One of the main reason some people garden is to produce home grown fruits that often can not be found in local markets or that are unobtainable by any method. The varieties of fruit that can be grown at home will depend on the climate of your location and the room available for your tree or trees. Many home gardeners prefer to purchase dwarf varieties as the smaller trees fit better into the home landscape. Newer homes will in most cases have smaller yards than older home. The smaller yard limits not only the size of the trees but also the number that can be grown. The brambles present additional problems as they can expand and grow over the entire yard.

Apples   Berries	Strawberries	Cherries   Grapes

The most commonly grown fruit tree for most homes is the apple. The biggest problem with them is that so many people plant them and then allow the worms to infest them so badly that practically every apple will be affected. If you do not wish to spray then you really should pick up all the apples that drop so the codling moths can not complete their life cycle each year. We also have a problem with alternate bearing. That means that many varieties will bear one year and not the next. My favorite apple is the Gala but your tastes may be different. Get a good nursery catalog and look at the ones you would like. It will tell you whether you need another one for cross pollination. However, if you are living in town there will very likely be a variety near you that will do the job.

Apricots are another very popular fruit but as a general rule we only get fruit about every five to seven years as the late spring frost kill the buds most years. You can try to keep the blooms a little later in coming by planting the tree in a very cool location such as on the north side of the house. I like Starks Sweetheart apricot because the seeds are edible and remind one of almonds.

Cherries are available in both sweet and sour varieties but are short lived here because of a disease that is carried by a small psilid slug like insect. That disease is prevalent in various parts of Albuquerque and will eventually kill all the cherry trees in a neighborhood. So far, I don't know of any resistant varieties. I have lost four trees in the last 30 years that I have tried to grow them. I no longer even attempt to plant them.

I think my favorite of fruit trees are the peaches. Again they are short lived because of borers but by planting one or two trees every five to ten years you can have an ongoing supply. It takes about 4 years for a tree to begin producing. Most catalogs will have a wide selection of peaches and depending on you personal tastes you can select ones for canning or freezing or for fresh fruit. I like Hale Haven although I have also grown some of the Elbertas and enjoyed them very much.

Pears will also do well and again the variety will depend on your tastes. Bartlett is good and so are the Orient type. They have a hard fruit that are picked when greenish yellow before they are fully ripe as they spoil from the inside out if left on the tree.

Plums also do well and can be bought in either the Japanese type or the prune type. In my opinion the Ozark Premier is one of the best Japanese type. The prune types are usually blue and ripen late.

Figs are also very good and can be marginal in some areas of town so they need a warm southerly site. Celeste is usually recommended.

None of the citrus will grow here unless you have a greenhouse and a small potted tree. There are many other fruits that you might want to try such as grapes, raspberries and strawberries but none of them are tree fruits.

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