Category Archives: Gardening Tips

Which Fruit Tree Size Should I Start With?

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We get this question all the time and it’s a very sensible one: which of the 3 or 4 starting sizes of fruit tree should I choose?

A well loved fruit tree will be in its prime for about 50 years and a new one takes at least a couple of years to establish and bear fruit, so choosing the right one matters!

I’m going to jump to the end here.
For most people’s gardens, where space is precious, the best choice of free-standing fruit tree (i.e. not trained on wires) is a Bush.

A bush fruit tree has simply been pruned when it was young to give it with a very short main trunk, about 1 metre tall. As a result, the canopy of branches that produce the fruit is smaller and lower than a full sized fruit tree.

Compared to a “normal”, large fruit tree, which are known as standards, a bush shaped fruit tree:

  • Needs less room & can be planted closer together.
  • Will use up smaller amounts of soil nutrients & cast less shade around it.
  • Can be pruned, harvested and sprayed easily with a sturdy little step-ladder.
  • Can be netted easily to protect against birds (often necessary for cherries).

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a big half-standard tree if you have the room for it. It will need a big ladder made safe for garden use when your trees are mature.

So, if you want the biggest possible tree, get a Half-Standard.
If you want a proper fruit tree but don’t have the room for a Standard, get a Bush.

What about all the Wire Trained Shapes?

There are several ways to train a fruit tree on wires in a restricted space – espaliers, fans, cordons, step-overs and arches being the main ones.

There is only one starting size you need for all of these: the Maiden.
A maiden is the youngest & cheapest fruit tree you can buy.
After planting, you prune it yourself down to the correct size for your project.

Most of our suitable apple and pear varieties are available as ready made cordons, which effectively a tree with a single, thin branch grown on wires or other supports at a 45 degree angle.
You can train a maiden into a cordon yourself, but buying a cordon will give you a 1 year head start.

In order of final size when mature, the four sizes we sell:

Biggest:
Half Standards.
Bush
All the various wire trained shapes – use a Maiden.
Smallest: Apples and pears that are spur bearing, as opposed to tip bearing, can be grown on wires as restricted Cordons.

Whichever size is right for your garden or orchard, all the fruit trees we grow are Guaranteed for 1 Year & have O% VAT.

Why Buy English Lavender Plants?

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English Lavender Plants, Lavandula angustifolia, are the best choice for planting out in the open in the UK: that’s why we don’t sell any other kind.
We Guarantee all our plants, so we like to grow the toughest ones!

Lavenders come from around the Mediterranean world.
Spanish Lavender varieties, Lavandula stoechas, are one of the most popular, with their grape shaped, intricate flower heads. However, they are quite tender – a harsh winter cold snap like the one we just had would be a bit much for them.

Lavandula angustifolia was brought here in large amounts about 500 years ago and it quickly hopped from Britain to the newly seized American colonies – this is how a Mediterranean bush gained the name “English Lavender”.

From lavender’s point of view, an average British garden with rich soil and not too much direct sun is quite an extreme environment – if it was much colder and wetter, it would be impossible to live there.

This is why lavender plants are ideal for growing in pots – they can be sheltered in winter, moved into the sun in summer and the pot can be kept much less damp than the ground during long periods of wet weather.

The lavender you buy from us can be grown in pots and it also comes recommended for  planting out in the garden, facing the snow and damp.

Planting Lavender Outdoors:

If possible, put them in a place that has an echo of the Mediterranean: the sunny side of the garden or the dry patch of soil beside the shed.

If your soil is rocky / sandy and free draining, that’s great – just mix in a little manure/compost at planting time.

If you have a moist soil and want to make things better for your lavender, the best thing is to dig lots of old manure into it until you’ve raised the level by at least 6-10 inches.

Winter Frost & Snow Damage on Leaves & Branches

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Frost & snow damage are facts of life & no cause for alarm – some years will just be harder than others and this winter has been pretty nippy.

Frost Damage in Winter:
Winter frost damage hits young, soft leaves and shoots that didn’t have time to harden up last autumn – this is most obvious on evergreen plants.

East facing sites that get early morning sun usually have the most frost damage (the sun makes the plants thaw faster, which is more destructive).

Frost damage should be left alone until the spring, when a quick trim should sort it out.

Frost Lift: This affects things that were transplanted recently.
The frost expands in the soil, pushing everything upwards, then it thaws, leaving the plants unstable.

Frost lift should be gently firmed back down by walking on the soil around the plants when it has thawed.

Snow damage:
This happens when snow collects on branches and breaks them. Hedges can be affected too by the weight of snow piling up on top of them, bending them down or sideways.

Branches that are broken or damaged by snow should be pruned back neatly.
Pruning a larger branch is done in at least two pieces, this diagram shows the idea.

What to do next time: Go round in the morning after heavy snow and use a broomstick to gently remove as much snow as possible from plants that are having a rough time (we missed out several of the lavender plants in our garden and they were totally crushed by the snow. When it thawed, there was just a soggy mess left clinging to some dead stems that smelt faintly of lavender!).

Growing Yew – A Message from the Suppliers

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Busting Myths about Growing Yew

Yew is quite a pricey plant, especially sizes over 80 cms tall that are delivered in a pot.
If you were going to get a free hedge and based your choice on saving the most money, Yew would be a top contender.
As you know, we are are yew hedging suppliers (amongst a few other plants!).

You might well guess that our friends and family often try to blag a few plants from us.
If they cook us a nice enough dinner, we might even give them a deal on some.

So we’ve seen a few yew hedges come up in their gardens since 1947 and we want to say a triple of things about them:

1. Yew is not slow growing

Yew is a fast growing plant when it is young.
It will easily grow 30cms per year, more if it is in full sun all day and well cared for.
Yew will begin to grow slowly when the growing tips of the central, leading stems are cut.

With a young yew hedge, simply leave the tops alone and give the sides just the lightest trim once each winter.
When the hedge reaches full size, trim the tips for the first time.

2. Yew Loves Heavy Clay

Yew trees need a reasonably well drained soil to grow. They do not like bogs or riversides.
However, they will grow in any soil that isn’t really wet for most of the year – some winter flooding is fine.

Yew loves heavy clay – it grows beautifully on it in most places.  You will only be unable to grow Yew if the site traps water for long periods.

When planting in clay, do not dig out a trench and fill it with topsoil.
Simply make a slit in the soil and use the spade to sweep the roots gently down into it. Firm it closed again.

3. Yew is Futureproof

Your hedge’s lifespan is ~4000 years.
Unlike the other lush evergreen conifers, an old Yew hedge can be hard pruned if necessary and it will regrow beautifully.