What we grow, when to prune it, and what we've learned growing fruit in North Florida's heat, humidity, and unpredictable winters.
This guide covers the fruit trees growing on our 4-acre property in Lloyd, Florida. Timing is given relative to your tree's seasonal cycle — not calendar dates — because North Florida doesn't always cooperate with calendars. Pruning windows, fruiting wood, and harvest expectations are all tuned to our Zone 9a climate with roughly 870 chill hours per year, which is exceptional for this part of Florida and opens up variety options most of the state can't grow.
Royal Crimson and Royal Lee are our top performers. They cross-pollinate each other and both ripen in spring. Avoid varieties needing more than 400 chill hours.
Prune during dormancy — late winter, after your last hard freeze risk has passed but before bud swell. Cherries are the most disease-susceptible stone fruit; always sanitize blades between cuts.
Cherries fruit on spurs on 2-year-old wood and older. Preserve older scaffold branches — don't over-thin. New long shoots won't fruit until they age into spurs.
Train to an open vase shape. Keep the center open for airflow — bacterial canker and brown rot thrive in dense cherry canopies. Remove crossing branches and anything growing inward.
Cherries face the heaviest disease pressure of any tree in our orchard — bacterial canker, brown rot, and shot hole. They reward you, but they demand consistent copper and fungicide coverage.
Typically April through May in North Florida depending on chill accumulation. Royal Lee ripens slightly ahead of Royal Crimson.
Anna and Dorsett Golden are the gold standard low-chill apples. They cross-pollinate each other and are widely available. Snow Fameuse is a heritage variety worth trying if you can find it.
Prune after harvest, not during bloom. If the tree is loaded with blooms, let it fruit — top and shape after you pick. Pruning too early sacrifices your crop.
Apples fruit on short spurs on 2-year-old and older wood. The same spurs can produce for many years — don't remove them. Long whippy shoots are vegetative, not productive.
Modified central leader works well for Anna and Dorsett. Remove upright watersprouts, inward-crossing branches, and anything shading the interior. You can be fairly aggressive — low-chill apples push back hard.
A very heavy crop one year often leads to a lighter year the next. This is normal. Consistent post-harvest pruning and thinning heavy fruit sets helps even out production year to year.
May through June in North Florida. Dorsett Golden ripens slightly ahead of Anna. Pick when fruit releases easily with a gentle upward twist — don't wait for them to drop.
FloridaKing is our top recommendation — bred specifically for our climate, reliable, and widely praised across North Florida. Florida Belle (also sold as Flordabelle) is a solid companion variety. Both need under 400 chill hours.
Prune during dormancy, ideally after the coldest weather has passed but before bud swell — typically late January through February in North Florida. Peaches require annual pruning to stay productive.
Peaches fruit on one-year-old wood only. This is critical — last year's new growth is this year's fruit. You must prune annually to force new shoot development or production declines quickly.
Train to an open vase — no central leader. Three to five main scaffold branches spreading outward, open center for light and air. Heading cuts on last year's shoots encourage fruiting laterals.
Florida peaches bloom early — late February through March. A hard freeze after bloom can eliminate the crop for that year. Late-blooming varieties like FloridaKing have a slight advantage in cold years.
May through June depending on variety. Peaches ripen fast in Florida heat — check daily once they start showing color. Brown rot can take a ripe crop in 48 hours; pre-harvest fungicide timing is critical.
Kieffer is the workhorse pear for the South — fire blight resistant, heat tolerant, and reliable. Hood and Flordahome are also solid choices. Avoid European varieties that need significant chill hours.
Prune during dormancy in late winter. Keep pruning light — heavy cuts stimulate the soft, succulent growth that fire blight loves. Minimal, strategic cuts only.
Pears fruit on short spurs on older wood, similar to apples. The same spurs are productive for many years. Avoid removing productive spur wood — focus on dead, diseased, or crossing branches.
Central leader or modified central leader. Pears naturally want to grow upright — work with that tendency rather than against it. Open the canopy gradually over several years rather than one heavy prune.
