Recommendations for where to buy fruit trees

[d000hg]

I never realised there was so much variety among simple apple trees (and others). Can anyone recommend a good book or website on this topic... Or is it something a general gardening tome might cover?

[flynch]

I never realised there was so much variety among simple apple trees (and others). Can anyone recommend a good book or website on this topic... Or is it something a general gardening tome might cover?

The good fruit guide
The Apple book by rosie Sanders

Also look at the national fruit collection website.

[flynch]

Believed to be well over 10,000 varieties of apple, the national fruit collection has around 3,000 the oldest is old Pearmain dating to around 1200.

A general gardening magazine doesn't go anywhere near this, they are aimed at the general public and the general public tend to buy varieties they are familiar with in shops.

[Lardman]

This is something I've always wondered... can you prune a non-dwarfing tree to dwarf size without killing it or affecting yields?

Yield will obviously be less than allowing it to grow fully but no more than using a dwarfing rootstock. It is as flynch says it's all about balance.

I don't grow on dwarf root stocks nor do I need to prune 4 times a year my soil is poor and naturally limits the vigor of the trees. I don't image M27 would last longer here at all. I also grow mainly in restricted forms and up until recently have stayed away from tip bearers which helps.

The Apple book by rosie Sanders

It's a very nice coffee table book but still sticks to the more common apples for detail.

Here's a nice big list to muse over Fruit Trees- Historic Varieties Grown and Supplied by Bernwode Fruit Trees after spotting something which interests normally a quick google will bring up details about a particular variety.

If you have a local orchard group perhaps they have a website? I've chosen a few of my trees as they were locally bred/discovered.

[GBax]

I never realised there was so much variety among simple apple trees (and others). Can anyone recommend a good book or website on this topic... Or is it something a general gardening tome might cover?

Specialist Nursery websites will give you a good detail of many varieties:

Quality Fruit Trees And Soft Fruit Plants For Sale | Buy Online
Keepers Nursery UK | Fruit trees for sale | Buy Online | Mail order
https://www.orangepippin.com/
Fruit trees for sale - Suffolk Fruit and Trees - The Fruit Tree Specialists