Fruit Tree Central is the starting point for planning and maintaining a home orchard. Use this resource hub to choose trees suited to your climate and space, understand pollination and chill requirements, plant bare root trees correctly, and find focused help for pruning, feeding, pests, diseases, and harvest use.
Start Here: Choose, Plant & Establish a Bare Root Tree
- Choose the right bare root tree — compare climate fit, chill hours, pollination, rootstock, mature size, harvest season, and available space.
- Shop bare root trees — browse the current selection of fruit and nut trees.
- Plant a bare root fruit tree — follow the primary step-by-step planting guide.
- Care for a new bare root tree — move from delivery and temporary storage through first-year establishment.
Choose Trees for Your Orchard
A productive orchard starts with varieties that match the site. Check winter chill, hardiness, pollination, mature size, rootstock, and harvest timing before ordering.
If cherries are part of the plan, use the complete cherry season guide to compare bloom, regional harvest windows, and cultivar timing.
- Bare Root Tree Selection Guide
- Fruit Tree Chill Hours Explained
- Fruit Tree Pollination Guide
- Find Your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
- How to Choose a Fruit Tree Planting Site
Shop Bare Root Trees by Type
Explore varieties by fruit type, then use the selection guides above to confirm that each tree fits your climate and orchard plan.
Receiving and Planting
Bare root trees need prompt attention after delivery. Keep roots protected from drying, store trees temporarily only when necessary, and plant at the correct depth in a suitable site.
- How to Heel In Bare Root Trees
- How to Plant a Bare Root Fruit Tree
- Bare Root Tree Planting-Day Checklist
- Bare Root Tree Planting Supplies
- The First 30 Days After Planting
First-Year and Seasonal Care
After planting, focus on steady establishment rather than immediate production. Monitor soil moisture, protect the trunk and roots, keep mulch away from the trunk, and adjust care as the seasons change.
- Bare Root Tree Care: Receiving, Planting & First-Year Growth
- Understanding Fruit Tree Dormancy
- When and How to Fertilize Fruit Trees
- Summer Fruit Tree Care
- Bare Root Fruit Tree Myths
Pruning, Training and Grafting
Use the main pruning guide to understand timing and basic cuts, then move to species-specific or advanced training resources when needed.
- How and When to Prune Fruit Trees
- Choose a Fruit Tree Training System
- Species-Specific Fruit Tree Pruning
- High-Density Orchard Planting and Pruning
- Use Budding to Change Fruit Tree Varieties
- Fruit Tree Propagation: Seed, Grafting, Budding & Rootstocks
Fruit Tree Problems and Protection
Identify the problem before choosing a control. These guides address common orchard diseases, insect pests, and animal damage.
- Spring Disease Control in the Orchard
- Peach Leaf Curl Control
- Fire Blight Management
- Codling Moth Control
- Gopher and Bird Protection
Use and Preserve the Harvest
For more species-specific help, browse all Organic Fruit & Nut Tree Care articles.
Focused Fruit Tree Guides
Use these species and training guides for container growing, pollination, seasonal timing, pruning, and nutrition.
- Self-Pollinating Peach Trees
- Peach Trees in Containers
- Nectarine Season and Harvest Timing
- Apricot Tree Watering and Fertilizer
- Fertilizing Citrus in Pots vs. In-Ground
- Citrus Trees Not Producing Fruit
- Espalier Apple Trees for Small Spaces
- Dwarf Mulberry Trees for Patios
- Pluot Companion Planting
- Fruit Salad Trees for Small Spaces
- How Trees Compartmentalize Pruning Wounds
1 comment
I simply wish to leave a huuuuuge “Thank You”, for this site’s, and Trish’s generosity, in sharing the “how-to”s of growing organically, and compiling all this information in one location, for our convenience. It’s one of my main references.
Appreciatively,
S. Williams