5 Reasons Why Fall Is the Best Time To Plant Fruit Trees

Although the garden appears to be winding down, it’s preparing for the oncoming cold. Roots extend underground, mulches decay into soil, and fungi spread their mycelia. Plant a fruit tree now, and it’ll have ample time to establish itself for next year’s growing season. It’ll have the tools to survive droughts, freezes, and harsh weather.

Spring is also a good time for planting a tree, although it gives the specimen less time to establish itself before summer’s heat arrives. Fall plantings have the benefits of winter dormancy, fall root growth, and early spring sprouting on their side. 

The key to fall plantings is getting the species in the ground at least six to eight weeks before your first hard frost. This ensures the trees have ample time for growing healthy roots that acclimate to your garden’s conditions. Whether buying balled and burlapped, bare-root, or container-grown trees, they’ll thrive if you plant them during fall.

Reasons to Plant Fruit Trees During Fall

Here are five key reasons why it’s best to plant fruit trees under the coolness of autumn. 

There’s More Options

Warm spring weather signals it’s time for many growers to garden. You’ll find limited nursery selections, picked through inventories, and a low variety of fruit trees. In fall, most gardeners think it’s best to lie the garden down to rest for winter. While this is true, it’s also true that fall is an ideal time for planting a tree.

Not only are there wider selections in the fall, but there are also more options for the type of tree you can buy. Nursery tree growers sell deciduous fruit trees in three ways: balled and burlapped (B&B), bare-root, and container-grown. 

Bare-root is the ideal choice if it’s available near you. They’re trees without soil and leaves, with their roots exposed. You’ll need to plant them within a week of purchasing, but they’ll grow better roots and shoots than B&B and container-grown material.

Choose B&B trees if you’re planting large specimens or evergreen species. If neither B&B nor bare-root trees are available, opt for container-grown trees with healthy roots. Inspect their pot’s drainage holes to ensure no roots are poking out. Searching root tendrils signal a root-bound specimen. You’ll want healthy fruiting specimens with scaffolding branches, ample root growth, and a straight trunk. 

Roots Grow Better

Plant an apple, plum, or apricot tree in the fall, and it’ll grow dozens of roots before the first frost! These tendrils anchor the tree to your garden’s native soil, giving them support to brave storms and windy weather. Get the saplings into the ground six weeks or more before the first frost and they’ll brave the cold weather without issue.

Because fall plantings have time to grow more roots than spring ones, they’re better equipped to handle harsh summer weather. Spring plantings must focus on both forming roots and leafy shoots. Splitting their energy into two tasks, they may struggle to deal with pests, diseases, and harsh weather.

Spring is not the worst time to plant a tree, though; summer is the worst time for transplanting. Plants must survive drought and high temperatures while forming roots, flowers, seeds, and branches. I can’t do more than one thing, so I can only imagine their pain! Avoid any of these issues by prioritizing fall fruit tree plantings. 

Fall Plantings Resist Drought

How are fall plantings more drought-resistant than trees planted at other times of year? With more roots than their counterparts, they access more soil particles. If one section of the ground is dry but another is moist, they can pull water up from the wet region and easily survive.

More roots also mean they may have more connections to mycorrhizal fungi. These fungal bodies grow mycelia-like plants’ roots but for fungi. They spread and colonize the soil, forming connections with woody species. They exchange minerals and water for sugars that the trees offer readily. The more roots your tree sprouts in fall, the more mycorrhizal connections it can make by spring.

These factors combine to create a strong, resilient, fruit orchard that thrives. Try it in your garden to see for yourself!  Plant a fruiting tree in the fall, then plant another in the spring. Protect newly planted trees to see how they fare from spring through fall. Measure their branches to see which grew better. The results may surprise you!

Increase Fruit Yields

With more roots, a better branching structure, and an earlier awakening from winter dormancy, fall-planted fruit saplings are likely to grow bigger harvests than spring-planted ones. They’ll have more access to nutrients, moisture, and sunlight with ample leaves and a robust root ball. 

The key to fall planting is getting your fruiting species in the ground before hard frosts arrive. Saplings need moist, warm soil to grow roots, and they halt all growth completely if the ground freezes. Calculate your first average frost date by searching the name of your city with “first fall frost date.” Then, calculate backward six to eight weeks. This is the ideal autumn planting time for your hardiness zone. Don’t forget to prune your tree just before budbreak in spring.

Water Less

In most of North America, fall signals the arrival of wet storms. Rains increase and thoroughly wet the ground, making a perfect home for new saplings. Moist soil is loose and crumbly when high in organic matter, and easy for roots to push through. 

Fall is perfect for low-maintenance transplanting because new transplants need more moisture than established specimens. You won’t have to inspect the soil daily to ensure it’s still moist—if it’s raining, it’ll be wet enough! Your fruiting saplings will thrive with little care, meaning you can spend your idle time looking at seed catalogs and planning next year’s garden layout. 

The exception is for fruiting species that grow under cover. The cover prevents rainfall from reaching the soil, and the ground will be dry more often than exposed beds. Check locations like these once or twice a week during autumn to ensure the ground stays moist, but not soggy.

Best Fruit Trees for Fall Planting

In your perusing, you may wonder which fruit trees are best for planting during autumn. Wonder no more, as these are some good choices for cold climates. If you live in warm winter climates in hardiness zones 10 and above, you should plant tropical fruiting species during the cool seasons like guava, citrus, and mango.

Cherry

Fresh cherries are unlike any other fruit! They’re impeccably sweet with a slight tartness. Plant a sweet variety like ‘Bing’ with another like ‘Rainier.’ You’ll need two trees for optimal pollination and fruit formation. 

Sweet cherries are perfect for eating fresh, while sour ones need processing before they’re edible. Use sour cherries in jams, jellies, and pies with some preparation. 

Apple

Apples are iconic trees throughout the world. There are hundreds of varieties with different flavors, textures, and colors. Choose a tart green one like ‘Granny Smith’ for pie-making, or an exceptionally sweet one like ‘Fuji’ for fresh eating. Apples are like cherries, requiring two nearby trees for successful pollination and high fruit yields.

If you like making jams and jellies, try a crabapple tree instead. Crabapples sprout tiny fruits the size of quarters that are incredibly tart. Use them with sugar in candied syrup, jam, or jelly. 

Serviceberry

This North American native shrub or small tree is growing in popularity in home gardens! It sprouts tasty berries that resemble blueberries with maroon hues. They taste like a cross between blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Pick them for fresh eating or process them into syrups and sauces. 

There are two main species of serviceberry, the common one and the Saskatoon one. Use varieties of Saskatoon serviceberry in western regions of the U.S., and plant cultivars of the common species in eastern states. 

Pear

Pears, like apples and cherries, need a partner tree nearby to pollinate their flowers so they can grow pears. Choose two varieties for planting, like ‘Ure’ and ‘Golden Spice,’ since they bloom simultaneously. Pears are perfect for canning, fresh eating, or sauce making. 

Stone Fruit

Plums, peaches, and nectarines are cold-hardy stone fruits that love growing under cool weather. They’ll thrive after an autumn planting, and some mature specimens may grow fruit their first year! 

For an optimal fruit set, choose two varieties that pollinate each other. Some stone fruits self-pollinate like European plums and sour cherries. Plant one of these if you have limited space in the garden.

PawPaw

Pawpaw fruits sprout off a North American native tree like serviceberries! This edible native plant loves growing under shade and is ideal for gardens without much sunlight. It’ll also thrive under full sun if they have consistently moist soil.