Pollenizers for Fruit Trees Can Be Region Specific

Honeybee collecting nectar and in the process pollinating a peach flower

Q. We purchased a Fuji apple tree from Nursery and the tag says that they are self-fertile. Everything we see on the internet says that is not so. Internet also seems to indicate that a crabapple is the best pollinator overall. Wondering if there are dwarf crab apples available that would pollinate because our backyard is crowded.

A.  A comment on terms. Just fyi, and I make the same mistake, pollinators are insects like bees and moths. Pollenizers are trees needed to set fruit.

            Little-known fact is that pollination is region specific and we can't follow the rule that "one size fits all" regarding pollinizers for fruit trees. A very good site to reference for our area regarding whether a fruit tree needs pollinator or not is the Dave Wilson Nursery website found at www.davewilson.com  Look up Fuji apple on this website and it will tell you what pollenizers are needed, if any.

            Dave Wilson nursery is a commercial, wholesale fruit tree nursery that sells to retail nurseries and orchards only. They provide excellent educational information on their website courtesy of Tom Spellman who works for them.

            The information I have also is that Fuji does not require a pollenizer in our area. I know Tom and he checks in my blog occasionally and maybe he will comment there as well. Some fruit trees will set fruit without a pollenizer but set a heavier crop with one.

            This can be sometimes good and sometimes bad because of thinning or removing the fruit to get larger ones.