Fruit trees I like

I like fruit trees that produce heavily and produce every year.

I like fruit trees that ripen their fruit later in the season when it is cooler and the yellow jackets and wasps are slower and less aggressive.

I like fruit trees that hold their fruit well so if I am not able to pick it today, it will still be on the tree tomorrow or next week.

I like fruit that keeps well and tastes pretty-good. I would rather have a tree that produces 80 pounds of good tasting fruit than a tree that produces 10 pounds of excellent fruit.

When I have the ability to provide supplemental water during the growing season I like dwarf trees. If I do not have the ability to provide that level of care I like slightly larger trees.

If you dropped me into the middle of B.F. mid-Western State I would plant:

3 Liberty apple

2 Gold Rush apple

In my opinion the 35%-to-45% tree size is optimum unless you have poor or sandy which will tend to runt-out the trees. Then larger is appropriate.

I would plant them on whatever Geneva apple rootstock they were offered on. I could tolerate Bud-9 (smaller) or Bud-118 or MM-111 (larger) if I had no other choice.

I would plant every tree, regardless of rootstock with a 4" diameter, Black Locust fence post to reduce tree-whip. Trunk flexing causes carbohydrates to add wood rather than trip buds into fruiting.

I would plant

1 Korean Giant (aka Olympic) Asian Pear

1 Chojuro Asian Pear.

Asian pears are intrinsically tidy, economical trees and are not fussy about rootstock. These two varieties are very similar. Neither of these varieties are likely to over-set fruit and produce runted, low-sugar fruit.

For "minor" fruits I would pick

1 Pozegaca European Plum

2 American Plums, seedling from a select source

1 American Persimmon...I-115, Juhl/Yates and Lehman's Delight have done well for me.

1 Kerr "crabapple" for jams and jellies

1 Illinois Everbearing Mulberry on the north end of the orchard. They grow tall and will shade other trees if planted anyplace else.

MAYBE a peach tree...perhaps Madison 

"Marge" Elderberries, Titania black-currants, Polana or Joan J raspberries and assorted hazelnuts in the windbreak around the orchard.

I would sprinkle some horseradish plants and rugosa roses amongst the trees to feed parasitoid wasps.

If I was in Zone 4 I would substitute Haralson or Keepsake apple for Gold Rush and substitute Mt Royal plum for the persimmon tree. Illinois Everbearing Mulberry would really struggle in Zone 4 and I might substitute a portfolio of Amelanchier cultivars to use in pies through the summer.

If I were in the warmer parts of Zone 6 or hotter I would ditch the Liberty apple and plant a different variety, maybe Querina, Galarina or Enterprise.

No apricots or cherries. They ripen in the heat of the summer and can be labor intensive to pick. No hybrid or Japanese plums as they are fussy about pollination. No quince or medlars. No European pears because I am sorting through them. If a gun was held to my head I would suggest Kieffer although almost nobody else would. Kieffer grows to be a very large tree, so this is a good one to plant on the north end.

I freely admit that there are hundreds of varieties that are as good or potentially better than the ones listed. And I also believe that there are thousands of varieties that are less worthy.