Monthly Archives: July 2008

Ashridge Trees Links

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If you would like to link to Ashridge Trees, here are some examples of how it could look.  Please feel free to use the code snippets as they are, or email julian at ashridgetrees.co.uk if you would like something slightly different.

 

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Ashridge Trees - Tree and Hedging Specialists

Hedging from Ashridge Trees.

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Ashridge Trees - Tree and Hedging Specialists

Specialist supplier of soft fruit trees, quality hedging and hedge plants available to order online and delivered next day throughout the UK.

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Ashridge Trees - Tree and Hedging Specialists

Buy Hedging, hedge plants, fruit trees and soft fruit bushes online from an established supplier. Quality hedging is sold individually or in packs. You can also choose from a large range of fruit trees, soft fruit bushes, shrubs and ornamental trees with next day delivery throughout mainland UK.

Pollinating Apple Trees

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Most apple trees are, to some extent, self-infertile and so heavier crops occur when they are pollinated by other, compatible varieties. Generally, different varieties of apple trees that flower at about the same time will cross-pollinate one another although there are some that both need a pollinator and refuse to repay the favour.

These are “Triploid” apples, so called because the minimum number of apples required (including a triploid) so all bear fruit is three; two pollinators to pollinate one another, either or both of which will also pollinate the triploid.

Confused? You need not be there is a really clear cross pollination chart for apples on the Apple Pollination page on our main site. However, you can make your life simple (and your garden more beautiful by just planting one of the pollinating crab apples. Traditional orchards would include 1 crab apple for every 40-50 fruit trees.

Malus John Downie or Malus Golden Hornet are outstanding for this purpose. These flower freely and will pollinate any apple in an orchard. John Downie has big fruit for a crabapple and  Golden Hornet also makes lovely, fragrant crab apple jelly.

Watch your fruit trees grow and enjoy!

Blogs for Tree Lovers…

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I’ll sort of add to this as one of us finds a blog we like.

Bad news first – it is written in the USA and it concentrates on North American trees and things woody. The author is Genevieve Netz who sounds as if she has been in love with trees for years.

The good news is that although I have never met her, if her blog is anything to go by she is fun and knowledgeable and has a great sense of humour. She also loves her research and finds weird and wacky historical stuff in places most of us never knew existed. A fair number of her posts apply as well in the UK as the US. Wood rots in both places – yes she has a post about posts (and how they decay…) and fair number of the trees she writes about grow here also. So posts on, for example whether seedling black walnut tree produce smaller nuts than grafter ones are as relevant here as there. I wish I had written some of her stuff.

So if you have a minute, take a look at
http://treenotes.blogspot.com/

Next up is Michelle – she will probably forgive me for saying she is no professional, but she clearly, really, cares.  Enjoy her at http://michelles-garden.blogspot.com

 

Watch your plants grow, and enjoy.

Why choose a Boysenberry Bush?

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There is an increasing variety of hybrid berries on the market, which has led to a bit of confusion between Tayberries, Loganberries and Boysenberries to mention three.

If you were choosing just variety, then we think Boysenberry plants have some real advantages over the rest. But first to parentage, as a Boysenberry is a complex soul, and you sort of need to hang on to your hat for this one.

Like all the hybrid berries, Boysenberries are made from crosses between Rubus species of which the best know are raspberries and blackberries. Our friend is made from a cross between a Loganberry (a cross between a Raspberry and a Dewberry) and a Raspberry (again) and then a Dewberry (also again).

Its advantages are that:

  • Boysenberry plants are not the most rampant of the rambling fruit bearers and so are relatively easy to keep in bounds
  • its fruit (which is large) is just delicious
  • it can put up with appalling abuse – in particular it survives dry spells better than any of the other rambling berries.
  • it has a long fruiting season, and it crops heavily

All of which make it just about perfect for us and every other lover of soft fruit who can’t stand out watering all day long.

Watch your plants grow and enjoy!