A Lidl fruit tree advice

[Marb67]

Just grabbed a couple of bargain fruit trees from Lidil as I like a challenge of getting them going. The base is very dry and hardly any growth as yet. One is a plumb and one is a pear. We have access to a local council owned orchard that we are allowed to pick but the plumbs and pears are always the first to go hence why I bought my own.

As I have a small space, can I grow them in pots in a general good quality nursery grade compost and what do I do before I plant etc. Just anything that can give them a good start would be good. I have blood fish and bone if that will help. Also, Should they fruit this year ?

Thanking you in advance.

[lookbettertomorow]

No fruit this year I'm afraid and ordinary,even professional (what ever that is!) compost is no good, need at least john innes number 3, soil based.
Unless you have dwarfing rootstock, which you don't have, waste of time in a pot, sorry. New trees are slower to get going than established trees, even established trees are only just waking up. Be patient :-)

[lookbettertomorow]

Soak the roots in a bucket at least 12hrs, little space? Grow as a vertical cordon,loads info online. Lidl's and Aldi's trees are fantastic value but you need check pollination partners,if needed. It's quite difficult to kill a tree so don't worry,dig a hole and bung it in :-)

[Marb67]

Thanks. I did hear on the radio Joe Maiden saying you can ealily grow all fruit trees in pots very well. What if I fill the pot with soil from the garden or is that no good ?

[lookbettertomorow]

That's a bigger no no than arguing with my Mrs. I have 4 trees in pots but they are very dwarf rootstock and I nail them hard with the secateurs,, many times , love them to bits but I fuss them

[Marb67]

I will just have to find a space in the garden to plant them. As i have built up brick raised beds I dont want them taking over and spreading. I have a Hawthorn in a pot buried under soil and it is doing very well, just kept under control and means I can take it away If I move.

As for the missus, I wear the trousers in my house ��

[veggiechicken]

Marb, glad to hear you're wearing your trousers in the house, what about in the garden?
Do you have a front garden? If so, is there room for a couple of trees? Otherwise, how about planting them against your shady back wall and trying to train them against it?
You said you like a challenge

[KevinM67]

'Awaits the resultant post in a few months time reporting on their unexpected death'

Only joking - best of luck to you Marb.

Anyway, good to hear 'you wear the trousers in the house' - so do I (although, the OH tells me which ones to put on !!).

[Marb67]

Veggiechicken, if you think they will do well in the shady beds I will give it a go. That seems a good compromise :-) they have been soaking for nearly 24 hours so they will need planting. Just make a hole, fill with water, blood fish and bone around the top be ok ?

[veggiechicken]

Marb, I'd hate you to come back in a few years time and tell me that planting the trees against the wall didn't work, so..............
only you know how shady that border is, and what the soil is like, and how deep.

That's my Get out of Jail card

Others may disagree but I think that a tall plant against a wall has a better chance of light than a low growing plant, which would have more shadow.
I don't know how tall your trees are compared to the wall but if they're near the top, and the wall isn't in permanent shade, I'd go for it.
Also, the trees need the best light during the summer months. If the wall is very shady during the winter its doesn't matter so much as the trees are dormant.
Planting near a wall means that you will have to keep an eye on watering, as they will also be in the rain shadow.

As for planting, I'd put the fertiliser in the hole and put the tree on top.

[Marb67]

Don't worry veggiechciken, if they fail it isn't the end of the world because they were very cheap. £7.99 in all for both.

I have thought of lifting one of the flags in the paving outside the back door which gets a bit of sun but and planting one there but then you can't really move it again if it doesn't work.

[veggiechicken]

I'm sure they'd be fine in large pots for a year or two. You could move them around into sunny corners and it keeps your options open.

[Jay-ell]

I just planted 12 fruit trees into a 10x4 bed (what do you mean fruit trees aren't supposed to be planted as a square foot garden ).

They're all going to be pruned as single stemmed cordons. I'm hoping that the pruning and close quaters will control their vigour.

It seems that Conventional Wisdom says that the plums and cherries can't be grown as cordons but as neither of these words is often associated with me I'll be growing them as a cordon anyway and adapt the pruning to them.

[Marb67]

I'm sure they'd be fine in large pots for a year or two. You could move them around into sunny corners and it keeps your options open.

I think I will do just that for the first year until I decide what goes where. Cheers.

[spamvindaloo]

I just planted 12 fruit trees into a 10x4 bed (what do you mean fruit trees aren't supposed to be planted as a square foot garden ).

They're all going to be pruned as single stemmed cordons. I'm hoping that the pruning and close quaters will control their vigour.

It seems that Conventional Wisdom says that the plums and cherries can't be grown as cordons but as neither of these words is often associated with me I'll be growing them as a cordon anyway and adapt the pruning to them.

I'd have thought a bigger problem would be them having enough room below ground. Even supposing that your trees all manage to find a way to stretch their roots contentedly in just over 3 square feet each, that many roots in such a small space would presumably severely deplete the nutrients in the soil. I assume you are planning on feeding heavily?