Dwarf fruit trees?

I'm looking for suggestions on a tree for my yard. I need it to not get above six feet, produce some type of fruit/nut/ect. and preferably be cheapish and fast growing. Suggestions?

my september fujii apple and royal gala apples are semi-dwarf, so will get a bit taller than that, but they come in dwarf styles, also. You do need more than one apple to get fruits, however. The bare root ones from starks bros. in the spring are about $20 each, I think. I also have a nectarine and a peach, neither of which needs a 2nd tree for fruit production - but they are reputed to be subject to all kinds of ills. This is my first year with them, and they do not fruit the first year, so I cannot tell you much about them yet. They also have some really dwarf fruit trees that you can grow in a container on the patio. All fruit trees will need "full sun" if you want good fruit production. Have fun!

Ultimately, you are in charge of how large any fruit tree you plant gets. Size will not be totally controlled by rootstock selection - though rootstock may determine how much work you have to put in to maintaining the plant.
http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/all_ed/teds_head06_dwarf.html

If I were planting a single fruiting plant, and wanted it that small(6'?), I'd probably go with an edible crabapple, such as Kerr, Centennial, Chestnut, Dolgo, or Callaway, on a semi-dwarfing rootstock(dwarfs will require staking, and more careful attention to watering), then prune as needed to control size.

Can I ask more detail on what you're looking for? Why fruiting? Are you looking for a pick-it-yourself snack, or are you looking the feed the wildlife? Are you looking for a 'tree-like' tree or might you be interested in a more focal-point type? Do you have kids that might want to snitch off of the tree?

For visual interest, maybe a contorted filbert (Harry Lauders Walking Stick). You might need another filbert to get nuts, but it's an interesting plant either way.

If you want 'nature food' for birds or other wildlife, you might try a weeping mulberry. People can eat the fruit, too, but they are rather small, so you might not find it worth the effort. The tree caught my interest, however, because Raintree had instructions on how to make a children's hideaway by training it into a 'fort' shape where they could play and pick the berries right off of the 'walls'.

If you want a more tree-like looking tree, I'd agree with the apple/cranapple suggestions. And a good set of pruning shears can make almost any tree a dwarf :-)

I have a five year old that wanted a fruit tree. One of the houses we applied for had a cherry tree. I live in a development, so I can't have a great big tree. I have a corner that really should have a tree; it has a dead maple right now. Also, I want something that creates shade in that corner at least part of the time. I'm also trying to go with the permaculture ideal with my garden, so I want all the plants to be useful.

I'm interested in the children's hideaway, but I couldn't find it.

I'll try to get a picture of my yard up soon.

Took me a minute, but I found the hideaway directions here:

http://www.raintreenursery.com/kids.htm

Basically, you just train the branches out enough to make a decent-sized space under it. It looked like fun to me! :-)

Thank you very much. That is a great page.