Top Fruits - Introductory Notes

All are no longer the challenge to grow they used to be, thanks to the superb new rootstocks developed by our Ministry of Agriculture Research Stations. Growing made easy with the just rewards of wonderful, mouthwatering crops.

A NOTE TO THE BEGINNER

To the uninitiated at first glance, the subject can appear confusing! As a basic starting point:

FIRST Read the paragraph on pollination, so you can make sure that when you choose your varieties they will cross pollinate.

SECOND Choose the rootstock you require. This determines how big the trees will grow. There are different rootstocks for apple, pear, plum and cherry, each described at the beginning of each section.

THIRD Choose the varieties of each fruit you want, ordering them on the selected rootstock.

NOTE It is not necessary to choose a rootstock if you want supercolumns, cordons, fans, espaliers or any other trained tree as these are automatically sent out on the rootstock best suited to them.

FRUIT TREES FOR THE PATIO

With the introduction of reliably dwarfing rootstocks it is now possible to grow a wide variety of delicious top fruits in pots and containers on the patio. Such trees are surprisingly productive and have a unique beauty all their own. All types recommended will be happy with a tub size of 18" or more and we recommend that a soil based potting compost such as John Innes No. 2 is used. Virtually all main groups can now be grown very successfully in this way. APPLES on the mini Rootstock M27 will grow to just 5-6' and most varieties are now available. Remember if you are growing just one apple to choose a self pollinating cultivar such as Redsleeves, Greensleeves or self fertile Cox. Of course if you can grow 2 or more the varietal choice is far wider. THERE IS NOTHING TO COMPARE WITH THE JOY OF APPLE BLOSSOM BROUGHT TO YOUR PATIO. PEARS on the Quince C stock are easily controlled in pots and the naturally compact Concorde has excelled with this treatment and is also self fertile. Of course there is no taste finer than your very own Du Comice ripened to perfection on a warm sunny patio. Concorde or another suitable variety would be an excellent partner to the Du Comice. PLUMS on Pixy stock are quite simply superb trees for the patio. There is a tempting range of succulent varieties to choose from, all of which can easily be grown in tubs and are even more compact if festooned. Victoria is the most popular choice but there are several other varieties of equal or greater merit. Look out for Opal. Marjories Seedling and Violetta in particular. Gages and Damsons are also available on Pixy and provide a choice variation. PEACHES, APRICOTS and NECTARINES are perhaps at their best on the patio where the warm sun will ripen their fruits to perfection and you can enjoy the magical display of rosy pink blossom. Peaches and Nectarines are naturally compact trees which do very well in containers. Apricots are more vigorous but still quite easily contained especially from an early age. CHERRIES on the new stock take well to containers. The naturally smaller Petite Noir is particularly superb on the patio and self pollinating too. Cherries on the patio are much more readily protected from the birds. These are just a few recommendations. You can also grow Figs, Kiwis, Blueberries, Strawberries, Cranberries and a host of other tempting fruits. Even if you are not restricted for space in the garden many of our customers like to enjoy at least some fruits close to hand where they can readily be appreciated. And we know of several long time fruit enthusiasts who, having filled all the available garden space have added to their collection still further by squeezing a few more varieties into pots on the patio ...

LARGER TREES

Increasingly popular with our customers who have large gardens, for lawn planting and of course orchards large or small. We are pleased to offer an increased range of half standards this year, also we have introduced the M25 stock for apples which offers a tree of even greater vigour than the MM106. This is all in addition of course to our normal range of vigorous stocks - St Julian for plums, Gages and Damsons, BA29 for Pears etc.