Hardy Fruit for Alberta
June 26, 2022
Did you know you can grow your own fruit right in your back yard? There are so many types of hardy fruit that will do well in Alberta’s climate. Here are just a few of our favourites:
Combination Apple (Malus domestica)
- Ideal for small spaces!
- Apples require at least 2 different varieties to cross-pollinate to produce fruit, but with combination apples, you will have 4-5 hardy varieties grafted onto a single tree.
- Fruit ripens in late summer to fall, depending on variety.
- Plant in well-drained soil in full sun.
- Reaches about 15 feet tall and 12 feet wide.
Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.)
- Compact shrubs produce delicious, sweet berries in summer.
- Excellent for fresh eating, baking, and preserves.
- Self-fertile, but for best yields, plant two different varieties that will cross-pollinate.
- Requires acidic, fertile, peaty, moist soil and sun to part shade.
- Grows 2-3 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide.
Saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia)
- A native species with reddish-purple summer berries that are sweet and reminiscent of blueberry in flavour.
- Excellent for fresh eating, baking, and preserves.
- Vigorous shrub that can be trained into a multi-stemmed tree.
- Self-pollinating.
- Nice fall colour.
- For sun to part shade; well-drained soil.
- Reaches 8-15 feet tall and 6 feet wide, depending on the variety.
Sour Cherry (Prunus spp.)
- Flavourful fruit ripens in summer, ideal for eating fresh, baking, wine making, or preserves.
- Available in either tree form or shrub form.
- Self-pollinating.
- Vigorous and hardy, requiring well-drained soil and full sun.
- We carry several varieties, and we especially love the Romance Series (developed by the University of Saskatchewan) because they have a higher sugar content than other varieties.
- Most Romance Series varieties reach 8-10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.