9 Best Fruit Trees to Grow for Beginners

When I moved into my forever home 10 years ago, it was a delight to find a mature Meyer lemon tree on our property. That was the start of my home orchard, and in the time since, I’ve added two peaches, a nectarine, a mandarin orange, a banana, three apple trees, a pear, a crab apple, an avocado, an elderberry, a lime, and a second lemon tree. 

You might call me obsessed, but you truly haven’t enjoyed a peach until you’ve eaten one, sun-warmed and bursting with flavor, right from the tree. However, I’ve also known the pain of watching every leaf on my crab apple tree devoured by aphids. Growing fruit trees is not without its complications and disappointments. 

There is a learning curve to cultivating fruit trees, as with everything else in the garden. As with all plants, some are simply easier to care for than others. This varies from one fruit to another and from one climate to another.

Before I get to my list of great beginner fruit trees, let’s get a few terms sorted out. This will make it easier to select a tree that will thrive in your environment, and produce tons of delicious, beautiful fruit worthy of any farmers market. 

Elberta Peach Tree

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Elberta Peach Tree

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Chicago Hardy Fig

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Chicago Hardy Fig Tree

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California Honey Mandarin

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California Honey Mandarin Tree

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Determining Factors

Whether a beginner or an experienced orchardist, the type of fruit tree and the environment you’re growing in are the major determinants of your success. You shouldn’t try to grow a mango tree in zone 5, no matter how much you love mangoes. Similarly, you’ll be hard-pressed to grow apples in a tropical climate. The most common reason that fruit trees fail to produce in warm climates is a lack of chill hours. 

Chill hours refer to the amount of time a particular plant needs to spend at or below 45°F (7°C), in order to bear fruit or produce flowers. If a tree doesn’t bloom, it can’t produce fruit. Chill hours are the most important factor in the success of any fruit tree. Luckily, as a result of selective breeding, there are varieties of most fruits with varying chill hour needs. 

In colder climates, the opposite is true. The most common reason trees fail in cold climates is a lack of cold tolerance. This primarily applies to citrus, avocados, bananas, mangoes, and a few other tropicals. Again, through selective breeding, we have varieties of these that remain small enough to grow in containers and still produce fruit. Patio citrus trees are especially popular. 

Finally, pollination is among the most important factors in success. Some trees are self-fertile, which means that they don’t require cross-pollination. If you’re only looking to plant a single tree, this is imperative. Others require a pollinator tree, a different variety, to bear any fruit at all. In this case, you’ll need two trees to see either one produce anything. 

A note regarding those that are self-fertile vs. those that need cross-pollination: Self-fertile plants will produce fruit on their own. However, you’ll get a greater yield with two of any kind from both trees.

With these factors in mind, some trees and varieties are better for beginners than others. Providing that your environment is right for that plant, some have better pest and disease resistance. That goes a long way. Here are some great options for beginners who want to try growing fruit trees.

Peach ‘Elberta’

	botanical name Prunus persica ‘Elberta’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 10’-15’
	hardiness zones 5-8

If I had to recommend one fruit tree for beginners, it’s a peach. Most peaches are self-fertile, so you can start with one plant rather than two and still have a solid harvest of delicious peaches. In fact, my trees produce so many peaches that I have to remove half of them to keep the branches from snapping! 

‘Elberta’ is an heirloom variety with excellent pest and disease resistance. Heirlooms are often hardier because these strong cultivars have stood the test of time. This one dates back to the 1870s, and it’s popular for good reason. Survival of the fittest means that the plants that are strongest in the face of adversity are the ones that have the greatest staying power. 

‘Elberta’ needs about 800 chill hours, which means that it’s not suited for warm climates. For those zone 9 gardeners who want to grow the sweet, juicy peaches this variety is famous for, there is an ‘Early Elberta’ that will produce with as few as 600 chill hours. 

The ‘Elberta’ peach is an attractive tree with a rounded crown that produces large, sweet, freestone peaches. They are great for eating fresh and also stand up well to canning and baking. At 10-14 feet tall at maturity, this is an easy tree to care for and harvest from. 

Fig ‘Chicago Hardy’

	botanical name Ficus carica ‘Chicago Hardy’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 15’-30’
	hardiness zones 8-10

Figs tend to be beginner-friendly, warm-climate fruit trees that are best suited to zones 8-10. ‘Chicago Hardy’ is popular because of its exceptional cold tolerance. You can grow this one as far north as zone 6 and even zone 5 with some protection. 

‘Chicago Hardy’ is also self-fertile, so once again, if you want to start with a singleton, this is a great option. It also produces exceptionally sweet, beautiful, dark purple figs with striking red centers. It’s an attractive, small cultivar with great pest and disease resistance. 

In cold climates, ‘Chicago Hardy’ may die back in winter, but it will bounce back in the spring and produce nicely every year. Its compact size means that you can grow it in a container north of its range and bring it indoors for the winter.

Mandarin ‘California Honey’

	botanical name Citrus reticulata ‘California Honey’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 8’
	hardiness zones 8-11

Most citrus trees are self-fertile, which makes them excellent patio or indoor trees. As long as you have a sunny enough spot to grow them, a small citrus is something anyone can grow, that is, as long as the cultivar remains small enough to manage in a container. 

