Best Fruits to Grow in Oregon. Most fruits and nuts, in general, do better with a partner. If you have the space, always plant two of everything. Otherwise, if your neighbours’ trees are compatible and within 100 feet of yours, you can rely on them for pollination. To meet pollination needs, you can also plant a combination (multi-grafted) tree, albeit one species will often outcompete and crowd out its neighbours.
Quince, persimmon, peaches, nectarines, sour cherries, and apricots self-pollinate well and can be grown alone. Before purchasing your trees, please ensure that they are pollination compatible. Orange Pippin provided the pollination compatibility tool.
Best Fruits to Grow in Oregon
1. Apple Tree
Cold Hardy: Apple trees thrive in the cold spring and fall months of Oregon. Flowers and fruit, unlike other fruits, can flourish even when there is snow or frost late in the spring.
Easy to Grow: Apple trees may be the simplest fruit to cultivate. It requires little fertilisation or watering, may be grown in any soil, and requires very little, if any, trimming.
Perfect for Any Yard: Apple trees are ideal for any gardener’s landscape. You can grow a lot of apple trees if you have a lot of space. You can plant apple trees in containers if you have limited room. And, regardless of Oregon’s climate or soil, you may plant them almost anyplace in your yard.
Heavy Harvest: Apple plants provide the most fruit of any of the fruit trees on this list. From late August through November, you can pick more apples than you can eat.
Pests: Lettuce is a favourite of deer, rabbits, and squirrels. These pests will eat your fruit before it has even begun to mature if left untreated.
Insects: Apple trees are the most likely to be attacked by insects of all the fruit trees on this list. Whether it’s Japanese Beetles or Aphids, you’ll have to spray and care for your apple tree on a regular basis to keep insects at bay.
Disease: Again, apple trees are the most susceptible to the disease of any fruit tree on our list. Blight and mould are just two of the diseases that can attack, injure, and occasionally kill your fruit trees in the spring and summer.
2. Peach Tree
Thrives in the Heat: The higher the temperature, the better. Unlike apple, cherry, pear, and plum trees, which can handle heat, peach trees thrive in hot weather. That means that the hot and humid summers are ideal for peach plants to produce more fruit.
Great for Vertical Gardening: Most fruit trees grow tall and wide, but very few grow only tall. Peach trees are the only type of fruit tree that may grow 10 to 15 feet tall but only 2 to 3 feet broad.
Quick Growing: The Peach Tree is the fastest-growing of all the fruit trees on this list. Not only that, but most Peach Trees bear fruit within 1 to 2 years of establishment.
Cold: Peach trees do not do well in cold weather. While some kinds can withstand Oregon’s harsh winters, the majority will perish if temperatures fall below 10 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis.
Diseases: Peaches, like many other fruit trees, are susceptible to diseases such as blight, mould, and so on. This can occur not only in early spring during damp conditions but also throughout the summer and even into the fall.
3. Fig Fruits to Grow in Oregon
Pest-Resistant: The fig tree is the only pest-resistant fruit tree on this list. Deer dislike fig trees, rabbits can’t reach the fruit, and squirrels and chipmunks choose other sources of food.
Perfect for Indoors & Outdoors: No other fruit on this list may be cultivated both inside and outside. Fig trees can grow outside, but most gardeners will plant them in a pot and keep them outside throughout the summer, bringing them inside after the first frost of the year.
Easy to Grow: There is nothing else you need to do after you plant your fig tree. You don’t have to worry about insects or diseases, and you only need to water it once a week. You don’t even have to prune it for figs to grow.
Cold: While some fig trees can survive and thrive in Oregon winters, the majority will become stunted, cease producing fruit, or even die.
Drought: Droughts will stunt and destroy your fig tree if you maintain it in a pot. This is because fig trees in pots dry out faster than those in the ground.
4. Pear Fruits to Grow in Oregon
Cold Hardy: When it comes to cold weather in Oregon, pears are another resilient fruit. Pear trees complement apple trees well since they bloom and give fruit sooner in the summer.
Heat-Resistant: Pear trees are not only cold-hardy, but they also perform admirably in droughts, excessive heat, and humidity. This makes it ideal for planting any place in your yard, regardless of the amount of sunlight it receives.
Perfect in Pots: Pear Trees are one of the few fruits that can be cultivated in gardening pots in Oregon. This is one of the most adaptable fruits, making it ideal for beginning gardeners in Oregon.
Insects: Insects such as aphids will attack and infest your pear trees, as they do many other fruits. Pear trees, unlike apple trees, do not usually recover quickly.
Wet Conditions: While pear trees thrive in hot and cold weather, they struggle in rainy conditions. If the ground becomes too damp during the winter and spring, root rot can occur, injuring or destroying your tree.
