Easiest Fruit Tree to Grow

What would you recommend to a brand new gardener as the easiest fruit tree to grow? This may differ greatly based on climate, temperature, and location, but should give great insight for people living nearby what could be a good fruit tree to start with!

Fruit trees have amazing potential to produce a large harvest with little maitenance if grown naturally.

For my area, I would recommend pears and plums!

Reasons I would recommend them...

1) The varieties I have planted have been generally healthy and free from disease.

2) They often grow quickly, usually even in a variety of soils.

3) I especially love to eat plums, which gives me extra motivation to try to get a good harvest!

Can you think of anything I've missed about pears and plums being easy to grow?

What would you recommend to a new gardener as the easiest fruit tree to grow?

Jujube.  No problems with insects or disease.  Mine produced fruit the second year.  
BUT They have thorns.  Not a problem when picking the fruit but the tree will grab you when mowing around.  They also produce root suckers.  Taste like the sweetest little apples you ever ate.

Pears seem like the least trouble and thrive the best, unfortunately not my favorite fruit.  Asian pears seem to be less prone to problems.

Dennis Bangham wrote:Jujube.  No problems with insects or disease.

That is awesome, such a big plus!

Mine produced fruit the second year.

I love when a fruit tree produces a quick harvest like that, very good to know!

Taste like the sweetest little apples you ever ate.

Definitely going to have to plant one of these soon!

Pears is a good one based on my experience. My original trees went through a terror for 2 years. Deer girdling them, 6 weeks of standing water, several months of hi temperature drought. The pear survived where others didnt.

Nice to see jujube mentioned. I planted 2 last year.

Mike Schroer wrote:Pears seem like the least trouble and thrive the best, unfortunately not my favorite fruit.

I've had that same experience.

Asian pears seem to be less prone to problems.

Good info!

Nikita's Gift persimmon (American x Oriental). No bug, disease, or animal problems. Fruit the 4th year. Delicious, nutritious, no care. I got mine at Burnt Ridge.
https://www.burntridgenursery.com/mobile/NIKITAS-GIFT-TM-AMERICAN-PERSIMMON-Diospyrus-kaki-x-virginiana/productinfo/NSPRNIK/

wayne fajkus wrote:Pears is a good one based on my experience. My original trees went through a terror for 2 years. Deer girdling them, 6 weeks of standing water, several months of hi temperature drought. The pear survived where others didn't.

I had one go through almost the same thing, and it sailed right through it too!

Woody McInish wrote:Nikita's Gift persimmon (American x Oriental). No bug, disease, or animal problems. Fruit the 4th year. Delicious, nutritious, no care.

That's awesome!

How would you describe the flavor? I tried one from the grocery store, and it didn't have much taste, but I figured they probably picked it very unripe to ship it.

Steve Thorn wrote:

Woody McInish wrote:Nikita's Gift persimmon (American x Oriental). No bug, disease, or animal problems. Fruit the 4th year. Delicious, nutritious, no care.

That's awesome!

How would you describe the flavor? I tried one from the grocery store, and it didn't have much taste, but I figured they probably picked it very unripe to ship it.

I'm sure the one you tried was an Oriental and not a NG cross. The NG is sweet and crispy early ripening to very sweet, juicy, and soft later.

Woody McInish wrote:I'm sure the one you tried was an Oriental and not a NG cross. The NG is sweet and crispy early ripening to very sweet, juicy, and soft later.

Awesome info Woody!

Yeah I think the one I tasted was a Fuyo I believe.

Asian Pears. (Eastern Pennsylvania) zero issues every year even when I lose everything else (apples, peaches, plums, appricot, cherry, other pears). Japanese beetles don't touch them.
Persimmon is my next in line but smaller yields of smaller fruit (and I lost the entire crop last year).

Paul Lutz wrote:Asian Pears. (Eastern Pennsylvania) zero issues every year even when I lose everything else (apples, peaches, plums, appricot, cherry, other pears). Japanese beetles don't touch them.
Persimmon is my next in line but smaller yields of smaller fruit (and I lost the entire crop last year).

That's great to know about the Japanese beetles too, because they are bad here every year, swarming my poor cherries this year!

