From summer’s sweet succulent peaches to fall’s crisp red apples, fresh fruits are the closest to nature. Also, you can’t deny the versatile uses of fruits – ranging from the refreshing salads and jellies to pair with summer feasts, to the sweet and sour smoothies and desserts that go with beach parties. In case you didn’t know, the heavenly natural taste of fruits is enhanced multi-fold when plucked straight from trees. Whether you want an annual harvest of all your favorite fruits within your very own garden, or you want to add to the beauty of your garden with budding and flowering trees – fruit trees simply make the best choice on hand. Before you begin plowing your garden, take a look below to know the most popular fruit trees world-wide. All of these are farmers’ favorite!
Apple Tree
What’s better than having a tall sturdy apple tree standing high in your backyard? Apple trees are one of the most popular fruit trees around the world as they are cost-beneficial, fun to grow, and you barely go wrong on an apple’s tree cultivation. Having bushels of flavorful, aromatic, and sweet apples in your garden is always a wise investment – you can handpick apples to bake an apple pie, decan some jam, produce natural cider, or eat them straight off the tree. Apple trees are deciduous and thrive best when provided with full sunlight (for good six to eight hours), a loamy fertile soil, and a wind-sheltered space. Surprisingly, you can breed apples that fit your taste buds i.e. go for soft, sweet, sour, tart, soft, or crisp varieties of apples in line with your taste and consumption needs. Out of the 7500 varieties of apples grown around the world, some common varieties include Honey Crisp, Red Delicious, and Pink Lady. Fun Fact: An apple tree may live for a century or even more if not damaged by animals, humans, or any other catastrophes.
Pear Tree
The majestically huge green pear trees stand out as the top-favorite fruit trees of most of the farmers out there for they grow fast, live long, are disease-prone, and bear a large crop. A full-size pear tree can thrive up to a height of 40 feet and yield up to 90 kgs of pears every year! Pear trees prefer fertile soil, an effective air-circulation, and good sunlight to thrive. They generally require 600-900 hours of winter chill (lower than 45 F) each year, before they can yield a crop. The optimal time to plant pear trees is during late winters or early spring. As pear trees require cross-pollination, at least two compatible varieties of pear trees should be planted together, at a space of no less than 20 feet (10 feet for dwarf trees). Pear trees are prolific and long-living; however, they might take around 3-10 years before they begin flowering and bearing fruits. Once matured, your pear tree is going to reward you with heaps of fruit in a single pick. Be prepared! Fun Fact: The Bartlett Pear tree (known as America’s favorite variety of pear) generates back-to-back crops for more than 100 years.
Cherry tree
Cherry trees make a great choice for home orchards; they are aesthetically appealing and have low-maintenance needs. Both the prime cherry varieties, the sweet and sour cherries are easy to grow and offer back to back bountiful harvests. A verdant sweet cherry tree takes the shape of a natural pyramid when grown, and blooms with exceptionally beautiful white fragrant flowers. These flowers bloom in clusters making way for gorgeous little clumps of perfectly sweet red cherries. The most common variety, the Black Tartarian Sweet Cherry tree produces a purplish-black, large-shaped fruit with a soft jelly-like core that has a full-bodied flavor. These cherries have a single semi-free stone that is easy to remove and are thus, excellent for preservation, cooking, and fresh consumption purposes. Each sweet cherry tree can yield as much as 30 – 50 quarts of cherries each year! On the contrary, a Weeping Cherry Tree adds the ultimate touch of elegance to your garden. The widespread pendulous branches of this tree covered with pink, mauve and white flowers make it outstand for ornamental purposes. Cherry trees of all kinds and species are a major crop producer once mature. If you need a tree that boasts the beauty of your garden alongside yielding some mouth-watering fresh fruits, a cherry tree is your best choice!
Plum Tree
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Plum tree is a small, understory tree with outspread branches, a broad crown, fancy white flowers, and obviously, delectably rich red plums. Plum trees averagely grow to a height of 12-15 feet, whereas, the sprouts from its outspread roots form thickets that grow up to 35 feet wide. These trees are not that hard to grow. All they need is a moist, rich, loamy soil with a pH of 6.8-7.2, full sunlight, and lots of care. Planting a plum tree in a sheltered location that protects it against harsh winds helps the tree set better fruit. If harvested rightly, plum trees can prove prolific. They add magnificent beauty to your garden and offer continuous plum crops that can be cooked into lusciously purple jellies, stored through drying or freezing, or eaten straight away! Caution: Plum trees should not be planted in low areas where frosting may take place. They tend to flower early, and frosting can damage their blooms resulting in inferior fruiting. Did you know? Under some circumstances, you can train your cherry tree to roll out against the fences or walls of your garden.
Persimmon Tree
Having a tough time identifying Persimmon trees? Look out for an unusually coarse, rough, and rugged bark of a tree standing as high as 30 – 70 feet. Persimmon trees are super-popular and loved; whether that is a fruit farm or a home orchard, you are most likely to find one! If you are an autumn lover, you must love Persimmon trees too. The leaves on a persimmon tree take a red color before they fall off its sturdy black branches leaving back bright orange persimmons hanging. This is one of the rarest trees when it comes to blooming and bearing fruits! The fruit-rich persimmon trees signal the beginning of holidays and the festive autumn season like none other. Whether that is an autumnal feast or a Halloween night, it's hard to find dining tables devoid of persimmons; be those persimmon puddings, decorative side items, or fresh persimmon slices served with ice-cream. Tip: Once plucked, store under-ripened persimmons with apples in an airtight box. The Ethylene gases emanating from apples help the ripening process to speed up.
Bottom Line:
The list of popular fruit trees doesn’t end here, but there is always more to it. Planting trees is not only the best gift you can reciprocate to mother nature, but the best investment too. In addition to the undeniable joy of picking fresh fruits from your lawn, trees contribute to a healthy environment. Also, before a luscious fruit crop, fruit trees bloom with enchanting flowers! With fruit trees in your orchard, you get a cheerfully shaggy garden all spring and a plentiful harvest of your favorite fruits all year.
