The Herald-News (Joliet, Ill., Aug. 2) – Fruit trees do grow in Illinois, and it’s definitely worth it for homeowners to plant them, says Mosbah Kushad, a crop sciences professor at Illinois. The flavor of an apple right off the tree is much better than one picked early hundreds of miles away. “They have a better taste because you can let them ripen,” he says. “When it looks good, you eat it.”