There's more than one reason to plant fruit trees. Besides giving you a home-grown harvest of incomparable flavor, they bring interest and beauty to the garden.

	A sampler of fruit trees • Apple trees • Apricot trees • Cherry trees • Citrus trees • Peach and nectarine trees • Pear trees • Plum and prune trees

Which fruit trees are best for you? To answer that question, you'll need to take several factors into account. First, decide how much room you have available. A standard (full-size) apple or cherry tree can reach 40 feet high and 30 to 40 feet wide--too large for many gardens. But a number of choices are available to fit a more limited space. Most kinds of fruit trees are sold not only as standard-size plants but also in semidwarf or dwarf forms, made by grafting a standard type onto a dwarfing rootstock. Semidwarf sorts typically reach one-half to three-fourths normal height; dwarfs grow only 5 to 10 feet tall, depending on the species. Some fruit trees are also available as genetic dwarfs--plants bred to be naturally small (just 4 to 10 feet high). These are well adapted to container culture.

Multiple-variety trees offer another way to grow fruit trees in a limited area. Such trees have three to five varieties of the same or a closely related species grafted onto a single trunk and rootstock.

When choosing fruit trees, also think about your climate. To grow and bloom well, many kinds need a certain amount of cold weather each year; this is known as the chill requirement and is measured in hours needed at temperatures below 45 degrees F/7 degrees C. If you live in a mild-winter region, it's important to choose varieties with a low chill requirement.

Cold tolerance is a third factor to consider. Though varieties differ in hardiness, many kinds of apples, sour cherries, and hardy hybrid plums can withstand temperatures as low as -30 degrees F/-34 degrees C, while pears, sweet cherries, and Japanese and European plums tolerate temperatures to -20 degrees F/-29 degrees C. Peaches and apricots may be injured at -15 degrees F/-26 degrees C; most citrus trees are damaged if the temperature falls below 32 degrees F/0 degrees C for any length of time. By taking advantage of your garden's microclimates, however, you may be able to grow fruit trees beyond their normal hardiness range. Siting trees away from frost pockets can also minimize damage inflicted on blossoms by spring frosts.

Many kinds of fruit trees require cross-pollination for good fruit set. If you live in an area where there are few other fruit trees, check the pollination requirements of those you want to grow. If cross-pollination is needed, you don't necessarily have to plant another tree: you may be able to graft a pollenizer branch onto the chosen tree or even place a bouquet of flowers from another variety in a bucket of water at its base.