Last Updated on June 15, 2023 by Grow with Bovees
So you’ve poured your heart and soul into your houseplants, but they don’t seem to be giving you much back?
But maybe the idea of growing fruit trees indoors scares you?
Or have you heard horror stories from friends who can’t even keep a basil plant alive?
This guide will take you through the care required for a selection of fruit trees so that you can bring in your own harvest and decorate your home!
What are the best easy to grow indoor fruits?
The best fruit for growing indoors will depend on certain factors, like the temperature, humidity and sunlight in your own house.
You can start with a seed or buy fruit trees from nurseries or garden centers.
Usually, mature trees will be easier to maintain than attempting to grow your own from seed. If you can, go for a dwarf fruit tree as they are also easier to look after.
Generally, fruits grow best with brighter light and well-draining soil. Most fruit trees will need full sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours a day.
Read on to find out how to grow a beautiful indoor fruit tree!
Can you grow any fruit trees indoors?
You can pretty much grow any fruit tree inside. Whether you can grow a fruit really depends on the conditions of your home.
If you don’t live in a permanently warm climate, it is often easier to grow fruit indoors because you can control the conditions that they need to grow.
See below for advice on your indoor fruit tree choice that you can grow at home!
How much space for an indoor garden?
This really depends on how many plants you want to grow!
Fruit plants can still be grown in an apartment, and if the summers are warm, then a balcony outside in regular sunlight also works.
If you have a smaller house, consider dwarf varieties and prune plants back if they require it. If you have tall ceilings, then go for a banana plant!
Make sure that your pots have space for the roots and when the plants outgrow them, move them to a new pot.
It is useful to have lots of windows as pretty much all fruit plants require bright light. However, a grow light is also useful if you don’t get much natural light.
What are the easiest indoor fruit trees to grow?
Good plants for beginners include strawberries, tomatoes and raspberries. Indoor fruit trees you can grow at home fairly easily include bananas, avocados, lemons and figs.
Strawberries
These delicious little berries will grow indoors on a sunny south-facing windowsill. Plant seeds either in a six-inch container with indoor soil mix or a planter with 10 inches between each plant.
Fertilize every fortnight during summer, and keep the soil nice and damp.
Strawberries grow best in the summer/autumn. In just over a month from planting, you can pick your own berries!
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the staple ingredient of so many dishes worldwide.
They are both a fruit and a vegetable! Plant your tomato seeds in a quarter of an inch of soil, within a pot of around 10 inches depth.
Make sure your house is at least 65 degrees if not warmer, and keep the soil moist.
Fig Trees
If you want fruit quickly, then you can go ahead and buy a fig tree. If you can afford to wait a couple of years, then it is easy to grow a fig tree from seed.
Beginners should start with the Brown Turkey variety as it also self-pollinates, and, once established with the ideal growing conditions, will produce two, sweeter than honey, crops a year!
You will need a container at least 4 inches deep, but ideally more. Choose your pot by how big you want your tree to be, and you can prune it to keep it smaller.
Keep your indoor fig tree in a sunny spot all day and ensure that the soil is loamy and well-drained.
Water to keep it moist, but it is better to let the soil dry somewhat, rather than over water. This will help to avoid root rot.
A humid room works best, so you should mist the leaves often as well as watering.
Citrus trees
These are not the easiest trees to grow, but with proper care and a suitably warm house, you can care for your own indoor citrus plant to brighten up the winter months!
An indoor citrus tree needs lots of light year-round, so you might want to invest in growing light. Acidic fruits also need acidic soil and lots of moisture!
Meyer lemon trees
If you want to feel permanently on holiday then an indoor lemon tree is an excellent choice!
The Meyer lemon tree is the most common lemon indoor plant.
It also needs at least six but, ideally, up to eight hours of direct light, so next to a south-facing window would be ideal. Indoor lemon trees prefer well-drained but slightly moist soil.
If you are in a country with cold winters, your Meyer lemon tree will need a grow light, and you should keep the thermostat on nice and high.
You will get delicious citrus fruit after about two years from planting your lemon seeds.
Calamondin orange trees
Is there anything better than fresh orange juice in the morning?
This variety of orange tree can be grown by even the most novice gardener! They are a bit less sweet, so would be good for cooking with.
Give it a slightly larger pot with stones at the bottom below the soil to allow for air circulation. You can even buy specific citrus tree soil mix from a garden center if you want a really healthy citrus tree.
Indoor citrus trees require similar care, so, like your lemon tree, they will need a good few hours of sunlight a day and moist soil which drains well. A dwarf tangerine tree is also a good option for beginners.
Lime Trees
A wedge of lime is a perfect addition to many cocktails. How better to wow your guests than to grow a lime tree yourself!
Choose a dwarf citrus tree such as key lime. There’s a certain type of pie that this works very well in!
