fruit tree suppliers

[Frankie24]

Hi,

I am looking at buying gage, apple and cherry trees on relatively dwarf root stock for training into fans/espaliers. I am looking for a good supplier. Can anyone recommend one? I like the variety and choice of rootstocks that "Chris Bower and Sons" have. Has anyone bought from them?

[Kirk]

Have bought from Chris Bowers, actually drove there it was as easy.
The odd thing is/was I ordered one plum tree and they substituted another in it's place without telling me in advance until I was collecting a set of 4 or 5.

Bit disappointed, will say I have not heard of anyone having a problem, but disappointed as it was a specific variety I had been looking for. The attitude was sort of "Well so what, it is similar?"

Eventually got one from Ken Muir a couple of years later.

Another well regarded supplier is Keepers Nursery.

[WendyC]

Blackmoor seem to have a good name although I've never ordered from them personally. Good strawberries and raspberries from Ken Muir. No reason to doubt fruit trees would be good too.

[boundtothesoil]

Bit disappointed, will say I have not heard of anyone having a problem,

I've had two wrongly labelled apple varieties from this nursery and didn't find out until they fruited. Wont be placing any more orders.

[Kirk]

Mine wasn't wrongly labeled but I specifically wanted one variety, and at that time had to track it down, checked over the phone and paid then went up to collect. To get told they had put a different variety in instead.

All the apples I had grafted at Brogdale.

[Alison]

Blackmoor are excellent and have got back to me very quickly when I have had any queries.

[simon12]

Reeds, Keepers and Blackmoor are all recommended in this article Top 20 mail-order plant nurseries - Telegraph

[FB.]

Have bought from Chris Bowers, actually drove there it was as easy.
The odd thing is/was I ordered one plum tree and they substituted another in it's place without telling me in advance until I was collecting a set of 4 or 5.

Bit disappointed, will say I have not heard of anyone having a problem, but disappointed as it was a specific variety I had been looking for. The attitude was sort of "Well so what, it is similar?"

Eventually got one from Ken Muir a couple of years later.

Another well regarded supplier is Keepers Nursery.

A couple of us on here were talking a few weeks ago about suspecting (or knowing) that we'd been substituted or mislabelled by the same nursery.
If that's their policy it's a great shame because in my experience the quality of their plants is above average.

[FB.]

Reeds, Keepers and Blackmoor are all recommended in this article Top 20 mail-order plant nurseries - Telegraph

In general, I would buy from Keepers.

In my experience, certain nurseries excel at producing good quality fruit trees of a certain type or on a certain rootstock, while certain other types are less impressive. It's probably how the different types of fruit tree interact with soil, climate and tree management.
Some nurseries are a definite "NO!" for certain varieties or rootstocks because the nursery (or its soil which can't be sprayed) is infested with diseases which the young plants carry with them to their new home, with the disease remaining dormant for a year or two before, without chemical sprays, it activates and kills the tree - often just as it's coming into full cropping at several years old.

[FB.]

I like the variety and choice of rootstocks that "Chris Bower and Sons" have. Has anyone bought from them?

I find it impossible to believe that a nursery can carry such an extensive range of variety and rootstock combinations at all times of the year; rarely selling-out of anything would hit profits hard due to the wastage.
As mentioned in earlier posts: it may be that they substitute for something else.
So you might want a MM106 rootstock but find you get a M26 (one size down) or M25 (one size up) instead. Or, like me, you might have ordered a Tydeman's Early Worcester and a Worcester Pearmain and appear to have two identical trees which most resemble Tydeman's Early Worcester.
I also think I may also have been rootstock-substituted on what should have been a M25 Irish Peach but appears to actually be MM106 and might not even be Irish Peach. How can I tell?
Because MM106 does not grow in my soil while M25 grows well, and because MM106 produces a lot of burrknots, which is what this tree is doing.

[Frankie24]

hmm very insightful. thankyou all. I wonder how they were able to supply such a massive range, seems they may not be!

[fishermann]

The only one I can tell you about is Deacons on the Isle of Wight, but that is mainly because they are just down the road from me.

DEACONS NURSERY: Fruit, Trees and Bushes | Deacons Nursery Fruits

Dave

[FB.]

Personally, I have been bitterly disappointed with the quality of stock from Deacons regardless of the large range they offer.
I would not buy from Deacons again. I wouldn't even accept a gift of trees from Deacons stock.

[FB.]

Orangepippin have expanded their range of fruit trees in recent years and if I can find suitable scion/rootstock combinations for my soil and climate in their stocklist, I may place an order this winter to see what they have to offer.

I currently have an order open with Keepers for delivery later this year and sometimes purchase from Bernwode because of their range of very rare varieties and some offerings on MM111 rootstock which is the best rootstock for my soil and my requirements.

Disclaimer:
I have a connection to Orangepippin due to our joint efforts on the tree size estimator (in the link in my signature), but that has been as a result of our love of the hobby of amateur fruit growing and not for any financial gain.

[fishermann]

Personally, I have been bitterly disappointed with the quality of stock from Deacons regardless of the large range they offer.
I would not buy from Deacons again. I wouldn't even accept a gift of trees from Deacons stock.

Crikey, if I had known they were that bad I wouldn`t have mentioned them.

Sorry guys.