5. Plum Tree
Thrives in Heat: Most fruit trees can endure heat, but plum plants thrive in it. When it gets a warmer winter and spring, this early summer fruit-producing tree will grow quickly and produce more plums.
Insect & Disease Proof: Plums are quite hardy. Unlike the other fruit trees on this list, plum trees are immune to practically all insects and diseases, making them ideal for growing in Oregon.
Perfect for Small Spaces: Apple, pear, and cherry trees can grow to be quite huge. This can be a problem if you don’t have a large backyard. But you don’t have to worry about this with plum trees because they won’t grow taller than 8 to 10 feet and wider than 6-8 feet.
Pests: Deer, Rabbits, and Squirrels emerge from their winter hibernation and become hungry in the spring. Plums are one of the first plants they eat. Pests pose a risk to producing plums in Oregon, whether they are protected or not.
Wet Conditions: Plum trees, like pear trees, do not thrive in moist environments. This species of tree should be planted in an area of your yard with well-draining soil and extensive periods of direct sunlight.
6. Apricot Fruits to Grow in Oregon
Thrives in Droughts: Apricot trees are another excellent fruit tree that will thrive in the humidity and heat of Oregon. And even in summers with little to no rain, apricot trees will continue to develop and bear a large number of apricots.
Great for Small Yards: Apricot trees do not grow to be extremely large. They are the smallest tree on this list after Fig Trees. As a result, they are ideal for tiny yards and spaces, suburban fruit orchards, and urban gardens.
Everything: Almost anything can kill apricot trees, making them extremely difficult to grow, but not impossible. Insects, illness, wind, rainy conditions, and garden pests are just a few of the factors that might harm your fruit tree.
Cold Weather: Apricot plants, like most nectarine and peach trees, suffer in the cold. In fact, they have the lowest chance of survival of any fruit tree on this list if not wrapped in burlap or another heat-retaining material.
7. Cherry Fruits to Grow in Oregon
Thrives in the Heat & Cold: Cucumbers are yet another tough fruit. Some types can thrive in cold conditions, while others can flourish in warm weather.
Lots & Lots of Harvest: Cherries produce the most fruit of any fruit tree on this list. While cherry trees might not grow as tall as other trees, they can produce up to 50 pounds of fruit in a single season.
Amazing Cross-Pollinator: Look no further than the cherry tree for a fruit tree that works as a cross-pollinator. It is particularly effective with crabapples and apple trees, to mention a few.
Birds: In most cases, these pests will not harm your cherry tree. If you don’t protect the cherries with netting, they’ll eat them right away.
Cold & Wet Conditions: Cherry trees will also perish fast if conditions become too damp or if winters become too cold, making this one of the most challenging trees to care for year after year.
8. Nectarine Tree
Loves Heat: Nectarines, like their cousin the peach tree, enjoy the heat. They grow larger and produce more and sweeter nectarines as the temperature rises.
Perfect for Vertical Gardening: Nectarine trees, like peaches, do not spread. This makes it ideal for city gardeners or anyone with a limited area for fruit plants.
Quick Growing: Nectarines, like peaches, grow extremely quickly. Nectarines will grow on planting and potted trees within the first year or two.
Cold: Almost every variety of Nectarine Trees is sensitive to freezing temperatures. If you live in the northern region of Oregon, nectarine trees can suffer in the winter, and if you live in an area where temperatures can drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit for weeks at a time, you will need to wrap your tree in burlap to protect it from the cold.
Diseases: In the early summer, nectarines are susceptible to illness. Expect blight, fungus, and rot to attack your plant early in the season, around the time your tree starts to bloom.
9. Lemon Tree
Loves Heat: Lemons are the most heat tolerant of all the fruit trees on this list. This is because they were naturally cultivated in warmer climates. The best part is that they require very little watering or care to thrive.
Perfect for Pots: In Oregon, lemon trees can only be grown in pots. Look no further if you want a fruit tree that can be easily transported from indoors to outside, kept indoors all year, or simply used as a decorative tree.
Cold: Lemon trees are the cold-weather-sensitive fruit trees on this list. If temperatures fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, your tree will not grow or provide fruit. Your lemon tree will die if the temperature falls below freezing.
10. Mulberry Tree
Thrives in Almost Any Condition: While you may not be familiar with the Mulberry Tree, it is a fantastic choice for growing in practically any environment. Plant it alongside other trees, by itself in a field, among weeds, or even in a garden, and it will swiftly grow and give fruit.
Small Yards: Because of its size, the mulberry tree may be planted in almost any place. The mulberry tree is ideal for all fruit tree growers, whether it’s in a tiny spot next to your house, a corner of your yard, or even in a gardening container.
Garden Pests: Mulberry trees must be protected from birds when growing. While birds will not destroy the tree, they have been known to devour the fruit before it ripens.
