Any ideas on low maintenance plants, fruit trees etc?

Stanton Degregorio: All fruit trees require maintainence if you want them to produce much fruit. Pruning, especially. And they will flower. And the fruit will need to be picked or removed when it falls. For low maintainence you'd be better off with something non-fruiting and evergreen, either a conifer or something deciduous. Also, if they don't want flowers, you might go for something with leaves that turn colour, or stems. If you want colour, but not much in the way of flowers, and fruit is acceptable, would a blueberry bush work? It's a 4 foot shrub, not a tree, the 'flowers' are inconspicuous and white, look more like blueberries than flowers, The 'Toro' variety has leaves and stems that turn lovely reds in the fall. So you have something of interest most of the year (the coloured stems are nice in the winter). There's a little maintainence, the small leaves need to be removed when they fall, but if you aren't interested in berry production, it won't need much....Show! more