Grow 'Exotic' Fruit Trees at Home
Far beyond apples and pears, you can grow an astoundingly diverse bounty of fruit right in your backyard. While western Oregon is known for its wet winters, our dry summers help define the region as a Mediterranean climate. Combined with mild winters, our local climate allows for cultivation of an incredibly wide range of plants. That means that many fruit trees often seen as ‘exotic’ (like kiwis, persimmons, and olives) can actually thrive year-round in the Willamette Valley.
Kiwi fruit are a symbol of New Zealand, but they can also be wonderful additions to your edible garden here in the Pacific Northwest. Kiwis grow on robust vines, similar to grapes, so they make a good choice for climbing along a sturdy arbor. Most kiwis require both a male and female plant to cross-pollinate and successfully bear fruit. If you don’t have the space for two of these vines, consider a self-fertile variety that will self-pollinate.
The kiwi fruit you’re probably used to seeing in grocery stores is the fuzzy, green-fleshed ‘Hayward’ variety of fuzzy kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) — these can absolutely be grown in your home garden, but they can be sensitive to frost (see the bottom of the post for tips on protecting frost-sensitive fruit trees). Some of the best varieties for our climate are the hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta) and Arctic kiwi (Actinidia kolomikta), which produce smaller yet more flavorful fruit called the kiwiberry. Oregon is one of the nation’s largest producers of kiwiberries, so it’s well-worth experimenting with these unique fruits in your home garden.
(Photo: Bernadine Strik, © Oregon State University)
Figs are a staple of the Mediterranean that can thrive in the warm, dry summers of the Willamette Valley. Their sweet fruit makes for excellent additions to salads and charcuterie boards.
Large, hardy varieties like ‘Desert King’ and ‘Brown Turkey’ produce abundant fruit in the landscape, while mid-sized options Little Miss Figgy (up to 6’ fall) and Champagne (up to 15’) can fit into a smaller corner of your garden. The compact ‘Fignomenal’ is a perfect choice for a container. All figs will enjoy a full-sun spot in your garden and need consistent moisture during the growing season to produce their luscious fruit. When planted in the ground, figs can benefit from adding a little lime to raise the PH of our acidic native soils. Once established, many of the varieties we carry at Cornell Farm can offer two crops of delicious fresh figs each year.
As the Willamette Valley grows into a well-known new frontier of wine country, it’s no surprise that grapes are a sweet option for growing fresh fruit at home. From ‘Pommard’ Pinot Noir grapes to seedless ‘Remaily’ or ‘Himrod’ grapes perfect for snacking on, you have many options to choose the perfect variety for your tastes.
Grapes can be grown up a trellis or over an arbor for picturesque hanging bunches. They can spread rapidly over the growing season and will benefit from substantial pruning in the winter following their first crop.
Olives are sun-loving trees with sage-colored leaves and beautiful gnarled wood, best known for their long history of cultivation in arid regions surrounding the Mediterranean. Similar to grapes, olives (particularly olive oil) are becoming a fast-growing specialty market in Oregon.
While many of the trees on this list are great choices for planting in the fall, the cold-sensitive yet drought-tolerant olive usually naturalize better with springtime planting when the threat of frost has passed. These trees are great candidates for container planting, so another option is to bring your olive tree inside a sheltered area like a garage on cold nights that drop below 30°F.
Native to South America, the pineapple guava (also known as feijoa) grows fruit resembling an avocado with sweet, soft flesh inside. Its taste is fittingly described as carrying notes of guava, pineapple, banana, and even mint. The pineapple guava’s brilliant fans of bright red flowers are not just a tropical statement — they’re also edible!
Like olives, these heat-loving trees are often better suited to springtime planting when the danger of frost has passed. Plant pineapple guavas in a sunny location and give them extra water between flowering and fruiting; during the rest of the year, they are quite drought-tolerant and only need extra attention on especially cold days (see below for our tips for protecting cold-sensitive trees).
The beautifully glossy leaves and tubular red-orange blossoms make pomegranates a gorgeous ornamental in the garden. They handle our winters well but require optimal conditions to coax into producing fruit in the Willamette Valley.
For the best chances of growing the succulent fruit, plant them in a hot, full-sun location in your yard.
Jujubes are hardy trees that flush with red-brown fruit in the fall, often compared to dates with an apple-like flavor. Originating in Asia, jujubes are utilized in Chinese traditional medicine and can be eaten fresh or dried for a sweet, chewy treat.
They can survive temperatures down to -10°F and are heat resistant to over 100°F, so they can take virtually anything our western Oregon weather has to offer.
While persimmons are such beautiful trees in the landscape that they can be grown for their ornamental virtues alone, their fruit is also a unique delight to enjoy fresh, cooked, or dried.
When the glossy leaves of the persimmon tree turn bright orange and fall in autumn, they leave behind beautiful, tangerine-colored fruits. During the fall, a bounty of persimmons ripen from a mature tree at Cornell Farm’s Kitchen Garden.
When to Plant Fruit Trees
To prepare for an excellent harvest in the coming year, many fruit trees excel when planted in the fall. The soil retains the summer heat and creates fertile ground for young trees to set their roots. Autumn rains also soften the soil and make for easier planting — plus, less supplemental water is required to get your new tree established. As the days grow shorter and the temperatures fall, deciduous trees drop their leaves and can instead focus on growing a robust root system over the winter. By the time your new tree is ready to leaf out again next year, it will be well-established in the soil so it can properly focus on developing delicious fruit.
Protect Your Trees From Frost
A little cold isn’t bad for your fruit trees — even many ‘exotic’ species need a certain amount of ‘chill hours’ at 45°F or below to trigger the end of their winter dormancy. When the temperatures rise again, it signals to the tree that it can begin regrowing its leaves and fruit buds for the season.
Keep an eye out for frost after warm spring days, as fresh buds are especially vulnerable to cold damage. While our winter temperatures only occasionally dip below 32°F, plants from warmer climates (like persimmons, olives, and pineapple guava) will need a little extra protection if we have a deep freeze like the ice storms of 2021 or 2024. Frost protection covers like the Fleece Jackets or Crop Covers we carry can help protect your tree from these extreme temperatures. Trees in pots are more vulnerable to freezing, so bring your potted trees into a sheltered area like a garage when the forecast calls for extremely low temperatures — be mindful not to shock your tree’s system by bringing it straight inside the cozy temperatures of your home.
With a little extra attention, you can successfully grow even fruit trees adapted to very different conditions than we experience here in Oregon. Gardening is often a venture of experimentation, so try out these ‘exotic’ trees to bring a harvest of new flavors to your own edible landscape. Our experienced gardeners are always here to help if you have any questions about growing these and other unusual fruit trees.