Fire blight hits pears hard in warm, wet springs. Remove blighted wood immediately — cut 8–12 inches below any visible infection into clean wood. Sanitize blades between every cut without exception.
July through August for Kieffer in North Florida. Pick before fully ripe and allow to finish ripening off the tree — pears ripen from the inside out and can go mealy if left too long on the branch.
Santa Rosa Improved is our top recommendation — reliable, flavorful, and widely available. Toka is an excellent pollinator. Methley is the most bulletproof low-chill option if you're starting out.
Prune during dormancy, late winter before bud swell. Remove all diseased wood immediately whenever found — bacterial canker doesn't wait for dormancy. Always cut into clean wood and sanitize blades.
Japanese plums fruit on one-year-old shoots and short spurs. Annual pruning to encourage new shoot development is essential. Old unproductive wood should be renewed over a 2–3 year cycle.
Open vase — same as peaches. Three to five main scaffolds, open center, good airflow. Remove inward-growing and crossing branches. Keep tree height manageable for spray coverage and picking.
The biggest threat to plums in North Florida. Sunken, dark lesions on bark and limbs. Cut below any canker into green wood, apply copper paste to the wound, and sanitize blades immediately.
May through June depending on variety. Santa Rosa ripens mid-season. Plums ripen quickly once they start — check daily and harvest at peak color before stink bugs and birds beat you to it.
Of all 44 trees on our property, Spice Zee stands apart. It bloomed straight through a 28°F freeze — during a winter that saw temperatures dip as low as 18°F — resists disease better than almost anything else we grow, and produces the most flavorful fruit in the orchard. If we could only keep one tree, this might be it.
A nectaplum — a hybrid cross between a nectarine and a Japanese plum. Gets the best of both: the richness of nectarine flavor with the cold hardiness and disease resistance of plum genetics. Beautiful white spring bloom.
Exceptionally cold hardy for a low-chill stone fruit. Our trees bloomed through an 18°F freeze event and set fruit anyway. Better freeze tolerance than peaches or straight nectarines.
Prune during dormancy after freeze risk has passed. Remove diseased wood as found year-round. Spice Zee is more disease resistant than most stone fruits but still benefits from an open, airy canopy.
Fruits on one-year-old wood and short spurs, following Japanese plum behavior. Annual pruning to encourage new growth is important. Established trees are vigorous growers and reward consistent management.
Open vase form. These trees push vigorously — keep them at a manageable height for picking and spray coverage. Remove crossing branches and anything that closes off the center canopy.
May through June in North Florida. Fruit is striking — deep red-purple skin with sweet, spiced flavor unlike anything else in the orchard. Best eaten fresh off the tree.
Candy Heart Pluerry is our top performer in this category — thriving and disease resistant. Flavor Grenade Pluot also strong. Sweet Treat Pluerry is productive but watch for canker on the main trunk.
Prune during dormancy. Don't hesitate to cut hard on diseased wood — these trees recover well if healthy wood remains below the cut. Always check for green cambium below any canker before deciding where to cut.
Pluots and pluerries follow Japanese plum fruiting behavior — one-year-old shoots and short spurs. Annual pruning for shoot renewal is important. Established trees are productive and vigorous.
Open vase form. These trees can push vigorously in Florida's long growing season. Keep the center open and height manageable. Remove any inward-crossing or diseased wood promptly.
Pluots are roughly 75% plum / 25% apricot genetics. Pluerries are plum / cherry crosses. Both inherit better disease resistance than pure apricots or cherries while producing complex, rich flavor profiles.
May through July depending on variety. Candy Heart typically ripens mid-season. Flavor Grenade runs slightly later. Harvest at full color with slight give to the touch — flavor is best at tree-ripened peak.
Fuyu (non-astringent, eat firm like an apple) and Nikita's Gift (hybrid vigor, outstanding flavor) are our top picks. Hachiya for astringent/cooking use. Yamoto Hyakume is rare and excellent if you can source it.
Prune during dormancy in late winter. Persimmons require minimal pruning compared to stone fruits — mostly removing crossing branches, dead wood, and maintaining shape and height.
