Apple trees for small gardens

[leoblackcat]

Has anyone grown a family tree with more than one variety of apple on? or a small patio tree grown on a dwarfing rootstock as a cordon? I just wondered if you get much fruit on them as I have limited space in the garden to plant a big tree.

[FB.]

Upright cordons (also known as minarettes) only need a couple of square feet of space, but can be allowed to grow several feet tall. They can produce one or two dozen apples per year once established (depending on the type/size of apple you choose).
Cordons/minarettes would be best on M26 rootstock - and choose a compact, heavy-cropping, part-self-fertile variety to increase your chances of a good quantity of crop.

Some cordons are grown on M9, but it needs staking as the roots are very weak. It is more suited to heavy soils than other rootstocks.

You could also consider a M27 or M26 rootstocked apple in a pot. Again, it could produce one or two dozen apples when mature.

You can also grow apples flat against fences or walls (espaliers or fans), or you can train them into archways or even tunnels.

Before rushing out to buy an apple tree, make sure that the rootstock and variety are suitable for the way that you plan to grow them, and make sure that they will grow under whatever spray/no-spray routine you plan to use, based on the likely diseases in your area.
The grapes on the vine here will be happy to comment - I grow a lot of fruit trees myself in a poor soil with no chemical treatments, but you won't recognise most of the names of the varieties because most of these tough old apple tree varieties have been long-forgotten in the modern era of spraying to treat diseases.

Many people consider a full-size apple tree as a bad thing in a garden. Most people neglect to prune them properly, so they become large, dense and create a lot of shade.
A proper "orchard" tree will have quite open branches to allow light and air to the fruit (which reduces pests and diseases) and consequently, these well-tended trees only cast partial shade. Many old-fashioned varieties were popular because of their very upright growth habit, which meant that they didn't cause too much shade and therefore crops could be grown underneath the apple trees, making full use of the land.

It is said that with a well-pruned apple tree you should be able to throw a tennis ball up through the branches without hitting a branch on the way up or down.
I am actually using fruit trees in my garden to produce some much-needed shade and consequently to help with moisture retention in the poor, free-draining soil that I have.

[FB.]

These are large "Grenadier" apples
(comparable in size to shop Bramleys)
They were harvested from (at the time)......
....a 3-4ft high by 1-1.5ft wide "minarette" that is still growing up to size.




....and this is a 5-6ft high by 3-4ft wide
Russet apple tree carrying a large crop
(but the bush has not yet fully developed its branch structure):

[leoblackcat]

Wow - thanks for that FB. Any idea how big a m26 or m27 rootstocked tree would grow if i kept it in a pot?

[FB.]

M27 can be kept at 3ft if you get a compact variety and keep it properly pruned.
M26 could be kept at 4ft with a compact variety.
If left unpruned, M27 can get to about 5ft and M26 to about 8ft.

Obviously, the smaller the tree, the less fruit it will produce.

Personally, I find M27 rootstock to be just a bit too frail.
I'd rather have a compact variety on M26 rootstock for a pot, since M26 is much better able to tolerate minor damage, some neglect or pest/disease attack.
In my experience, it is better to have strong roots and a weak tree than to have weak roots and a strong tree, since it is harder for weak roots to supply a nutrient-hungry strong tree than for a strong root to supply a slow-growing, undemanding tree.

For an ultra-compact, tough, and reasonably disease-resistant, slow-growing tree that may well branch by itself and not need much pruning, I'd suggest (on M26 rootstock)

Court Pendu Plat
D'Arcy Spice
Reverend Wilks

They will be very easy to keep small and won't be put under stress by the need for constant heavy pruning to keep them small.

Or you could go for M27 rootstock with almost anything on it, except for the very vigorous triploids.