Susan Poizner has been growing fruit trees for over 10 years and is the author of the award-winning book 'Growing Urban Orchards'; she hosts the Urban Forestry Radio Show and runs an online fruit tree care training website at orchard people.com offering courses, articles, and resources.

All fruit trees require hands-on care, pest and disease management, and specialized pruning knowledge; naive expectations of zero maintenance will result in poor outcomes; fruit trees are a commitment similar to puppies—they require feeding, care, protection, and attention.

If you plant multiple fruit trees in a small space, your garden may over time become a tangle of fruit trees all competing with each other for space and sunshine.