My Nikita’s Gifts are too mushy and too sweet.  Before they are mushy, they always are at least a little bitter. I pick them just before they soften and dehydrate them. That takes the bitterness out. Add nuts for great trail mix. They are pretty carefree trees. Tiny seeds and huge fruits. They ripen in  late October or even November here. That’s great because it’s not a very busy time for me. I have had some fall web worms. I much prefer the taste of American persimmons.

Montmorency Cherry has been my most reliable and carefree tree. Over about ten years I had one year the codling moths ruined them. Other years varied but were pretty productive.

Fireblight wiped out my pears.

I know you asked about trees, but thornless blackberries are extremely productive and need very little care. Also they can produce a good crop in the second year, and you can plant them between your trees. They like some shade here.

Ken W Wilson wrote:My Nikita’s Gifts are too mushy and too sweet.  Before they are mushy, they always are at least a little bitter. I pick them just before they soften and dehydrate them. That takes the bitterness out. Add nuts for great trail mix. They are pretty carefree trees. Tiny seeds and huge fruits. They ripen in  late October or even November here. That’s great because it’s not a very busy time for me. I have had some fall web worms. I much prefer the taste of American persimmons.

That's a good strategy to dehydrate them to take the bitterness out!

Montmorency Cherry has been my most reliable and carefree tree. Over about ten years I had one year the codling moths ruined them. Other years varied but were pretty productive.

I'm hoping my cherries do ok with the fruit this year, hoping to get a first harvest from them this summer!

Fireblight wiped out my pears.

I get fireblight occasionally here too. I've had success if I catch it early by cutting off the branch a good bit ahead of the infection and burning the branches.

I know you asked about trees, but thornless blackberries are extremely productive and need very little care. Also they can produce a good crop in the second year, and you can plant them between your trees. They like some shade here.

That's good to hear! I planted some this year around some of my fruit trees, can't wait to taste them next year hopefully!

Sour cherry is a very tough tree. No pests, needs very little water or none at all depending on climate, grows fast. You can eat them raw off the tree but most people prefer baking with them...they are a bit on the tart side.

Nathan Watson wrote:Sour cherry is a very tough tree. No pests, needs very little water or none at all depending on climate, grows fast. You can eat them raw off the tree but most people prefer baking with them...they are a bit on the tart side.

I haven't planted one yet, but I love sour cherries! I've heard they're usually more vigorous than sweet cherries, which is nice.

Mmm, a cherry cobbler sounds so good right now!

Crataegus schraderiana.  Mine is grafted and is about 7 or 8 foot tall, and bears kilos of big deep red berries that the birds show no interest in, and that make dark pink appley-tasting jam that sets well.  Not much fun to eat raw because of the skin and pips (which I sieve off to make the jam), but in terms of easy it's fab.  Nice thick blossom in May, attractive cut silvery leaves.  Difficult to get to germinate (I'm still trying!)  

Hester Winterbourne wrote:Crataegus schraderiana.  Mine is grafted and is about 7 or 8 foot tall, and bears kilos of big deep red berries that the birds show no interest in, and that make dark pink appley-tasting jam that sets well.  Not much fun to eat raw because of the skin and pips (which I sieve off to make the jam), but in terms of easy it's fab.  Nice thick blossom in May, attractive cut silvery leaves.  Difficult to get to germinate (I'm still trying!)  

Very neat!

That's commonly called blue hawthorn right? Sounds easy to grow and the jam sounds delicious!

Guava grows wild in my area, it litters the roadsides. [Makes good wine]

The next easiest in my climate is the Brazilian Cherry - its super-tart flavor can blow your head off, but you get used to it and its highly concentrated vitamin C.
Often used as a hedge, fruit are thin-skinned and prone to pest damage, but prolific enough for all the wildlife to share with some left over.
[And makes good wine]

The big ones in my area (Virginia 7b/8a)... the ones I see in 1 out of say 8 homes here in the suburbs... that are completely neglected and still produce are...

Figs

Just let them grow in their natural form in full Sun and they will be either a medium to large bush depending on type. They make 2 crops a year too!

The other big one would be mulberries. The black varieties have the most flavor. Just be sure to keep them away from where cars will be. Well actually, birds love them too. So a little further away than that. Dwarf everbearing seems like a good one to plant under a field of say pecan trees or some other large nut bearing tree. The berries will bring in the poop/fertilizer. Mulberries are immune to the juglone that black walnuts and their ilk produce.

