Edible Plants

Buy Edible Plants Online From a Tennessee Nursery

The best fruit you’ll ever taste is the kind you pick from your own yard. A few well-chosen fruit trees, berry bushes and vines can feed a family for decades, and they look good doing it. Spring blossoms, summer shade and fall color are a bonus on top of the harvest. TN Nursery has grown plants in Altamont, Tennessee, for three generations, so every edible plant you order comes from a family farm rather than a warehouse.

How to Choose Edible Plants

• What’s your growing zone? Use the zone filter above. Fruit trees need enough winter cold to set fruit, but not so much that it kills their buds, so zone matters more here than anywhere else.
• How much sun do you have? Nearly all fruiting plants need at least six to eight hours of direct sun to produce well.
• Do you need a pollination partner? Some fruit trees need a second, different variety nearby to bear fruit. Apple, pear, pecan and pawpaw do best with a partner; peach, apricot, fig and grape are self-fertile. Check each product page before you buy.
• How long can you wait? Berries fruit in one to two years, most fruit trees in three to five, and nut trees can take longer.

Fruit Trees for Your Backyard

Peach and Apricot trees are self-fertile, so a single tree can bear fruit, and they usually start producing within a few years. Apple and Pear trees produce best with a second variety nearby for cross-pollination. Fruiting Plum and Fig round out a home orchard. Short on space? The Dwarf Patio Peach grows in a large container on a deck or patio. Browse all fruit trees .

Native Edible Plants

Some of the best edible plants are native fruits most people never get to taste fresh. Pawpaw is the largest fruit native to North America, with a creamy, tropical flavor somewhere between banana and mango. Plant at least two pawpaws from different sources for cross-pollination. American Persimmon ripens in fall into soft, honey-sweet fruit; wait until it’s fully soft, because unripe persimmons are very astringent. Elderberry produces clusters of dark berries for syrups, jams and pies. Always cook elderberries before eating, and use only the ripe berries.

Berry Bushes and Grapevines

Berries are the fastest way to a harvest. Blackberry , Black Raspberry and Dewberry bear fruit on second-year canes, so expect your first crop the summer after planting. Pineberry Strawberry grows white berries with red seeds and a mild, pineapple-like flavor. A Grape Vine on a fence or arbor gives you shade, privacy and fruit from the same plant. See more in fruit and berry plants .

Nut Trees

Pecan , Black Walnut and Hall’s Hardy Almond are long-term investments that produce for generations. Plant pecans in pairs of different varieties for good nut set. Give black walnut its own space away from your vegetable garden; its roots release juglone, so keep it apart from tomatoes, apples, blueberries and other edibles. See all nut trees .

Edible Landscaping Tips

You don’t need a separate orchard to grow food. Use a fig or peach as a patio tree, train grapes over an arbor, line a sunny fence with blackberries, or plant a pawpaw where you’d otherwise put an ornamental tree. Plant pollinator flowers nearby, since most fruit needs bees to set a crop. Our pollinator plants bloom from spring to fall.

When Edible Plants Ship

Native edibles like pawpaw, persimmon, elderberry, berries and nut trees ship bare root November 15–29 for fall planting. Grafted fruit trees, including peach, apple, apricot, pear, plum, fig and almond, ship in spring, the best time to plant them. See our planting instructions for step-by-step help.

FAQ  

What are the easiest edible plants to grow? Blackberries, elderberries, figs and persimmons are among the easiest. They need little pruning or spraying and fruit within a few years.

What fruit trees produce fastest? Peach and apricot trees often bear within two to four years. Berry bushes are faster still, producing the summer after planting.

Do I need two fruit trees to get fruit? It depends on the tree. Peach, apricot, fig and grape are self-fertile. Apple, pear, pecan and pawpaw need a second variety nearby. American persimmon needs a male and female tree.

What is edible landscaping? Using food-producing plants like fruit trees, berry bushes, grapevines and nut trees in place of purely ornamental plants. You get flowers, shade and color, plus a harvest.

Are elderberries safe to eat? Yes, when cooked. Ripe elderberries are widely used in syrups and jams; always cook them and use only the ripe berries.

What does a pawpaw taste like? Pawpaw has a soft, custard-like texture and a tropical flavor often compared to a mix of banana and mango.

Do you ship edible plants outside Tennessee? Yes. We grow in Tennessee and ship nationwide.

What if my plant doesn’t arrive alive? Every order comes with our live-arrival guarantee. See our warranty for details.