Mixed fruit trees.

[mphenwood]

I want to plant a mixture of fruit trees on my plot. I was thinking 2 apple, 1 pear and 1 cherry.

My soil is not great, heavy clay a spit down. But I am willing to work on it.

Will these trees pollinate sufficiently, will they survive the soil type. Any suggestions as to veriety. What kind of distance will they need between eachother.

Any further sensible advice will be appreciated.

Regards
mphenwood

[brooklynodog]

10 ft apart, and I believe you need at least 2 apple of differing type to cross polinate

[mphenwood]

I think your right about the apple trees. Will the cherry and pear pollinate being only one of each fruit.

[Two_Sheds]

I want to plant ...2 apple,

You need to research rootstock, and pollinating partners.
Not all apples need a pollinating partner, others (triploids) need 2 other trees nearby

If you have a go with your search button, you'll find loads of older useful threads

[FB.]

Pears and cherries are much fussier and more difficult than apples.
Generally speaking, they require better and more moist soil.
Pears (and cherries) flower early, which means that sometimes there aren't enough pollinating insects. The scarcity of pear trees in the UK means that trees suitable as pollinators are often too far away to be within bee-flight.
The early flowering also exposes them to late frosts in March-April, which can mean no crop at all for that season.
Protecting the cherries against birds is also a problem.

You would be better to get any type of fruit trees in pairs - but they must be different varieties of the same type of fruit that flower at the same time - such as two apple trees, two pear trees or two cherry trees.
There are a few varieties that are self-fertile that you might be able to find.

I would say that your heavy clay would be OK for pears and cherries (and plums), although the high water-retention of the soil could mean that you'll need dwarfing or semi-dwarfing rootstocks to keep the trees under control.

Spacing would depend on rootstock, the actual fruiting variety and the way in which you grow it. The recommendation of 10ft for semi-dwarf or dwarf trees on moist ground sounds about right.

When you say "heavy" - does the ground have surface water standing for weeks on end in the autumn/winter? That can literally "drown" (suffocate) tree roots. If that's the case, you ought to plant them on small mounds to allow water to drain away better.

Rootstocks that might be suitable for your conditions include:

Apple:
M26 (semi-dwarf - probably 9ft on your soil, depending on variety)
M9 (dwarf - probably 7ft)

Pear
Quince A (semi-vigorous - probably 11ft)
Quince C (semi-dwarf - probably 8ft)

Plum
St Julien A (semi-vigorous - probably 11ft)
Pixy (dwarf - probably 7ft)

Cherry
Gisela (semi-dwarf - probably 9ft)
Colt (semi-vigorous - probably 12ft)

Whatever you choose, don't go for most of the readily-available shop-bought varieties, or varieties that are imported. They are generally too prone to disease and require heavy spraying, or they require a warmer climate to ripen.

For example; Cox's apple is a favourite but it is very prone to all kinds of problems and diseases, meaning that the chances of getting a worthwhile crop of clean, good-quality fruit is quite low.

[solway cropper]

You should be able to grow most varieties down in Sussex but up here in Cumbria we often get late frosts and gale force winds in spring which means early flowering varieties are out. Fruit growers Chris Bowers & Sons produce a great catalogue which has lots of info about polinators, rootstocks, ripening period and keeping qualities of tree fruits. Well worth ordering a copy.