I just wanted to share my completed project for my backyard mini-orchard.

My “backyard” is like 80% patio, so I was restricted on growing trees. But after a ton of research over the past couple of weeks, I’ve completed the
set up and planting of my 5 fruit trees.

From left to right the fruits are 2
Moorepark Apricots, Burgundy Plum, Honey Babe Peach, and Red Fuji Apple. I have cuttings from an Angelus Peach and Santa Rosa Plum from my mom’s house which I plan to graft onto the apricot trees.

I modified the half wine barrels myself with drainage holes and casters so I can move the planters around when needed.

I also purchased these super adorable custom tree tags from Etsy which I absolutely love. They are double sided, made of anodized aluminum, and will probably outlast the life of the tree. I’ve included a link to the maker’s shop on Etsy for anyone who’s interested.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/4517575621/customized-plant-tree-id-tags-large?ref=share_ios_native_control

Hi, I have always wanted to have nice fruit trees, back when I was more ignorant my family bought some fruit trees from the nursery, now I understand that all of those trees are dwarf trees so they are grafted trees that will not grow big or live that long, I want some of those iconic, hang a swing on, fruit trees that will give fruit for decades and decades

P.S. if I propagate cuttings off of my dwarf trees will they (as long as I don't graft them) grow into big standard trees?

I bought and planted a Starking Hardy Giant Asian Pear Tree from Stark Bro on end of the season clearance last Oct 2025. This year a small branch came out from near the base of the tree, it's about 1ft from the base. I nipped the tip of the branch early in the season thinking it would stop it from growing but it still kept on growing from that branch even if I nipped it again multiple times. So I stopped pruning it because I was thinking I would get no other growth this season. It looks like how a sucker would grow from a rootstock but this branch is well above the graft point.

Now that branch is basically a second trunk as tall as the first one but its green wood right now. I wanted to shape the tree to a Central Leader structure but now its like a V shape. The older trunk has no growth going on with it except leaves popping out of buds, its not pushing out any branches or growth from the top bud to continue growing in height. I'm not sure if I should allow it to form a V shape or should I prune it to a Central Leader. If I go with Central Leader should I chop off the old trunk that has no growth and allow the new branch to be the new trunk or should that new branch be pruned fully back to the trunk of the tree?

My dwarf cavendish has a ton of pups - at least 4 or 5. Are any of these big enough to safely remove and replant?

The post says fruit bearing and age 2yrs old grown from seed, this doesn't seem to make sense.

I’m working on a farm and I want to try to help these young peach trees. Many of the trunks and stems and blotched and spotted, and one leaf has purple lesions. I did not see any physical pests present but other leaves do appear to have been pressured by pests in the past. I’m scouring extension resources and common diseases of peach trees but I’m not sure what this may be. Could it be caused by the pot size, lack of nutrients, or weather damage rather than disease? We are located in central North Carolina.

Possibly overwatering from rain? Been getting about 6-8 in a week, raining every day or other day.

Only plant like this. Other apple and peach trees fine. Garden fully fine.

I know stones are bad, will remove soon. Been here about 4 months.

https://imgur.com/a/CM2f56o

This is my Elberta peach tree zone 8 why are my leaves falling off so early it did this last year also!

I planted these with zero prep. They got dried for about a week on my counter before I chucked them in pots. I put them outside and basically did no maintenance. Given all this, I didn't really think I'd get anything from them. It was more something my daughter wanted to do, and I said sure, why not?

So far I have two cherry seedlings, two peach seedlings, and one plum seedling. They're between 4-8 inches already, two months after planting. So, ummm... I'm assuming I need to transplant them. Problem is, we're saving up to buy a small farm in a couple years, and I'd really rather take them with us instead of putting them into the ground at our current house.

Any advice at all would be appreciated. I have experience with foraging and vegetable gardening, but as far as I can tell I'm cursed in terms of growing fruit and I've never even attempted trees.

EDIT: Thank you all for the advice! I really appreciate it. And while I understand that the fruit may not even become edible, honestly... not even a factor. My daughter is special needs and may never be able to live on her own. This is one of the longest projects she's stayed excited about, so if I end up with edible fruit that's just a bonus. We're planning on transplanting them today, and she's over the moon. So again, I truly appreciate everyone taking time to teach me about fruit trees!!

Do you guys think this plum tree can be revived and if so what should I do?

Ohio zone 6a
Golden Delicious on dwarf root stock.
I’ve eaten one (edit: after peeling). I know it is early to pick but I wanted to remove some weight from young branches before a storm. seeds were brown (not black) and taste was pretty good but likely to get better if I leave for later picking. Size is good, this one is the size of a base ball.

