Garden Bargains website

[brookes1979]

I also orderer the mini orchard with the free morello cherry, the trees took about 8 weeks to arrive, and i planted them as soon as they came. They did produce leaves last year but no blossom. Two of the trees died after a few months and I was sent replacements in october last year, which is supposed to be the best time to plant them because they are dormant... The trees have died again and i have had my second replacement trees (braeburn and morello cherry) I planted them a few days ago but does anyone have any advice on how to stop them from drying up and dying?? i am watering them daily.
The only problem i have hd with garden bargains is the extremely long delivery time. I ordered more plants 5 weeks ago and am constantly phoning them to ask where they are!

[FB.]

brookes

The title "mini orchard" suggests that they are on very dwarfing rootstocks to keep them small.
Do you know which rootstocks were supplied?

Most of the really dwarfing rootstocks are not suitable for planting straight into the garden because they just aren't vigorous enough to find enough water, nutrients or fight-off attack by pests or diseases (some of which are underground and unable to be seen).
The really dwarf roots generally need a good, deep, fertile, moisture-retaining soil, with at least a 1ft clear area with no other plants to compete. The cleared area is best mulched with compost each winter.

You don't mention your location (pop it in your profile because it helps when offering suggestions: different parts of the country have very different soils an climate).
What kind of soil do you have? - or are they in pots?

It is even possible that they are having too much water. Watering every day increases the risk of root rots, crown rots and rootstock cankers, all of which will cut off the sap flow between roots and branches, causing the tree to die - often within a few months.

I use a good mulch for water retention and prefer to water very heavily, but not more than once a week.
Containerised plants may need more watering. For containers, I'd generally prefer rootstocks M9 or M26 to apple, Quince C for pear and Pixy for plum, which are not too vigorous and not too prone to root rots that can occur from excessive water.

I should also add that it may be that you need to spray your trees.
Braeburn, for example, being a commercial variety, isn't particularly disease resistant because it doesn't need to be, due to commercial orchards using many sprays per year.

It is also possible that the trees simply don't like your climate. Braeburn ideally needs the very warmest parts of the UK.

[brookes1979]

mini orchard

Hi, I have checked the labels that came on the tree and there is nothing that states the actual rootstock on. There is an EC plant passport number and a stock number, nothing else. I live in Shropshire and the ground is really heavy clay! I did mix in a lot of compost when I planted the trees to try and help but it does say on the website that they will grow in any soil.

I have checked on the website and found this:

[I]"ALL GROWER QUALITY TREES ARE SUPPLIED READY - TO - PLANT APPROXIMATELY 5 FT.TALL.
"EACH PROVIDE HEAVY FRUITING YIELDS FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF PLANTING"

[/I]
I have one braeburn that is doing really well but no signs of blossom yet!! and the other is dead from the graft up, but is producing leaves from below the graft, would it be worth potting this one and cutting the dead bits off??
the victoria plum had tiny fruits on but they have all blown off due to the wind, and the conference pear has leaves but no blossom so at least i have 2 good trees at the moment and i hope its not too late for them to blossom.

[brookes1979]

no you do not have to return the dead tree, I phoned and told them my trees were dead, they asked me if i had done the snap test and the bark test!! if you bend a branch it will snap off if its dead and if you make a small cut in the bark and its brown, then its dead and if its green its alive.
I have had two sets of replacements so far and never been charged £6.99 SHI even though I was told that I would have to pay it, I told them i would phone them back to pay SHI but had the replacements before I could phone them!!

[FB.]

Hi, I have checked the labels that came on the tree and there is nothing that states the actual rootstock on. There is an EC plant passport number and a stock number, nothing else. I live in Shropshire and the ground is really heavy clay! I did mix in a lot of compost when I planted the trees to try and help but it does say on the website that they will grow in any soil.

I have checked on the website and found this:

[I]"ALL GROWER QUALITY TREES ARE SUPPLIED READY - TO - PLANT APPROXIMATELY 5 FT.TALL.
"EACH PROVIDE HEAVY FRUITING YIELDS FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF PLANTING"

[/I]
I have one braeburn that is doing really well but no signs of blossom yet!! and the other is dead from the graft up, but is producing leaves from below the graft, would it be worth potting this one and cutting the dead bits off??
the victoria plum had tiny fruits on but they have all blown off due to the wind, and the conference pear has leaves but no blossom so at least i have 2 good trees at the moment and i hope its not too late for them to blossom.

Whatever the website or nursery says, I can assure you that not all rootstocks will grow well in all conditions. Each rootstock has its preferences, or, rather, its ability to tolerate a variety of growing conditions.
But that shouldn't be a problem in most locations and most soils, although the growth rate can be very different to what you'd expect, if the rootstock is not ideal for the soil.

A little tester on rootstock suitability, for anyone reading this topic who wants a bit of fun (answers below on a postcard!):
Rank the following apple rootstocks in order of final tree size:
M9, M25, M26, M27, MM106, MM111.

...............


Despite what the nurseries say, it is best for a young tree not to fruit too hard because a newly-planted tree doesn't have a strong root system. But today's "instant gratification" culture means that people don't want to wait a year or two after planting for fruit.

