Kentucky

Kentucky Fruit Trees For Sale

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

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

Kentucky Overview

Filled with indescribable mountains, rivers, and gorges, Kentucky is predominantly the ancestral home of Cherokee, Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Yuchi tribes. 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, Kentucky entered the Union in 1861. Due to the introduction of many different fruit varieties, Kentucky now has many orchards growing apples, peaches, and many other fruit trees. We have listed some of our best Kentucky fruit trees for sale below.

Tulip Poplar
The Tulip Poplar, Kentucky’s state tree

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).

  • Kentucky has a humid subtropical climate, characterized by hot and humid summers, and cold to mild winters.
  • The average high during the summer ranges in the high 90s.
  • While during the winter, the temperature can drop the 20s.

Soil Type

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

  • Although Kentucky has many different types of soil, the state soil is the Crider soil. This soil is not only deep and well-draining, but 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.

  • Kentucky gets on average around 47 inches of rain annually, with more rain coming to the south.
  • However, winter frosts and freezes also occur from October to April.

Kentucky Growing Zones for Fruit Trees

Growing zones help growers know which trees will thrive in their region. For example, certain peach trees with 5-8 growing zones, shouldn’t be planted in a 3b zone because the low temperatures will harm the tree.

  • Kentucky has growing zones ranging from 6a to 7a.

The map below shows the growing zones of the different regions in the state, with some regions reaching -10°F and others reaching 5°F. You can find the zone for your zip code here.

Kentucky USDA Planting Growing Zones
USDA Map of Kentucky Growing/Planting Zones

Best Kentucky Fruit Trees For Sale

There are many trees that will grow well in Kentucky. In fact throughout the regions, there are already many apple, peach, plum and various other fruit orchards. In order to pick the right trees for your specific location and needs, 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 Kentucky include the following.

  • Apples: Idared, Redfree, Pristine, Enterprise, Empire, Honeycrisp, Ginger Gold
  • Pears: Starking Delicious, Seckel, Harrow Delight, Anjou, Bosc, Duchess Stark, Moonglow.
  • Peaches: Biscoe, Challenger, Contender, Earliglow, Encore, Flamin’ Fury, Harmony, Madison, Red Rose, Redhaven, and Saturn.
  • Apricots: Earli Orange, Goldcot, Wilson Delicious.
  • Nectarines: Redgold, Sunglo,
  • Cherries
    • Tart cherries: Montmorency, Meteor, Suda Hardy, Mesabi, North Star, Danube.
    • Sweet cherries: Black Tartarian, Glass, Rainer, Stark Gold Yellow, Stella, Van, and Windsor.
  • Plums:
    • European: Stanley, Bluefre, Green Gage (Reine Claude), Damson (Shropshire), Mount Royal.
    • Japanese: Methley, and Ozark Premier
  • American Persimmon Tree
  • Mulberry Tree
  • Pawpaw Tree

Browse more varieties of fruit trees for sale here.

Mane