A wide variety of fruit trees and berries can be grown in the Kansas City area (zone 6). You can enjoy cherries, plums, peaches, apples, pears, nectarines, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, grapes, and strawberries fresh off the plant, right in your own backyard! It’s possible to harvest fruit from early June through November with the right combination of plants.
Most fruit trees and berries require an open sunny area, away from large trees that can give excess shade and root competition. Organic, well-drained soil is also important and can be accomplished through the addition of compost during the planting process. A shallow, elevated planting hole is required if planting in clay soil. It is important to plant your fruit trees and berries near a water source.
The depth of the planting hole depends on the soil type. In loose well drained soil the planting hole should be as deep as the root ball. Never dig a hole deeper than the depth of the root ball. In tight clay soils and poor draining areas the planting hole should be shallow with up to one quarter of the root ball above the grade of soil. The width of the planting hole should be twice as wide as the diameter of the root ball. Please refer to our tree planting guide!
Regular watering is important for the success of growing fruit trees and berries. During the summer months your plants will benefit from 1” of rain or supplemental water per week. During the cooler spring and fall months, 1” every two weeks is sufficient and in the winter, 1” every three weeks. If you cannot gauge the water in inches apply enough water to thoroughly saturate the soil 6” – 8” deep inside the drip line.
Applying an organic or slow release, balanced fertilizer in March will help with plant health and fruit production. Fertilizer should be applied inside the drip line of the tree.
There are several steps that you can take to reduce the pesticide use on your fruit trees and berries.
Proper plant placement, planting procedure, pruning, fertility, and watering will keep plants healthy and vigorous.
The most important time to spray fruit trees is during the dormant period in late February to early March. Use a mixture of dormant oil to smother insect eggs and lime sulfur to prevent fungus. (If lime sulfur is not available, mix the dormant oil with liquid copper fungicide).
Spray plants only as needed during the growing season. Keep an eye on the weather and examine your plants closely on a weekly basis.
Pruning fruit trees should be done during the dormant season in mid- to late February before applying the dormant spray. You will need hand pruners, a pruning saw, loppers, and for larger trees a chain saw, and pole saw. Never use pruning paint or tar.
Fruit trees should be pruned into an open habit to provide air circulation and sunlight to the interior of the tree. Try to remove entire branches all the way back to the trunk or back to another branch. Make all pruning cuts flush to a branch collar leaving the branch collar intact.
Brambles produce biennial canes, meaning that the canes emerge the first year and do not produce fruit. The second-year canes produce fruit and after that will never produce again. The key to healthy productive brambles is to remove canes that are three years old or older. This will initiate more young canes and more fruit production in future years.
Blueberries require very little pruning, only an occasional shaping to keep them in the desired form.
Keep weeds out of the strawberry patch. Weed regularly and keep the strawberries mulched well. Remove older plants as they become less productive and replace them with a new plantlet that has grown from the original plant.
Apples, pears, plums, sweet cherries, and blueberries require a pollinator. A pollinating partner must be a different variety of the same species. Two species of the same variety will not pollinate each other. For example, you will need two different varieties of apples to pollinate each other. When selecting a pollinator make sure that the bloom times are similar or overlap. Ideally, the pollinators should be within fifty feet of each other although plants can pollinate each other from several hundred yards away if pollinating insects are present.
Nectarines, peaches, sour cherries, and brambles do not require pollinators, but fruit production will increase with a pollinator present.
Article written by ‘Botanical Brian’ Pirtle, Horticulturist