Blackberries, raspberries, currants, gooseberries and grapes can be grown in a limited amount of space. Choose day-neutral strawberries for summer long harvest. Strawberry plants can be used as ground cover.

They are well adapted to our native soil conditions and require a limited amount of attention. Plants can also serve as landscape shrubs.

Blueberries are ideal for home gardens in our area. The most popular small fruits are strawberries and blueberries. Another possibility is to plant two trees in the same hole, with a double trunk and branches trained to grow on only one half of each trunk. Espalier trees can be trained along a wall or serve as a fence. “Espalier” refers to a special practice for training trees onto trellises. Multiple varieties are also commonly available on espalier trees. If you do not have room for two trees, you can find trees with multiple varieties grafted onto the same tree. Most apples, sweet cherries and pears, and some plum, peach, nectarine and apricot trees require planting two different varieties for cross pollination. Dwarf trees are mainly available online or in catalogs, although a few full-service nurseries and garden stores carry them.Īnother consideration in planting fruit trees is pollination. Some dwarf fruit trees may be planted in containers. Dwarf trees can be kept at a size where most fruit can be reached without a ladder. True dwarf varieties are a better size for most home gardens. However semi-dwarf trees can also grow too large. Semi-dwarf varieties are usually the only ones available at most local stores. For example, the Pix Zee miniature peach grows only 6 feet tall. Full-size fruit trees are too large for home gardens although some varieties are genetically more dwarf. The type of rootstock determines the size of the tree. Most fruit and nut trees are grafted onto rootstocks. Most of the commercially grown hazelnuts are grown in Western Oregon. Hazelnut trees are small and well adapted. Nut varieties such as walnut, almond and filbert (also known as hazelnut) will also grow in our climate. Apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries, plums, pluots, mulberry, elderberry and hardy kiwis grow well in our mild climate. The climate in Western Washington and Oregon is well suited to growing a very wide range of fruit plants in a home-garden situation. What kinds of fruit are best adapted to our climate? Email Allen Wilson at would like to grow more fruit in my back yard. Allen Wilson is a Vancouver gardening specialist.

Pix zee peach tree for sale