"Keith (Dorset)" writes
Hi,

I want to plant up a small orchard this winter. The ground is clear.

The size of the plot is around 11m x 10m.

The site is south-facing, full sun, 18in of good, neutral topsoil, but quite
exposed from the east, only a few hundred yards from a cliff edge.
Reasonably sheltered from the north and the west with no shade from the
north and none for most of the day from the west.

Very little frost.

We already have two very productive Victoria plums on one side of the
southern edge, fortunately they don't produce enough shade to be a cause for
concern.

Have any list members and suggestions for the most productive fruit trees?

As wide a variety as possible please - and details of rootstock and
pollination requirements would be useful.

That's a very big question!

It would help if we had a little more idea of what you wanted from your
orchard. Are you asking us 'what are the most productive apples and
pears to plant?' or are you asking 'what sort of other fruits - eg
medlar, mulberry, quince, apricot, fig - could I consider? '

There are far too many apples (many hundreds) to give pollination
requirements, apart from the general comment that you need a pollinator
(and for a few varieties, you need a pollinator for the pollinator), but
the pollination groups will be detailed in the catalogue or on the web
site of any specialist nursery.

Since you're in Dorset, get a catalogue from Scotts Nurseries at
Merriott (Somerset) (unfortunately they don't have a web site, but a web
search will reveal their full address). I haven't ordered from them for
several years, but when I bought my apples from them, they had a list
second to none, and a good variety of other tree fruit.
--
Kay