Dick Adams wrote:

Gringo wrote:

I am in the throes of replanting 4 existing 5/6 feet high fruit trees
which will form part of an 8 tree orchard

I would be very grateful for
advice on the additional 4 trees which I intend to purchase .
The trees which will be replanted are, Apple,Pear, Apricot and Plum, I
was tempted to go for , Grape, Peach,Cherry and Blackberry, are these
only bush type or can you get a type which would be a climber, say onto
a stout stake.

I would strongly recommend you make certain you have at least
two of each type of tree for pollination.

Actually, this is not a good rule to follow. For good pollination, it is
better
to have a suitable variety which is not of the same type. This will work
better
than two trees of the same variety. Some people claim two identical tree
varieties
work better than one, others not, but genearly going with different
varieties will
give the best effect. Since the original postor has limited space, he
would benefit more from a complete mix of varietites. He has to be careful
in
his selections however, as some fruit trees are not pollinators for others.
It takes
a bit of research.

I would however recommend some kind of dwarfing tree, as it is much easier
to maintain,
yields fruit sooner, and generally gives plenty of fruit, especially for one
person. Seems
like the grapes and/or blackberries don't need an orchard setting and can be
planted
alongside his house, garage, etc. If he has four nice fruit bearing trees,
I would not
take them out, unless the varieties are not suitable for him.

Sherwin D.

I like cherry trees.
If you want to plant bushes, consider varieties of Blueberry
(again you will want two of each variety for pollination). You
can purchase varieties of Blueberry that will bear fruit at
different times of the season. With Blueberries, you need bird
netting so that you don't share the berries with the birds.

Dick