Fruit Trees

Almonds, Apples, Cherries, Nectarines, Pears, Peaches and Plums grow well in the Truckee Meadows. For more fruit and beautiful flowers, trees can be pruned back quite severely at the end of each year's growing season.

It's important that you find the right place to grow your fruit trees, so keep in mind that all fruit trees need full sun to grow well, especially to produce fruit, and well drained soil is also key. Just as important is finding trees that are hardy for our unique region. Come in and see our selection.  Be sure to bring your questions so we can help you choose the perfect trees.

Our favorite nectarine this year is the Artic Jay.  This hardy tree offers 3 inch, very sweet, white-fleshed freestone fruit with a perfect balance between acid and sugar. At some locations, this nectarine is the first tree to bloom in the spring.

Apples are such beautiful companion trees.  In good old Johnny Appleseed fashion, apple trees have followed human beings in migration all over the world providing incredible food and beauty in an abundance enough for birds and friends and neighbors alike. Apples help bring us together.

This year our selection includes Red Delicious, Scarlet Sentinel, Spartan, Sweet Sixteen.  Simi Dwarfs include Golden Delicious, Red McIntosh, Red Wealthy, and Spy.

You can tell when you look at an almond tree that it is related to the cheery, peach, and plum family. Plus, they provide us with one of the most delicious foods on the planet, so great as snacks, but also for cooking and baking. They grow well here, too, so the beauty of the great almond orchards of California can be enjoyed right here in our own valley.

If you have a wide, sunny location with a good depth of well drained soil -- not too damp, not too exposed, but with good air circulation -- a cherry tree might be a great addition. We like the Black Tartarian Cherry for its high yield of beautiful, medium-sized fruit, almost black in color.

There are some easy chemical-free alternatives to protecting your fruit trees from pests. If you have problems with deer and rodents, many gardeners grow daffodils around the base of each tree, making sure to leave the leaves growing as long as the season will allow.

For crawling insects, such as Apple Maggots, organic gardeners sometimes concoct and apply a non-toxic, weather resistant adhesive substance to plastic apples, then attach them to their trees (Tanglefoot is a company that has been in the Adhesive Pest Management (APM) business for more than a century). Other farmers apply insect attacking Nc nematodes to the topsoil of the orchard in the autumn. These micro-organisms feed on the pests as the colder weather approaches. It is also extremely helpful to gather (and use) the fruit as it falls from the tree.

Birds can be somewhat controlled by attaching shiny objects to the branches of your fruit trees. Some gardeners buy or make devices that spray water or make noise. The most effective method is to apply netting, although this becomes increasingly more difficult as the trees mature. Often it is the case that healthy, well placed trees produce enough fruit to share, not only with all your good neighbors, but all your neighborhood birds as well.

A well trained fruit tree, be it peach, nectarine, apple or pear, can produce an abundance of food for the harvest. So much so that many gardeners resort to the tradition of canning their fruits (and vegetables) at harvest time each year. If you've never tried canning your own food, we recommend giving it a go. The process gives deeper meaning to seasons and sources of what we humans eat to stay healthy and happy. You'll need a cool, dark place to store the results of your efforts, as jams, jellies, chutneys and sauces store much better away from heat and direct light. If you have room and the old fashioned method of canning doesn't appeal to you, you can freeze fruit and pulp for winter use.