Where to Buy Fruit Trees? Choose a Specialist Fruit Tree Nursery Near You

If you want to grow fruit trees organically, it's important to buy the right trees. A poorly chosen tree will very likely struggle and produce substandard fruit. In contrast, a carefully-selected fruit tree that is suited to your unique conditions will be more likely to thrive and produce a bountiful harvest.

So, where do you buy fruit trees? Garden stores aren't the best option since they offer a limited selection of cultivars. Instead, it's best to order your tree from a specialist fruit tree nursery. They offer a wide range of fruit trees including easier-to-grow varieties that are hard to find anywhere else.

In this article, I'll explore where to buy fruit trees in both Canada and the USA and I'll highlight some of my favourite fruit tree nurseries. For a wider selection, you can scroll through my comprehensive fruit tree nursery resource lists below to identify a fruit tree nursery near you.

Have I missed any top-notch fruit tree nurseries? Feel free to reach out, and I'll add them!

Where to Buy Fruit Trees in the USA

If you live in the US, there is no shortage of specialist nurseries where you can buy fruit trees. Some ship a wide range of traditional fruit trees like apples, cherries, pears and apricots. Others specialize in warm climate trees like citrus and figs. And yet others have developed a very niche market, specializing in specific types of fruits. Here are some of my favourites. You can find more options in our USA fruit tree nursery resource list below. 

• One Green World is a good general fruit tree nursery that ships throughout the USA, including Alaska and Hawaii.  You can meet their nursery manager Sam Hubert in this episode of our podcast when he talks about fig propagation.  
• Trees of Joy offers warmer climate fruit trees, focusing heavily on figs (and we hope to have them on our podcast soon!) 
• England's Orchard, owned by the very respected grower and propagator Cliff England, has a large variety of persimmons and pawpaws. 
• Oikos Tree Crops sells genetically diverse fruit tree seeds including seeds for beach plums. And if you don’t know about beach plums and the potential in growing these native North American fruits, you must check out this podcast in which we chat with Oikos owner Ken Asmus about growing and propagating beach plums. 

Want some more options? Scroll through our fruit tree nursery resource list below to see 40+ fruit tree nurseries in the US.

List of Fruit Tree Nurseries in the US Below

Where to Buy Fruit Trees in Canada

There are also lots of fantastic fruit tree nurseries in Canada. Here are some of our favourites:

• Silver Creek Nursery Ltd. in Ontario has an excellent selection of fruit trees and other fruiting plants. Meet co-owner Steph Muma in our podcast about fruit tree grafting or check out  my online fruit tree grafting course with Steph if you want to learn to graft. 
• Then there are our friends at Whiffletree Nursery. Whiffletree also has an amazing number of fruit tree cultivars on sale and they are famous for their print catalogue which is like an instructional guide for growing fruit trees! 
• On the east coast we are lucky to have some more excellent nurseries including Maple Grove Nursery  where they do custom grafting and also sell rootstocks. 
• Then there is Corn Hill Nursery has a wide selection of cold hardy trees. Owner Bob Osborne is the author of Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates and we chatted with him in our podcast on cold hardy fruit trees. 

Those are just a few highlights. Scroll through our Canadian fruit tree nursery resource list below to see other options.

List of Fruit Tree Nurseries in Canada Below

A Few Things to Keep in Mind Before Buying Your Fruit Trees

• Fruit tree nurseries usually sell bare root trees so when they arrive you need to keep them in a cool, dark place and plant them as soon as possible as they will not survive long without soil around their roots.
• Research your tree well before buying. Ask yourself these questions: Is this an easier-to-grow "disease resistant" cultivar? Is this fruit tree self pollinating? Or does it need to be planted with a partner tree in order to ensure successful pollination? Is this fruit tree appropriate for your climate zone and soil conditions?
• Choose the right tree size. Fruit trees also come in various different sizes depending on the rootstock that they are grafted onto. Dwarf trees may be just 7 feet tall in maturity and can be great for small gardens. Other rootstock choices can give you a fruit tree that will be up to 40 feet tall in maturity.
• Younger and smaller trees are often better. Younger bare root trees often adapt better to their new location. And with proper annual pruning, it's easier to create the open structure that will help keep your fruit tree healthy and productive. If you prune at the right time of year, correct pruning can also keep your tree compact. Learn to prune in our Fruit Tree Pruning Masterclass.
• Learn how to choose a fruit tree that will be ideal for your location in our online course Researching Fruit Trees For Organic Growing Success.

Do You Know How to Care for Your Fruit Trees?

Fruit trees do need hands on care in order to thrive. Check out this article on how to grow apple trees or sign up for one of our premium fruit tree care courses.

Susan Poizner

Director, OrchardPeople.com Fruit Tree Care Education

Learn more about Susan on the about us page.