Persimmons fruit on new growth from the current season, emerging from older wood. Avoid heavy pruning that removes the older framework — you need that scaffold to generate the new fruiting shoots each year.
Modified central leader or open vase — both work. These are naturally well-structured trees and don't require heavy intervention. Focus on removing dead wood and maintaining light penetration into the canopy.
One of the most trouble-free fruit trees for North Florida. Minimal disease pressure, few pest problems, drought tolerant once established, and the fall color is spectacular. A genuinely rewarding tree to grow.
October through December depending on variety. Fuyu can be eaten firm. Astringent types like Hachiya must be fully soft before eating — biting into an unripe astringent persimmon is an experience you won't repeat twice.
Arbequina is the most cold-hardy and widely recommended for the Southeast — self-fertile, compact, and productive. Kalamata is worth growing but less cold tolerant; watch it closely after hard freezes.
Prune in late winter or early spring after freeze risk has passed. Olives are slow growers — they don't need heavy annual pruning like stone fruits. Focus on removing dead wood, suckers, and maintaining shape.
Olives fruit on one-year-old wood. Some light tipping of long shoots encourages branching and more fruiting wood. Avoid removing all new growth or you'll sacrifice next year's crop.
After a hard freeze, check for green under the bark before cutting. Olives are often more alive than they look — give them several weeks before making any major cuts. Green and bendy wood is alive even if leaves dropped.
Olives thrive on neglect once established — they prefer well-drained soil and full sun. Avoid overwatering and heavy nitrogen fertilization, which pushes vegetative growth at the expense of fruit set.
October through November in North Florida. Pick Arbequina when fruit turns from green to purple-black for best oil content. Kalamata at full dark purple. Fresh olives must be cured before eating — they are extremely bitter straight off the tree.
Ponkan is our top pick — one of the most cold-hardy mandarins available and an exceptional producer. Owari Satsuma is also widely reliable. Both handle light freezes well and thrive in Zone 9a.
Prune in spring after harvest and after freeze risk has passed. Light shaping and removal of dead, crossing, or inward-growing branches. Citrus doesn't require heavy annual pruning — less is more.
Citrus fruits on current and previous season's growth. Avoid heavy pruning that removes significant amounts of young wood. Renewal pruning is done gradually over multiple seasons, not all at once.
Satsumas handle light freezes to around 20°F when established. Protect young trees with frost cloth on hard freeze nights. If freeze damage occurs, wait until new growth shows before cutting — dead wood is often further back than it appears.
November through January — a welcome harvest when little else is ripe in the orchard. Satsumas peel easily, are seedless, and sweet. Ponkan runs slightly later than Owari and tends to be larger.
North Florida is the northern edge of reliable citrus production. Stick with proven cold-hardy varieties, give young trees a few years to establish, and you'll have a productive tree for decades with minimal care.
Any LSU variety — LSU Purple, LSU Gold, or LSU Improved Celeste — is our recommendation. Bred specifically for the Gulf South, they handle our humidity, root-knot nematodes, and summer heat far better than Brown Turkey or Celeste.
Prune during dormancy in late winter — after your last hard freeze but before new growth pushes. Figs bleed sap when cut during the growing season; dormant pruning minimizes that stress.
Figs produce two crops. The breba crop fruits on last year's wood in early summer. The main crop fruits on new growth in late summer and fall. Heavy pruning removes breba wood — prune lightly if you want both crops.
Multi-trunk vase or single leader both work. Figs can be pruned heavily and recover fast — they're forgiving. Remove crossing branches, dead wood, and tip shoots to encourage branching and canopy density.
Figs are one of the most rewarding trees for Florida with the least effort. No significant disease spray program needed. Minimal pest pressure. They grow fast, produce reliably, and the fruit is exceptional fresh or for preserves.
Breba: June. Main crop: August through October. Harvest when fruit is fully soft, skin begins to split slightly, and the neck droops. Figs don't ripen off the tree — pick at peak and use immediately.