Growing fruit at home cuts out the cost and chemicals that come with most fruit purchased from the grocery store, and the plants produce for years — in some cases, decades.

Apples

Crimson Crisp - Late September. Bright red fruit with a very firm, crisp texture. Pleasurable complex flavor. Grower friendly, productive tree. Great for winter eating. Zones 4-8
Ginger Gold - Early August.  Golden, early season dessert apple. Outstanding quality. Grower friendly. Suitable for home or commercial use. For fresh use, sauces, and pies. Zones 5-8
Golden Delicious - Early October. Large conical fruit. Sweet, fine flavored. Popular pie, sauce, and eating apple that keeps well in winter storage. Good pollenizer. Thin fruit and prune heavily for consistent size and yields. Zones 5-8
Honeycrisp - Mid September. Red over yellow fruit is delightfully crisp. Excellent for fresh eating. Stores well but loses some flavor in storage. Zones 3-7
Liberty - Early October. This shiny red apple stores until mid winter. Crisp, good flavor. Most disease resistant variety developed. Hardy, vigorous, productive. Good all purpose apple. Zones 4-8
Red Delicious - Early October. One of the older Red Delicious types. Not as showy as some of the newer strains, but surpasses in flavor! Fresh eating and storing apple. Zones 5-8
Yellow Transparent - Mid to late July. Medium-sized fruit with pale yellow skin. Crisp white flesh. Usually picked slightly green to make a smooth, finely textured sauce.

Cherries

Black Gold - Mid July sweet cherry. A large dark cherry, well flavored. Self fertile. Most popular variety. Susceptible to canker. Zones 5-7
Jubileum - Early July tart cherry. Black Hungarian tart cherry with excellent juice and fresh eating qualities. Has a darker color than most tart cherries, but higher sugar content. Superior for farm markets and home use. Self fertile. Zones 4-8
Montmorency - Mid July tart cherry. Bright red pie cherry with yellow flesh and clear juice. Good for canning and freezing. Most popular tart cherry. Vigorous, productive, medium sized tree. Self fertile. Zones 4-8

Peaches

Contender - Late August. A wonderfully flavored peach. Beautiful color. Good tree hardiness and productivity. One of the best canning peaches. Small freestone pit and large sized fruit. A popular variety. Zones 5-8
NJ252 - Late August. A white flesh peach. Good disease resistance. Zones 5-8
 

Pears

Bartlett - Late August. Most popular. Large golden yellow fruit with brownish red blush. Has the classic pear shape. Best to pick green and ripen off tree. Good for canning and fresh eating. Needs a pollenizer. Zones 5-8
Red Clapp's (Kalle) - Early August. Very large red fruit, with a touch of russet. High quality. Blight susceptibility is similar to that of Bartlett. Zones 5-8

Plum

Stanley - Early September. Medium sized dark blue sin with firm fine grained flesh. An old favorite for canning, fresh eating, and drying. Self fertile, but yields heavier with a pollenizer. Heavy annual bearer. Most widely planted plum. Zones 4-9