Enter the ‘California Honey’ mandarin. This beautiful variety tops out around eight feet tall, and you can prune the leaders to keep it shorter. Deep green, glossy foliage and wonderfully fragrant flowers make this a favorite, and it is also very pest—and disease-resistant. 

The fruits are small with a perfect balance of sweet and tangy with a hint of spice. Citrus plants require little pruning, and as long as you fertilize generously, they are great producers. This one is perfect for smaller gardens where you want to save on space without sacrificing flavor. 

Lemon ‘Improved Meyer’

	botanical name Citrus x meyeri ‘Improved’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-10’
	hardiness zones 8-11

It doesn’t get much easier than a lemon tree. They’re self-fertile, and even without a companion, these trees will produce so much fruit you’ll be sharing with everyone in the neighborhood. ‘Improved’ Meyer lemon is at the top of my list for beginners because of its ease of care and beautiful, sweet, and tangy lemons. If you’re a lemonade lover, this is the absolute best cultivar for the job.

Meyer lemons are actually a hybrid of a conventional lemon crossed with a mandarin. They are smaller, darker, and sweeter as a result. The original Meyer was a carrier of a fatal disease without showing symptoms. The ‘Improved’ variety replaced the original as it is virus-free, and this one earned an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. 

It’s a small tree that is more cold-tolerant than most lemons and small enough that colder climate gardeners can grow it in a container. It’s easy to care for and worth growing for the blossoms alone. When in bloom, they smell positively divine and drive me out to the garden even more. 

Kumquat ‘Fukushu’

	botanical name Citrus japonica ‘Fukushu’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 10’-15’
	hardiness zones 9-11

The kumquat is, in my opinion, an underrated tree and one I will be adding to my garden this year. They come in a wide range of sizes and produce a ton of sweet, tart, and tangy fruit. They are a type of citrus, and you can pop them in your mouth, skin and all, straight off of the tree.

 Like other citrus, kumquats are best suited for warm climates. However, ‘Fukushu’ is a compact cultivar that you can keep indoors in a container. They are, interestingly, adaptable to partial shade conditions, so growing them indoors is easier than with most fruits. Like other citrus, they are self-pollinating.

Kumquat trees are attractive and make nice ornamental plants. Their glossy foliage and bright, cheerful, diminutive fruits make them a conversation piece. They make nice preserves, and kumquat-infused vodka makes the most delicious cosmopolitans!

Plum ‘Toka’

	botanical name Prunus ‘Toka’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 15’-20’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Plum trees are stunning in the spring with a bounty of fragrant, white blossoms. They are great food for pollinators and people, too! Sadly, most plum trees are not self-fertile, so you need to plant two if you want to see any fruit. Lucky for us, ‘Toka’ plum is self-fertile, so one tree is all you need.

‘Toka’ is a beginner-friendly, medium-sized fruit tree that makes a nice landscape element with a vase-shaped canopy and attractive, bright green foliage. The jewel-toned plums are extra sweet, earning this variety the nickname ‘bubblegum.’ 

This plum is best suited for northern gardens as it requires 600-1000 chill hours, quite a significant number. However, it’s a fast grower with great ornamental value. It produces after only two to three years. 

Mulberry ‘Illinois Everbearing’

	botanical name Morus alba ‘Illinois Everbearing’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 15’
	hardiness zones 4-10

If you want a super low-maintenance plant that produces an incredible amount of fruit, look no further than the ‘Everbearing’ mulberry. This shrubby, small cultivar is incredibly easy to care for and is drought tolerant. It will grow in nearly any climate and produces berries from summer until frost. 

If allowed to, it can grow up to 15 feet tall, but it also makes a nice container specimen. It thrives in partial shade, too, which is great for gardeners with lots of larger trees. 

Mulberries attract wildlife, and birds will flock to your yard with this tree present. Eat them fresh off the branch or bake them into pies; these sweet berries are always a crowd-pleaser.

Elderberry ‘Marge’

	botanical name Sambucus nigra ‘Marge’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-8’
	hardiness zones 4-7

Depending on your climate, elderberry could be one of the easiest things to grow. Where I live, there is no stopping them. They spring up in any place they choose and make a lovely addition to the landscape. Their large sprays of delicate white flowers are beautiful in the spring, and the purple berries are useful for many things.

Use the berries to make syrups, jams, and jellies. It’s important to cook them before eating them, as they contain toxic substances when raw, which can cause unpleasant digestive issues. They also contain plenty of helpful nutrients, though, so after you cook them, they have plenty of health benefits. 

‘Marge’ is a self-fertile and highly productive European elderberry. It grows an abundance of large, sweet berries quickly, making it a nice addition to the landscape. The foliage is lush and attractive.

Apple ‘Liberty’

	botanical name Malus ‘Liberty’
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 8’-10’
	hardiness zones 5-8

Apples are tricky for Southern gardeners because there aren’t many beginner-friendly varieties of this iconic fruit tree for warm climates. If you’re south of zone 8, ‘Anna’ is tasty, and ‘Ein Shemer’ makes a good pollinator. Both are susceptible to several garden pests, but they need relatively few chill hours. 

If you’re in zones 5-8, you’re in luck because most apples will grow in this climate range. ‘Liberty’ is a great choice if you want a smaller tree that has good pest and disease-resistance, and still produces a sweet apple with a nice, crisp texture.