You’ve got the space, you’ve got the water, you’ve got the sun, and so you plant your apple tree. And then you wait for the blooms. And then comes summer. The branch have no fruit. Most times, it’s not the tree’s fault; more often than not, you’ve had a lack of pollination.
To get fruit, fruit trees require cross-pollination: they must trade pollen with another tree of that same type. If they don’t, blossom fall off, and the tree is just decoration. Understanding how cross-pollination works will lead to a productive orchard. I’ve illustrated that on this chart (above) as well: Which are loners, and which ones need a companion.
How to Make Fruit Trees Grow Fruit
Typicaly peaches, nectarines and apricots, stone fruits. Are self-fertile, meaning they’ll pollinate themselves, so you’re forgiven if you only have one of these in your garden. But pome fruits such as pears and apples are more picky, typically requiring another variety to be flowering at the same moment.
That is why people purchase two Honeycrisp trees in hopes they’ll cross-pollinate, when in fact, both being genetic clones, won’t pollinate either one. Get ones that flower at similar times, and are distinctly different varieties. To get pollinated, the trees need to be there for each other. They can’t both bloom in mid-April, for instance, and then again in late May (they’ll miss each other).
The infographic shows the effect of zone and chill hours on bloom windows. You will see from it, for example, that if a tree requires 1,000 chill hours, it may not bloom well where it’s a little warmer. So do check your local climate. You must consider not only what you plant, but also when it is ready to bloom.
The other thing: Pollen doesn’t fly very far. Unless you have pollinators (bumblebees and honeybees are examples) that can bring it, pollen has difficulty making more than a 50-foot journey. And how likely is fertilization if one pollinator’s on one end of the yard and yours is on the other? Keep your partners close at hand, preferably mixed together. Far-apart plants is an all-too-common mistake. Think of orchard more like a community than a collection of individuals.
There are also triploids, trees with three sets of chromosomes. They’re takers, not givers. Their pollen is sterile or weak and doesn’t pollinate anything. If you plant a triploid apple tree, what it needs for pollen comes from a good old-fashioned standard diploid partner (a tree with two sets of chromosomes). The triploid can’t hold up another tree. You should of not want to plant all takers, because each would be barren in a crowd of its own kind. And that means knowing who gives, and who takes.
It’s not required that you grow a farm of trees to have it right. A single good pair of compatible trees in the space of 50 feet or less can yield a bumper crop. A classic pairing is a Fuji with a Honeycrisp. Those two are compatible and flower at similar times. They help pollinate each other, which has been shown to improve the flavor of the fruit. The fruit can taste even better if properly fertilized.
Do your homework before digging another hole. Examine its bloom time. Check its fertility status. Make sure that varieties are different if necessary. All these small logistical details save you years of dissapearance. It’s all about planning, when you look up to see those first fruits swelling on the branch. That’s the result of the need for pollination between the trees, with branches holding the fruit.