Learn how to grow fruit trees from New York to Georgia. Excellent varieties and top tips for success in the orchard.

1. growing fruit
in the mid-atlantic
ben kessler

2. selection tree for the proper place
choose the right
How much space?
How much direct sunlight per day, and what
time of day?
How cold are winters?
What kind of soil?
How much time can I devote to care &
maintenance?
Where are my habitual paths? Other
animals'?
What do my family, my neighbors, and I like
to eat?
Do I want to eat toxic chemicals? (No.)

3. asian persimmon
Height: 10' – 15' Spread: 12' – 15'
Fruits in Autumn
Very Productive
Fast Growing Tree
Frost-Tolerant
Few Pests, Fewer Diseases
Self Fertile
Cultivars: Jiro, Wase Fuyu, Hachiya,
Gwang Yang, Tam Kam, Saijo

4. fig
Height: 6' – 15'
Spread: 10' – 15'
Fruits in Summer
Very Productive
Fast Growing Shrub
Succeptible to Frost
(Site against South-facing
wall)
Self-Fertile
Cultivars: Hardy Chicago,
Celeste, English Brown
Turkey

5. pomegranate
Height: 5' – 10' Spread: 6' – 12'
Fruits in Autumn
Very Productive
Fast Growing Shrub
Self Fertile
Cultivars: Salavatsky, “Russian”, Austin,
Nana Dwarf Black

6. Height: 10' – 15'
Spread: 10' – 13'
Fruits in Autumn
Native to Eastern US
Fast Growing Shrub
Thicketing
Shade-Tolerant
Not Self Fertile
Cultivars: Wild, Select,
Mango, Susquehanna,
Rappahannock
pawpaw

7. elderberry
Height: 6' – 10' Spread: 10' – 12' Shade-Tolerant
Blooms in Spring, Fruits in Summer Not Self Fertile:
Sambucus nigra
Medicinal Fruits & Flowers Sambucus canadensis
Fast Growing Shrub Cultivars: Johns, Adams, Black Lace, Cut-Leaf

8. Height: 6' – 40' Spread: 10' – 30'
Fruits in Early Summer
Very Productive
Fast Growing Tree
Few Pests, Fewer Diseases
Self Fertile
Cultivars: Pakistan, Girardi, Collier,
Shangri-La
mulberry

9. apple
Height: 10' – 20' Spread: 10' – 15'
Fruits in Autumn
Needs Full Sun
Long-Lived Tree
(Many) Not Self Fertile
Good Cultivars: AR Black, Liberty, Enterprise,
Goldrush
Bad Cultivars: Fuji, Delicious, Pink Lady,
(anything you would find in a supermarket)

10. siting
pick the proper place for the right tree
SE sun preferable to SW
Protection from Frost Wind (usually NW)
Enough room to walk around mature
canopy
Plant 'trap crops' like bush cherries outside
orchard to draw away birds
Plant multiple trees in a Circular or
Hexagonal pattern instead of Rows
Keep clear paths to trunk for harvesting and
pruning

11. planting Plant around First or Last Frost
roots before fruits
Dig hole as deep as root ball,
but 2 – 3 times as wide
Keep the Root Crown above the soil line
Add no amendments to the hole,
only native soil
Top dress with 1” compost out to
mature canopy line
Always mulch!
3”- 5” deep, to mature canopy line
Keep mulch least a hand's breadth
from the trunk
Water well for first 2 weeks

12. companion plants
don't plant a tree, plant a garden
Beneficial Insect Attractors
Bee Balm
Queen Ann's Lace
Anise Hyssop
Cilantro
Umbels & Composites
Mineral & Nutrient Accumulators
Comfrey
Chicory
Dandelion
Legumes
Living Mulches
Nasturtium
Vetch
Clover
Yarrow
Chamomile

13. blueberry Height: 3' – 6' Spread: 4' – 6'
Fruits in Summer
Very Productive
Fast Growing Bush
Southern Highbush “Rabbit-eye”
Some Self Fertile
Requires high organic material
and low pH:
Amend soil with rotted pine
mulch
Cultivars: Sunshine, Yadkin,
Tifblue, Lenoir, O'Neal, Star

14. goumi
Height: 5' – 8' Spread: 6' – 8'
Fruits in Summer
Very Productive
Height: 3' – 6' Spread: 6' – 8'
Fast Growing Shrub
Fruits in Summer
Nitrogen-fixing
Very Productive
Self Fertile
Vining Shrub
Not the same as Autumn Olive
(Eleagnus umbellata)
Partial Shade Tolerant
Self Fertile
Prefers Alkaline Soils
goji

15. Height: 3' – 6' Spread: 4' – 5' aronia
Fruits in Spring
Fast Growing Bush
Not Self Fertile:
Lonicera kamtschatica
Lonicera caerulea
Height: 4' – 6' Spread: 5' – 6'
Very hardy
Fruits in Summer
Cultivars: Berry Blue, Bluebird,
Blue Moon, Blue Velvet Vivid Fall Foliage
Very Disease Resistant
Fast Growing Bush
Self Fertile
honeyberry Cultivars: Viking, Nero

16. pruning
the kindest cut
Prune during dormant season
Bloom Early, Prune Late
Take Out:
Dead, Damaged & Decayed
Crossing & Weak Limbs
Clean Your Tools Between Cuts
Take no more than 1/3 of limbs
Remove all pruned material

17. forest gardening
putting it all together
Permaculture
No plant grows alone in the wild
We are living in uncertain times
Biodiversity = Flexibility & Resilience
Multi-species plantings are much more
productive than monocultures
Healthy Ecosystems are Beautiful
We are planting the old-growth forests
of the future, today

18. forest gardens

19. steal these books
Gaia's Garden – Toby Hemenway
Attracting Native Pollinators – Xerces Society
Botany in a Day – Thomas Elpel
The Apple Grower – Michael Phillips
Edible Forest Gardens – Dave Jacke &
Eric Tonesmeier

20. eat your lawn, feed your soul
cvillefoodscapes.com
Sarah Frazer, Ben Kessler, Cake Namdol & Lauren Samay