Best Fruit Trees for Colorado Climate

Posted on: July 18th, 2014

Having your home garden filled with fruit trees is such a nice addition to any Colorado home. The big question though is, what are the best fruit trees for Colorado climate? Well, just about any deciduous fruit trees can be grown in Colorado (apples, pears, apricots, sweet and tart cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums).

All of these can handle minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit winter temperatures except peaches and nectarines, which get damaged starting at minus 12-14 degrees F.

Which Fruit Trees Grow in Colorado

• Apples – Connell Red, Haralson, Prairie Spy, Regent, Honeygold, State Fair, Sweet Sixteen, Keepsake
• Pears – Luscious
• Apricots – Goldcot, Chinese (small fruit size)
• Cherries – Gold (sweet), Montmorency (tart)
• Nectarines – Hardired, Mericrest
• Peaches – Autumn Star, Madison, Redskin
• Plums – Pipestone, Toka

Plant your fruit trees in a sheltered location that will have gradual temperature drops in the winter months and gradual spring warm ups. Colorado tends to have a shorter growing season, so trees with short to medium length growing seasons are best. Shocking temperature changes can be harmful to your trees.

Factors to Consider When Selecting a Fruit Tree

• Tree hardiness
• Length of time of cold dormancy
• Season length requirements
• Disease susceptibility

Disease risks include fire blight on apples and pears along the Front Range due to warm moist conditions favoring infection in spring and early summer.

Fruit Tree Diseases to Be Aware Of

• Apple – fire blight, powdery mildew
• Pear – fire blight
• Peach – Cytospora canker, Coryneum blight, powdery mildew, peach rusty spot
• Cherry – Cherry Rasp Leaf virus (CRLV), Cytospora canker, X-Disease, powdery mildew, bacterial canker and Prunus Necrotic Ringspot virus (PNRSV)

Benefits of Growing Your Own Fruit Trees

• Freshness – Fruit tastes better and is healthier for you when it is fresh. Especially picked right off of your own tree!
• Quality – Commercially grown fruit is often selected for its higher yields and uniform appearance. Taste and quality is not normally the number one priority. When you grow your own, it can be priority over economic factors.
• Price – Enjoying fruit from your own tree will save you money; you can go to your backyard instead of having to go to the grocery store. Saving resources on transportation (shipping fruit from another country or state) is also a great environmental benefit and is also a benefit to your pocket book.
• Natural choice – Growing your own fruit ensures that your family does not consume any unwanted chemicals or pesticides. This is virtually the only way you really know what you are consuming.

A Colorado tree service company, such as Swingle, can also assist you in planting fruit trees to create a beautiful outdoor space. Get the freshest fruit possible by planting your very own fruit tree this year!

Share