The dwarf fruit trees are also called the miniature trees. They are so much smaller than the original tree, but the good news is, they can produce the regular size fruits, just like the big trees. In fact, you will be surprised to know that a dwarf apple tree that is only three to four feet high can produce up to 45 apples. As for the peach tree that is smaller, or only about two feet high, it can produce the regular size fresh peaches of up to 30 pieces.
The fact that these miniature trees are small, make them the most popular choices for the backyards as well as the balcony gardeners who would like to have a taste of fruits growing from their own tree. Some types of miniature tree can also be potted and therefore, you should make your choice of potted or non potted trees before you continue to the decision of which dwarf fruit tree to choose. There are different ways to reduce the size of a fruit tree and some of them include:
Genetic Miniature Tree
When you see the miniature fruit tree, you may be wondering why they are small. Some of these types of trees are actually genetic dwarf trees. This means that the trees are short because of their DNA. They are not the regular variety of tree that is grown to be smaller but they are genetically small trees. This also means that you may not be able to get the genetic dwarf tree of your favorites apple or peach. The most common dwarf varieties are nectarines, apricots. Apples, peaches and almonds. These varieties are so small that they can grow in pots. But of course their fruits are of normal sizes. If you live in area with cold winter, then you may need to have winter protection for your pot dwarf trees.
Dwarfing Rootstocks for Dwarf Fruit Trees
Unlike the first one, this is the variety in which the chosen trees are often grafter to a dwarf rootstock. This is the variety with many sizes. Although it requires more work, but you can actually get your favorite variety to be grafted to a dwarf root so that you can get the dwarf tree out of it. There is different dwarfing rootstock to help you restrict the size of the growing tree so that it is not going to be as big as its original size.
