pictures of fruit trees, semi and standard please! Also pros and cons

[confuzzled]

Hello everyone! I've been on BYC and BYH for quite a while now but this is my first venture into easy garden.
Anywho, I'm trying to find as much information on fruit trees as possible because I hope to use it in the future. Soooo here are my questions:
1. My biggest problem is that I have a hard time processing exactly how large semi-dwarf vs. standard trees are since I haven't been near a fruit tree since I was a wee little kid. Pictures of the trees next to a human would be greatly appreciated (links to said pictures would work too, if you can find some).

2. It seems all non standard trees have root stock, are there any cons to having root stock vs. "true root"? Are there any semi-dwarfs that have their own root?

3. What are the pros and cons of having a semi or standard tree? I'm trying to figure out what size would work best for me when I can have them.

I'm looking forward to bombarding you all with more questions in the future!

 

[thistlebloom]

Hi confuzzled, and !!
I'll try to answer your basic questions and maybe someone who knows more will jump in and help out. First of all a fruit trees eventual size and its rate of growth are related to the rootstock it's grafted on.

Standards will grow 20 to 30 feet tall - not a problem if your good on ladders and have the space.

Semi-dwarfs will get 12 - 18 feet ( these are grafted on a rootstock)

Dwarfs will get about 8 - 10 feet ( grafted on a rs also)

Genetic dwarfs are very small and are naturally that way - no graft. But they aren't very cold hardy. In the colder climates they can be planted in a container and then moved into a cold but not frozen location that stays between 30* and 45*. They bear normal size fruit.
Oh yeah, they get about 7 feet tall.

Grafted semi dwarfs work best on apple trees as stone fruits that are grafted on to rootstocks are sometimes not as long lived.

You can research on line about the different rootstocks and their relative merits, I'm not sure but I think your location has a lot to do with the rootstocks used in that region

A good local (eta TREE ) nursery should be able to help you out. Well have fun with that and happy fruit growing! :coolsun

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you are here!

I don't have photos. Sorry.

Most fruit trees are not grown from seed. There are some but not most. I'll speak in general. There are some specific exceptions to this.

If you grow fruit trees from seeds, you have no idea what quality of fruit you will get. The genetics are pretty complicated and many require cross-pollination from another variety of tree. For example, a Granny Smith apple tree will probably not pollinate itself or another Granny Smith tree. Certain other apple trees can pollinate a Granny Smith is they bloom at the same time. Even if the tree is self-pollinating tree, say a Methley plum, you will probably get better fruit set and production if you have a different variety of plum that blooms at the same time. Where I am headed with all this is that practically all fruit tree varieties are produced by grafting, not from seeds. That is the only way to control the quality of the fruit. Thus almost all are grafted onto a rootstock.

Rootstocks have different properties. Some have specific disease resistance. Some control the size of the tree. Some handle wet or dry conditions or maybe hot or cool conditions differently. Most handle a combination of these.

Some considerations in dwarf, semi-dwarf and standard.

Deer can probably reach most fruit off on a dwarf tree. Semi-dwarf should get more out of their reach. A standard obviously has even more fruit out of a deer's reach. I don't know if that is a consideration for you or not.

Dwarf trees will produce a little earlier than a semi-dwarf, a semi-dwarf probably a little earlier than a standard. The dwarf will probably not live as long as a semi-dwarf, which will probably not live as long as a standard.

You can plant dwarfs about 10 feet apart, semi-dwarfs about 15 feet apart, and standards about 20 feet apart. Obviously you can get more different trees and varieties in the same space if you use the smaller trees.

Hope this helps a bit. And again,

 

[confuzzled]

Thank you both for the information! I found these two pictures while searching again, so I think I have a basic idea of size (anyone know how tall those ladders are?). It brings another question to my mind though; is it normal for semi-dwarf to be that bushy at the bottom? So far I think I want standard. Even if it's harder to harvest and prune, I like the idea of having the type of tree our ancestors had (I know, I'm weird).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/extensionhorticulture/2863376020/
http://www.food-skills-for-self-sufficiency.com/fruit-tree-sizes.html

 

[lesa]

Not weird at all!! Regardless of which type you choose- it will be quite a few years down the road, before you have to worry about how tall they will be! Keep us posted!

 

[confuzzled]

Well, I'm probably not getting them anytime soon (don't own my own house yet), so it'll be a while before I can even start shopping. I just love doing research and preparing for when I can buy and it drives me mad when I can't find an answer, y'know?

