Planting fruit trees around your property has the biggest advantage of having fruit readily available right outside your back door instead of having to drive to the store or local farmers market to get it. It’s healthier, tastes better, saves money and is more convenient.
Right Fruit Tree, Right Location
Deciding what types of fruit trees to plant is important to survival. Cherry trees like colder weather and require a certain amount of chilling hours in order to produce viable fruit. Orange trees, on the other hand, do not tolerate cold weather and need to be grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates. Common sense tells you that a cherry tree will not survive in Florida any better than an orange tree will in North Dakota.
In Florida the most popular types of trees are primarily from the citrus family. Lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange trees are very popular along with mango, payaya and guava trees. In Cape Coral, Florida there is actually an annual festival called Mangomania where drinks, desserts and delicacies are from the mango and citrus families. It’s a 3 day long event full of fun, activities and food all centered around our popular Florida grown tropical fruit trees.
Caring For Fruit Trees
Properly caring for fruit trees allows them to readily produce great tasting fruit. Ironically, the reason most fruit trees don’t produce usually relates to watering issues. Most people OVER water fruit trees. The top soil of a fruit tree should be fairly dry to the touch. However, you should feel moist soil just by sticking your finger below the soil.
Proper soil mixture, soil nutrients and fertilization also are important issues for a “fruitful” tree. If the foliage and leaves of the tree are a deep green then you are likely applying the proper amounts of fertilization. You shouldn’t fertilize a fruit tree until after growth starts. Over fertilization leads to overgrowth, poor quality fruit and die back.
Some fruit trees need companion trees to pollinate each other in order to produce a crop.
Assistance In Selecting and Planting Fruit Trees In Florida
Selecting the right fruit tree for your landscape zone will allow you to successfully provide your own, home grown fruit right in your own back yard. If selecting and installing fruit trees for your property causes you to become “fruity” then give R & R Sprinkler and Landscape a shout. We’ll use our 42 years of experience to help you create your own little orange grove.
