Spring and summer in North Texas are the best seasons for growing various plants in the garden. Besides vegetables, growing fruit trees that produce delicious fruits can be a great choice as you can enjoy them later when the harvest season arrives. And for that reason, we have compiled the best fruits to grow in North Texas that are not only tasty but also healthy.
These best fruit trees are generally low maintenance; thus, you do not need to provide a lot of stuff to grow and take care of them. In addition, we have also included some exotic fruit trees that are worth trying to plant in your garden.
When harvesting, you will enter a new world of fruit tasting you have never experienced before. Hence, kindly follow us to the end to know better about these fruit trees.
Table of Contents
Do Fruit Trees Grow In North Texas?
Most fruit trees that grow in Texas are easy to grow; thus, you will not be bothered with complicated maintenance.
Furthermore, some of the easiest and best fruits to grow in North Texas are figs, peaches, plums, and pomegranates which are characterized by their large fruits. Meanwhile, the small crops that only require a small space to grow are blackberries and grapes.
They have sweet tastes that leave you with zero regrets for growing them in your backyard.
Easy Fruit To Grow In North Texas
We have already mentioned a little about the best fruits to grow in North Texas. Now, we would like to discuss the easiest fruit trees to plant in the state.
Other than previously indicated, there are some fruits you can easily grow in your North Texas garden with different harvest times. Thus, you can get different fruits in each season.
Moreover, the textures also vary, ranging from soft, crunchy, to spongy. Hence, you can, at the same time, test your sensory acuity. How exciting!
1. Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus)
It is one of the easiest berries you can grow in North Texas. Blackberries have characteristics of tiny ball-shaped, purple to black color when ripening with a sweet taste. The berries actually are false fruits as they do not come from the flowers, but the carpels instead.
Furthermore, this fruit is ready to harvest in late September when the temperature goes down to welcome fall.
If you are interested in growing this fruit tree, you must prepare a spot with full sun exposure for 6-8 hours per day. Blackberries also need loamy, well-drained soil with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0 to thrive. In addition, plant them three to five feet apart to allow optimal growth.
2. Blueberry (Vaccinium meridionale)
Like its fellow berries, Blueberry is one of the best fruits to grow in North Texas that won’t let you be overwhelmed by its maintenance. The size of the fruit is like marble, measuring about 0.2 to 0.6 inches, dark blue-purple with a thin layer like powder on the surface of the skin.
You can also notice a flared crown at the base of this sweet, delicious fruit.
Furthermore, this fruit tree loves to thrive under the full sun on acidic soil. For successful pollination, you need to grow two to three varieties. And as a slow-growing tree, blueberries are ready to harvest after five years of planting. Hence, you may not notice bountiful fruits in the first two or three years. The most common blueberry cultivars in North Texas are Tifblue, Climas, and Premier.
3. Figs (Ficus carica L.)
Despite not being native to North America, the figure grows well in most states, including North Texas. This fruit belongs to the Moraceae family and features deep purple skin when ripening. Interestingly, it has been cultivated in ancient times as a fruit-producing plant and one of the most stunning ornamental trees.
Regarding its growing conditions, fig trees prefer to grow in spring or early fall when the full sun is not too hot, thus avoiding scorching leaves. This fruit tree is also not fussy about the soil, as long as it is well-drained and rich in organic matter. You only need to prepare planting holes 20 feet away from other trees and buildings.
4. Grape
Besides being cultivated as the main wine ingredient, grapes are grown to harvest as fruits and sell in the market. One example of several grape cultivars that grow well in North Texas is Muscadine. It is a native grape to Texas and is known for its excellent tolerance to pests and disease problems.
As a native, this hardy grape has adapted to Texas climatic conditions, such as hot summer, wet spring and autumn, and mild winter. It also loves to grow on acidic soil with a pH of around 5.5 to 6.0. Apart from being a fruit to eat, it turns out that this cultivar is also ideal as a raw material for making wine. What a hidden gem!
5. Peaches
Her reddish-orange skin makes peaches often mistaken for apples. Though if you take a closer look, they are different. Compared to an apple, the skin of a peach is velvety and has a round shape that slightly resembles a heart.
The scent is even more fragrant and delicate, while an apple doesn’t smell like before you peel off the skin.
However, both fruits share similarities in terms of growing requirements. Peach trees require direct full sun for at least eight hours to produce fruits. It also prefers fertile, well-drained soil.
The tree will show its best performance in a climate with hot summer and mild winter. Hence, it is one of the best fruits to grow in North Texas.
6. Plum
Plum juice has recently become popular because of its sweet taste and slightly sour touch, making it taste fresh. Suppose you are a fan of plum juice and want to make your own; you better grow one in your garden.
This stone fruit is hardy compared to its fellow stone family, so don’t worry about its maintenance.
Plum trees need an area of full sun with deep, fertile, well-draining soil to grow well. Despite loving good drainage, it tolerates wet soil better than other stone fruits. However, waterlogging is not acceptable since it can trigger root rot.
