10 Fruit Trees You Can Grow at Home
When you think of farming or gardening for food , you think of beautiful nature. If you want to squeeze a fresh orange or lemon in the morning, you will eventually need a certain amount of open space for these trees.
But sometimes you don’t. In addition to the houseplants you’re familiar with (and more unusual plants like wasabi that you’re probably unfamiliar with), a wide variety of fruit trees also grow well inside. This means you can combine the decorative beauty of indoor plants with the practical benefit of being able to reach a tasty, healthy snack no matter where you sit.
If this sounds like your next indoor gardening project, there are two things to keep in mind: First, in almost every case, you should look for the “dwarf” varieties of fruit plants you’re targeting, as they don’t require the space required by them. full-size brothers. Secondly, buying a mature tree and replanting it at home will always increase your chances of producing viable fruit. Planting seeds can be effective, but it usually takes longer to produce a smaller harvest.
That said, here are your best choices when it comes to growing fruit trees indoors, but keep in mind that like all plants, some varieties can be toxic to your pets, so be sure to consider that before you begin.
Fig tree
The ficus carica ‘Petite Negra’ fig tree will begin producing fruit relatively quickly (usually when it is still less than a foot tall). As a dwarf plant, it will reach a maximum of 4-6 feet in height (the size of the pot you place it in will determine how big it eventually grows), and the figs it produces will be a rich purple color and very tasty. . This plant is easy to care for because it is naturally pest and drought resistant, so if you forget to water it for a few days it won’t die. An alternative option is the Brown Turkey fig tree, although you may have to actively prune it to keep it from taking up your space. Regular misting of any variety is a good idea, as figs generally grow well in humid climates.
Citrus fruits (lemons, limes, oranges)
Dwarf versions of most citrus plants grow well indoors—the trick is not to make them grow, but to produce fruit. You’ll have luck with calamondin oranges ( citrofortunella mitis ), Meyer lemons and limes, dwarf varieties that do very well indoors. Keep in mind that although calamondin oranges grow best indoors, they are not a particularly sweet fruit, although they can be used in a variety of recipes. Citrus trees generally like wet weather, so mist them regularly unless you want to turn your home into a moldy jungle. They also need plenty of sunlight, so place their pots where they will be exposed to light throughout the day.
Apricots
Dwarf Moorpark apricots are easy to grow indoors. Like many “pit” or “stone” fruit trees, you can grow one from a pit, but if you do, you’ll have to wait a few years to get real fruit from it. It is better to buy a young tree and simply transplant it into a pot. Moorparks need to be trimmed regularly or they will get too large, but even after pruning they will reach about six feet in height, so make sure you have the space before you commit to one. Keep the soil moist and make sure it gets plenty of sunlight; a tree two years old or older should begin bearing fruit within the first year.
Bananas
Be careful when choosing a banana tree variety, as many grow well indoors, but not all produce fruit that can be eaten. If you want a sweet snack, choose the dwarf Cavendish variety . These banana trees are easy to grow and when grown from seed they will produce bananas within a year or two, but buying a mature plant will allow you to skip this part. Banana trees love a lot of water – a lot – so they need to be watered regularly and deeply. But you also need to let the soil dry out between waterings, so don’t overdo it. They also like light mist as they are tropical plants and you should place your tree in an area that gets plenty of sun.
Mulberry
Dwarf mulberry trees can be “trained” to look more like bushes or hedges, making them a good choice for growing indoors. Look for dwarf varieties; Perpetual mulberries and Issai mulberries are good choices that won’t get too big. However, both require aggressive pruning—for example, left to its own devices, Everbearing can grow up to 15 feet tall. Make sure they get plenty of sun and water them regularly at first. Once they’re established, you can skip the watering and they won’t mind one bit.
Coffee
Yes, coffee is a fruit : the beans we roast and grind to make life-saving Go Go juice are actually the pits of the coffee cherry. And you can grow coffee indoors and even brew it into coffee—as long as you know how to peel, soak, dry, roast, and grind the beans after picking (there’s a reason most people just stumble upon their local coffee shop). or Coyrig machine). The Arabica coffee plant is easy to grow (just avoid direct sunlight, which can burn the leaves) and will bear fruit within the first year, along with beautiful white flowers and a wonderful aroma.
Kumquat
Kumquats are citrus plants, but they are generally easier to grow than lemons or oranges, and some varieties are more or less designed for containers. If you want a kumquat similar to the ones you find at the grocery store, grow the ‘Nagami’ variety, which will give you small olive-sized fruits. If you want larger fruits, choose the Meiva variety. But you can’t go wrong with any kumquat tree: when grown in a container, it won’t get too big, and all it needs is plenty of sunlight and moderate watering.
Ground cherry
They’re sometimes called Cape gooseberries , and they’re not at all like the standard cherries you think of when you hear that name—they’re more closely related to peppers. The taste is actually hard to describe; It’s not bad at all, but… unique. For variety, ground cherries do well when grown from seed: give them full sunlight and moderate watering, and you’ll soon have a large-leaved plant that will provide you with lots of delicious fruit. These plants are annuals, so you will have to replant them every year if you want more.
Miracle berry
If you want an indoor fruit tree that will serve as a party decoration, grow Synsepalum dulcificum, also known as “Miracle Berries.” The trick to the party is that after you eat some of the Miracle Berries, everything you eat afterwards will taste sweet, no matter how sour or bitter the food actually is. The effects last from a few minutes to several hours, so be careful as an ill-timed snack can ruin your next meal. They grow easily indoors; all they need is plenty of indirect sunlight and plenty of misting as they thrive in humidity. If your plant is looking a little pale, you can briefly wrap it in clear plastic to increase the humidity level.
Avocado
Avocados will sprout from seed if you follow the famous toothpick-in-a-cup method , but there is one caveat: avocado plants grown from seed almost never bear fruit. In other words, you’ll get a nice, healthy plant, but you’ll die of old age before it produces even one avocado. It is best to purchase a starter plant. The Day variety is the easiest avocado variety to fruit in a container, so look for one at your local nursery or garden. It may take some time before you get an avocado or two, but it will happen much faster than never, which is how long it will likely take if you start from the pit.