family tree fruit tree

[Kristen]

Well done! (or ... is it poison chalice?!)

I don't know much about fruit trees - but 2' x 5' sounds small to me (for more than one).

A Family Tree perhaps - various varieties grafted onto a single plant. Kids might be amused to find difference looking apples (say) on the same tree?

Or containers, as you said. You could perhaps ring-the-changes at different times of the year?

[Suky]

Ballerina trees might be the answer, you could fit several in that space.

[FB.]

School have just surprised me: they are so impressed with how the veg garden & flower beds are shaping up, they've given me another project - to turn a 2' x 5' courtyard bed into an orchard

I am not a fruit expert, I don't even like eating fruit very much. I've got a good budget so am thinking of 6' tall minarette trees of Morello cherry, Braeburn apple, Conference pear & Victoria plum

If the bed is too small, I can use big 30 litre pots

(the rootstock is "secret" but I'm guessing it's MM106 or similar)

You may find that the plum and cherry don't fruit well if grown as a column - and they don't like the close pruning that would be required. By all means have a go, but the apple and pear are far more likely to be successful.
Cherries and plums - if you want to restrict them - are best grown as fans or espaliers.

I would also be cautious of the Braeburn apple - it doesn't have much disease resistance and you won't want to be spraying chemicals in an area that kids use.
Braeburn apples might also be a bit large and tough for kids to eat.

Conference pear gets no grumbles from me. You could also consider Concorde, which is similar but slightly better.

With the apple, I'd suggest a variety that sweet enough that you can eat straight off the tree when the kids go back in the autumn.
I'd recommend something like Spartan because I find it to have good all-round resistance to pests and diseases and the fruits aren't too acidic, so people with a sweet-tooth (often kids!) will readily eat them. Spartan have a flavour that is rather melon-like, with a slight hint of strawberry.
You could also shock them with the ugly (but quite sweet and very tasty) apples of an Egremont Russet or Ard Cairn Russet (which has almost no acidity).
In addition to reasonably good pest/disease resistance, Spartan, Egremont and Ard Cairn have a natural preference for being quite tall, narrow, upright trees. Spartan is self-fertile. Egremont is part-self-fertile. Ard Cairn is unknown.
Winter Gem is a slightly later-ripening variety with good taste, upright habit and reasonable disease resistance. It is fairly vigorous though, so where you might plant MM106 for most varieties, I'd drop to M26 for Winter Gem.

[Two_Sheds]

You may find that the plum and cherry don't fruit well if grown as a column ...best grown as fans or espaliers.

Very helpful info as usual FB, thank you.
I don't really want another apple tree at all - I think I'll have a rethink and go for a cherry fan (which was my initial idea before I saw the ad for the minarettes). Aldi have a morello - the label says 20ft as I remember, but I reckon it could be fanned?
Thanks again

[nikiroberts]

i have an apple tree in my garden but i'm wanting to move it whens the best time to do it

[FB.]

i have an apple tree in my garden but i'm wanting to move it whens the best time to do it

The best time to move fruit trees is winter time, while there are no leaves on the tree.
You'd better hurry because new root growth is just beginning, so if you move it now, there will be some new roots in its new location. With spring coming early this year, if you delay just a few more weeks, you'll break the new roots and the tree will have a whole season delay before it lays down more roots.
Most root growth occues in autumn and spring, when the soil is soft and the roots can grow quickly through it. In summer the soil dries (roots will not grow in dry soil). In winter the the soil is often frozen solid and too cold for root growth.

[pinns]

Hi pinns have you bought a family tree y-e-t?

Yes thanks Woodsy, I took the plunge and got the James Grieve/Sunset/Discovery one from KM. It arrived looking good and two out of the three grafts are multi-twigged which pleases me no end
It's now in the ground in (what will be) a sunny spot and I just hope it's not sulking too much from all this rain we've been having here!
Every day I go out to see if any of the buds are millimetres bigger yet or anything...

Good luck with your trees too!

[millpike]

millpike

Hi
I planted one several years ago - peach, apricot and nectarine. Not really successful - after a few years we had some apricots, but the next year the apricot side of the tree died just after the leaves appeared and that part of the tree stayed dead looking for the next few years, until I cut it out.
Since then the tree produces very small, damson like fruit, but these don't ripen. Has it reverted to the stock that it's grafted onto?
I'm just about to dig it out and try again, just an apricot this time.
Ruth

[Feral007]

I have just planted two nectarine/peach trees this year. They were the only multigraft trees they had and I just liked the thought.

I'll let you know how they go.