Why Plant a
Fruit Tree - February Gardening Tip
by Southern California Horticulturist,
Rich Sherman, Myrtle Creek Nursery, Fallbrook, California

There are a lot of advantages to growing your own fruit. When you buy fruit from the store, you don’t know if it has been treated with pesticides, ripened with gas, waxed or artificially colored. When you grow your own fruit, you can allow it to ripen on the tree, use organic methods to be chemical-free, and end-up with a much tastier, (and safer) fruit.

In southern California, February is the best time of the year to purchase deciduous fruit trees such as Apples, Apricots, Figs, Peaches, Pears, Plums and Nectarines. For our warm southern winters, it’s good to pay attention to the chill requirement that each variety requires for best fruit production. The chill requirement is the number of hours of temperatures during dormancy that are below 45 degrees. For Southern California, it’s good to choose a variety that requires 400 chill hours or less.

Also check to see if the variety you are looking at requires a pollinator. Some varieties require another tree to be planted near by for cross-pollinization in order to bear fruit. Others are self-fertile, meaning they will produce just fine on their own.

Check-out the unusual varieties such as the Spice-Zee Necta-Plum (Nectarine X Plum) cross, or the Flavor Delight Aprium (Apricot X Plum) cross, or a Weeping Catalina Plum.