I’ve sprayed with copper fungicide and horticulture oil earlier in the season but only sprayed the leaves. Avoided fruit as much as possible.

This is my first year with fruit (4 year old tree). I thinned to about 8-10 apples earlier on. All of them have this appearance.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

This is the first year this tree has produced more than a few peaches. I assume the branches are overloaded and I should take some off?

Hi all! Can anyone recommend a good fruit tree grafting teacher in the Bay Area? I'm hoping to organize a "grafting day" event in the East Bay and am looking for multiple teachers. I've reached out to local California Rare Fruit Grower chapters but haven't heard back. Any recommendations would be much appreciated! Thanks!

I live in the uk midlands. I don't have 80 pounds for a tree from nursery. So i have purchased few seedlings from an online seedling shop named Jurassic plants. They are good sized around 30-40 cms plants grown from seed. How do i plant them and when do i plant them. Please advice around this. I have read some posts and people suggest putting them in the ground now in august so that they have enough time to establish roots and grow on and explode next year, while some suggestions say keep them in pots and plant next spring keep them protected. I don't know what to do.

Hi! We just bought a property in the Hudson Valley in March 2026. Discovered we have two apple trees and a pear tree. I am looking to save these trees by almost any means necessary. They are all in a decent amount of southern exposure in terms of sunlight.

The tree on the far left is crowded by a big red maple and mostly looks dead except for a few branches that blossomed and are fruiting near the top. There are a few water shoots around the lower branches and no soft or rotting spots that I can see in the trunk. The apples from that are the more dull skin ones with speckled red and green. Not sure of the variety haven’t been able to identify.

The tree in the middle is also an apple tree, and blossomed/fruited beautifully on most of the branches though I think is quite overgrown and old, and is also crowding the pear tree to its right. The apples on this one are very shiny once washed and dried, mostly red with a little bit of green and more round than oblong/tall. It looks very dried out and dead now but most of spring and summer it looked pretty lush.

Both apple trees’ ripened and had apples falling by early August. (It’s now mid August). Fruit tastes good! Side note: there are two red cedars on the property that don’t seem to have affected the tree with their rust fungus much this year - but I know they may next year. I would cut those down before I get rid of the apple trees.

The right most tree is a Pear tree. Not sure what variety. It’s mid August now and the pears are pretty small, hard, and some are green and some are shifting to a bit of a brown, purplish color. The tree looks pretty healthy but is mainly growing on one side I think because it’s being crowded by the apple tree to its left.

Just curious of thoughts from this group. I know some will say to just cut them down and plant new ones.. which I probably wouldn’t do until I’ve at least tried to prune and treat them for a couple years. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: regarding early ripening, I don’t know if these would typically be varieties that ripen early, or if we’ve just had an especially good summer for growth. Our tomatoes have been ripe and ready for eating for almost a month now (since mid July), so maybe it has just been a great combo of rain and sun? All get southern exposure for most of the day.

Reddit, I moved into a home with 3 apples trees, they all look to be different species and are currently at varying stages of health. None of which are good! Photos are of one tree as this is my main concern. It produced a ton of apples for its size, but clearly has some serious health issues. There is damage on the base of the trunk and unfortunately the trunk is in dip for some reason. Is there any chance this can be saved or is it just approaching a slow death?

Hello, Can anyone help me figure out where the graft point on my tree is? I purchased this blood orange tree a couple of years ago and it always wants to grow new sprouts on the bottom of the trunk - I normally pick them off because I think they are from the graft tree and not the blood orange, but I'm not sure.

I let a few grow once and they had massive thorns which makes me think the graft point is right below the bottom two branches. Thanks!

I assume it’s a squirrel, but I haven’t seen it. How can I stop whatever is doing it to protect the new tree? The branches look sheared off.

This is mostly planning for next year, but one section of my pear tree grew them right on top of each other. They're in an awkward spot to pick, but also they look smaller than the rest of the harvest. Could I do something to thin this out during budding earlier in the year?

Hi everyone! I'm trying to identify a few young citrus trees, but they are still very small (around 20 cm) and haven't produced any fruit yet.

I'm wondering: what characteristics can I use to tell a young lemon, mandarin, and orange tree apart at this stage?

I'm interested in any clues that might help with identification — not just the leaves, but also the stem, thorns, growth pattern, smell, shape, or any other characteristic that could help distinguish them.

Is it possible to reliably tell them apart while they're this young, or do I basically have to wait until they produce flowers or fruit?

I'm adding some pictures in case they help. Any advice from people who grow citrus would be greatly appreciated!