The Louisiana Home Orchard

Fruit production in home orchards appeals to many urban homeowners with limited space as well as to rural residents. Normally, home-grown vine or tree-ripened fruit is higher in quality than that bought at the grocery store. Growing your own fruit can be profitable and satisfying, and most fruit trees add to the landscape of the home.

No longer can you expect to grow quality fruit with little or no care given to the plants. Success will depend largely on variety selection, soil management, pruning, fertilization, pest control and other cultural practices.

The size of your planting should be governed by the space available, site, size of family and the time you can devote to the maintenance of the orchard.

Planting:

Bare-rooted fruit trees can be planted at any time during the dormant season, usually from about mid-November through February in Louisiana. Container-grown plants may be planted over a long period, usually from September through May. Planting bare-rooted trees early in the dormant season is often desirable because it allows the soil to settle and the roots to become established and begin developing before top growth begins in the spring.

Select a Good Location

The success of the home fruit orchard can be greatly influenced by the site selected. This cannot be overemphasized. Remember: cold air, like water, flows downhill - so avoid low frost pockets.

A deep, well-drained soil with good surface and subsurface drainage is important. Fruit plants will not grow well on water-logged soil.

Also, the site should provide ample sunlight for proper growth and development of the plants.

Choose the Right Kind of Fruit

The decision to plant fruit should involve careful variety selection. Not all fruit species are adapted to all areas of Louisiana. To plant a given type or variety without considering its adaptation can lead to disappointment.

Many factors ultimately determine the adaptation of a given fruit species to an area. Some of these conditions are discussed here.

Chilling Requirement

Most fruit species not of the tropical type have a rest period. This is a stage of plant inactivity commonly associated with a loss of leaves or dormancy in winter. Such plants will remain in this rest period until they receive a specific number of hours of cold below 45 degrees F. This is referred to as a “chilling requirement.” The chilling requirement of a given variety of fruit is genetically controlled and constant for that variety. When the rest period is satisfied, the plant awakens and becomes active with the warmth of spring. Some varieties may have rest periods of only 200 to 300 hours; others may have more than 1,000 hours. “Pineapple” pear, for example, because of its short rest period, will normally bloom with the first warm spell of spring, often being injured by late cold weather. Other varieties with longer rest periods do not bloom until a month or so later.

A plant that does not receive sufficient cold to satisfy its rest period requirements does not perform well. They are often delayed in both leafing out and blooming and will have a scattered bloom over a long period or blossoms may drop. In extreme cases, plants will not live more than a season or two in areas of warm winters.

Insect and Disease Resistance

Most homeowners are not adequately equipped to spray for control of insects and diseases. This problem can be minimized by selecting fruit types with few pest problems or selecting varieties with resistance to known pests.

Fruit species may be grouped as high, medium or low maintenance crops relative to pest control needs:

• Low Maintenance: Citrus, Blueberry, Fig Persimmon, Loquat, Pears (some varieties).
• Medium Maintenance: Muscadine Grape, Blackberry.
• High Maintenance: Apple, Peach and Nectarine, Plum, Strawberry, Bunch Grapes, Mayhaw.

It is wise to select fruit types primarily from the low maintenance category.

Need more information on specific fruits? Look at Fruits and Nuts in the Lawn and Garden Section or give us a call at 337-828-4100, extension 300.

Submitted by Amy Juneau, FNP Agent - Iberia, St. Mary, and St. Martin Parishes.