The Many Benefits of Homegrown Fruit and Citrus

Growing fruit at home is smart gardening. Below are five of the best reasons to plant citrus and fruit trees in your backyard.

For the Healthiest, Tastiest, and Most Economical Fruit

There is no doubt that growing fruit at home is rewarding. After all, we can grow a variety of fruits the way we want to. In other words, we can grow fruits such as apples, peaches, and oranges, and know exactly how and where they were grown. These days, unless you do your research, you have no clue what chemicals they sprayed on your favorite fruit. Feel free to grow the tastiest and juiciest fruit without pesticides.

 For a Gorgeous Spring Show with Fragrance, too!

Fruit trees are not just providers of the healthy fruit that makes our mouths water and fills our belly. Before bearing fruit, the trees can produce beautiful showy flowers. As a bonus, many of these flower bouquets are scented so that they can fill the air with a pleasing aroma. Flower bouquets such as those from a peach tree captivate the senses, adding elegance to any landscape scene. The scent of an apple blossom is one of life’s simple pleasures. When you grow fruit trees at home, you can have all this and more!

 Fruit and Citrus Trees Can Create Shade

Being able to find a spot outdoors with plenty of shade coverage is ideal. After all, the Phoenix sun during the spring and summertime can feel blisteringly hot. The great news is that there are many fruit and citrus varieties that perform exceptionally well growing in a spot with full sun exposure. Evergreen citrus trees have foliage that can provide shade that is perfect for the patio. For best results, we recommend planting more than one tree so that you can have more shade coverage. Plus, with proper planting around the home, these trees can help reduce the temperature inside hot rooms. Also, planting fruit trees are also a great way to add a natural border or to create separate spaces in your yard.

 For Incredible Variety and Flavors

Any “foodie” will tell you that not all fruits and citrus are created equally. You don’t have to be a "foodie" to enjoy the many different varieties and flavors available. Each variety has its own specific character. After all, there are thousands of different varieties of fruits. Some fruits appeal to those that love the tart taste while others are prone to sweet flavors and then there are those that lie somewhere in-between. We can use the many different varieties of fruit and citrus for creating international dishes to baking apple pies and making crafty cocktails.

 You Don’t Have to Leave the House

Imagine being able to pick the tastiest and healthiest fruit right off the tree, in the comfort of your own yard. It is a reality when you have fruit trees growing right outside your door. Wake up and pick oranges for fresh-squeezed juice or grab an apple and slice it up for a tasty snack for your child’s school lunch box. Plus, having fruit trees in your backyard means you can skip the traffic jam and save money on gas. 

Backyard Fruit Trees for Our Area

When planning for an edible garden, we will want to consider some things. We need to find out what the best backyard fruit trees are for our area. Knowing which fruit trees grow best for our area ensures that we can enjoy the tastiest and juiciest fruit. For instance, stone fruit trees in our area will need to be low-chill varieties. Luckily, many of the best tasting stone fruits happen to be low-chill variety fruits! We will want to speak with a professional landscape specialist to figure out the best backyard fruit tree layout. Many of the fruit and citrus trees available are dwarf and semi-dwarf trees, which means that they can fit in almost any size yard!

Fruit Trees that Fit Your SpacE 

There was a time when citrus and fruit trees or orchards were a common sight on properties. These days our landscape is much more crowded. Some of us live in neighborhoods with smaller yards and less space to plant the trees we want. The good news is that we can grow fruit and citrus trees that fit our area. So, even though times have changed, we can still enjoy the tastes of the season!

Orange: Some of the best varieties for the Southwest also happen to be favorites. We can grow Arizona Sweet, Washington Navel, and Blood Orange trees and reap the rewards that these super juicy, sweet oranges provide. Start your day off with a healthy dose of vitamin C!

Lemon: Eureka, Lisbon, Meyer, and Pink Lemon are the best varieties to grow in our area. Meyer lemons are a favorite due to their many culinary uses and their thin rind that makes squeezing the freshest lemon juice a breeze! A pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade is coming right up!

Lime: When it comes to growing limes in our area, we can grow a couple of the best varieties - Key Lime (Mexican Lime) and Bearss Lime (Persian Lime). We can make Key Lime pie or use a slice of lime for any number of cocktails. Some of us may remember the great lime shortage that we had of a few years back. During this shortage, margaritas and fish tacos didn’t taste quite the same. Grow your own and never worry about a lime shortage again!

Grapefruit: Marsh Seedless, Ruby Red, Rio Red, and Oro Blanco are four of the juiciest and tastiest grapefruit known to man. Making things even better is that we can grow these grapefruit varieties in our region! Is the taste of grapefruit too sour? One bite into the sweet flesh of an Oro Blanco will change your mind!

Avocado: Avocados are good for you, and growing them in your backyard means that you can reap the rewards! Haas, Bacon, Fuerte, and Zutano – these are some of the best varieties for our area. Haas is a favorite for use in guacamole and spreading them on toast is a tasty treat that is sure to please the taste buds.

Peach: Eat a peach and savor the goodness that only a sweet and juicy peach provides! We can grow some of the best tasting peaches right here in our area. The best varieties that we can grow in our area include Desert Gold, Florida Prince, and May Pride.

Apple: Low-chill apple varieties that grow best in our area include Anna, Fuji, and Dorsett (Golden). When it’s hot and bright outside, these trees can also provide shade coverage. These are excellent landscape trees that can add beautiful color to any yard.

Apricot: When an apricot tree is producing fruit, it is a sign that summer has arrived. Gold Kist, Katy, and Royal (Blenheim) are the perfect varieties for growing in our local climate. This is great because these are also some of the juiciest, sweetest, and tastiest apricots you will find!

Fig: One of the best varieties of figs is also ideal for growing in our area – the Black Mission Fig! Besides the nutritious and delicious fruit, these trees are also an excellent choice for any yard. These highly adaptable trees have attractive green foliage that can provide plenty of shade, too. Also an excellent selection for use as a beautiful seasonal screening plant for patios and decks.

Plum: These fruit trees are easy to grow, and we can plant low-chill varieties such as the Santa Rosa Plum. Eat them fresh or make preserves, either way, once you taste them, it is easy to see why many consider this cultivar to be the best-tasting of all plums. These are excellent landscape trees that can produce showy flowers in spring.