Miniature Fruit Trees

The miniature fruit trees are dwarf varieties of regular fruit trees. It is possible to grow these fruit trees in containers without compromising on the care and maintenance. Plants that are commonly grown in the dwarf form include a variety of citrus plants, apples and peach trees. Limited available space for growing trees is the main reason why people opt for miniature trees. These trees are grown in backyards and also indoors. Let us obtain some information related to these trees through the following article.

Facts about Miniature Fruit Trees

The bonsai's grafting technique is used for growing miniature trees. Rootstock used for grafting is that of a dwarf plant. Scion of the fruit tree in question is grafted on to this rootstock. Number of fruits produced by the miniature varieties is the same as that of standard ones.

Miniature Citrus
The citrus plants commonly converted into dwarf ones include the lime, orange, lemon, kumquat, mandarin, etc. The important varieties of lime that are being used include Thai lime, Key lime and Bears lime. Seeds found in these varieties are less in number. The Improved Meyer and Eureka are amongst important lemon varieties. The Dwarf Valencia Orange tree grows up to a height of 2-3 feet.

Miniature Apple
The dwarf apple trees are known to start producing fruits much earlier in comparison to the regular ones. It takes about 10 years for the standard apple trees to bear fruits. Miniature apples on the other hand start producing fruits within a time span of just 3 years. The rootstock used for creating dwarf apple trees is hardy than the original one (natural root system). The amount of pruning required for these dwarf fruit trees too is lesser. Most of the apple varieties can be converted into dwarf ones by means of grafting. The commonly used rootstocks for miniature apples are the Malling rootstocks and Cornell-Geneva.

Miniature Cherry
The cherry fruits are in great demand for their sweet flavor. A variety of miniature cherry trees called the Compact Stella grows well in mild winters. The height of these miniature trees range from 4-6 feet. The expanse of branches is 4 feet. This plant variety produces large sized fruits.

Genetically Dwarf Fruit Trees
These fruit trees are not made smaller in an artificial manner. The short trees that have different genetic combination than that of regular ones possess the characteristic of heavy branching. One can see these dwarf varieties in fruit trees like peaches, apricots, almonds, nectarines, etc.

The miniature fruits trees are considered to be commercially viable since a less amount of care is need for growing. Space requirement too is less; these plants can therefore, be planted in backyards and placed indoors in containers. The number of fruits produced is equal to or sometimes greater than the standard sized trees. Size of fruits by these trees too is the same as regular fruits trees.