Hello Kay,

Just to say thank you very much for the detailed response! I'll
investigate your suggestions.

Thanks!

On Sat, 31 May 2003 08:57:15 +0100, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Distendo
writes
First grarden to call my own, so all-round ignorant, ok?

I want to replace a tree cut down long ago, leaving a conspicuous
space. It was probably a hawthorn of some kind.

I'd really like to plant an apple tree, or other such fruiting, but in
that space the garden needs a tree about 25 feet high, with a spread
of about 15 feet, and so I'm trying to find out about more rapidly
growing trees.

The size of an apple tree (and many other fruit trees) depends on the
stock it is grafted on to. Most are grafted on to a slow growing small
stack, as befits smaller gardens, but if you go to a specialist fruit
grower (Scotts of merriott for example) you can get trees grafted on to
different stocks.

Apples and pears need another near by as a pollinator.

I'm wondering whether a crab apple might suit - the fruit make an
excellent jelly to eat with meat, and there has been a lot of breeding
for ornamental trees, so you might get one in the tall rather than
spreading shape that you're after.

Pears also have a more upright habit than apples.

I believe a fruiting tree would take many years to get to that size
(I'm not necessarily after excellence in crop), so I'm afraid I'm
being impatient, but on the other hand, I don't want something naff
solely because it'll grow fast.

It's also difficult to get something that shoots to the desired size
then stops dead ;-)

One other issue, I guess: it'll be positioned on the border of an area
we're going to turn over to growing veggies, etc. so don't want
something that sucks all the nutrition out of the soil over a wide
area.

The soil will be dry under the tree, basically the area covered by the
canopy. And you'll need to consider where the shade from the tree will
be.