Growing fruit trees in Aberdeen,Scotland

[Balaji]

I have a small garden at my backyard in Aberdeen,Scotland where I want to plant some fruit trees. I intend to plant the following :-

1) Golden Delicious apple
2) Gala apple
3) Concorde pear
4) Stella Compact cherry
5) Stanley plum
6) Conference Pear
7) Morello Cherry
8) Victoria Plum

Can you suggest if these would be suitable for the weather in Aberdeen,Scotland and which of are most recommended considering the climate.

[Balaji]

Growing fruit trees in Aberdeen,Scotland

I have a small garden at my backyard in Aberdeen,Scotland where I want to plant some fruit trees. I intend to plant the following :-

1) Golden Delicious apple
2) Gala apple
3) Concorde pear
4) Stella Compact cherry
5) Stanley plum
6) Conference Pear
7) Morello Cherry
8) Victoria Plum

Can you suggest if these would be suitable for the weather in Aberdeen,Scotland and which of are most recommended considering the climate.

[FB.]

Golden Delicious: prefers a hot, sunny location and a long growing season. Fruits can split and rot from scab infections in damp seasons. - may require spraying.

Gala: not much resistance to most diseases and pests - may require spraying.

Conference: can be prone to scab - may require spraying.

Victoria: very prone to diseases - may require spraying.

Concorde: slow-growing and a not very fertile (usually plenty of blossom but not usually many fruits) in my experience - I wouldn't bother to grow it again. More disease resistant than the common pear varieties though.

I would suggest abandon the common (usually sickly and only average flavour) varieties that everyone grows, and consider less common varieties with good resistance to pests and diseases so that you don't have to spray them.

Also examine how good/deep (or poor/shallow) your soil, think about how big or small you want your trees to be, and choose a rootstock which is suitable for what you need.

[Balaji]

Golden Delicious: prefers a hot, sunny location and a long growing season. Fruits can split and rot from scab infections in damp seasons. - may require spraying.

Gala: not much resistance to most diseases and pests - may require spraying.

Conference: can be prone to scab - may require spraying.

Victoria: very prone to diseases - may require spraying.

Concorde: slow-growing and a not very fertile (usually plenty of blossom but not usually many fruits) in my experience - I wouldn't bother to grow it again. More disease resistant than the common pear varieties though.

I would suggest abandon the common (usually sickly and only average flavour) varieties that everyone grows, and consider less common varieties with good resistance to pests and diseases so that you don't have to spray them.

Also examine how good/deep (or poor/shallow) your soil, think about how big or small you want your trees to be, and choose a rootstock which is suitable for what you need.

Thanks for reply. Appreciate if I could any recommendations on what could be grown.

[orangepippin]

Aberdeen has one of the best climates for fruit-growing in Scotland, and if you are able to provide a sheltered situation with a southerly aspect then most of these varieties are feasible.

As FB says, Golden Delicious really needs a warmer climate, as does Gala. They might work on a south-facing wall.

For pears, Concorde has the better flavour but Conference is more reliable.

For cherries, Summer Sun is probably the most likely dessert cherry to be successful in your area - and I would certainly try to train it against a south-facing brick wall. Stella is normally reliable, but I haven't tried compact Stella. Morello cherry is definitely a good choice.

Victoria plum is disease-prone, but on the other hand is often sufficiently vigorous to keep going regardless. It is quite widely grown in north-east Scotland, and is a good choice if are prepareed to take a bit of a chance on the disease issues (and simply avoiding pruning it will help a lot). I would also look at some hardy varieties such as Edda, Czar, Belle de Louvain.

[veggiechicken]

Hello Balaji and welcome to the Grapevine. I see that your fruit tree question is being answered by our fruit experts on another thread - so this is just to say hello

[Balaji]

Thanks for your reply and advise.

[Balaji]

Hello.
Thanks.I have received replies to my post.Initially I was not sure in which forum do I pose my query that's why the double posting. Thanks

[FB.]

Thanks for reply. Appreciate if I could any recommendations on what could be grown.

Before you decide which varieties, you need to decide which rootstock.
The roots are more important than the above-ground part of the tree; the above-ground part is useless if the roots can't cope with the soil or climate.

So before going any further, you need to answer;

How big do you want them to get?

How far off the ground do you want the lowest branches to be?

How deep is your topsoil? Or will they be grown in pots?

Does your soil tend to waterlog?


I once planted on MM106, St.Julien A and Quince A - but despite what "the books" say, they are almost un-growable in my soil; 5ft in ten years if I can actually keep them alive.
On the other hand, Orangepippin has a MM106 of a similar age to me, but it thrives in his location and is about three times the size of mine.

Why the difference?
Because I have shallow, dry/fast-draining, sandy soil with a hint of chalk and not usually much rain in summer.
On the other hand, Orangepippin has deep, fertile, moisture-retentive soil and (from the plants point of view) a nice balance of sun and rainfall.

[FB.]

Once you've sorted the rootstocks, I, personally, would include the following in my shortlist (but note that you may need to make provision for pollination partners):

Apples:
Irish Peach
Ard Cairn Russet
Ashmead's Kernel
Katy
Gravenstein
Tower of Glamis
Kidd's Orange Red
Jupiter
Laxton's Epicure
Beauty of Bath
Discovery
Scotch Bridget

Pears:
Hessle
Jargonelle
Louise Bonne de Jersey
Marguerite de Marillat
Bristol Cross
Merton Pride
Baronne de Mello
Nouveau Poiteau
Marie Louise


Plums:
Opal
Kirke's Blue

Cherries:
Anything you fancy because the birds will eat them before they ripen enough for humans to eat.

.

[out in the cold]

Hi Balaji. Welcome to the forum. Nice to have another Northern light on the forum.

[Balaji]

Thanks all for the wonderful responses. I will keep this post updated of the progress I make.

[FB.]

Thanks all for the wonderful responses. I will keep this post updated of the progress I make.

You must choose a suitable rootstock to match your soil, otherwise the trees might grow too much or too little. Rootstock choice is absolutely crucial - don't underestimate.
Worry about the rootstock first, then see which varieties are available. Otherwise you may end up having to replace them if they are too weak to fruit, or at the other end of the scale put all their energy into growing and not fruiting.

For example: in my poor soil, no matter how wonderful the variety, if it is on MM106 rootstock it will not grow well - probably not grow at all and may be difficult to keep alive. So I'd rather have a "lucky dip" on MM111 or M25 rootstock which I can be confident will cope with my soil, than to have even the most perfect variety on an unsuitable MM106 which will not cope with my soil.

[orangepippin]

FB - the original post says "I have a small garden at my backyard in Aberdeen". On that basis I think M25 and MM111 are too big. I would choose dwarfing rootstocks (you won't be surprised!) which will allow more fruit trees to be grown in a smaller space. As long as the soil is good, and the trees are supported, mulched, fed, watered, they should be very successful.