 5 years before it will actually have pears that can be eaten??). But the flower blooms are pretty and it's a healthy small tree. I believe it's an asset and will charm the people coming to look at our house once it's on the market.

I would not view fruit trees necessarily as an asset. I grew up in a yard that had apple & cherry trees. The apples were the biggest pain the butt (small/rotten/wormed apples, bird poo, raking, bees, etc.). However, I do not remember the cherry tree being as big a problem (no raking necessary, they are small, usually no worms....some bird poo though).

It seemed that the birds would eat the cherries faster than we could pick them though.

Thanks for all the comments. I think we'll go neutral on the yard for now-might think about mentioning a cottage garden or the likes. We're walking distance ot the school, grocery store and metro, and the house has a new roof and has been updated with all new appliances so they will probably be a larger deal than the yard.

Was wondering how people might take to seeing the trees in the yard. The trees have been kept at ~10' and are dwarf, but fruit ought to be obvious when we are on the market in a couple weeks. Atleast the cherries, currants, raspberries, and blueberries will be turning color and the thornless blackberries ought to be blooming. There will be no bee problems at showing (no ripe fruit) and we've never had problems in tha past, but the yard is pretty well maintained.

I'm thinking about planting some fruit trees around the house this year. How far away would you recomend planting them so the roots don't grow into the basement? Thanks.

karola - we had a lot of root problems in our home. We took down 10 trees, had a structural engineer in, steel-pylons & waterproofing done to fix the cracks and support the walls - all to fix basement wall damage due to tree roots. The structural engineer told us he now recommends at least 25 feet from the house for all non-ornamental trees, 35 feet away was, in his opinion, much better.

If you're not sure look up the root growth charts of the type of tree you are buying, or ask at your nursery. They should be able to give you an idea.

We see lots of Bradford pear trees in our area. They're our first clue that spring is imminent -- they just burst forth into beautiful bloom overnight! I love them, and wouldn't mind having one or two in my own yard.
{{!gwi}}

I would be honest about having fruit trees. What if for some reason the house doesn't sell quickly and you end up still selling while fruit is ripening, dropping; then someone walks the yard and gets hurt?

I have a bad back, my neighbor has a plum tree that drops fruit in my yard. After being here for 6 years, I still go outside in the beginning of the fruit dropping to be in a rush and almost break my neck rolling on fruit.

You might be in for a law suit if it happens.

It would be a liability to someone like me who is familiar with fruit trees. I used to like my two big apple trees for about one week a year....when they were in full bloom. But they were a lot of work and such a mess that once we built a screened in porch and no longer needed their shade, out they went!!! Such a relief! We no longer have to worry about bees, turning an ankle while mowing the grass, etc etc etc.

THey can make a huge mess in the yard. Rotting fruit, draw flies etc.
That said - some trees don't fruit much if they are old or not sprayed or get a lot of shade. Some just tend to be smallish slightly messy trees. Some, planted around the periphery don't get in the way much

You didn't say which situation you had. If you choose not to pick and maintain - will it creat a big mess?

I'm amazed that people consider fruit to be a liability & a nuisance. Guess not all of you like fresh peach cobbler, homemade apple pie, or jams. I'm both a gardener & a cook who would love to have your fruit trees. And the bees help pollinate my viburnums. We're a Certified Backyard Wildlife Habitat so we, obviously, enjoy birds & plant to attract them. Different strokes for different folks..., huh?

Tricia

I wouldn't mention it. People who consider them an asset will readily notice them. People who consider them a liability may not notice them.

We have fruit trees and enjoy gardening so its not a hassle with us. The do usually require some work and effort to get nice fruit though.

Auntjen - I agree with your observations of the Bradford pear. They are an interesting tree. Once the were very popular as an flowering tree and a fast grower. Now the are banned in several communites in the midwest that I've live in. I learned this working for a landscape company in OH in the early 90s. It is because they are so easily damaged in storms. After learning this I would pay attention after a summer storm and noticed 90% of the downed branches were from BPs, I was amazed. Now when ever I see a BP, I'll look closely at it and they usually will have a large scar from previous storm damage.