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bruin27

Fruit Salad Tree for front yard?

8 years ago

I really want to add a fruit tree but don’t have any room for it in the backyard. I like the idea of the fruit salad free, multiple types of fruit on one tfee? Does anyone have any experience with these? I was thinking of putting 2 in my front yard to replace my rose bushes, actually slightly in front of where the bushes are, one on each far end of the rocks.


Comments (14)

  • 8 years ago

    Kind of big to put right in front of window. Otherwise, what climate area? And are you asking about apple trees?

  • 8 years ago

    Area looks too shady to me. Fruit trees don't grow well in shade. Also, will take some time to bear fruit, like 3-5 years. A friend had a tree with three kinds of apples on it in her front yard. It did well and she loved it. I'd be skeptical of other fruits on the same tree. Can be done, but I don't know how hardy, that I can't comment directly on.

  • 8 years ago

    Mixed fruit trees generally have very poor results, typically from incompatible grafts. They need to be somewhat related fruits. Is there enough sun in that location for a fruit tree? They are best in full sun.

  • 8 years ago

    There are also multi-grafted citrus trees (orange, lemon, lime, tangelo, grapefruit, et al.) and stone fruit trees (peach, plum, apricot, nectarine, et al.).

  • 8 years ago


    I’m looking the peach, plum, apricot, nectarine type, the trees won’t be directly in front of the window but slightly in front of those side windows, see new pic. The pic was taken yesterday later in the day, we get a good amount of sun in this area, from sunrise to about 3pm. I’m near Sacramento,CA.

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    If you plant even small trees like these - that is orchard fruits on dwarfing stocks, or naturally small kinds like peach trees - where you have indicated, you are going to end up with them between the point of view from which the picture was taken and the window. And you're going to have branches out over the walk - even if you prune heavily*, plus fruit dropped on the walk (unless you are quite on top of the picking, throughout the ripening period).

    You should instead be looking at where there is room for each, as the sole priority - with the needed amount of spacing for development and access for maintenance activities including pruning and spraying. If your lot is only so big, you can have only so many trees.

    Unless you do things like espalier and tree fences using specimens on fully dwarfing stock. With yields being smaller in proportion to the reduced crown size of specimens so pruned and trained.

    *Even dwarfed fruit trees can only be pruned so much before it becomes destructive, interferes with production

  • 8 years ago

    I always wish that these would work but in my experience they just don't. Pick the best dwarf fruit tree for your location and plant that. For all else: farmers markets!


  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Pick the best dwarf fruit tree for your location and plant that.

    Keep in mind that some are not self-pollinating, requiring another variety for pollination (and not all varieties of the same fruit are compatible, too). A few varieties of apple, a few pears, some plums, many but not all peaches, and most apricots are self-fertile, but even some of those are more productive when cross-pollinated.

  • 8 years ago

    also ... when you have multiple type on one tree ... odds are.. they wont come ripe all at once ... so there goes your fruit salad ...


    ken

  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Typically cocktail trees come from growers with cross pollination factored in, the main consistent issue is development of lopsided shapes, associated crowding and shading of some branches due to varying vigor of different cultivars used to make up the specimen.

  • 8 years ago

    So here is another spot I was thinking, I just want don’t want to put the tree in a random place, if anyone has any other suggestions on location please let me know.

  • 8 years ago

    Yes to what Embrothrium said, that was how my friend's tree with three apple varieties grafted on it looked-lopsided.

  • 6 years ago

    Just wondering if you ended up planting a fruit salad tree and if so, how is it doing?

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