As of: February 6, 2024, 10:00 a.m
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Harvesting tasty fruit directly from your own garden – that is the dream of many hobby gardeners.
But not every garden is equally suitable for every tree.
Not only is your own fruit from the garden cheaper and healthier than packaged goods from the supermarket - your own orchard also makes you happy and satisfied.
Especially if you have a larger garden area at your disposal, you can conjure up your own paradise garden.
We'll show you what you need to pay attention to and which types of fruit are suitable for which gardens.
Create an orchard – find the right types of fruit
Anyone who plants a tree is usually making a decision for their entire life and longer.
Therefore, find out more at a tree nursery in your region before making your choice.
Because they are usually very familiar with the local climate and the local soils.
However, think about which fruit you would like to have beforehand and what conditions exist in your garden:
The type of fruit you want:
Which fruit do you like best?
There is a huge selection, especially when it comes to apples and pears - so it's best to try them out beforehand.
The available space:
How much space do you have in your garden?
How tall can the trees be?
Would espalier fruit be an alternative?
Potential time expenditure and utilization:
Caring for fruit trees requires time and dedication.
You should also have appropriate storage options.
The location:
What region do you live in?
How is the soil in your garden?
Different types of fruit have very different requirements.
Harvesting your own fruit is the dream of many hobby gardeners.
© Cavan Images / IMAGO
The right type of fruit for your orchard
Each type of fruit has its own requirements for the soil and climate.
We give an overview of the most popular varieties:
The uncomplicated one: the apple tree
The Germans love their apple trees for good reason: they thrive wonderfully in our climate, offer tasty fruit and are quite easy to care for if you choose a robust variety.
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Climate and soil:
If you want to harvest particularly sweet and high-quality apples, plant your trees in a place that is as sunny as possible.
Apple trees also grow quite well in partial shade.
The soil should be as nutrient-rich, loamy, heavy and not too acidic as possible.
Size of the trees:
Apple trees come in a variety of sizes and therefore fit into almost every garden.
Special features:
Apple trees always require a different apple variety for fertilization.
So make sure to always plant two suitable pollinator varieties together.
Usage:
Most apple varieties can be easily stored in the cellar over the winter.
It is crucial that you have enough storage space for your tree size.
Otherwise, you can also process surplus apples into juice or compote.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter from our partner 24garten.de.
Needs more attention: the pear tree
Sweet, soft and juicy, pears were already revered as sacred by the Babylonians.
Many people today refer to it as the big little sister of the apple.
Unfortunately, it is also a little more demanding.
Climate and soil:
Pears like it warm, sunny and protected from the wind.
The perfect location would be in front of a sunny house wall, for example.
Pear trees love sandy, humus-rich loamy soils.
Also note that pear trees bloom quite early.
That's why late frost is a serious danger for them.
Size of the trees:
A small pear trellis fits in front of any sunny house wall.
And there are pear trees for every garden size.
The trees grow quite quickly and usually form upright and narrow crowns.
Special features:
Pear trees always require a different type of pear for fertilization, otherwise no fruit will grow on the tree.
Usage:
Unfortunately, pears do not store well compared to apples.
Many varieties do not last longer than four weeks, even under good conditions.
However, you can boil the fruit and put it in preserving jars (promotional link), or process it into jam and chutney.
Pear liqueur is also a fine delicacy.
Needs an expert: the cherry tree
Cherries are seductively sweet, but the trees also place high demands on the climate and soil.
They are more delicate than other fruit trees and are more for experienced gardeners.
However, if you can offer them a garden with plenty of space and plenty of sun, you will be rewarded extremely tasty.
Climate and soil:
Cherries need sandy, loose soil with sufficient nutrients.
They also really need a lot of sun.
And on top of that, as early bloomers, they are very vulnerable to late frost.
Size of the trees:
Cherry trees usually grow significantly larger than other fruit trees (up to 20 m).
They also form wide and spreading crowns.
Anyone who plants cherries should always plan enough space.
If you have little space in your garden, you can use small sour cherry varieties.
Special features:
Like apples and pears, sweet cherries need a second pollinator variety, but this problem does not arise with most sour cherries.
Usage:
Cherries don't last very long.
They start to rot and mold after just a few days.
If you have enough space in the freezer, you can freeze the fruit wonderfully.
Otherwise, you can also can them or process them into juice.
Diverse: the plum tree
Plums are delicious and can be processed in a variety of ways.
The trees are not as demanding as cherry trees, but also not as easy to care for as apple trees.
If you have children who like to play in the garden, plum trees are less suitable.
As soon as the fruits fall from the tree, they become muddy and are a real magnet for wasps.
Climate and soil:
Plum trees love humus-rich, moist soil full of nutrients.
Your location should be warm, sunny and protected from wind.
Size of the trees:
Plum trees grow between four and eight meters high.
They initially grow very quickly and form many upward branches.
As the trees get older, they get slightly wider crowns.
Special features:
If you plant different types of plums next to each other, you increase the yield of the trees.
Usage:
Plums are popular for their soft and juicy consistency, but this also means they rot quite quickly.
However, the fruits can be processed easily and in a variety of ways: for example into plum jam or jam, but also into plum cake, jam, liqueur or dried fruit.