Fruit Trees near conifer trees

[SMW]

Hi all,

New to the forum but have been lurking for some time. I recently bought my first house and have a garden that is currently undergoing some renovation. I plan over the next 6-12 months to plant some fruit trees and have a vegetable patch. Something I have always wanted to do and love the idea of my young son collating apples and digging spuds in summer and autumn. I have included a photo to help indicate this. The back of the garden will see a fence erected where the golden hedge is and run along where teh patio is. I plan to plant 4 or 5 semi dwarf apple/ pear trees planted and then the patio area is going to be lifted, rotated and mixed up with some manure to hopefully start a little area to grow some veg (nothing too fancy at this stage to see how we get on).



Now that I have give you an idea of my plans I have a question. The back of the garden is where most of the sun is so I would like to plant the fruit trees along this. I have felled the popular tree and its now gone and currently removing the golden coloured hedge. The neighbours own the conifer hedge and 3 of them are unmanaged and becoming quite tall. My question is, would there be any issues with planting the apple trees about 1 metre off the proposed fence line which will probably be 2/3 metres or so away from the conifers . Will these conifers absorb any nutrients that is left? I will ensure to under dress the trees going in and mulch annually. I would be worried about putting in all this effort and then having a few stalky slow growing trees that struggle to bear any fruit.

Thanks for reading 

S

[Lardman]

I think you're being a bit optimistic with 4 or 5 trees unless you're growing them in a restricted form of like pruning.

The currently trees would have reduced the soil quality dramatically so you'll need to feed the soil before planting but I wouldn't be worried about neighbours trees unless they shade the garden for a large part of the day.

Given the space and assuming that not looking south, I'd plant 4 espaliered trees across the width of the garden leaving you space for a veg patch in front. Alternatively just 2 specimen trees either side, at least 10ft away from the fences.

Is that bog grass I see - how wet is the garden?

[BUFFS]

I think you're being a bit optimistic with 4 or 5 trees unless you're growing them in a restricted form of like pruning.

The currently trees would have reduced the soil quality dramatically so you'll need to feed the soil before planting but I wouldn't be worried about neighbours trees unless they shade the garden for a large part of the day.

Given the space and assuming that not looking south, I'd plant 4 espaliered trees across the width of the garden leaving you space for a veg patch in front. Alternatively just 2 specimen trees either side, at least 10ft away from the fences.

Is that bog grass I see - how wet is the garden?

it does seem to be that you would be better with slightly fewer fruit trees, and if I had this situation I would dig a deep trench about 3/4ft out from the conifers, all across the front of them, and I would put a solid barrier, something like galvanised sheeting, about 2ft deep, so you would need a strong, fit person to do this, but it would stop the conifers hovering up all the goodness from the soil. with something like this in place, you could give the soil a good feed before putting in any trees, and pick ones that do well in your area. have a walk around and see what the neighbours are growing, and ask them what grows well for them, saving you buying something that does not like your soil/ climate, so maximising the crop whatever apples you decide on.....good luck and give it a try as the taste of your first home grown fruit will be amazing.....

[SMW]

Hi folks, thanks for the replies,
The garden length at the back is about 13m so I was going to plant 5 trees at 2.5 centres but maybe best try 3 or 4 instead sure.

I love the idea of using a physical barrier for the roots, it will make good use of the pavers which need lifted!

Yup that is rush, its a photo from when we viewed the house and the garden was very low nutrient and hand not seen a mower in a while. It gets wet after a good soaking but the bottom is quite dry as the sloping gets steeper behind the hedge.
Thanks again
S

[Jungle Jane]

When I first moved where I am,the neighbour at the bottom of my garden had conifers all the way along the bottom of my garden,next to the fence,I planted my plum tree & apple tree about 12" from the fence,you can dig out any roots on your side & dig a big hole & put some bonemeal in there for strong root growth. I've got a tiny coronet apple tree,it's a miniature about 7 years old,5ft tall & the branches have a three foot spread,training it on wires helps with the weight of the fruit,it's tiny & perfect for small gardens. When you plant the trees you could throw a load of spring bulbs in there to get the pollinators interested. Some blue crocus would be lovely amongst the greenery.

[SMW]

Thanks for all the replies folks, this has been very helpful.

it does seem to be that you would be better with slightly fewer fruit trees, and if I had this situation I would dig a deep trench about 3/4ft out from the conifers, all across the front of them, and I would put a solid barrier, something like galvanised sheeting, about 2ft deep, so you would need a strong, fit person to do this, but it would stop the conifers hovering up all the goodness from the soil. with something like this in place, you could give the soil a good feed before putting in any trees, and pick ones that do well in your area. have a walk around and see what the neighbours are growing, and ask them what grows well for them, saving you buying something that does not like your soil/ climate, so maximising the crop whatever apples you decide on.....good luck and give it a try as the taste of your first home grown fruit will be amazing.....

Apologies, but a silly question...when you say feed the soil, do you mean laying a few cms of compost/manure etc over the soil or do you mean digging up and turning it all over?

Thanks

S

[ESBkevin]

Yes you should feed the soil with manure, compost, etc. also plan to do this in the winter when your new plant stock is dormant. You must also pack and water in the new roots because they won't like air pockets although don't make it like concrete or they will struggle to develope.
Espalier against the fence is a good idea, the fence will absorb some sun heat during the day and release it at night to benefit the trees, brick walls are of course much better for this but cost a lot more. Finaly keep the surface around the trees free of grass and weeds by mulching with more compost and or wood chips to feed the trees and reduce competition for nutrients.

[chrisdb]

I have a plum and 2 apples planted 2 - 3 metres away from the neighbour's conifer hedge, and they seem to be doing OK so far. The caveat is that the hedge seems to have been reduced in vigour by me hacking back a lot of overgrowth to the boundary fence when we first moved in a few years ago, an act it still hasn't completely recovered from. I also considered at the time putting in some kind of root barrier, but decided that waiting and seeing was better before doing anything drastic, and so far I haven't seen the need. Nothing is dying or showing signs of more stress on that side than anywhere else in the garden (and the other side of the garden is 15 - 20m away, well out of the root zone).

Feeding is probably a good idea if the trees show signs of stress, but I think there's a danger to overfeeding if other trees with aggressive roots are nearby, as in the long run you might be encouraging more root competition.

Trees grow more roots where the nutrients are, so if you make the soil around your fruit trees much richer than elsewhere then you might be making the competition worse rather than better. I'd personally be tempted to wait and see how they do before taking any corrective action.

Also, you might want to avoid the seriously dwarfing rootstocks if you think competition might be an issue. They struggle unless conditions are good - FB always proposes planting more vigorous rootstocks and then giving them tough love, and that might be a good idea here. You can grow cordons or espaliers on MM106 just as well as on M26/M27/M9.

[SMW]

Thanks for all your posts, it has been very helpful. I will let you know how I get on later in the winter. Very excited about it