Do fruit trees need full sun ALL YEAR?

Do fruit trees need full sun all year or can it be part shade while the trees are dormant?

From leaf drop to Spring bud out, I know of no real benefit to getting sun. If anyone knows different, I'd be interested to hear it..

Thanks Eric. I have two bare root plum trees, but the place I would like to plant them will not have full sun until a little latter - perhaps another month. I am in Anaheim, California. If necessary, I could plant them I another location (not my first choice), but they would get full sun immediately and throughout the year. They are still bare root but I assume growth will start fairly soon after planting. What is your recommendation?

They should do fine without full sun in Winter. And remember they will get 15' high and can probably capture more sun then. Get them in the ground soon, and give them a good watering in when you plant them. unless they are a dwarf tree, they should probably be able to become the tallest thing in at least a 10' radius.

Ronda,
I agree with Eric on this. I'd go ahead and plant them where you want them. Full sun all year long isn't a necessity for trees and the first bit of growth should be into root development. Use a good clean manure compost mixed into the dirt you pull from the hole and make sure the hole is big enough that the roots will fit nicely. I normally build a mound of the dirt mix in the bottom of the hole to set the tree to the correct depth in relation to the surrounding soil, water it in good (don't make it a mudhole) when backfilling. You'll also want to make sure to tamp the top in with your foot to get good contact between the roots and the dirt. Pound some stakes in the ground to center the tree in its place in case of wind, then water it often.

Bill