 

[journey11]

Here's some pics for size:

Standard apple tree, about 30 years old, beside car for scale.

Semi-dwarf apple trees, about 8 years old. (The folks who had the house before us planted them and must have thought they were dwarf because they planted them WAY too close together. I have to chose one to cut down--the one nearest the barn gives my chickens shade, but the one farther away has tastier apples! )

Dwarf peach tree, also about 8 years old. Hasn't gained any height over the past 3 years. Bears a ton of peaches for such a little tree. It is on the same plane as the barn, so you can judge the height to be about 8 feet tall.

I know with apples in particular, to my knowledge they are all grafted. You can get old varieties (ie. Grimes Golden, etc.), but they will be grafted onto rootstock. Like Ridgerunner said, that's the only way to assure fruit quality. Most apple varieties will have more than one option available for size of the tree.

You will want to talk to either your county ag extension agent or a local tree nursery to determine what type of rootstock is best for your area. For example, being that I live in WV with red clay mud and cold winters, I would probably not do well to order by mail from a nursery in California, whose growing conditions are completely different than mine. Rootstock will determine size of the tree, but also disease resistance, soil preference, drought tolerance, etc. There are many types of rootstock and there will be some that will be more successful in your location. Once you know your best rootstock types, then you can inquire of any nursery you're interested in buying from what kind they use.

If you have a lot of acreage, any size of tree will do. If you have limited physical ability, get a dwarf. If you have small space, get a dwarf. If you don't like pruning a lot, get a dwarf. If you want it to bear sooner rather than later, get a dwarf or semi-dwarf. If you want it to do double duty for a shade tree, get a standard. It all just depends...

Also, certain varieties of fruit trees will do better in your area than others. Again, talk to your co. ag. ext. agent to get those recommendations.

Good luck, have fun shopping! The thing with fruit trees--the sooner you get them going, the sooner you can be enjoying your harvest!

 

[confuzzled]

Here's some pics for size:

Standard apple tree, about 30 years old, beside car for scale.
http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/journey11/2010 Garden Tour/DSCF2936_web.jpg

Semi-dwarf apple trees, about 8 years old. (The folks who had the house before us planted them and must have thought they were dwarf because they planted them WAY too close together. I have to chose one to cut down--the one nearest the barn gives my chickens shade, but the one farther away has tastier apples! )
http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/journey11/image020_web.jpg

Dwarf peach tree, also about 8 years old. Hasn't gained any height over the past 3 years. Bears a ton of peaches for such a little tree. It is on the same plane as the barn, so you can judge the height to be about 8 feet tall.
http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/journey11/DSCF2458_web.jpg


I know with apples in particular, to my knowledge they are all grafted. You can get old varieties (ie. Grimes Golden, etc.), but they will be grafted onto rootstock. Like Ridgerunner said, that's the only way to assure fruit quality. Most apple varieties will have more than one option available for size of the tree.

You will want to talk to either your county ag extension agent or a local tree nursery to determine what type of rootstock is best for your area. For example, being that I live in WV with red clay mud and cold winters, I would probably not do well to order by mail from a nursery in California, whose growing conditions are completely different than mine. Rootstock will determine size of the tree, but also disease resistance, soil preference, drought tolerance, etc. There are many types of rootstock and there will be some that will be more successful in your location. Once you know your best rootstock types, then you can inquire of any nursery you're interested in buying from what kind they use.

If you have a lot of acreage, any size of tree will do. If you have limited physical ability, get a dwarf. If you have small space, get a dwarf. If you don't like pruning a lot, get a dwarf. If you want it to bear sooner rather than later, get a dwarf or semi-dwarf. If you want it to do double duty for a shade tree, get a standard. It all just depends...

Also, certain varieties of fruit trees will do better in your area than others. Again, talk to your co. ag. ext. agent to get those recommendations.

Good luck, have fun shopping! The thing with fruit trees--the sooner you get them going, the sooner you can be enjoying your harvest!

VERY helpful, thank you so much!

 

[Collector]

I dont know much about fruit trees even though I have some. But I can tell you that the blue ladder in your first pic is a 6' step ladder. I know, I know Im a real big help huh!

 

[confuzzled]

Well, that is the answer to one of my questions soooo yes, yes you are. Thank you