Jondo Almondo wrote:Guava grows wild in my area, it litters the roadsides. [Makes good wine]

The next easiest in my climate is the Brazilian Cherry - its super-tart flavor can blow your head off, but you get used to it and its highly concentrated vitamin C.
Often used as a hedge, fruit are thin-skinned and prone to pest damage, but prolific enough for all the wildlife to share with some left over.
[And makes good wine]

That's awesome Jondo!

It's so nice when there are good wild edibles around!

So cool with the Brazilian cherry, that it produces enough for everyone!

Marty Mitchell wrote:The big ones in my area (Virginia 7b/8a)... the ones I see in 1 out of say 8 homes here in the suburbs... that are completely neglected and still produce are...

Figs

Just let them grow in their natural form in full Sun and they will be either a medium to large bush depending on type. They make 2 crops a year too!

The other big one would be mulberries. The black varieties have the most flavor. Just be sure to keep them away from where cars will be. Well actually, birds love them too. So a little further away than that. Dwarf everbearing seems like a good one to plant under a field of say pecan trees or some other large nut bearing tree. The berries will bring in the poop/fertilizer. Mulberries are immune to the juglone that black walnuts and their ilk produce.

Great information Marty!

I think we may be in very similar climates. I've heard figs grow like weeds here too. I haven't planted any yet but hope to soon!

I've planted a few varieties of mulberries and am super excited to hopefully taste them soon!

I'd go with fig trees, easy to grow and easy to propagate, fruit ripening all summer long too.

Of all of our fruit trees (plum, pear, peach, fig, apple) the ones that I seem to have to fuss over are the apple trees.

Bryant RedHawk wrote:I'd go with fig trees, easy to grow and easy to propagate, fruit ripening all summer long too.

Awesome!

Of all of our fruit trees (plum, pear, peach, fig, apple) the ones that I seem to have to fuss over are the apple trees.

That's been the same for me too. I wish they were a little easier!

Steve Thorn wrote:

Marty Mitchell wrote:The big ones in my area (Virginia 7b/8a)... the ones I see in 1 out of say 8 homes here in the suburbs... that are completely neglected and still produce are...

Figs

Just let them grow in their natural form in full Sun and they will be either a medium to large bush depending on type. They make 2 crops a year too!

The other big one would be mulberries. The black varieties have the most flavor. Just be sure to keep them away from where cars will be. Well actually, birds love them too. So a little further away than that. Dwarf everbearing seems like a good one to plant under a field of say pecan trees or some other large nut bearing tree. The berries will bring in the poop/fertilizer. Mulberries are immune to the juglone that black walnuts and their ilk produce.

Great information Marty!

I think we may be in very similar climates. I've heard figs grow like weeds here too. I haven't planted any yet but hope to soon!

I've planted a few varieties of mulberries and am super excited to hopefully taste them soon!

I am just finishing up moving down to NC! About an hour south of Virginia Beach, VA in zone 8a allegedly.

That being said I have a 1acre property that is mostly empty(MUD hole!).

I already ordered some "Violette de Bourdoux", "Negronne", and "LSU purple" figs... along with "Dwarf Everbearing", "Shangri La", and "Illinois Everbearing" Mulberries . Those are going into the yard soon (Depending on size I may pot till next Spring). My mission fig is going into the ground too. I did a lot of research and some other types of figs that should be great for our temps, humidity, and precipitation are "Smith", "Panache", and many many more! Figs can range in flavor profiles from sugar, to honey, to strawberry jam, etc.

Most sold in the stores are for shelf life and not flavor. To get flavor pick varieties that have them and then actually pick when they are fully ripe/melt in your mouth good.

What area do you live in? I will now be in Elizabeth City.

Figs and mulberries have very invasive roots that can destroy plumbing and even house foundations. That’s actually why I planted them in two trouble spots of my yard where large established trees won’t let other trees survive. The apple, pomegranate and citrus trees that I previously planted in the same area either died or didn’t grow at all. In half a year i’ll kmow if these fare any better.

