My wife plants a lot of fruit trees and berry bushes, so I asked her. The smaller the variety of tree, the faster it will bear fruit. Dwarf trees can take 2 - 3 years to bear fruit, depending on the soil conditions. Make sure you fertilize them if you're not sure about your soil. Jobe fertilizer stakes work well. Full sized trees can take several years before they bear fruit, as many as 15 years. That's why most orchards now use dwarf trees.