November is a great time of year to plant fruit trees in your urban space. Even though it is getting colder outside, Fall is an optimal season for planting because the plant is dormant; its roots are allowed to develop (generally without competition) before the tree begins leafing out in the spring.
Apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, citrus, fig, grape, jujube, peach, pear, pecan, persimmon, plum, pomegranate, strawberries…all of these fruits can be grown well here if properly cared for!
Here are five things to keep in mind when thinking about growing fruit at home:
1. Sunlight is the key to fruit production. Fruit trees need at least six hours of direct sunlight per day.
2. Soil quality is important – pick a site with good drainage, and be sure you have a healthy native soil to nourish that tree.
3. If space is limited, be sure you consider the mature size of the tree. You can purchase ‘dwarf’ varieties of fruit trees. Even better, keep the fruit tree pruned to a dwarf size.
4. Choose a dependable and tested variety of plant for our North Texas region. Don’t just buy whatever a big-box nursery tries to sell you.
5. Some fruit tree varieties need to be pollinated, so if you are looking to just plant 1-2 trees, be sure you choose a ‘self-pollinating’ variety.
We love these individual fact sheets from Texas A&M on various fruit tree types.