Also, avoid a location with strong winds if you don’t want to lose your precious plum fruits.
7. Pomegranate
Unlike other fleshy fruits, pomegranates have unique flesh. The juicy pulp has bright red, transparent flesh covering all the tiny seeds. And amazingly, the seeds are edible so that you can enjoy them with the flesh.
You only have to know the tricks to cut the pomegranate open because if you do it incorrectly, you will lose the nutritious juice.
To grow pomegranate trees in your North Texas garden, you must set aside a full sun location with deep, loamy, good drainage soil. The ideal soil pH for this fruit is about 5.5 to 7.2.
Even though it thrives in hot summer, pomegranates withstands low temperatures as long as you grow them in a north-facing wall since the spot provides the warmth they need.
8. Pear
Pear is a type of fruit that is widely cultivated throughout the world with various types of cultivars. In North Texas, pears have an elongated shape that is wide at the end and narrow at the end of the stem to a quarter to the middle.
The fruit flesh is fresh and rich in water with stone cells or grit, which is its trademark.
Similar to other fruits mentioned, an area with full sun exposure is necessary to plant pear trees as it needs at least six hours of sun per day. They also favor rich, well-drained soil to thrive.
However, you must not add excessive nitrogen fertilizer to increase the organic matter in the soil because it will trigger fire blight disease in pear trees.
Exotic Fruits To Grow In North Texas
If you want to challenge your skill in gardening, growing exotic fruits in North Texas will be a great option to try. Apart from the fact that the fruits produced are not familiar, you also need to adjust their growing conditions so that they are similar to their native habitat.
However, we guarantee you, that it is worth all your effort once you manage to do it! You will have amazing fruits with a unique taste you will never have before. Dare to try? Let’s take a look!
9. Mayhaw
Not many people in North Texas are familiar with Mayhaw because they are commonly grown in the southern United States. Thankfully, it can also grow in North Texas though it is not popular in the garden.
Basically, this fruit is underrated hawthorn berries that are widely available in May. Because of their tart taste, people prefer to cook them into jelly rather than eat them fresh.
Speaking of its growing requirements, this wild berry usually grows in swamp areas with wet soil and a pH of approximately 6.0 to 6.5. Nonetheless, if you want to grow them in your yard, it prefers moist, well-drained soil.
It also loves full sun but tolerates partial shade.
10. Kumquat
The bright yellow skin of the fruits against the deep green of the leaves will immediately draw your attention once you look at Kumquat. Kumquat is a fruit native to eastern Asia with flesh similar to oranges but more oval.
Its sweet taste makes it suitable to be eaten fresh or processed into jellies and jams.
If you are a fan of exotic fruits, you may want to give Kumquat a try. Like others, it requires full sun and well-drained soil to grow well. Fortunately, it does not bother you with soil types as they can thrive in any soil with excellent drainage.
This tree also copes with cold temperatures as low as 18’F, a perfect one to grow in the North Texas garden.
11. Pawpaw
When searching for Pawpaw, you may be misled into thinking that it is the same as papayas. In fact, this exotic fruit has a different shape and tree than the tropical fruit.
This deciduous tree is native to Canada and eastern America and has yellowish-brown flesh with black, medium-sized seeds. Regarding the taste, some say it is a mixture of mango, banana, and citrus with a yeasty aftertaste like an unfiltered wheat beer.
Considering its native range, Pawpaw can grow well in North Texas. It favors fertile, moist, but well-drained soil with 5.5 to 7.0 soil pH to perform best. Even though it tolerates shade, full sun is crucial if you want a bountiful harvest.
12. Loquat
At first glance, the shape of the Loquat is similar to the Kumquat. But they are different. While kumquats have a fleshy structure identical to oranges, kumquats have a tan-like interior, only that the flesh is yellow.
Moreover, this exotic fruit has a floral tone aroma with a combination of apricot, plum, and cherry flavors.
Apart from the fruit, the leaves of Loquat are also cultivated to make herbal tea, while the tree is an ornamental tree. Hence, save a total sunspot area if you are interested in growing them to allow them to produce abundant fruits.
Meanwhile, it prefers fertile, loamy, clay, or gravelly limestone-based soil as long as they are well-drained.
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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What berries grow well in North Texas?
Blackberry is one of the easiest berries that grow well in North Texas. However, not all types of berry will produce abundant fruits here. We recommend some blackberry cultivars, like Brazos, Navaho, and Rosborough.
In addition, you can also grow blueberries if you want! Our recommended cultivars for blueberries are Tifblue, Climas, and Premier.
Can you grow strawberries in North Texas?
Yes, you can! Strawberries grow happily in North Texas, especially in spring when the temperatures are cool but have a hint of warmth. You can start growing strawberries from late January to mid-March.
What kind of pears grow in North Texas?
Pear trees that are commonly grown in North Texas are Orient types. They are fire blight resistant which will benefit the farmers not dealing with this disease.
These pears are one of the favorite fruit trees because they produce large bell-shaped pears with a very sweet taste that are ready to harvest in late summer.
