Fruit tree dunce

[chrisdb]

I'm still very much learning myself, and there can be A LOT to think about initially.
Paulie makes some great points. My advice would simply be to pay attention to what is being grown locally (where the varieties are known I mean), and the general health of those specimens. That way you know what is definitely possible in your own locale. Online nurseries and general retailers can tell you what is suitable according to your site spec and region, which will help draw up a list of possibles. But then I'd cross reference with your own notes before making a final decision. It's worth being thorough as there's a lot of variables to consider if you know your intended site is not perfect.

Regarding the site, if it gets little sun in autumn you want early apple varieties. If it gets late frosts you want late flowering varieties. If I search on Keepers for early or mid-season varieties, self fertile, suitable for northern britain, suitable for areas with late frosts, I get the following varieties:

George Cave
Royal Jubilee
Sunset

Maybe one of these might also meet your taste criteria?

[spamvindaloo]

I'd also totally endorse contacting a specialist nursery, most of my trees have come from Deacon's Nursery and they have been super helpful answering loads of emails with tons of questions, I'd happily endorse them any day. I think Orange Pippin and Keepers are also well thought of on here.

As others have said though, it is getting to the end of the bare root season so your choices may be to wait until around November or pay a lot more for pot grown, probably better than rushing and buying something unsuitable though.

[bario1]

This has been a fantastically helpful thread, thanks for all your input peeps!

I've decided to hold off till next season, then i can pre-order exactly what i want, and get my site prepared a bit better.

I'm thinking for my cherry tree, a two year old fan trained Stella on Gisela5 rootstock (or a one year old maiden if I can pluck up the courage to train it myself).

For my apple, well I'll probably need to research that one a bit more, as well as eat as many heritage apples as possible over the coming year! The guy on the plot next to mine has a few 30 year old apple trees that look productive, so I'll ask to sample some of his.

[WendyC]

Think that's a really good idea. In the meanwhile I'm sure you'll find something to fill the space.

[bario1]

Potatoes! :d

[chrisdb]

I'm thinking for my cherry tree, a two year old fan trained Stella on Gisela5 rootstock (or a one year old maiden if I can pluck up the courage to train it myself).

For my apple, well I'll probably need to research that one a bit more, as well as eat as many heritage apples as possible over the coming year! The guy on the plot next to mine has a few 30 year old apple trees that look productive, so I'll ask to sample some of his.

If your neighbour has one you like but you don't know the variety name, a number of suppliers offer a grafting service where you give them a cutting from the existing tree and they make you another to plant.

Regarding gisela 5, I personally found it a bit useless. Even when pampered the way you have to with very dwarfing rootstocks, the tree didn't do welk and always seemed to be suffering from one problem or another. So far, the trees I have on Colt are doing much better. I'm now a cynic about very dwarfed cherry trees. And if you're training the tree as a fan, Colt is also possible anyway.

[bario1]

Interesting, thanks Chris.

Can Colt rootstock be trained to keep them small then? I've just realised you really need a wall to train a fan against, and I don't have one, but could I train it as a bush? I don't want a 4 metre tall tree on my plot!

[TrixC]

Interesting, thanks Chris.

Can Colt rootstock be trained to keep them small then? I've just realised you really need a wall to train a fan against, and I don't have one, but could I train it as a bush? I don't want a 4 metre tall tree on my plot!

You don't necessarily need a wall for a fan, you can train it on posts and wires. I am attempting an apricot fan on my allotment using this system. I also have a cherry fan in my garden, it's on Colt rootstock which I was advised was preferable to Gisela 5 on my clay soil. With fans you need horizontal rather than vertical space, you should end up with a tree about 2m high and 4m wide. Have a look at the picture in the link:

https://herbidacious.wordpress.com/2...05/cherry-fan/

You can purchase partially fan-trained trees from the specialist nurseries like Blackmoor - they're much more expensive than buying a maiden tree and training it yourself, but could be a good option if you feel intimidated by the initial pruning.

[Kirk]

Assuming 3 trees then get 2 apples and something.
Apples are sort of "easy".
You want an M9 or an M26 rootstock, well in my opinion anyway. M9 is likely the better choice.

Varieties, not sure, you say Edinburgh so you could find an early or medium season season apple better.
You want what is termed a "duploid" apple variety, most are but some of the "well known" ones may not be, Bramley being the main example. Duploids pollinate any other apple.

An M9 rootstock gives a tree of about 6-7 foot.

The other fruit tree not really sure. I have a cherry on a "dwarfing" rootstock, it is easily 12 foot high and 12 foot wide - basically big.

If you want a cherry then I would suggest that you consider the Minarette varieties from Ken Muir. Get 2 for cross pollination. The slight problem is that they cost more but for compactness they are hard to beat. I say KM Minarettes as they are the only ones I know to point you to, they may or may not be others, I simply am not sure. One advantage of a Minarette is that you can cover or net them somewhat easier then a tree.

For the apples find a local garden centre or nursery, they should be able to point you at the appropriate items in the apple line. If they are unable to talk about M9 rootstocks and duploid apples go find another that can. Those aspects should be fundimental.

Other alternative is go find a couple of varieties and come back and ask here - rootstock should be on the plant label. Personally I gave up with pollination groups, they are a guide but I have found that the trees don't read all that well and do what they want.