Fruit Trees to Grow in Your Climate Zone

If you live in Hawai’i or similar climate, you’re lucky enough to have the ability to grow an abundance of fruit trees and bushes in your own yard. The majority of us don’t have that luxury, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy growing miniature or hardy varieties of popular fruits. Here’s a list of miniature fruit trees you can grow in almost any climate:

If you’re in zone 7, 8 or 9 – that’s the southern half of the U.S. – you’ve got plenty of choices. While you can’t grown bananas or avocados, you can grow dwarf nectarines, apricots, cherries, peaches, figs and almonds. Like berries? Rejoice – you can grow them all. You can also grow almost every variety of grape.

If you’re in zone 6 – that’s most of Nevada, Utah, parts of Colorado, most of Missouri and Kansas and all of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Rhode Island, West Virginia and part of Pennsylvania – you too can grow certain types of dwarf peaches, cherries and apricots. Of course this climate is known for producing delicious apples so check out smaller types of apple trees that will grow in a small garden or compact yard. You too can grow all kinds of grapes and berries so start thinking about a summer full of freeze-dried fruit leathers.

Zone 5: Good news. You too can grow certain types of dwarf peaches and nectarines, hardy seedless grapes and almost every kind of berry. You can also grow cherries, and you can certainly grow all kinds of apples.

Zone 4 dwellers, you’ll have to get your peaches at the Farmer’s Market but you can grow your own cherries and all kinds of berries apples. Because choices start to slim down in zone 4 and above, you might want to experiment with dwarf citrus that can be grown indoors.

Indoor Citrus Trees

Nothing smells better than a blooming citrus tree. Everyone knows and loves the friendly Meyer Lemon. It’s easy to grow indoors in a container as long as it has some humidity and good drainage. You can also grow a compact container orange called Trovita. Let your Trovita bud indoors then take it outside to sweeten when fruit develops. Cooks who like to experiment with Thai food must keep a Kaffir lime in a sunny window – the zest of the fruit adds zing to curry pastes and the leaves smell wonderful. Finally – grapefruit lovers will appreciate the Oro Blanco tree. This compact tree can be grown indoors and produces sweet, white fruit.

Fruits and berries can be freeze-dried and are excellent additions to homemade granola or trail mixes. If you can resist eating the bounty of your indoor citrus trees, you can slice the fruit thinly, freeze-dry and use for beautiful summer wreaths and craft projects.

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