DescriptionDelivery & Guarantee
Mespilus germanica Nottingham - Medlar Nottingham
Medlar trees are usually grown for their ornamental value these days, even though the fruit were once highly prized. Medlar Nottingham is the only variety still available for commercial growing, thanks to its well sized fruit, disease resistance and regular harvests. This is a low, spreading tree with lovely twisting branches and thick, slightly downy foliage that begins life pale green, flushed with a hint of rosy pink and then turns dark green with age. The simple white flowers are carried on the tips of the branches and are often surrounded by a halo of leaves, like a white iris in a green eye. Medlar trees have excellent autumn colour, as the raised surfaces of the leaves glow with shades of pink, red and orange while the leaf veins hold their green pigment for a bit longer, creating an exotic tropical effect. The fruit are quite unique and were once considered to be among the finest of delicacies, reserved for those who could afford them. The Romans and ancient Greeks adored them and they are still very popular in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East. There is no getting around it, though - Shakespeare and Chaucer both likened their shape to a person's bottom. In the play Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio teases Romeo about his love for Juliet with an innuendo involving medlars and pears - we are sure that you can guess what he was getting at. However, it is modern squeamishness, not their appearance, that is the reason that these gorgeous fruit have fallen into obscurity. The fruit have to be bletted before they are edible, which is a nice way of saying that they should be kept until are almost rotten and it is this which some people find off putting. A well over-ripe medlar, with its wrinkled brown skin and mushy insides, tastes like gourmet apple and pear sauce that somehow got inside a fruit - sweet, sharp and irresistable.
Harvesting and Storing your Medlar Fruit: Between mid-October and early November, the fruit should part easily from the branches and are ready to be picked and stored. It is a good idea to disinfect them before you store them: simply take a bowl of warm water and stir salt into it until no more will dissolve. Give each fruit a gentle wash. Dry them off well and store them in a cool, dry, dark place with their "eye" facing downwards. Try to prevent the fruit from touching each other - wrap them in newspaper if necessary. Leave them for about three weeks to blet - you know that they are ready when they become soft all over. The longer you leave them, the softer they become, until you can suck the flesh out through the eye, neatly leaving the inedible stones behind - this is medlar heaven. You can also leave them on the tree and pick each one when you see that its skin is wrinkled and turning brown, but this may be quite time consuming with a larger tree - the fruit may also fall off and get poached before you can get to them. If you are impatient to try one, freeze it and let it thaw two or three times - this should speed up the bletting process. If you live in London, Borough Market is one of the last places that still sells medlars in season - look for them from late October.
Medlar Nottingham: Planting, Pruning and Caring for Your Trees:
Nottingham Medlars will grow well in any well drained soil and will fruit best in full sun. They are hardy but the flowers can be damaged by strong, dry winds and we recommend choosing a sheltered location if you want to ensure a good harvest. We recommend pruning your tree diligently for its first four years - cut back every leading branch by about a third of its new growth from the previous summer, down to an outward facing bud. This will prevent the tree from becoming congested in later life and improve its vigour - unmanaged trees can be prone to growing inwards and rubbing their branches together, which allows disease to enter. A full grown medlar tree will grow to about 5 metres, 18 feet, bushes a little less. Our medlars are grafted on Quince A rootstocks.
If you are unsure about fruit tree sizes, please take a look at our Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing..
Read our full terms and conditions here.
Delivery:
The basic delivery charge for all orders containing fruit trees of any size (bareroot or pot-grown) is £12.55 + VAT.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
You can choose the delivery week that suits you during checkout and we will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.
Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.
Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted fruit trees must be watered in dry weather while they are establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.
Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot fruit trees to gardeners and orchard owners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying fruit trees online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.
Your 12 Month Guarantee
If any of the plants that you buy from our nursery die within a year of delivery, we will replace them.
You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.
We do ask for clear photos of the plants in the soil, both taking in the planting area and close up. These will help us to work out what went wrong so we can give you the right advice for looking after your replacements.
The most important thing to do with establishing plants is to water them in dry weather. Water very thoroughly, but not too frequently: allow the top 2 inches of soil to dry out before you water again. In hot summer weather, this should mean that you are watering 1 to 3 times per week, depending on your site's drainage and exposure to wind and sun.
If there is heavy rain, that counts as a watering for your plants. If there is only very light rain during hot weather, this probably won't be of much use to your plants and they will still need watering.
Weeding is also very important; we strongly recommend using a mulch mat (for trees) or mulch fabric (for hedges) if weeding your new plants will be impractical.
Outside your 1 Year Guarantee period?
If your plants die or get sick after their first year, you are still welcome to take some photos and send them in: we will still be happy to give you what advice we can.
We can't make any promises, but if you want to buy replacements from us, give us a call and we'll see if we can arrange a discount for you.
Place an order for £250 excluding VAT and delivery and we deliver it for FREE!
Bare-root Plants are only delivered in the winter season, from November to March. Pot grown plants can be delivered all year round
Advantages of Bare-root plants:
You pay less for the same size plants.
You can carry and plan them easily.
You only plant them in winter, so they need less maintenance after
planting. The rain will water them for their first few months.
You get the biggest selection: Many trees are not sold pot-grown.
They are "asleep" in winter - this is the best time to transplant any tree.
They use fewer fertilisers & fungicides, less water and fuel in their production & delivery.
Advantages of Pot Grown plants:
Pot grown plants can be delivered & planted all year round.
Plants with tender roots & larger specimens must be delivered in pots.
Plants in pots can be kept for months longer if there is a delay in planting.
Our Advice to You:
If you can't wait to get planting, order Pot grown plants now.
If you are not in a hurry, order bare-root plants for delivery this winter. Simply add them to your basket and choose a winter delivery date that suits you during checkout.
This will reserve your plants before they sell out.
We won't charge you until the day before delivery, so cancelling your order is always easy.
If you are only ordering chemicals and other small items, delivery is £3.50
Our delivery charge for most bareroot plants is £9.49 + VAT.
If your order contains any standard sized trees, fruit trees or pot-grown plants, then the delivery charge is £12.55 + VAT in TOTAL.
If you live in the Scottish Highlands or the Isle of Wight, there will be an extra charge of £15 + VAT on top of the appropriate basic charge, as listed above.
If your order is over £250 exc. VAT, there will be no delivery charge.
If you are uncertain, just add items to your basket which will calculate the basic shipping charge for you.