Steve Thorn wrote:What would you recommend to a brand new gardener as the easiest fruit tree to grow? This may differ greatly based on climate, temperature, and location, but should give great insight for people living nearby what could be a good fruit tree to start with!

A lemon tree - potted or not.

Frankly, if people fail in growing one, better to give up Gardening, concrete the entire backyard and paint it green!

Tim Kivi wrote:Figs and mulberries have very invasive roots that can destroy plumbing and even house foundations. That’s actually why I planted them in two trouble spots of my yard where large established trees won’t let other trees survive. The apple, pomegranate and citrus trees that I previously planted in the same area either died or didn’t grow at all. In half a year i’ll k ow if these dare any better.

It is the same with most trees. The larger the tree the larger and more aggressive the root system. Usually root aggressiveness depends on species... but any given tree will have 50% to 300% more mass underground than what you can see above ground! That is impressive.

That being said my potted dwarf everbearing mulberry trees sent out around 10' worth of root growth from the bottom of their pots last year. They will eventually get only to around 20' or so tall. The mulberries trees exploded in growth and I didn't realize why until last fall when I went to move the pots. So this year I set the pots on a paver patio area next to a pool. One of the tree's roots still managed to begin wedging it's way through a crack in the bricks! That is a good thing! Since the berries make a mess they need to be away from concrete and homes anyways. My little guys in pots had every berry eaten though.

Figs can be of pretty darn small stature or pretty huge depending on type. For instance the Black Maderia maxes out at only around 4' tall when grown in the ground (About the same in a pot). However, it puts all of it's energy into making lots of super tasting figs. Most fig tasters will rate a mature Chicago Hardy fig tree around 4.5 out of 10 in flavor and will give the Black Maderia a 10 out of 10. All of my figs will be out on the fringes of the yard due to making several crops every year.... with a very long season. That way nature can have some more easily. Two of my figs... Negronne and Violette de Bourdoux are pretty small maxing out at 6 to 10'. The other two types I will have will max out at 20 to 30'. Some like the Chicago Hardy and Brown Turkey will get even larger... and make tons more figs.

F Agricola wrote:

Steve Thorn wrote:What would you recommend to a brand new gardener as the easiest fruit tree to grow? This may differ greatly based on climate, temperature, and location, but should give great insight for people living nearby what could be a good fruit tree to start with!

A lemon tree - potted or not.

Frankly, if people fail in growing one, better to give up Gardening, concrete the entire backyard and paint it green!

Lol! My Improved Meyer Lemon has been a beast. I have pretty well neglected it only feeding 3 times a year in it's pot. Only adding water when it get's desperate enough to begin dropping fruit. I mulched it with large stones to minimize the amount of water that evaporates.

Two Winters ago I left it outside all Winter while living down in Mobile, AL. I planned to only bring it indoors when the temps were planned to drop to the mid 20's (Max low temp rating). Anyways, one night the temp was supposed to drop into the high 20s and I thought it would be good. However, it ended up dropping down to the teens! All branches died. I saw no signs of life for the rest of Winter. In Spring I pruned off all branches and no green inside and assumed it was dead.

However, in late Spring (long after everything else woke up) little shoots started coming out of the main base of the trunk. Turned out that the area with thick bark had survived! It is now way bigger and healthier than it has ever been.

Therefore.... I took 4 cuttings late last Summer and slipped them into my aquaponics system. They all took root and are now growing decent in there. I will be putting them into pots for a few years (so I will have 5 plants total). Once they get that thick bark going on their trunk... I am going to plant out into protected micro climates out in the yard. Giving them protection for a year or two when it is cold... then boom... they are on their own (With additions of fertilizer).

What is cool about my tree is that the fruit matures in Fall... and hangs on the tree for up to 5 months or first deep freeze. Just getting sweeter and sweeter.

I am now considering trying out some of the Satsuma Orange varieties that are rated to survive 10F lower. Some say as low as 10F... which would be a record cold almost for my region.  

Where I'm at Elderberry and Bush cherry both pump out the fruit.  

I planted bush cherries this year or last(don't remember) and they are already loaded with fruit.  The elderberry branches are ready to break they have so much fruit.

Marty Mitchell wrote:I am just finishing up moving down to NC! About an hour south of Virginia Beach, VA in zone 8a allegedly.

