When planning your outdoor landscaping or garden beds, it’s easy to focus on the essentials: vegetation, plants, and flowers. And let’s be honest: at GreenPro we love all the options that come with plants and flowers. But beautiful gardens and outdoor landscapes can be composed of so much more, including an easily forgotten element to your outdoor sanctuary: fruit trees!
There are many types of fruits that may be successfully grown in Oklahoma. These include the “pome” fruits (apples and pears), the “stone” fruits (peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, and plums), as well as other fruits such as figs, persimmons, and berries.
Of all the tree fruit crops, apples and peaches are best adapted to Oklahoma conditions. The best apple varieties for Oklahoma are McLemore, Gala, Jonathan, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and Fuji. Apples bloom later and are less susceptible to spring frosts, making them ideal for Oklahoma’s climate.
As with anything else when it comes to your garden or landscape, planning is a crucial part of the process. We wanted to share a little of what goes into our process at GreenPro, and the things we’re happy to help you think through.
Carefully selected, properly located, and well managed, a home fruit planting can enhance the home landscape, provide high‑quality fruits and serve as a satisfying hobby. At the same time, considerable care must be taken when tending a home fruit garden. Should you be unable or unwilling to devote the time, you may be disappointed in your harvest.
When seeking out where best to plant your fruit trees, it’s crucial to avoid areas that drain poorly. On heavy soils, raised beds or soil berms will provide the best drainage; barring that option, deep, sandy loam soils, ranging from sandy clay loams to coarse sands or gravel mixtures, will serve as decent fruit soils. GreenPro specialists can help you isolate the best place on your property for your fruit tree to take root and grow.
Late spring freezes can often damage fruit crops. To reduce frost damage, consider planting on hill or slopes. Make certain that the air can move freely throughout the planting site and is not “boxed” in with surrounding terrain or tree borders.
Plan the planting to fit the area involved as well as family needs. A smaller planting, well cared for, will usually return more quality fruit and enjoyment to the grower than a larger neglected one. One‑half acre or less is usually adequate for the average family.
When planning your planting, it’s important to develop a plan well in advance of planting season. Determine the kinds of fruits, cultivars, and quantities needed.
You will need to be sure to clear the area where you’re planning to plant. Perennial weeds such as bermudagrass and johnsongrass compete heavily with young plantings and should be eliminated before planting.
For best survival and production, be sure to locate your plantings near a water source, ensuring you can offer your plants and fruit trees supplemental water in the summer.
Never allow the roots to dry out or freeze. Should your planting be delayed several days, form a mound of loose soil or mulching material to heel in the trees. Place the roots into this mound, cover them, and moisten. The trees may be vertical or horizontal as long as the roots are covered. This protects them from drying or freezing.
These are just a few of the issues that go into effectively planning and planting your fruit trees and garden. Want to enjoy all of what Oklahoma soil has to offer when it comes to helping your fruit trees thrive? Call GreenPro today; we can help you bring good fruit to light!