Cordon or column apple and pear trees..

[cptncrackoff]

Hi all,

I'm looking into the possibility of a row of cordon, or perhaps column (although i'm erring on the side of an angled cordon) of apple and pear trees..

I have a bit of spare room on the allotment, in a nice, sunny sheltered spot, around 3 metres long, but relatively narrow, the sort of strip that could possibly suit a row of apple and pear trees.

I've searched the web, and watched videos, but really I'm looking for grapes personal experiences of cordon growing.

Any advice, or pictures please!

Thanks

[Alison]

Sorry no decent photos but I grow a line of cordons along the front line of my lottie. Mainly apples but a couple of pears, all angled so they catch the southern sun. Work well and the established ones do well with me enjoying a good variety of varieties (all same pollination type)

[cptncrackoff]

Thanks for the reply Alison,

I'm not at the point of looking at varieties really yet, but more wondering if they are as hard maintenance as I have read..

It seems, from youtube videos, once you've got the desired height, the other pruning isn't that tricky, when you know what to do!?

Also, do you keep the ground below clear?

Thanks

[Alison]

I don't think the pruning is at all difficult but I'm not 100% sure I do it quite right! I bought all the trees as bare root one year maidens (ie as cheap as possible) and planted them over winter time. All set at 45 deg supported by canes and posts. It's best to do a winter and summer prune while you're getting them as you want, or at least that's what I've found.

[Paulieb]

I've got a 12m row at home (2yrs old) and 4 rows at my field (0/1yr). All at 45degrees. Field lines are north to south as I think this is preferred, but home is east to west (tops pointing west) as this is where the space was.

About 3/4 are apples the rest are pears. And there are a mixture of M9/MM106/M26 for the apples and quince A and C for the pears. The larger rootstocks are 3ft apart and the M9s are 2ft 6 apart. Mostly grown from maidens

Had a few apples last year at home but expecting a better crop this autumn. I tr to keep it all weed free but this only happens when I get round to it. Little and often would be better.

Your best bet would be to get maidens in before mid march, but its such a long term project that choosing cultivars should not be rushed!

Good luck!