# Fruit trees: standard vs semi-dwarf



## Blair (Sep 3, 2007)

Standard size fruit trees vs semi-dwarf. If I don't have to worry about having enough space, nor worry about being able to pick the fruit.

Comparing production time, quanity of production and longetivity of the two, what are your experiences? Which would be more sustainable over the time?


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## Mid Tn Mama (May 11, 2002)

I planted dwarf trees, but am not happy with them. I want to can--there just isn't enough from them. So I'm slowly adding standard sized fruit trees, because I am able to in our yard.


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## Goatsandsheep (Jun 7, 2006)

Help my friend pick one dwarf lemon and one dwarf tangerine tree today. 8 five gallon buckets of lemons and tangerines each. With more tangerines left to pick. G&S


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## Sustainable Joy (Nov 17, 2007)

Ok, I'm over here jealous to death of anyone with so much land that they don't have to worry about the space saving benefits of dwarf vs. standard fruit trees.


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## NickieL (Jun 15, 2007)

Me to Joy. Since a lot of trees need pollinators, I have to plant more then one which means dwarves/semi-dwarves for me so that I can have as much fruit as I want. So far I have 2 apples, 2 appricots, 2 pears, a sour cherry (doesn't need a pollinator) and a couple of elderberries, a washington haw, and I have plans for lots more.

Even if I did have the space, I think I would still grow semi-dwarfs, as I don't like getting up on ladders all that much.


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## Blair (Sep 3, 2007)

Sustainable Joy

Not my own land, unfortunately. If things work out this spring, I will be care-taking 100 acres for an older lady that I go to church with. She wants her place turned into a small homestead in return for cheap rent and basically a lifetime living there. I get the full use of the land including crops, livestock and etc. So since I can't afford my own land, this is the next best thing.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

Semi-dwarf. Even with a long handled picker I can't reach the tops of our large apple trees. I lose a lot of cherries each year because I can't get to them.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

I have a couple of very old, very tall Standard apple trees on this place. It is a right pain in the backside to get the fruit off the tree before it falls. Dangerous in fact.
Even our tallest ladder will only get us to some of the fruit but nothing on the top and edges. Even if I could the limbs are too narrow to climb across.

I planted Semi Dwarfs at the old farm.. and once they were 7 to 10 years old... I was burried in fruit!! 
What was nice about the SD's, is I could prune them so all I needed was a small ladder at most. Easier to care for, much easier to pick the fruit just all around better size tree to deal with.


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## RVcook (Mar 29, 2008)

Check with your county extension office to see what they recommend. Different rootstocks do better in certain areas, just like certain varieties do better than others. Definitely worth the time to figure it out.

RVcook


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## Blair (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks all.


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## RangerBrad (Aug 15, 2008)

Obviously my granny didn't care about size or being able to reach the fruit. She had a large standard apple and pear tree and she would just sic us boys up there. What you couldn't reach you shook out.We were little fellas and could climb like squirells. It was fun for us and more fruit than anybody could want.


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