Creating a Backyard Orchard

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The simple things in life are often overlooked. Who would have thought that the grocery store would be the circus it is today? You can avoid the stores more by adding citrus and fruit trees to your yard! Creating a backyard orchard is a simple task that many enjoy, but many don’t know how to. Learn how to create a stunning backyard that you can also enjoy the fruits of.

Picking the area

First things first, select the area of your yard that you want your orchard to be in. We usually recommend planting your orchard in the backyard, so you have the most room for more fruit and citrus trees. You will also need an ample amount of lighting. You will need 6-8 hours of sunlight for most citrus and fruit trees. Take notice of anything overhead like other trees or roofs. You won’t want to have to prune them back and lose those precious fruits. You do not have to plant your orchard all in the same area. You can space them out all over the yard or dedicate a side of your yard to citrus and another side to stone fruit. Get creative with your space. Another pro of stone fruits and citrus is that they stay small to medium.

Tree Selection

At Moon Valley Nurseries, all the citrus that we grow at our farms is grown on our custom Moon Valley Nurseries rootstock. This rootstock produces the juiciest and tastiest fruit while staying smaller so that it won’t overbear you with too much fruit. Tree selection is the most crucial part of the orchard. Selecting the right tree will be crucial to the success of your orchard. You can find the best selection of citrus and fruit at Moon Valley Nurseries. Our nursery pros help you create the best orchard with the best

Fruit & Citrus Taste Better

The taste between homegrown fruit and store-bought fruit is not even comparable. Your homegrown fruit and citrus will be sweeter, juicier, and more flavorful than store-bought, which are picked before they’re ripe. Because these fruit and citrus are picked too early, they cannot develop the complex flavors and sweet sugar taste we all love. By growing your own food, it allows the fruit and citrus to ripen on the tree for ultimate taste. At Moon Valley Nurseries, you can try before you buy! We have tons of fruit; you can try right off the tree! Come into one of our giant nurseries to try the best tasting citrus!

No Pesticides

Store-bought fruit is treated with many pesticides and chemicals, and unless you do your research, you have no idea what chemicals they are spraying on the fruit and citrus. Growing your fruit and citrus allows you to be in control and what you feed and fertilize your tree with.

Garden Fragrance & Flowers

Scented citrus blossoms in the spring are what dreams are made of. The intoxicating smell and the beauty of the flowers are a great bonus for every homeowner.

Shade

Many of our fruit or citrus varieties perform extremely well in full sun, and a lot of our customers are always looking for shade trees. Some of our varieties can provide your landscape with ample shade throughout the year.

You Don’t Have To Leave The House

We like to think being 10 feet from your fruit or citrus tree is a million times better than driving to the store in traffic for, let’s say, a single lemon.

There are many varieties of fruit and citrus at Moon Valley Nursery and we only carry varieties that grow in our climate. The spring season is the best time to plant fruit and citrus as it allows your new tree ample time to establish a root system before the summer heat arrives. Below are the top varieties to plant right now. Ask your local nursery pro which types are best for your yard! Depending on your region, not all varieties are available.

Citrus Trees at Moon Valley Nurseries

Navel, Valencia, Sweet Orange, Trovita

Plant any of these orange trees and you’ll get to wake up, smell the sweet blossoms in the air, and handpick the sweetest, juiciest oranges! Oranges such as Valencia are the best for juicing and all the oranges we sell are going to be full of luscious, juicy flavor.

Mexican Lime, Bearss Lime

Do you remember the lime shortage of 2014? During that year’s limited supply, the price of limes skyrocketed and was harder to find. Grow lime trees, and you will never have to worry about a shortage again. These are attractive landscape trees that can produce great tasting fruit all year long too. Mexican limes and Bearss limes are the two most commonly grown in our area, and the latter is the one most often used in cocktails.

Eureka Lemon, Lisbon Lemon, Meyer Lemon

Growing lemon trees in your landscape is an excellent way to take full advantage of the many health benefits lemons offer. These attractive landscape trees feature thick and lush year-round foliage so that they are an excellent choice for planting in rows for use as a privacy screen. Lemon trees love to grow with full sun exposure and are drought tolerant once established.

Red Grapefruit, Oro Blanco, Mellow Gold

Grapefruit trees are an excellent source of vitamins and are easy-to-grow trees. These attractive trees can produce a plentiful bounty of fruit on one single tree. In late winter and early spring, they can fill the air with a wonderful citrus blossom fragrance. Grapefruit holds well on the tree, and they are also an excellent addition to drinks, cocktails, and culinary recipes.

Clementine Tangerine, Satsuma, Mandarin

Enjoy sweet and juicy mandarins! Some of the best varieties in our area are Clementine, Mandarin, and Satsuma; and, these are also beautiful landscape trees with lush green foliage and orange-colored fruit that is slightly bigger than a golf ball. These easy-to-grow trees love the heat and when planted in rows, can block unwanted views in style.

Low Chill Fruit Trees

Chill hours are the amount of time the fruit trees have spent below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Low chill fruit trees, such as stone fruit, as well as nut trees, require a specific number of hours each winter to regulate growth. At Moon Valley Nurseries, we grow the juiciest, tastiest stone fruit anywhere, grown at the perfect number of chill hours.

Peach Trees

Eat the sweetest peaches today! We make it easy to add these trees to your garden. We only sell the best varieties meeting the chilling requirement for our area! Right now, we have the best varieties such as May Pride and Florida Prince available at their fruit producing age! Peaches are flavorful and tasty snacks whether eaten whole or for baking. As a bonus, peach trees are also attractive, easy-to-grow landscape trees.

Apricot Trees

All apricot trees are grown for our climate, and we have low chill fruit tree varieties including Gold Kist and Royal Blenheim apricots! One bite of a ripe apricot reveals golden fruit bursting with luscious flavor! We love to eat them whole or make dried apricots. We make it easy to grow the best-tasting, safe-to-eat fruit in your yard by offering them for sale at fruit producing age!

Plum Trees

We sell one of the best tasting plum varieties on the planet – the Santa Rosa plum! These low chill fruit trees are easy to grow and can enhance the look of any landscape, with or without fruit! Plum trees are self-fruitful and have a beautiful bouquet of white flowers.

Nectarine Trees

These are smaller trees and a low chill variety that can produce beautiful pinkish-white flowers in early spring. After the flowers, we can enjoy the juicy and delicious nectarine fruits! Add these attractive landscape trees to your garden and enjoy the view. Goldmine, Desert Dawn, and Desert Delight are simply delicious, and also the varieties we carry.

Apple Trees

Complete a garden with an apple tree! Dorsett and Anna apples are low-chill varieties and are sweet, crisp, and juicy too! We also love the showy flowers in early spring. Let them grow free form so that you can get the best bloom cycle!