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Drew Demler's Fruit Tree List

Here is a list of the best fruit tree varieties to grow in the greater Austin area. It is not at all meant to be an all-inclusive list. It is just a list of some old favorites known to do well here, and a few other new ones that are soon to become classics. Plant away and have some fun!

Apples:

  • Gala
  • Fuji
  • Mollies Delicious
  • Yellow Delicious strains (July Gold is really good)
  • Granny Smith – best reserved for the north end of our area, and best to grow the spur mutation to avoid problems with sunburn on the fruit.

Look for rootstocks M9 or M7 for compact apple trees. Apple trees must be cross pollinated with another variety.

Peaches:

  • Junegold
  • Red Baron – good for flowers and fruit
  • Redskin
  • Loring – maybe best for the north end of our area
  • Early Elberta – better for our area than the standard Elberta
  • Feicheng Tao – white-fleshed newcomer with knockout flavor
  • Donut – flat peaches with white flesh are wonderful and so much fun to grow

There are many other varieties of peach that will grow here.

Pears:

  • Fan-Stil – discovered in Mexico and further developed in San Antonio; this pear has a classic shape and great taste
  • Monterrey – another pear from Mexico; has a shape of an apple and a tangy pear flavor; very good
  • Orient – very reliable producer of huge pears; they usually have a strong fragrance when ripe and a very distinct flavor

Please avoid:

  • Bartlett, Anjou, Bosc, or Comice. They won't work well here.

Asian Pears:

  • Hosui – brown skin and awesome flavor when fully ripened
  • 20th century – yellow skin and good quality
  • Ya Li – large sweet pears beautiful flowers and fall foliage as well

NOTE: Asian pears are firmer than regular pears and ripen fully on the tree, whereas regular pears are usually picked green and should be set for a few days to ripen to a softer texture.

Citrus

  • Satsuma orange (several varieties)

Plums:

  • Methley – red skin and flesh; easy to grow and good quality
  • Santa Rosa – short-lived but a great plum

Other varieties work here, but most think these two are the best.

Apricots:

  • Blenheim – great quality and appears to be the best choice
  • Chinese – edible pit on this apricot that can produce here

All in all, apricots can be tricky trees and are not known to be very reliable producers, but some have had success in the area and the trees are beautiful.

Figs

  • Alma
  • Black Jack
  • Brown Turkey

The above three types of trees can be grown without chemical sprays under normal conditions.

Pomegranate – Wonderful. Is the best fruiting type

Japanese Persimmon – Fuyu is the best non-astringent type

Try some of these trees and have a great time harvesting your own fruit soon!

Fruit Tree Maintenance:

In January, spray fruit trees with dormant oil like neem to protect against plum curculio and other insects. Be sure to cover the trunk and all parts of the tree. Apply again in February to suffocate overwintering insects. In the growing season, you can spray Surround (kaolin clay) on the fruit to deter insects.

Additional links:
A&M Home Fruit Growing
Central Texas Horticulture (Extension office)



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