California

California Fruit Trees For Sale

Want to know all about growing fruit trees in California? There are different things to consider for growing and choosing from the right California fruit trees for sale, such as the

  • Climate
  • Soil type
  • Precipitation
  • Growing zones
  • How to choose the best suited fruit trees for California

California Overview

Filled with indescribable falls, beaches, and forests, California is predominantly the ancestral home of over 20 indigenous tribes, some of which include the Mojave, Quechan, Hupa, and Yuki. These native tribes have vast knowledge on how to take care of the land in ways that cultivate biodiversity, protect trees from diseases, and don’t harm nature. After white settlers colonized the region, California entered the Union in 1850 after the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848. Due to the introduction of many different fruit varieties, California now has many orchards growing apples, peaches, and many other fruit trees. We have listed some of our best California fruit trees for sale below.

Climate

The climate has a huge influence on fruit trees, just as trees have a large impact on the climate. For example, many fruit trees require a certain number of days of cold temperature in order to bear fruit in the spring (chill hours).

  • Since California covers a vast area, it also has not one but 16 climate zones. In fact the Rocky Mountains affect the climate, as does the Pacific Ocean. For example, the mountains allow for eastside mountain rain and westside mountain desert.
  • If you’d like to know the climate in your area, you can use the tools on this site.
  • The hottest recorded temperature in the world was recorded in Death Valley at 134°F and the lowest recorded temperature was -45°F.

Soil Type

Most fruit trees need mineral-rich, well-drained, and loamy soil.

  • Although California has many different types of soil, the state soil is the San Joaquin soil. This soil is not only well-draining and fine grained but also covers around 500,000 acres of fertile land.
  • If you would like to know the soil in your county, check these USDA soil surveys.

If you would like to see what soil type you have in your backyard, you can do a simple squeeze test.

  • When you do the squeeze test, you will know that you have loamy soil if after squeezing a handful of moist soil, the soil holds its shape but crumbles after lightly poking.
  • If you want to also check for Ph, drainage, worms you can try these DIY easy tests.

Precipitation

Most established fruit trees will need about an inch or so of rainfall every 7-10 days in order to grow and be healthy. Annually this would mean a minimum from 36 – 52 inches of rain. Periods of drought can harm the tree while long periods of rain can cause diseases such as scab and canker for apple trees.

  • Since California is so large, precipitation also varies from region to region. For example the northwest may get 170 inches annually while the southeastern deserts may get hardly any.

California Growing Zones for Fruit Trees

What is a growing zone?

Growing zones help growers know which trees will thrive in their region. It is defined by the temperature hardiness, or ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone. For example, certain peach trees which can grow in 5-8 growing zones, shouldn’t be planted in zone 3 because they won’t survive the low temperatures.

  • California has growing zones ranging from 5a to 10b.
  • In summary, temperatures get cooler the further north one gets.

The map below shows the growing zones of the different regions in the state, with some regions reaching -20°F and others reaching 40°F. You can find the zone for your zip code here.

California Growing Zones USDA
USDA Map of California Growing/Planting Zones

Best California Fruit Trees For Sale

There are many trees that will grow well in California. In fact throughout the regions, there are already many apple, peach, plum, fig, persimmon and various other fruit orchards. In order to pick the right trees for your specific location and needs, since California is so varied, you should therefore also consider the following characteristics for each tree. You can read more about these considerations here.

  • Pollination
  • Rootstock
  • Chill hours
  • Disease resistance

Some of our recommended trees to grow in California are

Browse more varieties of fruit trees for sale here.

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