That being said I have a 1acre property that is mostly empty(MUD hole!).

I already ordered some "Violette de Bourdoux", "Negronne", and "LSU purple" figs... along with "Dwarf Everbearing", "Shangri La", and "Illinois Everbearing" Mulberries . Those are going into the yard soon (Depending on size I may pot till next Spring). My mission fig is going into the ground too. I did a lot of research and some other types of figs that should be great for our temps, humidity, and precipitation are "Smith", "Panache", and many many more! Figs can range in flavor profiles from sugar, to honey, to strawberry jam, etc.

Most sold in the stores are for shelf life and not flavor. To get flavor pick varieties that have them and then actually pick when they are fully ripe/melt in your mouth good.

What area do you live in? I will now be in Elizabeth City.

That's neat Marty! I've been up that way a few times. It seems like a nice area from what I've seen.

I've got a few of those varieties growing actually, I'll have to look into the others, very neat! I'm about two hours southwest of you out in the country, so I bet our climates are pretty similar.

I've never had a freshly picked fig, looking forward to trying one soon hopefully!

Steve Thorn wrote:

Marty Mitchell wrote:I am just finishing up moving down to NC! About an hour south of Virginia Beach, VA in zone 8a allegedly.

That being said I have a 1acre property that is mostly empty(MUD hole!).

I already ordered some "Violette de Bourdoux", "Negronne", and "LSU purple" figs... along with "Dwarf Everbearing", "Shangri La", and "Illinois Everbearing" Mulberries . Those are going into the yard soon (Depending on size I may pot till next Spring). My mission fig is going into the ground too. I did a lot of research and some other types of figs that should be great for our temps, humidity, and precipitation are "Smith", "Panache", and many many more! Figs can range in flavor profiles from sugar, to honey, to strawberry jam, etc.

Most sold in the stores are for shelf life and not flavor. To get flavor pick varieties that have them and then actually pick when they are fully ripe/melt in your mouth good.

What area do you live in? I will now be in Elizabeth City.

That's neat Marty! I've been up that way a few times. It seems like a nice area from what I've seen.

I've got a few of those varieties growing actually, I'll have to look into the others, very neat! I'm about two hours southwest of you out in the country, so I bet our climates are pretty similar.

I've never had a freshly picked fig, looking forward to trying one soon hopefully!

That sounds exciting. I can't wait either!

Maybe some day several years from now we can meet and make a scion trade with each other for varieties that are doing best for us.

Marty Mitchell wrote:Maybe some day several years from now we can meet and make a scion trade with each other for varieties that are doing best for us.

That would be cool.

Tim Kivi wrote:Figs and mulberries have very invasive roots that can destroy plumbing and even house foundations. That’s actually why I planted them in two trouble spots of my yard where large established trees won’t let other trees survive. The apple, pomegranate and citrus trees that I previously planted in the same area either died or didn’t grow at all. In half a year i’ll know if these dare any better.

Yeah Tim, I love tough plants with vigorous root systems that can grow in less than ideal areas and produce a lot of fruit!

F Agricola wrote:

Steve Thorn wrote:What would you recommend to a brand new gardener as the easiest fruit tree to grow? This may differ greatly based on climate, temperature, and location, but should give great insight for people living nearby what could be a good fruit tree to start with!

A lemon tree - potted or not.

Frankly, if people fail in growing one, better to give up Gardening, concrete the entire backyard and paint it green!

LOL!  You have to have either the right climate for citrus (we don't -- quite.  Zone 6b here) or a large enough space indoors for a large potted plant (don't have that either, small old house with smallish windows).  I would love to be able to have a lemon tree or two, and have had one in the past in a house with a sunny corner, but in this location it's just not going to work.

I Figured I would share some of the links to order some of these tree if anyone out there is interested.

Cold Hardy Oranges... they don't reach full resiliency until around year 5 in ground. This guy lives in SC and has an established Orange Grove! I just looked up his USDA Frost Zone and he is in 8A just like me!  
http://mckenzie-farms.com/photo.htm

And I just ordered my trees from One Green World and Edible Landscaping. One Green world was fast and I have my plants already a week later. I have been sending emails back and forth with Edible Landscaping (I am likely to visit his place in VA some day to load up on plants!) and he is very helpful and nice to talk to. He will not be getting my order into the mail until around Sept 3rd. Which is fine.

