With lots of land, sunshine, and good soil, Kansas is the perfect place for a thriving home fruit orchard where you can get a bountiful harvest every year.
Apples and pears are already perfectly suited to the climate and soils and thrive with little effort. Others, like peaches and cherries, require more planning and maintenance, but they can still produce good crops.
Growers in the south may face too much summer heat, while northern growers may face limitations from cold winters.
But no matter which Kansas hardiness zone you live in, you can find fruit trees that will thrive.
7 Types of Fruit Trees You Can Grow in Kansas
1. Apple Trees – Malus domestica
Growing apple trees in Kansas is easy since they thrive in the cold winters, providing enough chill hours for trees to set fruit.
Since apple trees thrive in KS, you should get good, heavy-yielding crops annually with little effort, and what’s more, you have a lot of varieties to choose from! The only ones that may not do well in KS are the more tropical varieties that flower too early and could be damaged by late spring frosts.
These trees prefer full sun and fertile, well-drained, neutral to mildly acidic soil. However, they are fairly tolerant trees and can be planted directly in most KS soil. Those with more alkaline soil can amend it with sulfur and pine needle mulch to prevent possible chlorosis.
Apple trees are mostly self-sterile, so they must be grown with at least one other variety as a pollinator companion to ensure fruit production.
Apple Trees Suitable for Anywhere in Kansas: Gala, Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Liberty, Granny Smith, Jonagold, Empire, Enterprise, Fuji, Jonathon, Haralson, Winesap, Braeburn
USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 10
Average Size at Maturity: 8 – 25 ft tall, 8 – 20 ft spread* *Size depends on variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge from mid-April to mid-May; fruits mature from early summer to mid-fall, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
2. Plum Trees – Prunus domestica, Prunus salicina
Plums will also grow in Kansas, with European Plums performing better than Japanese Plums since they flower later and avoid frost injury more often.
However, the Japanese Plums are quite heat-tolerant and may perform well in the southernmost part of Kansas, but their earlier flowering may result in frost damage some years and are probably unsuitable for the north.
Plums grow best in full sun and well-drained, sandy soil in the moderately to mildly acidic range. You can add sulfur and pine needle mulch if you have slightly alkaline soil.
Plums should be watered every two weeks to encourage fruit production. Do not overwater, however, since they will not tolerate soggy roots.
Most plums are not self-fertile, so you must grow at least two varieties in order to produce fruit.
Kansas also has two edible wild plums, the Wild Plum (eastern) and Sand Hill Plum (western), that will thrive anywhere.
European Plum Trees Suitable for Anywhere in Kansas: Opal, Damson, French, Stanley (self-fertile)
Japanese Plum Trees Suitable for Southern Kansas: Shiro, Methley (self-fertile), Santa Rosa, Friar
USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 9
Average Size at Maturity: 10 – 25 ft tall, 10 – 20 ft spread* *Size depends on variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge from mid-March to mid-April; fruits mature from June to August, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
3. Pear Trees – Pyrus communis, Pyrus pyrifolia
Pears are another tree that performs really well anywhere in Kansas, thanks to their cold, heat, and drought tolerance. Once established, they should produce reliable annual crops.
Pear trees bloom and fruit earlier than apples and make a great complement to your apple trees. However, they don’t bloom too early, so late spring frosts are usually not a problem.
Pears prefer neutral, fertile loams, but they are highly adaptable and will grow in any soil type, provided it is well-drained. Kansas soil typically requires no amendments to grow pears.
Most Asian pears are adapted to warmer climates and will not perform well in Kansas; however, one hardy one listed below should even grow in the north.
Like most fruit trees, pears are mostly not self-fertile and require more than one variety for successful pollination. Asian and common pears are compatible pollinators; just be sure their flowering time overlaps.
Pears Suitable for Anywhere in Kansas: Bartlett, Kieffer, D’Anjou, Bosc, Shinseiki (Asian)
USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 8(9) (Common Pears); 5 – 9 (Asian Pears)
Average Size at Maturity: 8 – 20 ft tall, 7 – 12 ft spread* *Size depends on species and variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers bloom in April; fruits mature from summer to fall, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
4. Cherry Trees – Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Prunus tomentosa
In Kansas, cherry trees can grow very well with a little maintenance and careful selection of your varieties.
Sweet cherries can be sensitive to the summer heat, so be sure to choose one of the more heat-resistant varieties listed below. They also bloom early and can sometimes suffer from late spring frost damage.
Sour cherries bloom later and tolerate the summer heat better, making them much more likely to produce reliable crops yearly.
Cherries grow best in full sun in moist, well-drained soil with some organic matter. Kansas soils are already pretty good, but add a topdressing of organic matter each year to help enrich the soil and retain moisture, especially in the drier west. It is important to irrigate every 1 – 2 weeks during summer droughts.
Most cherries are not self-fertile and require another variety planted with them to ensure good cross-pollination and fruit production.
Heat-Tolerant Sweet Cherry Trees Suitable for Kansas: Stella, Bing, Lapins (self-fertile), Brooks, Royal Crimson, Royal Lee, Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa)
Sour Cherry Trees Suitable for Kansas: Kansas Sweet Cherry (a sweet-sour hybrid), Montmorency, Danube, Balaton
USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 9
Average Size at Maturity: 10 – 25 ft tall, 10 – 25 ft spread* *Size depends on variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge mid-March to late April; fruits mature late May to July, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
5. Peach Trees – Prunus persica
Peach trees are fast-growing trees that can produce fruits early and love heat so they will produce well in hot summers.
