Editors of Garden Way Publishing - Planning & Planting Your Dwarf Fruit Orchard

by The Editors of Garden Way Publishing

Youve seen those four-color advertisements of dwarf fruit trees, and youve been wary. Do those little trees really produce big fruits and in surprisingly large amounts? Dont they require a lot of knowledge and care to keep them free of pests and disease? Could I raise them?

Yes, you can get fruit, good fruit, from these little trees, and in a surprisingly short time. Theres nothing complicated about their care. Anyone can learn it and quickly.

Growing tree fruits on your home grounds can be both challenging and fun. Probably the outstanding advantages of growing your own fruit are the special enjoyment of having delicious fruits at their very best, but the harvest from dwarf fruit trees is far more than the delicious fruits. You will also have the satisfaction of growing the trees, their beauty in the spring, and the easy but engrossing task of caring for a small orchard.

To help the home orchardist get started in cultivating dwarf fruit trees, Storey/Garden Way Publishing has collected the basic information required for planning and managing a dwarf fruit orchard. This bulletin will tell you how to plan the orchard and what to do when youre ready to pick up your shovel. The companion bulletin, Maintaining Your Dwarf Fruit Orchard (A-134), carries you through caring for your trees and harvesting the rewards.

The fruits produced by dwarf trees are every bit as large and tasty as those on standard sized trees. The basic differences between standard and dwarfed trees are in their growth habits. A dwarf fruit tree grows less vigorously than a standard tree, is smaller at maturity, and begins to produce blossoms and fruits at an earlier age following planting.

Because the varieties that produce the hardiest root systems are not necessarily the kinds with the best fruit, a cultivated fruit tree is not usually grown on its own roots. The tree is composed of two parts, the root or rootstock and the scion or top variety. The root-stock determines many growth characteristics of the top, while the top variety produces the actual fruit.

Standard fruit trees are produced in nurseries on rootstocks grown from seed. The seedlings grow for a year or two and then better fruiting varieties are grafted or budded onto these little seedlings. Then in the next few years, one-year whips or two- to three-year-old trees can be sold and planted in orchards or back yards. The trouble is that standard trees, especially apples, grow large and require extensive space which is available in commercial orchards, but not in most home gardeners plots.

A dwarf fruit tree is produced in much the same manner as a standard tree and looks similar while growing in the nursery or ready for sale at the retail outlet. It may even produce the very same kind of fruit; the difference is in the rootstock. A dwarfing rootstock restricts the size of the tree whereas a standard seedling rootstock does not.

Dwarfing rootstocks are propagated in stool beds, and a particular rootstock uniformly controls the size of the top variety. It is the rootstock that determines if and how a tree will be dwarfed. Therefore, in buying dwarf trees, it is important to know that the rootstock is the desired dwarfing variety. Some rootstocks are very dwarfing while others are semi-dwarfing with most varieties.

A dwarf apple or pear tree is grafted and grown on a dwarfing rootstock, which governs and limits the growth of the top variety and causes it to mature, blossom, and bear fruit earlier than a standard tree. Dwarf trees are more important with apples, pears, and sweet cherries than with other fruits because of the large size of these trees on standard rootstocks.

For other fruits, dwarfing rootstocks are available and often used. However, differences in vigor, size and fruiting are usually not nearly so great as between dwarf and standard apple, pear, and sweet cherry trees. Standard peaches on peach seedling roots are usually quite satisfactory for the home garden.

A dwarf tree has several significant attributes that make it appealing to home gardeners. Dwarf trees are challenging yet delightful, especially as a hobby, but even as a sideline. Home-grown fruit has a special attraction, and selling some of your own fruit can be quite easy and satisfying. The main idea, though, is to extend your green thumb beyond basic indoor plants, landscaping, and flower or vegetable gardens. Some advantages of dwarf fruit trees are discussed here.

Relative tree sizes.
A - Standard. B- Semi-Dwarf. C - Dwarf.

Most suburban and even some city home lots have enough open space for a few dwarf trees. Sunny backyards with well cared for, productive fruit trees become more appealing. Fruit trees add touches of domesticity, utility, and interest to expanses of lawn that are usually broken only by border plantings, property line fences, or specimen shade trees. Under some conditions, you can also grow them as espaliers, or trellis-trained on walls, fences, or arbors.

Variety is the spice of life. Because of their size, more varieties of dwarf trees can be accommodated in limited areas. In the space needed by four standard size apple trees, planted 40 x 40 feet, you can plant 30 to 40 dwarf trees and they will not be crowded. This allows the planting of early, mid-season, and late-ripening varieties to extend the harvest period from summer to late fall. The later varieties can even be stored for winter use.

Dwarf trees are attractive in spring bloom and productive in late summer and fall fruiting. There is no long waiting for six to eight years before your first harvest, as with many standard trees. Dwarfs may blossom the second year after spring planting and bear fruit almost certainly thereafter, under suitable growing conditions.

Common Dwarfing Rootstocks

Contact your local extension agent for the latest information on rootstock varieties most suitable for your location.

Dwarf trees grow fine, high quality fruit. Fruit size is not dwarfed, even though the size of the trees is reduced. Often, more perfect fruits are grown because maintenance is easier and more fun. This includes fertilizing, pruning, disease and insect control, and thinning.

Dwarf trees are easy to prune, spray, thin, and otherwise care for. There is little need for ladders. Pruning can be done while standing on the firm ground.

Dwarf trees are a cinch to harvest since most of the fruit can be picked from the ground, with no need for ladders. Of course, this may be a drawback with over-eager children in the neighborhood.