Backyard orchards are predicted to be the hot new plant trend over the next decade. Many will be populated with columnar apple trees, which allow you to grow your own fruit even in a small space.
Homeowners who have planted fruit trees, even dwarf varieties, have learned that they can become very large. Columnar apple trees have all the fruit of a typically sized apple tree but grow straight up, reaching between 8 feet and 10 feet in height and less than 2 feet in width.
“More and more people are becoming interested in growing their own food but don’t have the space,” said Sam Benowitz, owner of Raintree Nursery in Morton, Wash. Columnar apples produce fruit on spurs along the main trunk or on short branches coming out of the main trunk.
“The three main varieties that are available now are Scarlet Sentinel, Golden Sentinel and North Pole, a red apple similar to Red Delicious,” explained Benowitz.
Columnar apple trees thrive in a full sun environment, in either large containers such as cut-down whiskey barrels or directly in the soil. The trees need very little maintenance, aside from watering the soil regularly and fertilizing annually.
Since columnar apples trees are not self-pollinating, you must plant two or more trees. Currently, only columnar apple trees are available. Columnar versions of several other types of fruit trees, including pears and peaches, are being developed.
Apartment dwellers and even people living on boats can have columnar apple trees. For information on purchasing columnar apple trees, visit Raintree Nursery at http://bit.ly/HymY9k.
By Anna Burkholder, Communications Associate
American Farm Bureau Federation
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