Does your friend sell fruit trees ? Kidding ... but that's just flat out wrong info. Peach trees are self fruitful with a couple rare exceptions ... Indian Free and J.H Hale are the ones I know that need a pollination companion. So 1 peach tree is fine ... with the qualifier that another peach tree that blooms at a similar time would provide cross pollination, which is desirable but not mandatory. Apples are a little different ... but there are self fruitful varieties ... so could get away with just one of those too ... same qualifier on a 2nd compatible tree being better. Now ... do you live in an area where neighbors have fruit trees ? If so, then you will likely get cross pollination from them. You can also buy multi-budded trees that are 3 or 4 different apple trees in one ... facilitated by grafting at the nursery ... a few bucks more, need a little more attention with pruning, but have the advantage of different apples or peaches ripening at different times on the same tree ... and pollination is solved too. Last, you could employ the high density planting strategy made mainstream by Dave Wilson's Nursery ... to net you out ... would plant two different apple trees 18" or so apart in one hole ... then the same with peaches in the other hole ... 4 trees total in 2 different spots ... can list all of the advantages of this strategy if you want ... and this is the way I would go by the way.

You are a good candidate to watch these videos ... there are several more, but here is a start to get you warmed up ... to get an idea of options and things to be considering.

http://www.davewilson.com/community-and-resources/videos/plant-3-fruit-trees-1-hole

http://www.davewilson.com/community-and-resources/videos/backyard-fruit-tree-basics

http://www.davewilson.com/community-and-resources/videos/how-plant-multiple-budded-fruit-tree

i tried all kinds of fruit .... the bottom line.. was that to get a quality crop ... there is a spray regimen that is requisite ... and i wasnt interested in spraying the trees 3 to 5 times per year for the minimal crop i got.. besides the fact.. with the babes around .... i didnt want to spray ...

in other words.. it was cheaper to go to the orchard and buy a crate of apples.. if i had some project i needed it for.. rather than the money and time to do my own .... besides... the kids enjoyed the petting zoo at the orchard ...

it is usually important.. that you provide your location ...

but.. bottom line ... just buy a dwarf tree .. and give it a go ... you need to do it.. just for the experience .. and dont worry about the pollinators ...mail order is the easiest way to get a good plant ... based on type.. size ... pollination.. etc ... and they can be mailed in the proper planting season ....

here is a link for a place i used a decade ago or so .. just for you to read about different varieties ... i have no clue of their current status/quality/reputation/etc ...

https://www.starkbros.com/

below is a link for a planting guide ... note the first section as to timing of planting...

you will be much further ahead.... avoiding bigboxstore .. in the sense of getting something within your needs ...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Thank you guys so much for this information! My wife and I will have to sit down together and look through those websites you guys provided.

I thought it showed my location, that is why I did not mention it in my post. My apologies, I live in Nampa, Idaho. If the splicing was one single tree I would defiantly consider that, we are not a fan of multiple trunk trees (Sorry if there is a proper name for this)

Like this, we like single trunk looking trees.

I'd also advise that if you have cedar trees nearby to switch from apple to another choice. Cedar rust ruins my trees annually.

That picture looks like 2 trees with several trunks ? Hard to see very clearly though with the low res ...

Folks here are going to want to know ... and you should know ... what growing zone you are in. This will affect various recommendations to you. Here is a link to a map for you to figure out your zone.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Echo the suggestion to research disease resistant varieties ... we can suggest apple and peach trees better once we know your zone ... but asking a local tree nursery or orchardists to explain the known disease issues in your area and what varieties do best there is a really good idea. Also, suggest a semi-dwarf tree, not a dwarf tree as another poster suggested ... there really are a ton of things to talk about if you want to approach this scientifically and put forth your best effort ... for example, it would help us to understand your soil type so we can discuss things like drainage, selecting the proper rootstock, etc ... this fruit tree planting thing can get very deep in the details if you want to do it right and give yourself the best chance for success ... but that's what this forum is for I guess. Also agree to NOT buy your tree at a big box store ... online nursery is best if there is not a reputable source near your house. Have been very happy with One Green World, or Groworganic.com, or Trees of Antiquity ... all reliable places with healthy trees. Keep asking questions if you want to dive into the details. If you just decide to go buy 2 trees at Home Depot , shove them in the ground, and hope for the best ... it will fail.

