Hello friends,
I’m looking to add fruit trees to my limited backyard in Zone 6a, MA, and would love recommendations for (preferably) dwarf varieties suited to tight spaces (aiming for 8 ft max). I am looking to plant Peach, Pear, and Apple. Due to a nearby wetland, bird pressure is extremely high, so I am skipping cherry trees.
Due to space limitations, I’m hoping for self-pollinating varieties.
Your input on cultivars and sources is greatly appreciated!
LOL, I wish I had gotten this advice 40 years ago . . . .
In general, it’s not the varieties that are dwarf, it’s the rootstock. So you should separate the choice of a variety (taste, timing, disease resistance, etc) from the choice of a rootstock (mainly size but also soil conditions and disease resistance).
You don’t want self-pollinating varieties. That strategy is way too restrictive. You simply want to fit pollinators in a small space. The best way to accomplish that trick is to graft multiple varieties to the same tree. This also allows you to experience various flavors over a more extended harvesting season.
Let’s start with pears.
a. My favorite rootstock is OHxF87, which is semi-dwarf. It makes a vigorous tree that you can keep 10-12’ tall x 8’ wide with annual pruning. It gives bushels of pears.
b. My favorite variety so far, combining taste, productivity, disease resistance, is Harrow Sweet. To this tree I would add Harrow Delight, which is similar but ripens earlier, and Potomac. These will pollinate each other. All seem resistant to fireblight, which is a key requirement. I also grow Warren and Magness, which come highly recommended for flavor but are less precocious and prolific.
a. For dwarf rootstocks I’ve mostly used G.41 and recently G.210. These seem to have worked fine, but you should get some advice and do some research specifically on this topic. My only caveat is a warning that dwarf apples have shallow roots and therefore need to be staked. You might consider a semi-dwarf rootstock such as MM.111. Again, it wants to grow a bit bigger but with pruning you can keep it 10-12’ tall and 12’ wide.
b. For varieties, you have a million choices. But definitely pick varieties that are resistant to apple scab and fireblight. Some options are Liberty, Enterprise, Novamac, Jonafree, Priscilla, Sundance. A good russet is nice, maybe Golden Russet. You want to get specific about your flavor preferences, then we can collectively provide some guidance on specific choices.
For both pears and apples, I would buy rootstock trees (which you can get very cheap), plant them as soon as you can, and let them grow for 2-3 years. Try to produce a central leader with at least 3-4 scaffolds. Then graft your chosen varieties to the rootstock trees. These grafts should produce some fruit the next year and a decent crop in 2-3 years (~5-6 years total). Dwarfs rootstocks tend to be more precocious than semi-dwarf or standard.
Alternatively, buy one good variety on a desirable rootstock (e.g., Liberty on MM.111), plant it and let it grow. Start grafting in 1-3 years when you have suitable scaffolds.
Please be sure that your trees are in locations that get full sun.
another excellent point re pears is asian pears will be pollinated by nearby callery pears. which those of us in a small space (usually because we’re ina suburban area) often have all around us.
Read grow a little fruit tree as well because keeping trees small has much to do with pruning.
Great point. I believe that callery will also pollinate European pears that overlap blooms. And I believe Asians will pollinate Europeans. FWIW, my Harrows bloom pretty much simultaneously with my Asian Shinko.
A similar point: Crabapples will pollinate eating apples. Most suburbs have a good supply of ornamental crabs that will pollinate pretty much every other apple in sight, provided the blooms overlap.
Yes they will its just that asian is like early and will basically always overlap