The Home Orchard

Peaches. Click to enlarge.

Whether you are thinking of planting your first fruit tree, or you have been tending fruit trees for years, here is a collection of resources just for the home gardener from the UC Master Gardeners of Sacramento County and other external resources.

Monthly tips - what to do for your fruit trees each month.

The orchard at the FOHC - a history of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center (FOHC) orchard.

Orchard maps - tour of orchard plantings at the FOHC.

Frost Protection - cold weather can damage citrus and other sensitive plants.

Master Gardener publications and videos

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Growing Citrus in Sacramento (PDF 222KB) (GN 127)
Citrus Resources (PDF) (GN 135)
Cherry tree cover - for Spotted Wing Drosophila.
Peach Leaf Curl Prevention - trial of various products.
Codling Moth Management at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center
Using computerized tools (PDF) - Codling moth management. (EHN 100)
Reduced Chemical Pest Management (PDF 88KB) - summary. (EHN 81)
Why Fruit Trees Fail to Bear (PDF 202KB)(EHN 68)
Orchard Bee Nesting House (PDF 200KB) (GN 102)
Espalier Demo (PDF 21MB)

Videos

Video Library - view our many videos about growing fruit and citrus.
Grow Fruit Trees in Limited Space (10:11 min.) - Ed Laivo for Virtual Harvest Day 2020

External resources

Note: PDF files open in a new window/tab.

The Home Orchard: Growing Your Own Deciduous Fruit and Nut Trees - UC ANR book store.
Citrus Culture and Pests - UC IPM
- Asian Citrus Psyllid and Huanglongbing Disease - invasive pest and the disease it spreads
- Detecting Asian Citrus Psyllid - video from UC ANR
- Selected common citrus pests:
  - Citrus leafminer
  - Cottony cushion scale
- Citrus Picture Guide, leaf and twig - UC IPM citrus diseases and disorders.
- Citrus Picture Guide, fruit - UC IPM citrus diseases and disorders.
Citrus Leaf and Twig Problem Diagnosis (PDF) - UC IPM to help diagnose citrus pests, disease and cultural problems
Citrus Pest Management - UC IPM intended for commercial growers. A comprehensive list on citrus culture and pest management. Note: many pesticides mentioned are not available to home gardeners.
Citrus varieties - Four Winds Growers
Growing citrus - Four Winds Growers
Budding and Grafting - Citrus and Avocado (PDF 168KB) - UC ANR (ANR 8001)
Citrus - Tried and True or Something New (PDF) - UC ANR (ANR 8472)
The Citrus Family Tree (PDF) - National Geograhic magazine. The origin of citrus
General fruit tree information - California Backyard Orchard website covers the basics and more.
Maintenance calendars - California Backyard Orchard seasonal care.
Fruit tree varieties - Dave Wilson Nursery
Recommended varieties and taste tests - Dave Wilson Nursery
Backyard orchard culture - Dave Wilson Nursery. Grow tree-ripe fruit in a small space.
Planting and Care of Young Trees (PDF 112KB) - UC ANR. (ANR 8048)
Pruning Overgrown Deciduous Trees (PDF 97KB) - UC ANR. (ANR 8058)
Training and Pruning Deciduous Trees (PDF 226KB) - UC ANR. (ANR 8057)
Thinning Young Fruit (PDF 109KB) (ANR 8047)
Fruit tree pests - UC IPM. Commonly grown fruit and nut trees.
Plant problem diagnostic tool - UC IPM gives you the ability to solve plant problems.
Winter Pest Management - UC ANR. Backyard fruit trees (PDF 5.3 MB) (ANR 8368)

Videos

Detecting Asian Citrus Psyllid (0:30 min.) - UC ANR
Backyard Fruit Tree Basics (16:50 min.) - Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery.
Shopping for Bare Root Fruit Trees (6:38 min.) - Ed Laivo of Dave Wilson Nursery.
Plant a Fruit Tree (6:05 min.) - Ed Laivo of Dave Wilson Nursery.
Fruit Tree Pruning Demonstration (4:50 min.) – Ed Laivo and Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery.
Grafting Fruit Trees (9:01 min.) - Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery.
Pests and Beneficials - UC IPM list of videos on many topics.

ANR = free publication from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Catalog
PN = free publication from UC Integrated Pest Management
EHN = Environmental Horticulture Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
GN = Garden Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

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