in the Backyard Orchard Culture style

from Tom Spellman

The couple at the fruit tasting seemed intrigued, and I continued…

• Consider multiple planting to extend ripening as long as possible.
• Try three or four compatible varieties together in one hole for extended harvest.
• You do not want to plant standard and semi-dwarf rootstocks together in the same hole!  Choose one or the other.
• You want all trees in a multiple planting to have similar requirements for irrigation, fertilizer and maintenance.
• You want all trees in a multiple planting to grow at a similar rate so one does not dominate the planting and shade out its neighbors.  You prune as often as needed to accomplish this.

Tom's Recommendations

The following is a list of varieties that will grow compatibly together and will produce a crop through an extended season. These are varieties and combinations that are personal favorites of mine. It doesn't mean that these are the only combinations you should consider, this is just a starting point. Varieties that are your personal favorites should always be taken into consideration. Of course, always check to be sure your selections will thrive and produce quality fruit in your particular geographic area.

Apples

• Dorsett Golden — July through August  
• Fuji — August through October  
• Granny Smith — October through January

• Gala — August through September
• Pettingill — September through October
• Pink Lady — October through December

Apricots & Aprium®

• Royal Rosa Apricot — early May to June
• Flavor Delight Aprium® — late May to mid June
• Blenheim Apricot — mid June to early July

Apricots

• Tomcot — late May to mid June
• Nugget — mid June to early July
• Canadian White Blenheim — late June to mid July
• Earli Autumn — late July to late August

Cherries

• Craig’s Crimson — Early May to June
• Royal Rainier — mid May to mid June
• Lapins — June to late June

Nectarines - White

• Arctic Star — mid June,
• Arctic Glo — late June early July
• Arctic Rose — mid to late July
• Arctic Queen — early to mid August

Nectarines - Yellow

• Desert Delight — early to late June
• Double Delight — early to mid July
• Panamint — late July to early August
• Zee Glo — mid to late August

Peaches - White

• Tropic Snow — early June to July
• Donut — late June to mid July
• Babcock — early to late July

Peaches - Yellow

• May Pride — May
• Eva’s Pride — June
• Mid Pride — July
• August Pride — August

Peaches - Double Flowering / Fruiting

• Double Jewel — mid June to early July
• Red Baron — late June to mid July
• Saturn — mid July to early August

Pluot®

• Flavorosa — late May through June
• Flavor Queen — late July to late August
• Flavor King — mid August to early September
• Flavor Grenade — late August to November

Plums - Japanese

• Methley — June
• Shiro — late June to mid July
• Catalina — mid July to mid August
• Golden Nectar — mid August to early September

• Beauty - June
• Santa Rosa — early to mid July
• Burgundy — July to late August
• Emerald Beaut — late August to mid October

Pears - European

• Hood — mid July to mid August
• Flordahome — late July through August
• Seckel — mid August to mid September
• Kieffer — September through mid October

Pears - Asian

• Shinseiki — mid July to mid August
• Hosui — August
• Shinko — September

Pears - Chinese

• Tsu Li and Ya Li — August through September

Persimmons

• Fuyu, Hachiya, Chocolate and Coffee Cake (Nishimura Wase) — September through December

Blueberries

• Misty, O’Neal, and Sharpblue — Blueberries will ripen periodically throughout the spring and summer.  Although considered self-fruitful, planting three or more varieties together will insure bumper crops.

Figs

• Black Mission, Janice Seed-less Kadota and Panache — These three figs planted together will give you a purple, a variegated and a yellow-green fruit with a prolonged harvest from July to first frost.

Note: Dave Wilson Nursery does not sell citrus trees.  The following multi-planting recommendations are for information only.

• Citrus
• • Mandarins
    • Satsuma — November to March
    • Honey — February to May
    • Gold Nugget — April through summer
  • Oranges
    • Cara Cara — December to May
    • Moro Blood — February to May
    • Midnight Valencia — April through summer
  • Lemon Lime
    • Eureka Lemon — ever-bearing
    • Pomona Sweet Lemon — fall through spring
    • Bearss Seedless Lime — fall through winter
    • Meyer Lemon — ever-bearing
    • Thornless Mexican Lime — fall winter
    • Palestine Sweet Lime — fall through spring
  • Grapefruit & Pummelos
    • Oro Blanco Hybrid — November through March
    • Chandler Pummelo — January through May
    • Rio Red Ruby Grapefruit — April through September
  • Specialty
    • Kaffir Lime — fruits from November through March, Foliage year round
    • Limequat — ever-bearing
    • Kumquat — ever-bearing
• Avocados
  • Pinkerton — December to May
  • Hass — March to October
  • Jim Bacon — September to January

12 months of Avocados with only three trees.  I also planted a Reed in my 4-in-1 Avocado combinations for that extra guacamole we love in the summer.

When looking for compact Avocados, consider Holiday (fall and winter) and Littlecado (spring through summer).