Utah

Utah Fruit Trees For Sale

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

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

Utah Overview

Filled with indescribable canyons and lakes, Utah is predominantly the ancestral home of the Bannock, Goshute , Navajo, Paiute, Shoshone and Ute 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, Utah entered the Union in 1896. It gets its name from the Apache Indian word (yuttahih), which means people of the mountains. Europeans called the land Ute since they thought the word was referring to the tribes living in the mountains. There are wonderful trees that are native to Utah such as Chokecherry and Netleaf Hackberry trees however non-native apples, plums, cherries, and apricots also do well. We have listed some of our best Utah 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).

• Utah has a dry, semi-arid, desert climate, characterized by low precipitation and hot weather.
• Utah is one of the driest states in the country with one of the lowest relative humidity percentages.
  • Consequently the summer heat doesn’t feel muggy and the winter colds don’t feel as cold as New England winters which have a higher relative humidity.
• However the climate varies depending on the region, e.g. the mountainous regions experience different weather.
• The summer temperatures range from 85°F to 100°F
• Winters are colder in the mountain regions.

Soil Type

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

• Although Utah has different types of soil, the state soil is the Mivida soil, which covers the southeastern portion of the state. Since Utah doesn’t receive a lot of rain, this soil supports rangeland, irrigated cropland and wildlife habitat. Additionally, it covers around 200,000 acres of land with natural vegetation such as sagebrush, galleta, blue grama, and Indian ricegrass.
• However, Box Elder County has some of the best fruit tree producing soils, especially along the benches of the mountains from Willard to Brigham City. In fact many fruit trees grow in this area, such as apricots, sweet and tart cherries, peaches, pears and apples trees.
• 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.

• In places of lower elevation, Utah receives 12 inches or less annually. For example, the Great Salt Lake Desert receives less than 5 inches annually. Since this is below the recommended rainfall for fruit trees, you will need irrigation in order to grow fruit trees.
• However, the areas around Salt Lake City get about 60 inches of rain annually.
• Additionally snowfall is variable but abundant in the mountainous regions. In fact, the mountainous regions can receive 500 inches of snow annually while other regions get 50-100.

Utah 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.

• Utah has growing zones ranging from 4a to 9a.
• In summary, temperatures get cooler in the northeast in the mountainous regions but hotter in the south.

The map below shows the growing zones of the different regions in the state, with some regions reaching -34°F and others reaching 25°F. You can find the zone for your zip code here.

Best Utah Fruit Trees For Sale

There are many trees that will grow well in Utah. In fact throughout the state, there are already many apple, peach, cherry, plum, pear, and apricot orchards.

• In the southern regions, fruit trees that require a certain amount of chill hours such as apples and pears won’t do well in the southwest. However, you can grow figs and pomegranates, especially in the St. George area.
• In the northern region, you can grow any fruit tree. However apricots and perhaps plums may be affected by a late spring frost so you will have to know you microclimate. 

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 Utah (especially in the north) include:

Apple

• Akane, Gala, Honeycrisp, Gravenstein, Jonathon, Liberty, Cortland, Empire, Jonagold, Macoun, Northern Spy, Haralson.

Apricot

• Tomcot, Goldbar, Goldcot, Goldrich, Rival, and Perfection

Cherries

• Sweet: Chelan, Black Tartarian, Royal Ann, Bing, Utah Giant, Stella, Ranier, Van, Lambert, Lapins, Sweetheart
• Tart: Montmorency, Northstar, Meteor, and English Morello

Nectarine

• Sunglo, Flavortop, Red Gold, and Fantasia

Peach

• Red Haven, Glohaven, Contender, Red Globe, Canadian Harmony, Early Elberta, Halehaven, J.H. Hale, Loring, Cresthaven, Elberta

Pear

• Bartlett, Anjou Bosc, Seckel, Nijisseiki, Chojuro, Shenseiki

Plum

• Santa Rosa, Satsuma, Shiro, Green Gage, Stanley, Elephant Heart, Italian Prune, Brooks, President, Potawatame.

See the Utah State University Extension website for more helpful information such as spraying schedules for fruit trees in Utah.

You can read more in our growing guide about how to prune and take care of the trees. If you would like to discover our fruit trees, explore our fruit tree catalog or shop page. Our trees are available for every spring season.