Northeast US, wanting to plant fruit trees.

[ladyofivy]

I'm wanting to plant a few fruit trees on my land, and I had a few questions.

1. Do you all go to local nurseries, or order from a catalog, or online?

2. If you order online, could you tell me where the best places are?

3. When ordering fruit trees, is there a specific way to know that they will produce fruit? Or will the company already know that and only sell ones that definitely will produce fruit (if properly cared for, of course)?

I'm aiming to plant an apple tree (probably cortland apples) and a crabapple tree, a peach tree and possibly a pear tree. I know that all of those can be grown in my area, although I don't know about pollination for the two latter trees, so I'd love suggestions for them.

I'd like the trees to be in roughly the same area of the yard, but how far apart should I plant them, if that is something to consider? (obviously I know that they can't be like 3' from one another, but what is the proper distance?)

Thanks once again in advance for the help. I'm really excited to be a member of the forum.

[hendi_alex]

Fruit trees can be quite challenging, especially apple and peach which need so much care with seasonal spraying of various chemicals. They are probably an even greater challenge to successfully grow in an organic way. Your area probably is much more friendly to growing fruit trees than my area in S.C. which has so much disease in the hot, humid summer air. American type pear trees are probably the most care free large fruit that can be grown.

I would suggest however, that you consider planting some small fruits as well, because they will give almost immediate reward and are far less challenging that large fruit trees. Blueberry, raspberries, and strawberries are extremely easy to grow and should produce within a year. You may also want to consider small form fruit trees such as dwarf or semi dwarf as their size is much more suitable for a yard orchard.

Stark bothers, IMO, is one of the premier fruit tree suppliers. Their catalog indicates pollination needs and zone range adaptability.

https://www.starkbros.com/

[JONA878]

Please also remember that all apple and pears need pollination.
Check that the varieties that you choose will cross pollinate ok.
Some varieties are self-fertile but do check before hand.
Triploid varieties require a pollinator but cannot pollinate in their turn so three trees may be needed.

As regards the apples the crab apple will do a fine pollination job for you.

Also decide how big you want your trees to grow then choose the rootstock that will produce that sized tree.

Jona.

[applestar]

I started espaliered "mini" orchard a couple of years ago to add to my single Enterprise apple tree and several European plum trees. So most of this is based on a lot of reading and research rather than actual growing experience.

I want to grow organically, without using chemical sprays, etc. and the rather extensive spray schedule needed for most fruit trees struck me as ominous well. So I've been only purchasing extremely disease resistant varieties of any fruit tree.

You need to learn about root stocks and how they affect the size of the mature tree of the same variety: Standard full size, Semi-dwarf, and dwarf. Differenet root stocks have degrees of ability to grow in different kind of soil -- important if you have clay soil like me. The distance apart to plant will depend on the mature size of your trees. Apples and Pears need similar care. Peach is a bit different, one of them being they need especially well draining soil, and the other, that they are MUCH less cold hardy.

Apples and crabapples. You need to select compatible varieties to cross pollinate. I haven't purchase from them, but [url=https://www.acnursery.com/acn_apple.php]Adams County Nursery's apple page[/url] has a pretty extensive pollination chart and maturity chart (but remember this is based on THEIR location) in pdf format.

Pears. Most pears will need a second pollinator. Few pears can self pollinate and fruit but yield will be much lower.

Peaches -- are you sure about being able to grow peaches? I'm guessing you must live near the Great Lakes where the minimum winter temp is more moderate. Peaches are self-pollinating, but are prone to many diseases and require even more spraying than apples. So again, look for disease resistant variety.

Sources:
So far, I've purchased from Starks Brothers (agree with hendi_alex) and Miller Nurseries. About 10 years ago, Miller's stock was not very impressive, but my recent '08 purchase from them was good sized and in great condition.
I also buy from Edible Landscaping in Va. (Eat-it.com). But my personal feeling is that it's best to purchase plants from nurseries located in your own USDA Zone or colder for most plants so they're adapted to similar winter conditions. The Va. location is supposed to be climatically similar to mine, according to Sunset Guide, even though the USDA Zone is warmer.
[url=https://millernurseries.com/visit.php]Miller Nurseries[/url], located in Canandaigua, NY might be a better fit for you. If you live in colder area, I've heard good things (not personally purchased) about [url=https://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/]St. Lawrence Nurseries[/url].
For SERIOUS apple tree selection, including selectable root stocks (not always available), take a look at [url=https://www.cumminsnursery.com/about.htm]Cummins Nursery[/url] in Ithaca, NY. I've purchased my quota of fruit trees for now or I would've bought some from them already. (The ones I wanted was out of stock there.)