The Backyard Orchard

Fruit growing is a popular hobby for many gardeners. There are a variety of fruit bearing trees, vines, bushes that do well in central Texas.

Success with fruit growing depends on careful attention to several key factors. Fruit producing plants need full sun exposure, good drainage, good soil depth and supplemental water and fertilizer. Proper variety selection is critical. It remains a pretty good rule that the fruit varieties found in the supermarket produce section are not generally well adapted to central Texas. Our climate particularly our mild winters, require special medium chill varieties of fruits like apples and peaches, while disease resistance is important in selecting grape varieties. Some fruit species are self fruitful while others need a second variety for cross pollination.

Before investing in fruit plants take some time to check out the resources in this section of the website. There is a wealth of information here to get you off to a good start and help you maintain a productive home orchard, vineyard or berry patch.