If you’ve ever heard someone refer to a fruit tree as “dwarf”, it can be a bit confusing. For those of us with limited space to grow fruit trees, “dwarf” sounds like exactly what we need. But what does it really mean?
Well today, my fellow small-scale food foresters, we are going to clear up the confusion and find out exactly what makes a “dwarf” fruit tree earn it’s title, and what it doesn’t mean (most retailers don’t want to tell you this!). And we’ll conclude by setting realistic expectations for dwarf trees, and which ones to look for in South Florida.
If you look at most online fruit tree sellers, you’ll find lots of varieties labeled “dwarf”, “miniature”, or “condo tree”. Often they’ll be accompanied by images of trees that look like this:
But are these actually real?
A quick google search for dwarf fruit trees gives mixed answers:
“[Dwarf] fruit trees are a thing, typically maxing out at 2’ wide without pruning.”
“Dwarf apple trees mature around 8-10 feet tall and wide, and produce full-sized fruit, without requiring a large amount of room to grow.“
“Dwarf fruit trees are also called miniature, semi-dwarf, or genetic dwarf fruit trees. These terms are often used interchangeably, and can be confusing.”
They got that last one right
Ok, I’ll admit… it’s plastic.
It’s not that we’re being played for suckers by shady dwarf tree snake oil salesmen. But here in South Florida, trees just don’t grow the way they do in the upper 48. Most of the info about dwarf trees grown in temperate zones doesn’t apply– it’s comparing apples to mangos!
Here’s the truth: You really can purchase a Honeycrisp apple grafted to a dwarfing rootstock, and end up with a tree that grows to just 8 feet tall while making tons of fruit. The problem is…. we can’t grow apples in South Florida.
Instead, we’re well suited for tropical fruit trees like mango, avocado, jackfruit, sapodilla, banana, and so forth. But when the title “dwarf” is used with these trees, it means something much different. Let’s take mango trees as an example.
‘Honey Kiss’ mangos
Mango, our beloved tropical fruit, grows on a tree that’s naturally dominant and large. In the tropics, mango trees can easily exceed 30-50 feet in height, and are almost always the largest canopied tree in the area. Fortunately, over the last century of mango breeding, some cultivars have been identified as compact growers and labeled “dwarf”. But this doesn’t mean they only grow to 8 feet and then stop!
Instead, when you select a dwarf mango, it means that tree can still reach a large size, but will simply take longer. While mangos like ‘Valencia Pride’ quickly reach for the sky, a ‘Cogshall’ tree grows bushy and compact. Because of this, people will refer to ‘Cogshall’ as a dwarf or semi-dwarf. The catch is, it’ll still eventually reach that large 30+ ft range– it just gets there slower.
The truth is, even dwarf mangos (and other tropical fruits) do require some pruning, and need ample space to grow and make fruit. They’re just much easier to keep at a small size, and can be planted closer together. Here at our farm, we have a couple of ‘Pickering’ dwarf mangos planted just 10 feet apart, and a ‘Maria Black’ dwarf avocado tree only 9 feet from our office!
Two ‘Pickering’ dwarf mango trees, 10 feet apart.
So, if you’ve got a limited space and want to squeeze dwarf fruit trees into your yard, the good news is, you can! But you should still plan on trimming them once or twice a year to maintain a nice compact size. We recommend that most fruit trees be planted at a minimum of 15-20 feet apart, and that’s with the expectation that they’ll be pruned. However, the rules can be bent a little if you choose dwarf trees, and invest in a good set of pruning tools!
A potted ‘Makok’ Sapodilla loaded with fruit - considered a dwarf variety.
We get asked by customers on a weekly basis for help selecting dwarf and compact trees, and have made it a priority to keep these varieties well stocked in the nursery
Some of our most popular dwarf trees include:
Mangos: Pickering, Julie, Dwarf Hawaiian, Angie, Honey Kiss, Ice Cream, Lil Gem.
Avocado: Day, Maria Black, Mexicola, Catalina, Utuado, Wurtz.
Sapodilla: Makok, Silas Wood, Alano.
Mulberry: Thai Dwarf, Illinois Everbearing, World’s Best.
Banana: Dwarf Orinoco, Dwarf Namwa, Dwarf Puerto Rican Plantain.
Any variety of: Jaboticaba, Loquat, Grumichama, Barbados Cherry, Sugar Apple, Miracle Fruit, Lemondrop Mangosteen, June Plum, and Cattley Guava.
I hope this article helped clear up some confusion about what a dwarf fruit tree is. If you’re looking for a compact fruit tree to plant in your yard, stop by this week and pick one up! Our staff is happy to help you pick out the right tree for your needs.