Partially Self-Fertile Fruit Trees & Plants

Plants that will set some fruit on their own pollen but crop a lot better with a second variety close by. If you've only got room for one, these will still give you something. If you can fit two, plant two.

More about partially self-fertile plants

Pears are the big group here. Bartlett, Seckel, Flemish Beauty, Nova, D'Anjou and Beurré Giffard all set a light crop alone. Pair any two that bloom together and you'll see the difference. Our pear pollination map lines them up.

Italian plum is partially self-fertile and rated to zone 3b. For apricots, Wayne, Tomcot, Montana Mango and Manchurian apricot are in this group, and the rest of our apricots are mostly fully self-fertile. FE tart cherry is here too.

On the shrub side, Adam's, John's and American elderberry crop much better planted together. Same goes for Consort and Montana black currant, golden currant, chokecherry and sand cherry. Most of those come as bundles, so you're already planting more than one.

Questions we get

Is Bartlett pear self-fertile?

Partially. It'll set some fruit alone, but plant another pear that blooms with it, like Seckel or Flemish Beauty, for a real crop.

Do elderberries need a pollenizer?

They're partially self-fertile. Plant two varieties, like Adam's and John's, and the crop goes way up.

Does Italian plum need another plum?

It'll fruit alone, but it does better with a second European plum like Mount Royal nearby.

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