They do flower early, however, and can be susceptible to late spring frost damage; planting in a protected location could help.
They are also not very cold-tolerant trees, so be sure to choose one of the more cold-hardy varieties that can withstand the cold Kansas winters better.
Peaches grow best in full sun only and ideally in a location protected from those KS winds. The soil should be mildly acidic to neutral and well-drained with a fairly high sand content since they do not tolerate soggy roots.
Water deeply when young to prevent the tree from developing shallow roots that could result in windthrow.
Many peaches are self-fertile, but all varieties will benefit from being planted with a pollinator companion to ensure good fruit production.
Cold-Hardy Peach Trees Suitable for Anywhere in Kansas: Canadian Harmony, Raritan Rose, Glohaven, Reliance, Flamin’ Fury, Contender, Madison, Redhaven
USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 10
Average Size at Maturity: 6 – 25 ft tall, 6 – 25 ft spread* *Size depends on variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge from March to April; fruits mature early to late summer, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
6. Nectarines – Prunus persica var. nucipersica
Sometimes people think the nectarine is a cross between a plum and a peach, but they are actually a type of peach, a botanical variant of the peach species with firmer, crispier fruits with no fuzz on them.
Since they are actually a peach, nectarines have all the same requirements as peaches: wanting lots of full sun, sandy, well-drained soil in the mildly acidic to neutral range, and adequate irrigation during the summer droughts.
Nectarines are also not very cold-hardy and even less so than the peach. They could all suffer in particularly cold years, but especially in northern Kansas, you may need to wrap it in burlap to protect it from winter weather. Only choose cold-hardy varieties, regardless of where in KS you live.
Nectarines are all self-fertile, so getting fruit from just one tree is possible. However, yields will be increased if grown with another tree.
Cold-Hardy Nectarines Suitable for Kansas: Independence, Harko, Hardired, Intrepid
USDA Growing Zones: 5 – 9
Average Size at Maturity: 6 – 30 ft tall, 6 – 30 ft spread* *Size depends on variety
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers bloom from March to April; fruits mature from late June to August, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
7. Mulberry – Morus rubra, Morus nigra
People don’t often think of mulberries when they are looking for fruit trees for their home orchard, but they would grow very well anywhere in Kansas.
The Red Mulberry is already native to the eastern ¾ of KS, growing on moist hillsides and in riparian areas.
The Black Mulberry is much less cold-hardy than the Red Mulberry and is best grown only in the southernmost part of Kansas.
Mulberries are moderately fast-growing trees that grow best in full sun in moist, fertile, well-drained soils that are mildly acidic to neutral. However, they tolerate rocky, dry, wet, and alkaline soils.
They require weekly irrigation for fruit production and to prevent premature fruit dropping during summer droughts.
While mulberries are self-fertile and can produce fruits with only one tree, crop size will increase significantly if it is planted with another variety.
Red Mulberries Suitable for Kansas: Illinois Everbearing Mulberry, Red Mulberry
USDA Growing Zones: 4 – 8 (Red Mulberry) or 7 – 10 (Black Mulberry)
Average Size at Maturity: 30 – 50 ft tall, 30 – 50 ft spread* *Black Mulberry only reaches 40 ft
Flowering / Fruiting Season: Flowers emerge mid-April to late June; fruits mature September through winter, depending on the variety
Available at: Fast-Growing-Trees & Nature Hills
Table Comparing Fruit Trees in Kansas
Here is a detailed table comparing each fruit tree type, including their bloom time, fruiting time, size at maturity, and USDA growing zones
| Tree Type | Bloom Time | Fruiting Season | Size at Maturity | USDA Zones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Trees | Mid-April to mid-May | Early summer to mid-fall | 8-25 ft tall, 8-20 ft spread* | 4 – 10 |
| Plum Trees | Mid-March to mid-April | June to August | 10-25 ft tall, 10-20 ft spread* | 4 – 9 |
| Pear Trees | April | Summer to fall | 8-20 ft tall, 7-12 ft spread* | 4 – 8(9) (Common Pears); 5 – 9 (Asian Pears) |
| Cherry Trees | Mid-March to late April | Late May to July | 10-25 ft tall, 10-25 ft spread* | 5 – 9 |
| Peach Trees | March to April | Early to late summer | 6-25 ft tall, 6-25 ft spread* | 4 – 10 |
| Nectarine Trees | March to April | Late June to August | 6-30 ft tall, 6-30 ft spread* | 5 – 9 |
| Mulberry Trees | Mid-April to late June | September through winter | 30-50 ft tall, 30-50 ft spread* | 4 – 8 (Red Mulberry) or 7 – 10 (Black Mulberry) |
Fruit Trees That Will Grow and Thrive in Kansas
Kansas is the perfect place for a thriving home orchard with many different fruit and nut trees that you can grow.
Fruits like apples, pears, and red mulberries are already perfectly suited to Kansas’ climate and will yield bountiful harvests with little effort.
Others, like peaches, nectarines, and cherries, will require a bit more care. But if you have chosen the right tree for your yard, you can also get some good harvests from these as well.
Now for the fun part, start planning your KS home orchard. Happy tree planting!
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