Fruit tree advice please

[gardendancer]

So at the moment my other half and I live in a house with a shared garden.
And we might be here for a couple of more years, but it is veyr likely that we will move in 2-4 years.

I would love to grow some fruit trees, but I'm thinking that if I plant some fruit trees now, we'll have moved before we get any fruit.

There is a big concreted drive that no one uses that would be perfect to put some fruit trees in pots on, which would be the most convenient

What I would like to grow is a dessert apple, a pear and a plum or damson. I've seen the patio trees that only get to be 3 feet tall, but they just seem too small. I'd like a tree that gets to be about 6-7 feet tall eventually, and we have room for the 3 trees at that size even now.

So my thought was to get some very large pots and plant trees in them, and then when we get our new place I can plant the trees in the ground then. or is that jsut a recipe for disaster?

i'm also really fond of cordoned fruit trees, so I thought that that would be ideal.

I'd be grateful for any thoughts or comments.

[FB.]

If I were you, I would go for varieties on rootstocks that are slightly too strong for pots - so that they can tolerate being planted in the garden in a few years time. It will take them a few years to grow up to size, so you'll probably move before they're fully grown.
M26 (apples) Quince C (pears) and Pixy (plum) rootstock would be my suggestions. They will eventually be able to reach about 9ft if not pruned and can easily be pruned to stay at 6ft.
You could also grow some cordons in pots for a few years. Plums are not so good for cordons.
You ought to look for varieties that are partially self-fertile, in case there are no nearby trees to pollinate them. Some disease resistance (for the apple in particular would be desirable). Choice of varieties is wide and each person has their preferred type of apple/pear/plum.
Be aware that most shop-type apples will not have much disease resistance - expect heavy losses of fruit to pests/disease for Cox's in particular.

From the apples, you could do a lot worse than:
Egremont Russet (old-type rough-skin), Spartan (like Red Delicious/Empire), Fiesta/Ellison's Orange (Cox-like) (all are not too strong growing, easy to train, part-self-fertile, adequate disease resistance and a variety of fruit types).

You might be able to find a "family tree" that has three different varieties grafted onto it.


From the pears:
Concorde, Conference.
Again, not too troubled with disease, easy to train, not too vigorous and part self-fertile.

From the plums:
Victoria.
Self-fertile, very reliable, multi-purpose. Average flavour. Not especailly disease resistant but there aren't many fruit trees around these days to pass on disease.

[gardendancer]

Thank you.

That is very helpful,

I'm not so worried about the pollination for now, my neighboor has all three, but it's worth thinking about.

[FB.]

Unless you plan to regularly spray your trees (or are prepared to accept a low yield of unsightly fruit), you should choose varieties with good resistance to disease - especially the diseases prevalent in your area.

You don't mention your area, but location makes a very big difference to the diseases/problems you might face.

[gardendancer]

oops I thought I had put the location in

[Scottishnewbie]

are there any mail order companies that are better than others for fruit trees? particularly pear and plum

[FB.]

I'm not a fan of mail-order.

Mail order trees are often 1-year old "maidens". They often suffer heavy damage to the root system when dug out of the ground at the nursery and I've found that (in my soil) they take another two seasons to get moving, whereas container-grown 2-4 year old trees are much easier to establish.
(My soil is poor and dry).
Other problems with mail order is that you can't be sure when your trees will arrive. You also don't know how well-shaped they are and you can't choose a nice one' it's luck of the draw. I was once sent a couple with 45-degree bends in the trunks.

If I want a fruit tree, I go in person to one of a couple of nurseries, where I can hand-pick the tree I want from their selection of 2-4 year old container-grown trees. .....and the price is as good as mail order (£12-15).
In early autumn, most nurseries start to clear last years stock - ironically they sell (at a discount to clear older stock) well-grown trees that are ready to send out a new burst of root growth.
If planted in September-October, such trees instantly send out a strong root system and can be virtually established by Christmas! Mail order aren't supplied until after the autumn root-growth, and the soft newly-grown roots get ripped off when they are dug out of the ground in November-December for the bare-root season.

Some people have good luck with bare root.
Personally, I'll never buy another, unless it's a rare variety that I'm desperate to find. Even then, I'd probably cut up the "maiden" into graft wood, which I could then graft onto a bigger, stronger rootstock of my own.

Some of the better mail-order nurseries include:

Deacons
Chris Bowers
R V Roger

But there are some other reputable places that I've forgotten.

[BFG]

I can highly recommend Deacons.

I put mine in this time last year and all but the pear ("Plant Pears for heirs!", so can't blame Deacons for that. Although, on dwarf rootstocks, that saying probably isn't so relevant these days) established well and fruited this year.

I've personally found online bare rooted trees fine and much cheaper than my local garden centres. Though, I guess it is a lucky dip with shape etc. Having said that, I brought 7 trees from Deacons and they were all okay shape wise.

Have you considered "family" trees? They have more than one variety grafted onto each rootstock:-

Apples

You get more variety, good pollination, a longer season and they're easy to prune. I've got 6 dwarf family trees and think they're brill.