ALL of the following 4 resources are recommended for getting quality fig trees too.

https://onegreenworld.com/

http://ediblelandscaping.com/

https://justfruitsandexotics.com/

https://www.rollingrivernursery.com/index.php

And my old go-to place from back in the day... Most of the plants I get from them are small and sometimes need up-potting for a little while for the Winter to be planted in Spring. However, I have gotten some good deals ordering 6 packs of berries, Peach/Pear/Almond/and Apple trees, etc from them. They give good descriptions of what diseases certain tress are resistant to which is important in my area. Only Fire Blight and Brown Rot resistant trees for me!  

https://www.starkbros.com/

Enjoying this topic, but I don't know what's easiest yet. My Acerola Cherry is thriving in this dry, windy heat. Planted it a couple of months ago at a bit over a meter high. It possibly doubled since then. At least 20-30% growth, I'd say. Looking forward to the fruit!

The almond I was given by one of my students suffered far too long in a bucket before I was able to goat proof it in it's permanent position. Goats decapitated the three branches. I cut the two areal branches and left the main. Watered it in well and fed it my "magic fertilizer" (urine), and it's going absolutely nuts putting out big gorgeous leaves every day!

Looks like my pomegranate and mulberry will do well also. The other trees are struggling a bit more, but we'll see how they do. This is all new to me, so I just pray over them and sing to them! Haha

Suggestions for what else I might grow in this tricky spot? Haiti. Rain shadow. Sometimes turns into a lake when it does rain. Mostly deforested and bare. Lots of goats (I stake every tree and wrap wire fence around it). Poor clay soil.

I have a fig cutting I'm trying to root. I'm trying to find the balance of keeping my half-bottle-greenhouse on for humidity, and taking it off to avoid mold. Probably not the best weather right now, but this is when it was given to me.

The comments on the invasive mulberry roots has me a little concerned too. I planted it across an access point for the water truck away from the house, but I'm wondering if it's going to venture over to the plumbing which is on that side. Solutions? How far from pipes should it be?

Priscilla Stilwell wrote: Suggestions for what else I might grow in this tricky spot? Haiti. Rain shadow. Sometimes turns into a lake when it does rain. Mostly deforested and bare. Lots of goats (I stake every tree and wrap wire fence around it). Poor clay soil.

I have a fig cutting I'm trying to root. I'm trying to find the balance of keeping my half-bottle-greenhouse on for humidity, and taking it off to avoid mold. Probably not the best weather right now, but this is when it was given to me.

The comments on the invasive mulberry roots has me a little concerned too. I planted it across an access point for the water truck away from the house, but I'm wondering if it's going to venture over to the plumbing which is on that side. Solutions? How far from pipes should it be?

A plumber told me that tree roots don't destroy pipes; they wrap around and around and if there's any leak in the pipes then only then will they destroy the piping. I have centuries-old terracotta pipes that even plant vines have opened, whilst I have new PVP piping in another section directly beneath a yucca and haven't had any problems. As they were plants the terracotta pipes still work and I haven't had problems, but if it had been a fig or mulberry tree it probably would have required replacing. He told me figs and avocados are the worst trees for piping in our climate (I'm sure mulberry would be too).

Another option is to dig in a root barrier that you place pretty deep in the ground to prevent tree roots from growing through it. Even if some roots get past, they're not strong enough to do damage. Some people espalier fig trees along their house's exterior wall which should theoretically destroy their home, but because they install some vertical barrier surrounding the tree then the roots don't get through and it becomes effectively an in-ground pot.

I notice nearly all the posts are from warm zones, does anyone know reliable fruit varieties that can withstand late frosts in cooler climates? With the oscillating jet stream, we in Britain look set for cold winds late into spring.This year in late april we had frosty winds that set back mature oaks and resilient hedgerows of blackthorn, for nearly 8 weeks. My research so far has brought me to the fruits of scandinavia, mainly berries, which are great, though I'm keen for top fruit too. Late frost is always a consideration in the UK for orchards, however there is increasing research to show sudden cold could be more challenge than potential warming.