Leaves from these edible plants are used in dishes such as Thai curries.
Lime trees do best in full sun, and in summer they do well in an outdoor environment. Plant them in a slightly acidic potting mix that drains well.
When it comes to pollinating the flowers, you can help by brushing pollen across them with your hands or a small paintbrush.
Kumquat
Kum-what? This is a citrus fruit that looks like an orange, but you can eat it whole even with the peel! It is sweet but also tangy.
Follow the same growing instructions as for the other citrus plants, with as much sunlight as possible and plenty of humidity.
What fruits can I grow indoors year round?
Olive trees
While not very sweet, olives are actually a fruit. You will never go back to buying olives in a jar after finding out how easy it is to grow your own indoor olive tree!
Your olive tree will need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day, but they don’t like full sun. You should let the soil drain and let the top inch dry fully before watering, so take care not to over-water.
Be sure that you are going to enjoy having an olive tree as a companion, as some olive trees are known to have lived for more than 3000 years!
Banana tree
Did you know that banana trees are not trees at all but giant herbs in the same family as orchids? Unless your ceiling is really high you will want to consider buying one of the dwarf varieties! If you want to plant them from seed, they will need a couple of weeks to germinate.
These plants need lots of light, up to 12 hours per day of sunlight and like olives they need well-drained soil. Again, make sure not to burn the leaves with lots of direct light. Humidity is key with how to grow bananas so you can mist them to imitate the tropical climate.
Avocado tree
You can grow your own indoor avocado tree from the seed of a supermarket avocado! The trick is to stick toothpicks into the seed and suspend it over a glass of water so that half of the seed is underwater. Then, place the plant by a southern exposure window so it has around 6 hours of bright light.
At a minimum of 65 degrees the seed should sprout and you can transfer it to a larger container. Put some sand in the bottom of the pit for easy drainage. Note that the tree can be cooler at night to mirror outside conditions.
Avocado trees can get pretty tall, and be warned that it is difficult to get fruit, but don’t be disappointed because you will still have an attractive avocado plant in your living room!
Goji berries
These tasty little berries seem exotic but are in fact possible to grow at home. Make sure you plant them in plenty of light in a south-facing area. Water when the plant begins to dry out to avoid over-watering.
How can I get fruit quickly?
We get it, the idea of waiting years for fruit can put a beginner off pretty quickly. But have a go with one of these fruit trees if you want quicker results (sadly not as quick as a trip to the supermarket).
Apricot tree
It is easiest to start with dwarf apricot tree for best success with an indoor tree. Young trees can even produce fruit within a year! Apricot trees produce beautiful white flowers even before they bless you with delicious fruits.
You want a well fitting pot and well drained soil. It is better to water this plant thoroughly until water comes out the drainage holes, and don’t let it get dry – this is a thirsty plant!
Treat it to lots of sun and if you live in an especially warm climate you could even bring it outside in the warmer months of spring or summer, as long as the nights aren’t too cold.
This sweet fruit makes excellent jam, or you can eat the apricots straight from the tree.
Peach tree
You want to look for a self-pollinating dwarf peach tree such as the attractively-named ‘Golden Glory’. Plant your tree in a large pot and use loamy soil which is a mix of clay and sand to make sure it drains well.
As with most of the fruit trees mentioned so far, make sure your peach tree has plenty of bright sun and doesn’t ever dry out.
Mulberry trees
Have you ever eaten a mulberry? These are a bit like blackberries and are nice and easy to grow.
Buy a mulberry tree rather than growing from scratch if you want immediate fruit. It can take nearly a decade if you start from seed.
It would be useful to have some small rocks at the bottom of the pot for drainage, and by now you know that lots of light is needed. Try a dwarf variety and make sure to prune because these plants tend to get out of hand! Normal potting soil and some indoor plant food twice a year will also help strong growth.
Passion Fruit
Passion fruit actually grows on a vine, so make sure to buy a trellis to help it grow. Keep the soil mix moist but well-drained and position your plant so that it gets at least 6 hours a day of sunlight.
Date Palm
You can grow and care for palm trees indoors, but you probably won’t see a harvest any time soon!
Equipment for your home indoor garden
Ever heard the phrase ‘all the gear, no idea’?
This is partly true for gardening, but there are some essential pieces of kit you will need:
- Pots with drainage holes (size depends on what type of plant you have)
- Compost or fresh potting soil
- Fertilizer (not essential but useful for many fruit plants)
Useful kit:
- Gravel for drainage
- Watering can (take a guess)
- Pruning shears
- Grow lights
- Misting spray bottle
- NPK soil tester
Hopefully, this article has shown you that growing fruit indoors is not too difficult, and you can have your own juicy peaches and tangy lemons from the comfort of your own home. Just remember that certain fruits may take time, but they will taste even sweeter when they ripen!