Too much fruiting when young will cause "runting-out" of the tree, which may then become sickly, diseased and ugly. I have not often seen a young tree produce good quality fruit anyway and what small amount of low-quality fruit it does produce is usually completely destroyed by tunneling grubs, wasps or birds.
Young trees are notorious for dropping all their fruit before it is ripe - often they drop the fruits soon after flowering.
Additionally, bees prefer to visit great masses of flowers for easy collection of pollen and nectar. A small tree with a few blossom clusters is often ignored by the bees in favour of the big old trees nearby with thousands of blossoms. Therefore, pollination in young trees is often poor, while pollination of big old trees is usually excellent.
Only later, when the tree is mature, does it produce good quality fruit in large enough quantities so that that every pest in the neighbourhood isn't fighting over who gets that one fruit.

If your Braeburn and pear are growing and not flowering: that's perfect!
They're very happy and will establish quickly. Happy young trees - like young children - grow quickly. Sickly young trees don't grow, but will often blossom profusely with an amazing display of flowers shortly before collapsing and dying.

I suggest not feeding too much nitrogen nor watering to heavily with vigorous-growing trees or they will just keep growing and not fruiting (if fruit is what you want). On an unknown rootstock, who knows how big they might get if overfed?
If you want them to remian small but they continue to grow too quickly (more than 1ft of new growth from several growing points), prune the new shoots hard in mid-July.
This is the most effective way to get a vigorous tree under control and should cause it to channel its growth energy into fruiting in the following couple of seasons.

If one of your trees has died above the graft, it will not produce the same kind of fruit that was grafted to it. Some trees, such as almonds, are actually grafted onto plum roots, so the rootstock can be a completely different kind of tree. Some apple rootstocks are crab apples. Pears are grafted onto quinces.
I've generally found that rootstocks tend to be quite prone to above-ground diseases. For example: the common apple rootstock MM106 is hopelessly prone to powdery mildew and somewhat prone to scab.

Regarding blossom...

Your trees are very unlikely to blossom this year, although there may be a few sporadic flowers if we have a strange growing season. Even if they do flower, the fruits probably won't have long enough to ripen properly.
Fruit trees have blossom before the leaves and shoots start growing, so that the bees can easily find the flowers. For plums, cherries and pears, this is usually March-April and for apples it is usually April-May.
This year, flowering was very early due to a mild spring. My fruit trees finished flowering over a month ago and the fruits on my trees now vary from being as large as grapes up to as large as golf balls, depending on the variety.

[Davidf1]

I am sorry to say that nearly 2 years ago I ordered the same mini orchard,I treated them exactly as per instructions and the first year produced absolutely nothing, despite their promise. The second year produced cherries, a few of the tiniest apples that you have ever seen and nothing else at all. Despite contacting Garden Bargains they have done nothing but fobbed me off and basically they are not interested. The guarantee obviously is worthless. If you want fruit trees go elsewhere.

[starloc]

I wouldnt buy off them either ( because of the sales tactics ), i would rather buy decent plants from somewhere like ornamental-trees.co.uk or blackmoor.co.uk nurseries , both of them i have had high quality trees from

Fruit trees usualy take some time to get established and wont fruit well (depending on the rootstock and variety) for a few years more, its normal for no fruit first year, and maybe a few small fruit next year , maybe more better fruit the year after etc

The problem i have with this type of company is the way the products are advertised, everything is always right now, and gaurenteed

They always say "it will have some fruit this year (pointing to a great box of fruit) and loads of fruit next year ( giving the impression you will have wheelbarrow loads of it in a couple of years ),
Generaly they advertise all products the same on shopping tv they have mirracle polish, cloths, cookers, glue etc etc etc and nothings special!

I bought some of the ruben blackberrys last year and they died (with the frost), i never bothered trying for a refund as ive come accross tv demonstrator gaurentees before! and i wasnt paying the postage for another plant that would just die as this country is too cold for them

you will probably get more fruit on them next year

[kerryp]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm should i have found & read this post having placed my order for the same mini orchard with garden bargains a month or so ago...... (trees due to arrive in nov), probably not! Ah well at least i know they will send replacements if the trees are dead ;o)

[starloc]

If they deliver at this time of year it shouldnt be a problem as you can plant now, they should grow fine, my main problem with these plants is that they sell them at easter and early summer for people to plant then, and they wont grow well then, plant in the cold weather and they should be fine

[HeyWayne]

I have a bit of an allergy with anything that has "bargain" in the name. Usually implies it isn't.

[Nopots]

do not use this company

Ordered the mini Orchard and 4 pots at the begining of January. Trees arrived on the 8th January and i was assured that the pots would arrive within 48hrs. Taking into account the trees are only supposed to be in water for a maximum of 2 weeks, it is now the 28th January and i still have no pots. this is after numerous phone calls to Garden Bargains who just dont seem to care. They were supposed to have sent me a refund for the pots on 23rd January, but they must have sent that pony express because i have not received that aswell.

["GoingToSeed"]

Oh dear!...I too wish I'd found this thread before being "seduced" into buying a pair of trees yesterday with their sales pitch , an eating Apple and Cherry, these are already in 5 ltr pots, grafted on M27 rootstock.... I noticed FB mentioned in earlier post (last year) about the rootstock being important too....hope mine will be ok else I've just thrown away £24.99 plus P&P....

[divvy]

I bought ruben blackberries last year and they grew to 3ft , one had one flower. This year I have mulched them with manure and kep them watered but they are only 1 ft high. My raspberries are 6 ft and covered in flowers , they are not from garden bargins