Tag Archives: Fruit trees

How to Choose Rootstocks for Fruit Trees – The Easy Way

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Rootstocks on fruit trees bought from our Nursery:

Rootstocks cause a lot of unnecessary worry. A rootstock controls the growth of a tree and there are many different ones in existence.
This post is a long winded way of saying do not worry about rootstocks when you buy fruit trees from us; we choose the best ones for the job.

In short, we grow all of our 2 largest sizes of fruit tree, Bushes and Half Standards – on “semi-vigorous” rootstocks that produce a nice size tree for a garden or orchard.
Our 2 smallest sizes, Maidens and Cordons (only apples & pears are grown as cordons) are grown on either “semi-vigorous” or “semi-dwarfing” rootstocks depending on the variety. Whichever it is, it will be suitable for growing as a restricted, wire-trained shape.

Just What is a Rootstock?

All the fruit trees that you know and love are clones, from Granny Smith to Victoria Plum.

More than just clones, they are living in a Siamese twin relationship with another tree’s roots.

So, there is only one Granny Smith apple tree from a genetic point of view.
Cuttings of new growth from that one tree, called scions, can be grafted onto a rootstock chosen from a range of different sapling apple trees.

Grafting a scion onto a rootstock is a much better way of cloning a fruit tree from a cutting than just getting the cutting to take root itself.

The key benefit is that each rootstock type has known attributes and a predictable effect on the new tree’s growth.

The practical reality is that people either want a medium-large fruit tree or they want to train fruit tree on wires, usually against a wall or fence.
As described above, you only really need 2 rootstocks to be able to grow any normal size tree or restricted shape like fans, espaliers, step-overs or arches.

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.

When do I clip, trim & prune my hedge? Winter and Summer.

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Winter is generally the best time to prune something and it sure is the best time to trim a young hedge.

Hedges must be clipped and sometimes pruned. Fruit trees need some pruning to maintain the best crops. Older ornamental trees can need pruning if they are damaged or get in the way.

Why is winter usually the “best” time to prune and clip your hedge or tree?

During winter, pruning above ground will cut off the least energy from the plants.
The plant’s sugary sap is stored underground, in the roots.

Mature hedges are good to trim in summer.
Mature hedges that flower are best trimmed after the flower or seeds have fallen.

Beech and Hornbeam are clipped in summer to encourage them to keep their autumn leaves all winter.

Cherry fruit and flowering cherry trees are an exception, they should be pruned in summer to avoid the risk of disease.

But all hedges or other trees and fruit are best trimmed in winter. Dead, diseased or damaged branches should be removed as and when they appear.

Clay Soil – Problem or Blessing?

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We want to say it loud and clear if you think clay soil is a problem:

Clay soil is fertile soil that conserves moisture!

Clay soil is good soil, native European plants love it and so do many other trees.

Relatively few plants like really waterlogged soil.
Clay soil becomes waterlogged more easily than other soils and can collect water in certain places, like basins or low lying ground, but really in most places it’s fine to just plant into it.

When water sits in puddles for a long time after rain, one way to break surface water logging is to dig one or more soakaways or sumps.

These are a  lot of work, so it’s good that they do work.
Put them in first and use the soil that comes out to build ridges to plant into.
Clay is good for shaping into raised mounds.

In upland areas, clay soil’s ability to preserve moisture is a good thing – it works well with mulch fabric.

Transplanted hedging and trees survive best in clay soils – it’s plants on drier and sandier soils that need more watering in hot summer.

Long Term Years of Improving Clay Soil:
People who want to really improve the drainage in a plot of clay land each early winter will double dig it over with manure and lime, leaving big bare sods of clay on top, exposed to the frosts over the winter.
This can be covered in mid spring to dry off for digging with more manure and sowing with green manure fertiliser plants.