It looks like you are in zone 6a and received something over 1,500 chill hours last winter, one source says 1750. These are 2 important factors in selecting a region appropriate fruit tree. Most traditional peaches varieties require 750-900 chill hours, though there are many recently developed low chill hour varieties out of Florida that require under 500 chill hours, there are very few 1000+ chill hour varieties. If last winter was a typical winter for you I would only consider the most high chill hour varieties for your location, otherwise they will likely waken too early and loose all the blooms to late season freezes. If you are intent on growing stonefruit of some type, you might consider a European Plum some varieties are available that need around 1,200 chill hours.

p.s. just because they sell it at the local garden center, does not mean it is climate appropriate. I would say something over half the fruit trees sold at garden centers near where I live are not appropriate for this region, and another 25-30% are less than ideal.

Brett, to answer your question about the multi-budded apple trees, they have one single trunck, which is the rootstock. A good nursery will have a selection of trees on rootstock appropriate for your area. What the nursery does is graft multiple varieties of apples onto the tree, so you could have Gala, Fuji, Braeburn etc all on one tree. Again, a good nursery will have varieties appropriate for your area. They should also select varieties that bloom during the same time as some apples bloom early, mid-season, and late.

Best of luck!

Below, is one of my multi-grafted trees (Sprite and Delight Chums from last year). You cant see the full tree, but it is one trunk to the ground, then splits to a Y shape for each variety. I am a fan of these (also have a 4-in-1 asian pear, and 5-in-1 apple) as from the 1 asian pear, i get fresh pears ripening for a whole month. Stark Bros is a good nursery to buy from if you don't have a good nursery nearby.

do not have to spray fruit trees to get a decent crop. Depends on what you will tolerate wrt to pristine or unblemished fruit.

==>> thx for reminding me gall ...

what i used to say.. is that if your dream is to have pretty perfect fruit like you see at the store ... then you will most likely need to spray regimen ...

but if all you want to do is make some apple sauce.. or pies ... or apple juice .... who cares what they look like.. you are going to cut them all up anyway ...

see if there are any orchards near you ... if so ... they might be a great resource for what might work locally ... the one a mile from me.. actually sells some of the trees they use .. in spring ...

to repeat.. you have to try it all.. at least once ... learning is fun .. even if you fail .. lol ...

ken

Brett, Google ~ fruit trees nampa idaho ~ and go talk to those people.

That's good advice Albert ... and I'll save Brett the trouble since I'm bored ...

Adam's Gardens & Nursery

4500 E Greenhurst Rd, Nampa, ID

Hey they are open til' 6 today, ha ha.

Oh, one more thing i haven't seen mentioned yet, there are also columnar apples. These get between 8-12 ft tall and only 2-3 ft wide. so you can plant a lot of them in a smaller space. you can easily plant them in a design, or as a living fence.

Did we scare you away, ha ha. You thinking the grocery store is a better option now ?

Albert, thank you very much for that idea, I feel dumb for not thinking of doing that in the first place. That place has amazing reviews too so I would guess they are the going to be a great help to show me the tree variants that have worked well in my area.

Ike, thank you for that information, I am hoping the store Albert recommended will have trees that are prepared for this climate.

Jason, thanks for explaining that to me, that tree looks great!

Ken, I don't need perfection, but I would like a couple fruit to look close to the grocery store. I might try to do without the spray first and just see what happens.

Joe Blow - Haha no you did not scare me away. My wife and I did a two week camping trip to the woods. Took a water purifier, tent, sleeping bags and a two boxes of MREs hah and survived just us. Rather fun but I am back now.

My wife and I are going to go to that nursery tomorrow and if we find the right trees I will upload some pictures!

Depending on where you live, you might not need a pollinator for your apple tree. There may be crabapple trees in the surrounding vicinity, and if the tree is big enough there's a high chance the bees will carry the pollen to your tree. A few particular apple varieties do not require a different pollinator. (It will often say on the tag, or you can look it up)

A general rule, if there's a big apple tree within 50-75 feet you will get pollination. Or if the neigborhood is filled with apple/crabapple trees, the trees could be as far away as perhaps a football field.

Sometimes you can just graft another variety into the same tree.

I think a lot will depend on the area you live in. If you’re lucky, there’s not too many pest and disease pressures in your area. You just need to select a tree appropriate for your cold weather zone, and away you go. Peaches were my first choice as well when I started my orchard a few years ago. The area I live in is actually a famous peach producing area. What I found out the hard way is you need to be continually applying pesticides and other chemicals not just to get fruit but to keep the tree healthy. No organic workarounds. And then there are birds and other animals that will damage the fruit. So other fruit I initially passed up, like kiwis (And other low care fruit), are starting to look very attractive.

edit: Just wanted to add I wish I could pick different locations for my initial tree plantings as well. I ended up getting some crowding, and more importantly, I would’ve planted trees that are likely to need a lot of chemical sprays or other special care at the edges of the property where runoff etc would do no harm.