The anticipation of delicious fruit growing from your own trees is hard to beat! When you taste the first bite of something you’ve put your own sweat and energy into, there’s nothing better. But, you don’t want to wait around forever for that moment. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the ten fastest-growing fruit trees—these varieties take the least amount of time to bear fruit from the time of planting.
Mango Trees
Mango fruit trees only take between one and two years to be ready to produce fruit from the time of planting, with some varieties growing fruit even sooner. Mango trees grow quickly in the right environment. The Glenn Mango variety bears fruit the fastest!
Fig Trees
Did you know that fig trees only take three to five years to bear their first fruit from the time of planting? These fruit trees produce faster when planted in pots, so consider picking up some containers from our garden center when purchasing your figs!
Mulberry
The mulberry tree grows one foot annually, producing an abundance of colorful berries that can be eaten fresh and dried. Only one tree is needed to produce a crop of everbearing mulberry trees, as they are self-fertilizers. Everbearing mulberry trees typically fruit after two to three years. It is possible, however, to find everbearing mulberry trees in nurseries that will bear fruit the first year you plant them! How awesome is that?
Longan
Longan is a well-adapted subtropical tree in tropical climates with distinct wet and dry seasons. This small to medium-sized tree grows with beautiful reddish new growth from spring to summer, and you’ll have an abundance of longan fruits to pick when the time is ready!
It takes four to six years for seedling fruit trees to bear their first fruit, while air-layered trees can bear fruit in as short as two years.
Carambola (Star Fruit)
Once a star fruit tree has completed its first year of growth, the fruit will begin to appear in its second or third year. You can usually harvest your homegrown star fruit trees within 10–14 months of planting. High winds can harm these trees, so protect them with stabilizing structures!
Banana Tree
Bananas only take four to six months for the fruit to reach full size after flowering! Most plants mature within 10 to 15 months of planting, although some may take up to four years to produce fruit after this. These trees are a bit picky about their soil, so ensure yours is rich, non-saline, and able to maintain a pH between 5.5
and 7.0.
Guava
A guava tree generally produces fruit three to four years after planting; this results in a generous harvest of 50–80 pounds per year! Twenty feet is the mature height of a guava tree after about ten years of growth. Many varieties will self-pollinate, but planting a second tree to cross-pollinate instead will increase the fruit production of both plants. The two trees can be hand-pollinated to ensure a rich yield.
Avocado
The key to success is patience, whether planting seeds or nursery-grown avocado trees. Trees bear fruit after three to four years of planting, but if you start with a seed, you’ll be waiting up to thirteen years or more for your tree to bear fruit! Either way, it’s still worth the wait to enjoy homegrown avocados and have a beautiful tree standing in your backyard.
Sapodilla
Sapodilla tree growth takes between five and eight years once germinated. It is possible for young trees to flower, but they will not bear fruit until this time. Sapodilla trees are generally pretty picky, but not Southern Florida! Lucky for us, they prefer sunny and warm locations in well-draining soil.
Dragon Fruit Tree
It can take up to two years for container-grown plants to bear fruit, but some dragon fruit trees can begin flowering as soon as six to eight months after planting! These rapidly-abundant fruitful trees can reproduce fruit up to six different times in a single year—that saves a lot of trips to the grocery store!
Are you looking to enjoy the fruits of your gardening labor? Visit us at Living Color Garden Center to find the fastest-growing fruit trees in Fort Lauderdale and find out which variety is best suited for your backyard.