Planting a fruit tree in Texas might be the easiest part of the whole unconscious process , despite the bouldered clay soils found in most of the commonwealth . It ’s researching the yield smorgasbord , improve the soil ( or creating a resurrect bed ) , and all the maintenance after set that really require oeuvre . But if you take a type of yield tree suited to your region , as well as a variety with innate disease and pesterer opposition , you may settle in to planting your woodlet with self-assurance .

Types

Citrus grows in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas and along the Gulf Coast , while figs grow well into Central Texas . Pear tree diagram do well from Central Texas through the compass north and eastward . While apple , plums and peaches will grow in Texas , they ’re some of the hardest to educate because they require fantastic soil and are susceptible to a daunting range of pests and disease .

Transplant Season and Size

Purchase and plant life fruit trees during the winter while they ’re dormant . During this time , the trees undergo the least amount of stress from being dug up from the nursery , ship and transplanted in your orchard . The exclusion is citrus trees , since they ’re not shipped bare - root . Doug Welsh ’s Texas Garden Almanac recommends selecting apples , plums , persimmon and peaches that are between 3 and 5 feet tall . Citrus and figs should only be between 1 and 3 feet grandiloquent when you purchase them .

Soil Requirements

Figs , Pyrus communis , persimmon and citrus fruit will tolerate most grunge , though there should be fair to middling drainage to avoid root hogwash . Malus pumila sustain in the rocky alkaline soils that overlay most of Texas . Plums and peach also postulate fat soil that drains well , at least 3 foot mysterious . Find out how well the stain drains by digging a hole 1 animal foot wide and 2 feet bass , then filling it with water . If it drain in less than six hour , you ’re doing well . If it have between six and 24 hours , you may have a problem . More than 24 hour , and you ’ll need a elevate bed to grow fruit there .

Temperature Requirements

dish need a sure turn of cold twenty-four hours per twelvemonth , called chilling hours , to come out of dormancy the right way and set fruit . Citrus , on the other hand , ca n’t tolerate freezing temperatures . In areas prone to freezes , they must be grown in pots and moved indoors during winter , or trammel to dwarf sort that can be cover during freezes with a lamp placed underneath the cover for extra heat energy . Ficus carica do n’t digest freezes well either , and should be grown in bush form in colder regions of Texas so they can be cover during wintertime .

Other Notes

plain - root yield trees should be trimmed at planting . According to Doug Welsh ’s Texas Garden Almanac , reduce the primary trunk 12 inches and the lateral subdivision 6 inches should suffice . Mulch fig trees heavily to keep the grunge moisture even so they do n’t drop unripe yield . Although there are many persimmon species native to Texas , the oriental change are known for being sarcoid and less acerb . Before planting Malus pumila and peaches , ensure you ’ll have time for all the spraying for pest and fungus , as well as fruit thinning that you ’ll have to do .

References

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