Plants That Bear Fruit in the First Year

Strawberries

• Strawberry plants produce fruit within a year after the seed sprouts. To produce in the first year, the strawberry must be planted in the fall so that it will sprout in the spring and produce the following summer. If strawberry seeds are planted in the spring, they will more than likely fail to produce until the following spring. Planting in the spring allows seeds to lie dormant through the summer, making them more susceptible to disease than if they were just dormant through the winter months.

Raspberries and Blackberries

• Raspberries and blackberries grow in very similar clusters on vine-like bushes. To produce fruit during the first year, raspberry and blackberry seeds must be planted in the fall and allowed to lie dormant through the winter. The seeds will sprout and produce stems and blooms in the spring, and the plants will produce mature fruit in the summer. Seeds from the raspberries and blackberry bushes will fall to the ground and produce new growth, and the existing stems of the bushes will thin out. Only the strongest, inner stems will survive to grow again in the spring.

Fruit Trees

• Some fruit trees produce edible fruit the first year, while others take several years to produce fruit. The Asian pear tree produces fruit within the first year, in addition to some varieties of peaches, nectarines, apricots and cherries. Sometimes the fruit produced by young saplings is very small and hard, but the fruit becomes more lush over the years if the trees are pruned, fertilized and sprayed to eliminate pests.