With apples, for example, you can plant one early variety like MacIntosh for summer eating, a late summer variety like King for early fall eating, and a winter keeper which can be stored and enjoyed all winter. Stored properly, the fruit from winter keepers will last up to the following March or April. With three trees of different harvest times, you'll enjoy your own organic fruit for 8 months of the year. When choosing a tree from your local nursery, it's most important to look carefully at its features. Trees are commonly sold as 'bare root', meaning the roots are exposed, and the young tree is 3' to 6' tall.
Fruit trees do best when they grow straight.
A slight lean in a young tree, if left unstaked, will develop into a large lean when mature and laden with fruit. The tree is susceptible to blowdown from wind, or can fall under its own unbalanced weight. One central branch should be the obvious 'leader', which leads the growth straight up. A tree with no clear leader will require frequent pruning to keep the shape in balance. Well balanced branches.