Edible Hedges

For showy seasonal changes in our yards, fruit trees are hard to beat. In spring they exuberantly burst forth with an abundance of blossoms, they offer cool shade on hot summer days, and the fabulous colors of their fall foliage makes autumn the best season in Arizona’s mountains.

Planting and caring for fruit trees is intimidating to gardeners not in the know. I suspect part of their mystique lies in their size. A standard fruit tree can grow to a height of 30 feet; that is a huge plant! Fortunately, alternatives exist to these fruiting giants. Although a semi-dwarf tree is a mere 18-20 feet tall, that still is pretty tall. Even a genetic dwarf, the shortest of all the fruiting trees can reach 12 feet at maturity; this height is still too much fruit tree for me.

Allowing newly planted fruit trees to grow only as tall as we want is easy. Prune in late summer like a hedge to control the height, and prune in late winter for detail. Treat them more like a hedge and less like a commercial production tree and the result is a manageable size that is better suited to a residential backyard.

When allowed unrestricted growth fruit trees reach extreme heights and the resultant colossal bounty of fruit produced is equally as overwhelming. Honestly, how many apples do you eat in a year, and what are you going to do when your landscape produces 300+ apples that need to be picked in a two-week period of time? You give them to friends, family, and neighbors until they won’t answer the door when they see you coming because they still have fruit from your last visit! By keeping fruit trees smaller they yield a manageable production of 50-90 fruits per season. Smaller trees allow for more fruit varieties to be planted and extend the harvest from late spring to early winter. The reduced quantity and longer harvest combo makes this idea well worth investigating.

Commercial growers plant at 30-foot intervals so they can slip tractors and harvesters between each row. You and I only need to get lawn mowers between our trees. I have had great results from two different cherry trees planted just 3 feet apart. Four different apple trees planted in the same hole help each other pollinate, they ripen at completely different times, and eventually grow into one tree. The greatest benefit from planting like this is reasonable numbers of different varieties of fruit.

Here’s an interesting suggestion. Instead of planting a hedgerow of cotoneaster, or red-tipped photinia, plant a fruiting hedgerow. Sounds like a radical idea, I know, but it has proven to be quite effective and even more manageable than freestanding trees. Allow each semi-dwarf tree to grow to hedge height and then no higher. Prune exactly as you would a large hedge, keeping the trees at 6-8 feet tall. At this height varieties are easy to pick, easy to spray, and easy to cover in case they begin to attract fruit-hungry birds.

Plant fruit trees just as you would any other trees or shrubs in the landscape. However, for a really great fruiting landscape top dress the roots with a 3” layer of shredded bark right after planting. The bark keeps soil cool in summer and regulates soil temperatures through winter. Fruit trees will produce better with this additional landscaping step because roots thrive in more constant soil temperatures.

Carefully select the food you give to fruit trees. Be sure to choose something that is rich in phosphorus and lower in nitrogen. Too much nitrogen starves fruiting trees, especially when trying to keep them smaller. I really have good results from using organic foods on fruit trees; that is why I created my own “All natural plant food”. It is the very best food for mountain plants, and a natural for increased fruit production. I feed my plants four times each year with magnificent results. If you feed every spring, summer, fall, and just after the New Year, you will enjoy the sweetest fruits ever, right from your own backyard.

Commercially grown fruits are bred for visual appeal and shipability; taste has long been a low priority. When was the last time you bit into a store-bought peach that made all your senses light up? You just aren’t going to get that from the local warehouse store or supermarket. There are only two ways to have great tasting fruits like you had as a kid: patronize your local farmer’s market or grow your own. Fruits really do taste sweeter when tree-ripened instead of picked green to guarantee markets an extra week of shelf life.

Now through fall is the ideal time to plant fruit trees. Fruits for mountain home landscapes include apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, persimmons, apricots, and figs. (Sorry, no citrus in the mountains.). Do your homework, or ask a professional the various fruiting times at the higher elevations of Arizona. I hand pick the varieties sold at my garden center specifically for their taste, soil adaptability, and late bloom cycles. This increases the success of local harvests.

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.